In Jammu and Kashmir, a massive relief operation is on in Leh and other areas of the high altitutde terrain devasted by cloudburst with the death toll going up to 132. Over 600 are still missing as rescue workers wade through the rubble of the collapsed buildings to pull out any survivors. Twenty bodies were today pulled out from debris in Leh town ravaged by flash floods.Six Indian Airforce planes reached Leh today with loads of relief materials and a 125 member strong team to carry out rescue and relief work.The relief materials include medicines, generators, tants, portable x-raymachine and emergency rescue kits. Two teams of specialists Doctors and Surgeons have also reached Leh. 4000 package of ready to eat meals were also sent for distribution among the affected families.Nearly 100 villages of Hanoyogma whose homes were swept away by the flashfloods caused by cloud burst were given shelter in a near by army coast. Three helicopters have also been provided to civil administration for aerial recce of affected areas.According to an official release, 110 bodies have been recovered from mudslides and flood water by the rescue teams. 500 injured civilians and tourists have also be treated at military hospital at Leh. The Indian Airforce will carry bodies of foreign tourists and non-local to Delhi by air in case no civilian flights are available from Leh.A special aircraft with 19 VSATs and other equipment of BSNL will also be flown to restore mobile and telecom connectivity at Leh and other adjoining areas at the earliest. Two INMARSATs have also been provided to Leh district administration for meeting immediate communication requirement.A three-member Central team comprising Farooq Abdullah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Prithviraj Chavan has arrived in Leh to make an on the spot assessment of the situation.Reports of the disaster are still pouring in. A small village before Choglumsur, which bore the brunt of the incessant rains, was completely wiped out. Over 200 people are still reported to be missing from there. A contractor told senior state administration officials that 150 labourers employed by him are missing from Shyong village.The colony was set up along Indus river and the officials feared that many huts would have been washed away in the flash floods.Authorities said that the Army also had suffered losses in Turtuk area. Army spokesman Colonel J S Brar said 31 Army jawans of the 15th Battalion of the Bihar Regiment including 3 JCOs are still missing. He said one body has been found. He said some of the villages along the Chang La pass, world's second highest motorable road, are believed to have been washed away in the torrential rains.Among the survivors of the cloudburst are labourers from Chhatisgarh working mainly in projects of the Border Roads Organisation and various other infrastructure development programmes there. 70 of the injured are these labourers.The Home Ministry has requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to operate four to five additional flights from New Delhi to Leh to bring back tourists stranded there following the devastating cloudburst that struck Ladakh. Satellite telecom equipment are being flown in special aircraft to Leh to restore the mobile and telephone connectivity .DRDO scientist and Disaster response team member W Selvamurthy said, it is a very unusual phenomenon in this area because Ladakh is a barren desert. It hardly rains there, he said.Leh Administration has set up a 24 hour Helpline to provide any information about the incident. The telephone numbers are 09906990787 and 09906990835.
News On AIR | August 7, 2010 8:51 PM
Massive relief & rescue operation underway at Leh; cloudburst death toll rises to 132, over 600 missing