SRINAGAR: More than a year after a cloudburst triggered massive flash floods in the Chesoti village of the mountainous Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir, 30 persons are still missing. Further, no compensation has been provided to their next of kin by the administration so far.
The flash floods caused by the cloudburst on August 14 last year had led to widespread destruction, sweeping away homes, a community kitchen (langar), vehicles, and other infrastructure along the Machail Yatra route.
Big boulders at the site, where the cloudburst had struck, were broken through controlled explosions by the Army and the debris was cleared to search for the bodies there.
The government, in response to an RTI application filed by Jammu-based activist Raman Sharma, disclosed that the bodies of 63 persons were recovered after the cloudburst triggered flashfloods in the Chesoti village.
The government disclosed that 30 persons are still missing and their bodies have not been recovered yet. Of the 30 missing, three are local residents while 27 are pilgrims who were undertaking Machail Mata yatra when the cloudburst struck. Of the 30, eight belong to one Jammu-based family.
