The death toll from landslide on the pilgrimage route to the Mata Vaishno Devi Cave shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district has climbed to 41, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The disaster, triggered by a cloudburst amid relentless monsoon rainfall, struck near Indraprastha Bhojanalaya in the Ardhkuwari area on Tuesday, burying pilgrims under debris and injuring at least 23 others. The majority of the victims were from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
On late Monday evening, 20 pilgrims killed in the landslide were identified, while authorities were yet to ascertain the identity of others. “The mortal remains of 25 victims of the tragic Adhkuwari landslide reached GMC Jammu, out of the total 34 who lost their lives,” BJP MLA from Jammu (West) Arvind Gupta said in a social media post.
He, along with BJP Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore, was present at the Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, to pay homage to the pilgrims. The dead included 13 men, 16 women and minors. The landslide has been described as one of the deadliest incidents along the route in recent memory.
The Vaishno Devi Yatra remained suspended on Wednesday, with no timeline for resumption, as authorities assess the safety of the damaged path.
Earlier, on August 14, a cloudburst triggered flash floods in Chisoti, the last motorable village enroute the Machail Mata shrine, in Kishtwar district, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. At least 65 people, mostly pilgrims, were killed and more than 100 were injured, while 32 are still missing.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited Narayana Hospital near Katra to meet the injured pilgrims undergoing treatment. Interacting with the media persons, the LG said, “Yatra was suspended yesterday due to bad weather. Cloudburst occurred and devotees at Ardhkuwari were caught in it. It was a heart-wrenching natural calamity, in which we have lost precious lives.
We are providing all possible assistance to bereaved families.”
The Lieutenant Governor also announced ex-gratia relief to the families of the deceased. He said the Shrine Board and the administration are extending all the necessary assistance to the affected families.
The Shrine Board’s policy provides for an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of any individual who dies in an unfortunate incident. An additional Rs 4 lakh will be provided from SDRF.
Chief Minister Abdullah, who rushed from Srinagar to Jammu to oversee relief operations, briefed PM Narendra Modi on the crisis and thanked him for the Centre’s assurance of assistance. He expressed sorrow over the deaths, questioning why pilgrims were not stopped from using the route despite weather warnings. “When we knew about the weather, should we not have taken certain steps to save those lives?” he told reporters, emphasizing the need for a later review of preventive measures. Lieutenant Governor Sinha directed officials to prioritize assistance for the injured and bereaved families.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on X: “The loss of lives in the Vaishno Devi landslide is heartbreaking. My deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. The administration is providing all possible assistance.” President Droupadi Murmu called the incident “deeply distressing,” adding, “My condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the success of rescue operations and the recovery of those injured.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah described the landslide as “extremely tragic” and confirmed that he had spoken with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to ensure central government support. “NDRF, SDRF, and Army teams are engaged in relief and rescue operations. The local administration is fully committed to assisting the affected,” Shah posted on X.
On the other hand, Telecom services, which remained disrupted for over 22 hours due to damaged optical fibers, were partially restored by Wednesday afternoon.
However, the Northern Railways on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of 58 trains to and from Jammu and Katra stations, while 64 trains were short-terminated or short-originated at various stations in the division in view of the devastation caused by record rains.
Rail traffic, which was briefly restored on Wednesday morning with six trains departing from Jammu after a day-long suspension, has again been halted due to flash floods and heavy soil erosion in the Chakki river area, officials said.
“Due to heavy soil erosion and flash floods in the Chakki River, rail traffic in the Jammu division has been temporarily suspended. Trains will remain cancelled, diverted, short-terminated or short-originated until further notice,” said the public relations officer (PRO) of Northern Railway, Jammu Division.
Meanwhile, rescue operations, involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Jammu and Kashmir Police, Indian Army, and local volunteers, continue to dig through the rubble amid fears that more individuals may be trapped. The Indian Army’s White Knight Corps deployed three relief columns, one specifically assisting at Ardhkuwari, to evacuate survivors and provide aid.
While showers eased on Wednesday, allowing relief efforts to gain momentum, the region remains on edge with swollen rivers and ongoing challenges.
Jammu recorded an unprecedented 380 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, the highest in a single day since records began in 1910. The deluge, described as the heaviest in decades, triggered flash floods and landslides across multiple districts, including Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur, Ramban, and Rajouri. The Jammu region alone recorded over 360 mm of rain in less than 38 hours since Monday night, with Jammu city logging 296 mm in 24 hours, surpassing the previous record of 272.6 mm set in 1973.
Major rivers, including the Jhelum, Tawi, Chenab, Ujh, Ravi, and Basanter, swelled beyond danger levels, inundating low-lying areas and submerging 20-30 localities in Jammu and Samba districts. In South Kashmir, the Jhelum River breached the flood alert mark of 21 feet at Sangam in Anantnag, reaching 24.17 feet, and crossed the 18-foot alert mark at Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar, flowing at 19.84 feet.
Authorities have evacuated over 10,000 people from flood-affected areas, with relief camps and community kitchens set up in Muthi, Satwari, and Youth Hostel Jammu to provide food, water, and medical care.
In Doda district, four people, including three women, lost their lives in rain-related incidents on Tuesday, with two deaths reported in Bhalessa, one in Thathri, and one in Bhaderwah. Swollen rivers washed away 17 houses and three bridges in the district. In Kishtwar, a flash flood in the remote Margi area swept away 10 homes and a bridge, though no casualties were reported. The region’s infrastructure suffered severe damage, with key bridges, including a pillar of the Devak River bridge in Samba and parts of the Fourth Tawi Bridge in Jammu, collapsing.
During his visit to Jammu, the Chief Minister inspected the 4th Tawi Bridge, Bhagwati Nagar, Science College at Old Campus University, Hari Singh Park near Hotel Fortune Riviera and flood-hit areas of Gujjar Nagar, Jammu. The Chief Minister emphasized that the damaged end portion of the Fourth Tawi Bridge required immediate technical evaluation, recalling that the structure had suffered damage during the 2014 floods as well. He underlined the need for preventive measures to avert similar risks in the future.