31 people remain missing in J&K's Chesoti after Aug 14 cloudburst

SRINAGAR: At least 31 persons still remain missing after August 14's devastating cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir's Chesoti village. The cloudburst in the village situated in the mountainous Kishtwar district had triggered flashfloods and mudslides. The floods swept away all buildings and vehicles along the Machail Yatra route. The army and disaster response teams broke down boulders through controlled explosions and removed the debris to search for bodies. Minister in-Charge Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Department told the J&K Legislative Assembly that the bodies of 63 persons have been identified so far, while responding to a question raised by BJP MLA Sunil Sharma. Besides, five limbs were recovered during the search operation in the village and water body, the government revealed. Three more bodies were yet to be identified, the minister added. The minister disclosed that a total of 19 houses were damaged in the Chesoti village due to the cloudburst. Of them, 16 houses were fully damaged, while three houses were partially damaged. The Chesoti village is the last motorable point on the route of the annual Machail Mata yatra pilgrimage. Most of the victims were pilgrims and some local residents also died in the tragedy. According to the government, compensation under SDRF and CM Relief Fund has been provided to the victims. As per SDRF norms, Rs 1.30 lakh were provided as compensation for fully damaged houses, Rs 65000 for partially damaged houses and Rs 5000 for clothing and utensils. Under the CM Relief Fund, the families whose houses were fully damaged were provided a compensation of Rs 1 lakh and partially damaged houses Rs 25000. The government has provided a compensation of Rs 4 lakh under SDRF and Rs 2 lakh under CM Relief Fund to those killed in the cloudburst while compensation of Rs 16000 was provided under SDRF and Rs 1 lakh to those seriously injured in the cloudburst. In response to the question, the minister informed the Assembly that the government intends to construct houses for the families who lost their shelters during the cloudburst, as per the guidelines of the PMAY-G scheme. So far 6 families have been surveyed under Awaas Plus 2024 (2.0). The survey of the remainingfamilies shall be conducted once the Awaas Plus App becomes fully functional, the minister said.