Jammu, July 21: Two people died and 14 were injured in two different incidents of landslides.
A landslide struck the old track to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, leaving one pilgrim dead and nine others injured, officials said.
The deceased, identified as Kuppan Srinivasan, 70, of Chennai, was critically injured and succumbed to his injuries during the treatment, police said.
They said a booking office and an overhead iron structure caved in under the weight of the landslide, triggered by heavy rains which lashed Katra town, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting the shrine atop Trikuta hills.
The yatra to the shrine was suspended as a precautionary measure.
However, pilgrimage was resumed via the Tarakote Marg. The incident occurred around 8.30 am at Gulshan Ka Langar near Banganga, the starting point for the yatra, where pony riders gather along the old track and register before taking the pilgrims to the shrine, 12km from the town.
The critically injured, Kuppan Srinivasan, 70, of Chennai, succumbed to his injuries, while his wife K Radha, 66, and a pilgrim from Haryana Rajinder Bhalla, 70, are undergoing treatment at Narayan Hospital, while Leela Raikwar, 56, of Uttar Pradesh was admitted at the community health centre in Katra, the officials said.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the incident and said he is monitoring the situation. “I am deeply saddened by the tragic landslide incident at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in which a devotee unfortunately lost his life. Directed the Shrine Board to provide the best possible medical care and support to the injured pilgrims. I’m constantly monitoring the situation,” Sinha wrote on X.
In a separate incident, a student was killed and five people were injured when a landslide triggered by heavy overnight rain hit a government school in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, officials said.
Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the loss of the life of the young student.
A large boulder rolled down onto the tin roof of the primary school in the Bhainch-Kalsian area and fell in a classroom, injuring several students. A student, Ehsan Ali (5), died, the officials said.
They said four students — Mohammad Safeer (7), Bilal Farooq (8), Aftab Ahmad (7), and Tobia Kausar (7) — and a teacher were injured in the incident and are undergoing treatment at Raja Sukhdev Singh District Hospital in Poonch. The teacher suffered minor injuries.
In a post on X, LG Sinha condoled the student’s death.
“The news of the death of a 5-year-old child due to the rockslide that crashed into the Primary School, Kalsian, Poonch, is heart-rending. May God give strength to the bereaved parents to bear this shock. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured children,” he said.
Chief Minister Abdullah, in a post on X, extended his condolences to the bereaved family and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.