New Delhi/Jammu: As the death toll in the Vaishno Devi landslide rose to 34 President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said the loss of lives due to a landslide on the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine route was extremely distressing and prayed for the success of relief and rescue operations.
“The tragic incident of the death of several devotees in a landslide on the pilgrimage route to the Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is extremely distressing. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the success of the relief and rescue operations,” Murmu said in a post in Hindi on X.
Expressing grief at the loss of lives in the Vaishno Devi landslide tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the administration is assisting all those affected in the incident.
He said on X, “The loss of lives due to a landslide on the route to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is saddening. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest. The administration is assisting all those affected. My prayers for everyone’s safety and well-being.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday expressed her concerns over heavy rain-triggered disasters in Jammu and Kashmir and extended her solidarity to the people here.
“The natural disasters in Jammu and Kashmir (due to a landslide on the way to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple) have kept us worried, and I express my solidarity for the people there,” Banerjee posted on X.
She also wished a speedy recovery for the injured in the natural disasters in the state and prayed for the safety of those stranded in the area.
“The loss of lives saddens me, and I extend my condolences to the bereaved families. I also pray for the injured and wish them a speedy recovery. May Maa Vaishno Devi give them speedy healing. Prayers for the affected and the stranded, too,” she added.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described as “extremely heartbreaking” the death of 32 people in the Vaishno Devi landslide and conveyed his condolences to the affected families.
“The news of the death of 32 people due to heavy rains and landslides on the Mata Vaishno Devi route in Jammu and Kashmir is extremely heartbreaking. I express my deepest condolences to all the affected families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said in a post on X.
Kharge said several states and UTs, including Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, are gripped by heavy rains and flood-like situations.
“Our Congress government and administration teams in Himachal are fully engaged in relief and rescue operations with complete readiness.
“In this difficult situation, I expect the Congress leaders and workers in all these states to provide every possible help to the victims,” he said.
Officials on Wednesday said that at least 20 people were injured in the landslide triggered by heavy, relentless rain.
The pilgrimage to the shrine was suspended when the mountainside literally gave way and stones, boulders and rocks came hurtling down around 3 pm on Tuesday, catching people unawares.
The landslide struck at a point about halfway along the winding 12-km trek from Katra to the shrine.
There are two routes up to the shrine. While the yatra had been suspended on the Himkoti trek route since morning, it was continued on the old route till 1.30 pm when authorities decided to suspend it till further orders in view of the torrential rain.
