JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday questioned why officials did not stop Vaishno Devi pilgrims from proceeding along the track despite warnings of severe weather, as the death toll from Tuesday’s landslide rose to 32.
The pilgrimage was halted after a mountainside gave way around 3 pm on Tuesday, sending stones, boulders, and debris tumbling down and catching devotees by surprise. Rescue teams continued to recover bodies from under the rubble a day after the disaster struck the route to the hilltop shrine in Reasi district.
Addressing reporters, the chief minister said, “We will have to examine this later. When we were aware of the weather forecast, shouldn’t steps have been taken to save lives? The warning had reached us a few days ago.”
He further asked, “Why were people allowed on the track? Why weren’t they stopped or moved to safer areas? These questions need to be addressed. We deeply mourn the loss of 29–30 precious lives.”
The landslide occurred roughly halfway along the 12-km trek from Katra to the shrine. Vaishno Devi has two main routes: while the Himkoti trek had been suspended since Tuesday morning, the older route remained open until 1:30 pm, when authorities finally suspended the yatra in view of the heavy rain.
