In Leh at least 114 people were killed and over 200 injured when flash floods triggered by torrential rains struck the Himalayan town in northeast of Jammu and Kashmir. Over 100 people are missing due to the calamity.
State Police Chief Kuldeep Khoda told PTI over phone from Srinagar that 103 bodies have been recovered so far and the number of missing cannot be ascertained as yet. He said the toll may go up. 40 Army personnel are also missing.
The Police Chief said that Jammu and Kashmir Police has set up two camps and were providing food and shelter to nearly 2,000 people. He said that the camps would remain operational till alternate arrangements were being made. 50 CRPF jawans were rescued from the flooded areas.
Leh airport runway was affected but was made operational by afternoon to facilitate landing of aircraft carrying relief material and rescue teams. The communication equipment of BSNL was also washed away in the flash floods and rains that hit the town and adjoining villages in middle of night at around 2 AM. Various buildings and mud-houses in old Leh town were wiped out in the incessant rains. The All India Radio Transmeter tower also damaged.
Local journalist Ghulam Nabi Zia reports that State Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reached Leh to have an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. He visited the flood-hit areas and spoke to the affected families. Zia adds that weather is deterioting further and people of Leh town have been evacuated to safer places.
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will fly to Leh tomorrow with relief supplies and a team of 140 personnel of the National Disaster Relief Force alongwith eight doctors and paramedical staff in an IL76 IAF aircraft.
Massive rescue operations were underway involving the state police, paramilitary forces and the army in Leh town. Security personnel were also rushed from Kargil to assist the civil administration in rescue and relief operations.
The Armed Forces and the ITBP have launched massive rescue and relief operations for the victims of the devastating cloudburst in Leh. Thirty three columns of army personnel have already been deployed for the rescue operations. The Tri-Services Disaster Management met in New Delhi this evening to take stock of the situation.
An AN-32 plane with a team from National Disaster Management, Medical Specialists and equipment including generators, tents and other supplies including medicines will be leaving for Leh early tomorrow morning. A plane from Chandigarh will also leave tomorrow for Leh with 4000 packets of ready to eat meals. The Leh airfield has now become operational.
According to ITBP, more than 100 victims have been rescued from the debris. The ITBP is also providing medical aid to the injured in the unit hospitals opened in the sector. More than 260 homeless victims have also been accommodated in ITBP barracks and free food and medicines are being provided.
Earlier today the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh directed the Ministry of Defence to provide all out rescue and relief assistance. Expressing shock and grief at the loss of life in the tragedy, Dr. Manmohan Singh sanctioned an ex-gratia of one lakh rupees each to the next of kin of those killed and fifty thousand rupees each to the seriously injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
The President Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and the UPA Chairpersons Mrs. Sonia Gandhi have also expressed deep sorrow and grief over the loss of life and wished speedy recovery for the injured.
