There have been reports of cloudburst near the Amarnath cave in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Disaster management officials said that no one was injured due to the cloudburst. During this time not a single traveler was present in the cave. According to officials, two teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were already present near the cave. Apart from this, an additional team has been deployed from Ganderbal. Amarnath Cave is located in South Kashmir at an altitude of 3,880 meters.
The local administration and police have appealed to the people of Gund and Kangan areas to stay away from the Sindh river as the water level of the river may rise suddenly due to incessant rains and cloudburst.
On the incident of cloudburst, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Twitter, “I have spoken to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha ji regarding the cloudburst near the holy cave of Baba Amarnath. NDRF teams are being sent there for relief work and accurate assessment of the situation.
Earlier on Wednesday, seven people were killed and 17 others injured in a cloudburst in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district. Officials said that apart from a bridge, six houses and a ration shop located on the banks of a small river were also badly damaged due to cloudburst in Honjar village of Dachan tehsil at around 4.30 am. Joint relief operation of Police, Army and SDRF is going on, which are engaged in search of 14 missing people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the central government is closely monitoring the situation arising out of the cloudburst incident in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district and all possible help is being extended to the affected areas. At the same time, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Director General of Police Dilbag Singh and got information about the situation.
Kishtwar District Development Commissioner Ashok Kumar Sharma told news agency PTI, “The bodies of seven people from the village affected by the cloudburst incident have so far been found by the rescue workers and 17 people have been rescued, who are injured.” He said that the search for 14 missing people is still going on. The condition of five of the injured is said to be critical.
