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Landslide and rockfall hit the route of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine; disaster management team on site

A landslide occurred on Monday on the way to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Katra town of Jammu and Kashmir, killing two pilgrims from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and injuring a five-year-old girl. The disaster management team of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has already reached the spot. More details about the incident are awaited, said the CEO of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.

According to PTI, the deceased were identified as 27-year-old Sapna from Dhianpur village in Punjab's Gurdaspur and 23-year-old Neha from Kanpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The injured girl, Sanvi, also from Kanpur, was taken to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital for treatment. Her grandfather, L. Prasad, said they had taken a break on their way to the shrine when the police started clearing the path because they were afraid of monkeys. “Suddenly there was a landslide and debris fell on the tin shed, causing it to collapse,” he said.

Katra SDM Piyush Dhotra told ANI, “There was a landslide in which two people lost their lives and one person was injured… The bodies and injured are being shifted to the hospital.”

Officials told PTI that pilgrim traffic on the Himkoti path was halted following a landslide, but the pilgrimage to the shrine on the Trikuta hills continued through the traditional Sanjhichatt route. The landslide occurred around 2.15 pm near Panchi, three kilometres from Bhawan, and damaged a portion of an iron structure above the temple.

They further added that the pilgrims were on their way to the shrine when they were trapped under the iron structure by the landslide. The landslide was triggered by falling stones, called “shooting stones”, after several days of rain.

Confirming the death and injury of a girl, Reasi Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan said senior police and civil administration officials rushed to the scene. He went to Katra, the base camp of Vaishno Devi pilgrims, to assess the situation and personally check on the injured girl.

Disaster management teams of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) quickly reached the spot and launched a rescue operation, the officials added.

On Sunday, the Meteorological Department had forecast dry weather for Jammu and Kashmir until September 12, but warned that there could be brief rain showers in isolated areas on certain days.

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Landslides also in Uttarakhand

Landslides triggered by heavy rain blocked the Badrinath National Highway in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district at several places on Monday. The highway is blocked at Pagalnala, Patalganga and Nandaprayag and efforts are underway to clear it, according to the district disaster management centre.

According to PTI, seven shops in Simli market were damaged by landslide debris.

The Jyotirmath-Malari road, which leads to the India-China border, and the Karnaprayag-Gwaldam national highway were also blocked by a landslide, the district disaster management center reported.

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