SAHIL BHAT
AUG 16: With intensified and coordinated efforts in treacherous terrain of cloudburst-hit Kishtwar, the rescue and relief operation entered the third day on Saturday in the remote hamlet of Chisoti.
On Friday, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh flanked by Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat visited village Chisoti and took stock of the ongoing rescue and relief operation conducted by J&K Police, Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Civil Administration, and local volunteers.
Till date, 46 bodies have been identified and handed over to their next of kins. With locals claiming hundreds burried under boulders and rubble, reports suggest at least 75 persons have been missing from their families.
Among the deceased, two Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel and a Special Police Officer (SPO) Kishtwar Police have lost their lives in the catastrophe.
Notably, the devastating disaster hit Chisoti village en route to the Machail Mata Shrine on August 14 leaving several dead and hundreds of people missing. It is learnt that 16 residential houses, Government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-meter-long bridge, and over a dozen vehicles were also damaged in the flash floods triggered by cloudburst.
Nearly a dozen earth-movers, cutting-edge technology and dog squads by the NDRF were mobilized in the rescue operation.
Following the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have assured full assistance in this regard to LG Manoj Sinha and CM Omar Abdullah.
