Devotees returning from Vaishno Devi without darshan, 34 people dead so far in landslide, 58 trains cancelled

Vaishno Devi Landslide: The pilgrimage of the devotees who had come to visit Mata Vaishno Devi came to a very sad turn. Heavy debris fell due to mountain sliding near Ardhkumwari on the way to this holy place located in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir. 34 devotees died and 22 people were injured in this accident. The injured devotees are being treated at Narayana Hospital in Katra. Vaishno Devi Yatra has been temporarily suspended after the incident. At the same time, a large number of devotees have started returning home without darshan while more than 4000 pilgrims are waiting for the journey to start in Katra.

The travel route has been completely disrupted after the landslide and it may take some time to repair the travel track. Due to this natural disaster, heavy rains and floods have also occurred in other parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Stranded passengers

Till Tuesday, around 20 thousand pilgrims were staying in hotels and guest houses of Jammu and Katra. Due to landslide near Ardhkumwari on Tuesday afternoon, a 200 feet portion of the Yatra route was badly damaged due to heavy debris falling from the mountain. The work of removing the debris and repairing is going on but it may take time.

Crisis caused by rain

From Tuesday to Wednesday morning, 629.4 mm of rain was recorded in Udhampur and 296 mm in Jammu. This is a new record of rainfall in a day in the western Himalayan region. Due to this heavy rain, floods and landslides have occurred in the state, due to which 34 people have lost their lives so far.

Water level of Jhelum and other rivers

The weather improved in Jammu on Wednesday afternoon, but due to continuous rain in Kashmir, the water level of Jhelum and other rivers and streams has reached the danger mark. Due to waterlogging in Rajbagh area of ​​​​Srinagar, the police evacuated people from there to safer places.

Relief work in flood affected areas

Floods also wreaked havoc in Kishtwar and Anantnag of Jammu division. 10 houses were washed away due to cloudburst in Wadhwan of Kishtwar on Tuesday night. On the other hand, 22 people trapped in the Lidder river in Anantnag district were rescued safely by SDRF personnel. Four buildings have been damaged in Pahalgam due to flooding in Sheshnag drain.

Declaration of compensation

Compensation has been announced for the families of the devotees killed in the accident. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has announced a compensation of Rs 9 lakh to the family of each devotee killed in the landslide on the Vaishno Devi Yatra route. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, while visiting the flood-affected areas in Jammu, announced a compensation of Rs 6 lakh to the family of each deceased.

Relief and rescue work by the administration

Due to floods, more than 25,000 people have been evacuated from Jammu and its surrounding areas. Apart from this, instructions have been issued to keep all schools closed on Thursday. The administration has restored traffic from flood-affected areas, although at some places the movement of vehicles is banned due to landslides and road washouts.