Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma has praised army personnel for their disaster relief and rescue operations after the Kishtwar cloudburst. He visited Kishtwar and Rajouri districts on Thursday to review the ongoing rescue efforts in the region.
In a post on X, the Northern Army Command said: “Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, Army Commander Northern Command, visited hinterland formations and units at Rajouri and Kishtwar to compliment troops for their resilient action, as well as their swift and successful execution of HADR efforts during the Chositi cloudburst.”
The tragedy struck Chositi, the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata Temple, on August 14 around 1 pm.
The tragedy claimed 65 lives, left hundreds of others injured, and 33 people remain still missing under rubble of massive rocks, wooden logs, and mud.
Shortly after, the Army inducted over 300 troops with heavy machines for search, rescue, and relief operations in Chositi.
On Sunday, Army engineers built a Bailey bridge over the Chositi nallah, restoring much-needed connectivity to the village and the Machail Mata shrine. The Army has also inducted all-terrain vehicles to intensify the relief operations.
The flash floods triggered by the cloudburst left a trail of destruction, flattening a makeshift market and a langar site for the annual Machail Mata Yatra, damaging 16 houses, several government buildings, three temples, four water mills, and a 30-metre-long bridge, besides over a dozen vehicles.
Also Read: Kishtwar cloudburst: Search Op for 33 missing enters Day 8
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