Amit Shah in Jammu: Inter-Ministerial Central Teams formed to assess damage in northern states including J&K
Jammu, Sep 1, KNT: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Jammu late last night to review the situation arising out of cloudbursts, heavy rains and flash floods that have caused widespread devastation across Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah landed at Jammu airport at 9.35 pm and was received by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and senior officials. He later proceeded to Raj Bhawan where he stayed overnight.
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Official sources told the news agency Kashmir News Trust that the Home Minister chaired a high-level meeting with top officials, including Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka, BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary, senior officers of NHAI, IMD and other security agencies. The meeting reviewed damages to government infrastructure, civilian property and border fencing along the International Border with Pakistan.
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Shah announced the constitution of Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab to assess losses caused by floods, landslides and cloudbursts. Each team, led by a Joint Secretary-level officer from the Home Ministry or the National Disaster Management Authority, will include senior officers from the Ministries of Expenditure, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Jal Shakti, Power, Road Transport and Highways, and Rural Development.
“These teams will make on-the-spot assessments and evaluate the relief measures carried out by the respective state governments,” Shah said. The teams are expected to visit flood and landslide-affected districts in the coming week.
Officials said the Home Minister is scheduled to conduct an aerial survey of the worst-hit areas, including Katra, where 35 pilgrims died and 20 were injured after a landslide struck the old route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine on August 26. He will also survey Chishoti village in Kishtwar district, where a devastating cloudburst killed 67 pilgrims and left around 40 others missing.
The visit comes amid growing concerns about the heavy toll inflicted by extreme weather in Jammu and Kashmir and adjoining states, with hundreds dead, scores missing and large-scale destruction of homes, roads, bridges and farmland. [KNT]
