The Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Saturday demanded a judicial probe into the recent landslide and cloudburst tragedies in Reasi and Kishtwar districts, which claimed 99 lives, left over 120 injured, and 32 missing.
At a joint press conference in Jammu, Pradesh Congress Committee working president Raman Bhalla, former ministers Choudhary Lal Singh and Yogesh Sawhney, along with ex-MLCs Ravinder Sharma and Ved Mahajan, also sought a central relief package. Their demands included six months of free ration for flood-affected families and urgent restoration of water, electricity, and road connectivity.
The leaders criticized Lt Governor Manoj Sinha’s decision to order a three-member committee probe into the Vaishno Devi landslide, calling it an “eyewash.” They insisted that both the Vaishno Devi landslide—where 34 pilgrims died and 20 were injured—and the Chisoti cloudburst in Kishtwar on August 14, which killed 65 people and injured more than 100, should be investigated by a sitting or retired High Court judge to ensure accountability.
They pointed out that a similar inquiry was ordered after the January 1, 2022 stampede at the Vaishno Devi shrine, in which 12 pilgrims lost their lives, but its findings were never made public.
“Such committees are only meant to divert public attention,” Bhalla alleged, adding that both disasters could have been prevented had authorities acted on advance weather alerts. He termed the Vaishno Devi tragedy a case of “criminal negligence,” especially after the Chisoti incident.
Expressing concern over the water and power crisis in several parts of Jammu province following the floods, Congress leaders demanded immediate restoration measures, relief distribution, and declaration of the floods as a national disaster. They urged the Centre to announce a comprehensive relief package, rebuild damaged infrastructure, and provide ex-gratia assistance to victims’ families.
The party further called for the constitution of a high-level expert committee to examine the ecological imbalance in the Trikuta hills, home to the Vaishno Devi shrine, and recommend corrective steps.
