CM Omar treks through devastated highway, promises swift relief

Ramban, Apr 21: In a swift response to the devastation caused by the cloudburst in Ramban district, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday undertook a visit to the affected areas to personally assess the ground situation.

Accompanied by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ramban and senior civil and police officials, the CM travelled by road from Srinagar to reach Marog, one of the worst-hit villages.

Demonstrating the deep concern and commitment of his government, he trekked several kilometres on foot through rugged terrain to reach Kela Morh, where the cloudburst had triggered flash floods, leaving a trail of destruction.

The natural calamity has claimed the lives of three persons while causing extensive damage to residential structures, vehicles, and critical road infrastructure.

Ramban district, often referred to as the lifeline connecting Kashmir and Jammu, remained cut off for the second consecutive day due to debris and damage along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, J&K’s primary transport artery.

Interacting with residents and officials from the district administration, CM Omar was briefed on the scale of the damage and the progress of ongoing rescue and relief operations.

He expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and assured that the government stands shoulder to shoulder with the victims of this tragedy.

“The scale of destruction is deeply distressing. Our administration is on the ground, working tirelessly to ensure the safety, relief, and rehabilitation of every affected family,” the CM said. “We will leave no stone unturned in standing by our people during this difficult time.”

He directed the concerned departments to expedite restoration work on the highway to resume vehicular movement at the earliest.

The district administration informed CM Omar that clearance operations were in full swing, with teams from the Public Works Department (PWD), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), disaster response units, Police, volunteers, and the local population working round the clock to remove mudslides and boulders and restore normalcy in the affected area.

PTI adds

CM Omar said the devastation caused by flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain and cloudbursts in Ramban district could not be declared a “national disaster”, even as he assured adequate relief to the affected families.

He was speaking to reporters at Kela Morh, a few kilometres from the Ramban district headquarters along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.

The CM was supposed to visit the flood and landslide-hit villages in Ramban town but had to return to Srinagar due to the approach road being washed away.

He promised to tour the villages on Tuesday through the Jammu side.

Three persons, including two minor siblings, died and more than 100 people were rescued after cloudburst-induced floods and landslides on Sunday caused massive damage to infrastructure, including roads and residential buildings.

CM Omar was scheduled to visit the calamity-affected areas but bad weather prevented helicopter operations.

He travelled by road after he was informed that the Banihal sector of the national highway had been cleared, officials said.

Braving fresh rainfall, the CM reached Maroog around 5:30 pm and later walked towards the worst-hit Kela Morh to personally take stock of the situation, the officials said.

“This is not a national disaster but a localised one. It is a disaster and, accordingly, relief will be provided to the victims for rebuilding their lives,” he told reporters when asked if his government would approach the Centre for declaring the calamity as a “national disaster”.

CM Omar said the district administration had been directed to assess the damage and submit a detailed report.

“Immediate relief will be provided to the affected population. We will make arrangements on our own for a package and I will also talk to the Centre,” he said.

“If the weather permits, I will personally take stock of the situation on the ground in other flood-hit areas of Ramban town and also chair a meeting of officers on Tuesday,” the CM said.

CM Omar, who walked nearly 2 km over the damaged road and was briefed by Deputy Commissioner Baseer-ul-Haq Chaudhary and officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), said the national highway’s restoration was the top priority.

“Several vehicles are buried under landslide debris. The road has also suffered extensive damage and we have to change its alignment. We have to remove the debris and clear the buried vehicles. The effort is to make the highway trafficable as soon as possible,” he said.

The CM said this stretch of the highway was the most difficult and the officials were of the opinion that it would take two to three days to clear it while the remaining section would be cleared in the next 24 hours.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary visited the flood-affected areas on Sunday with Ramban MLA Arjun Singh Raju and Banihal MLA Sajad Shaheen on the directions of the CM, who was in Delhi at the time.

CM Omar reached Srinagar early on Monday and announced that he would visit Ramban later in the day.

Earlier, NHAI Project Director Purshottam Kumar said they were faced with a challenging situation due to massive deposits of muck on the highway at more than a dozen places, especially on the 4 km stretch between Seri and Maroog.

“The height of the sludge at some places is more than 20 feet,” he said. “The highway is likely to take five to six days to reopen.”