JAMMU, Aug 5 (Agencies): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday visited Murrah village in Poonch district and met a villager, who lost eight members of his family in cloudburst-triggered flash floods and landslide last month.
Abdullah arrived in the border district to assess the ground situation in the flash flood and landslide-affected areas following the rain fury, which had claimed 16 lives and left six others missing.
“Chief Minister visited Murrah in Surankote to offer condolences to the family that lost its loved ones in the recent cloudburst. He expressed solidarity with the bereaved family and assured it of all possible assistance and support from the Government,” the office of the chief minister said in a post on X.
The cloudburst-triggered flash flood and landslide on July 19 at Murrah had claimed the lives of eight members of Mohammad Latief’s family.
Latief survived as he had stepped out to move his car just minutes before the flash flood and landslide swept away his house in the dead of the night. While the bodies of four of his family members have been recovered, the remaining four are still missing despite ongoing search operations.
In an earlier post, the chief minister’s office said Abdullah is visiting Poonch to meet the people affected by the recent floods and assess the damage and relief requirements first-hand.
“He will also review the ongoing relief, rehabilitation and restoration measures with the district administration,” the post read.
Surankote was the worst-hit area, accounting for the majority of the fatalities in the July 19 rain-related disaster. Torrential rains triggered cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides, causing widespread devastation, sweeping away houses and vehicles, damaging roads and other infrastructure, and leaving hundreds of families affected across the district.
Abdullah had on July 19 chaired a high level officers meeting in Jammu to take stock of the situation post heavy rainfall and announced an ex gratia relief of Rs 6 lakh for the next of kin of those killed in rain-related incidents in Poonch and adjoining Rajouri district where three persons lost their lives and one remained missing.
Expressing grief over the loss of lives caused by the flash floods, landslides and other rain-related incidents, the chief minister said while no amount of financial assistance can compensate for the irreparable loss suffered by the affected families, the government stands firmly with them during this difficult time.
The chief minister is also likely to visit Rajouri later in the day, the officials said.