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
The crowd refused to visit the tent of Omar Abdullah to discuss their grievances despite an invite from the CM himself. PIC/PTI
The anger of people seeking information about their kin missing in the aftermath of a cloudburst is quite understandable, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday after several locals confronted him in Chasoti and vented their frustration.
He 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.
Abdullah reached the cloudburst-hit Chasoti, the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata temple in the Kishtwar district, by car this morning and faced some people who were not happy with the rescue and relief efforts. “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 demand of the people is that if those missing are no longer alive, then the bodies should be handed over to them at the earliest for the last rites.“At the moment, it is not really a relief operation. We are focusing on rescuing people as far as possible. After that, the aim would be to retrieve the bodies to the best extent possible.”
“The number will fluctuate a little, but I do not think the number will reach 500 or 1,000 as is being projected. At the moment, it is 80, which is also a big number.” Tragedy struck Chasoti around 12.25 pm on August 14.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
