Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting on Saturday to review the ongoing rescue and relief operation at the Amarnath cave shrine in the aftermath of the cloudburst incident on Friday that left 15 persons dead and scores of others injured or missing.
The meeting, attended by top officials from the Army, police, Air Force, and civil administration, observed two-minute silence to pay tribute to devotees who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident yesterday. Lt Gen AS Aujla, GoC 15 Corps, and Sh Dilbag Singh, DGP briefed the Lt Governor about the ongoing rescue efforts at the holy cave. GoC said all the agencies involved in the rescue and relief operation are working in excellent coordination and they are well equipped to clear the debris, an official spokesman said.
The Lt Governor said the effort should be made to clear the debris within the shortest period of time. The DGP said the majority of the injured have already been discharged and a few others being treated at the base hospital and Srinagar are likely to be discharged within 24 hours. Sinha said teams from Army, CAPFs, NDRF, and SDRF are on the ground and doing a commendable job.
“I request Yatris to stay put in camps. The administration is providing all facilities for their comfortable stay. We are trying our best to restore the Yatra at the earliest,” he said. He also directed the senior officials, Deputy Commissioners, and Camp directors to ensure the best possible facilities are provided to the pilgrims staying at camps.
Earlier, Sinha visited SKIMS to enquire about the health of injured pilgrims. He also went to PCR Srinagar where he was briefed about the status of sending the mortal remains of deceased pilgrims to their respective hometowns.
