In the remote village of Chisoti, even as politicians are making a beeline to reach out ot the affected people, the rescue workers are locked in a desperate battle against time and treacherous terrain to locate survivors buried under massive boulders, flattened structures and heaps of slush following a catastrophic cloudburst on August 14.
The devastating cloudburst has left over 60 people dead, over 100 injured, and 82 people, 81 pilgrims and one CISF personnel, missing.
On ground zero, several traumatized families and the close relatives of missing persons are clinging to a fast-fading hope to once again reunite with them.
On Saturday, when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah arrived in Chisoti, he was greeted by several emotionally charged relatives demanding the handing over of the dead bodies of their loved ones buried under the rubble. So far, 46 bodies have been identified and handed over to their next of kin after completion of legal formalities.
According to official sources, Jammu, Udhampur and Samba districts accounted for the highest number of 60 missing people.
Four people, each from Haryana and Madhya Pradesh and one person from Himachal Pradesh, are also among those reported missing by their relatives, while the rest belonged to the Doda, Reasi and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Consoling some of the relatives of missing devotees, Omar Abdullah said the focus of the rescue operation right now is to find those still trapped under the debris.
A coordinated rescue and relief operation is underway in the village where 70 to 80 people have been reported missing by their families, even as locals and witnesses claim that hundreds may have been swept away by the flash flood and buried under giant boulders, wooden logs, and rubble. Several hundred people vented their frustration in front of Abdullah, who tried to calm them down, saying he wants the rescue operation to be over as soon as possible.
The chief minister also invited them to a nearby tent to listen to their grievances, but some of them were reluctant. Following this, Abdullah left the scene.
“I can understand their anger. They have been waiting for their missing family members for the past two days. They want an answer. They want to know if their family members will come out alive or not,” he told reporters on his return journey.
The chief minister said the people demand that if those missing are no longer alive, then the bodies should be handed over to them at the earliest for the last rites.
“We have deployed as many forces as we could, whether it is the NDRF, SDRF, Army, Jammu and Kashmir police or the CISF. We are trying to rescue the trapped people. And where there is no rescue, we will at least retrieve the bodies and hand them over to their families,” Abdullah said. Omar also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to the severely injured people in the flash flood triggered by a cloud burst in Kishtwar.
The Jammu and Kashmir Government will also provide financial assistance of Rs 50,000 to the people who suffered minor injuries. The government will provide Rs 1 lakh for fully damaged structures, Rs 50,000 for severely damaged structures and Rs 25,000 for partially damaged structures from the CM’s Relief Fund.
In Jammu, several families have returned home with the dead bodies of their loved ones and performed their last rites on Saturday. At the same time several families are still waiting for some miracle to happen.