Vaishno Devi landslide: J-K CM asks why pilgrims not stopped despite bad weather warning

Jammu, Aug 27 (PTI) Why did officials not stop Vaishno Devi pilgrims from treading the track when there was a warning of inclement weather, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned on Wednesday as the toll in the landslide rose to 32.

The pilgrimage to the shrine was suspended when the mountainside gave way and stones, boulders, and rocks came hurtling down around 3 pm on Tuesday, catching people unawares. Rescuers pulled out more bodies from under the debris a day after the disaster struck the route to the hilltop shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district.

Talking to reporters here, the chief minister said, "We will have to talk about it later. When we knew about the weather, should we not have taken certain steps to save those lives? The weather warning had come to us a few days ago." Posing questions for officials, he further said, "Why were these people on the track? Why were they not stopped? Why were they not moved to a safe place? This has to be discussed later. We feel sorrow over the loss of 29 to 30 precious lives." The landslide struck at a point about halfway along the winding 12-km trek from Katra to the shrine.

There are two routes up to the shrine. While the yatra had been suspended on the Himkoti trek route since Tuesday morning, it was going on the old route till 1.30 pm when authorities decided to suspend it till further orders in view of the torrential rain.

The water level in the swollen rivers across Jammu showed signs of receding, but the flood alert mark was breached by the Jhelum in Anantnag and Srinagar, and water entered several residential areas, prompting authorities to assure residents that they are monitoring the situation and people should not panic.

Massive damage has been reported to public infrastructure, including several key bridges, private houses and commercial establishments, due to overflowing of water bodies and flash floods across the Union Territory, officials said.

Telecom services also got partially restored after remaining suspended for over 22 hours, while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah rushed to Jammu from Srinagar to personally review the situation in the region. PTI AB NSD NSD