1 missing man returns home
Jammu, Aug 22: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday will visit cloudburst-hit Chisoti village in Kishtwar district to review the ongoing rescue and relief operation and interact with the affected population.
The search operation by multiple agencies to trace people who went missing during the recent cloudburst and flashfloods in Kishtwar district entered the ninth day on Friday. While no fresh body was found, family of one person who was earlier listed missing reported that he has returned home safely, officials said.
The death toll from the natural calamity that struck Chisoti — the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata temple — on August 14 has risen to 65, including three CISF personnel and one Special Police Officer (SPO) of J&K Police. Over 100 people were injured, and 32 remain missing.
“Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha will visit Chisoti village on Sunday,” an official said.
“They will be reviewing the search operation carried out by multiple agencies for the past nine days and also interact with the affected people,” he said.
Several high-profile leaders have already visited Chisoti to interact with people and oversee the operations, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, while Leader of Opposition in J&K Assembly and senior BJP leader Sunil Sharma has been camping in the cloudburst-hit village since August 14, when the incident took place and assisting the relief operations in the area, which falls under his assembly segment Paddar-Nagseni in Kishtwar district.
Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Pankaj Sharma, who is supervising the large-scale rescue and relief operation for the ninth day on Friday, said efforts are continuing to trace the remaining missing persons.
He added that the number of missing people came down to 32 after one person from the missing list reached home. The family confirmed his return on Friday.
Also, Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma has complimented troops for the disaster relief efforts undertaken by them during the Chisoti cloudburst.
The Army commander visited Kishtwar and Rajouri districts on Thursday.
“Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, Army Commander Northern Command, visited hinterland formations and units at Rajouri and Kishtwar to compliment troops for their resilient action, as also swift and successful execution of HADR efforts during Chishoti cloudburst,” the Northern Command said on X.
In line with the roster issued under the directions of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Principal Secretary Anil Kumar Singh conducted an on-ground review of the ongoing rescue and relief operations in Chisoti.
Accompanied by Inspector General of Police (Traffic) Suleman Choudhary, Singh carried out a detailed assessment of the situation, interacted with the affected residents, and reviewed the response of rescue teams and the district administration.
He also reviewed the status of road from Atholi to Pallali and Pallali to Machail, and issued necessary directions to authorities. Singh further assessed the pressing needs of displaced families and directed to facilitate prompt relief distribution.
Search teams have focused operations at three key locations: the major impact spot near a langar (community kitchen), the area where several houses were washed away, and Bhuat Nallah in the Gulabgarh-Paddar belt.
