Jammu/Srinagar, Aug 26: Torrential rain unleashed devastation across Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at least 17 people, including around 12 pilgrims who were buried in a massive landslide on the Vaishno Devi shrine track in Reasi district, officials said
The landslide struck near Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkwari around 3 pm, sweeping boulders, trees and debris onto the old 12-km trek route from Katra to the shrine. Fourteen pilgrims were injured and several others feared trapped as rescue teams, backed by three Army columns, launched urgent relief and evacuation operations. The yatra has been suspended till further notice.
Eyewitnesses recounted the terrifying moments when the mountainside gave way. Kiran, a pilgrim from Mohali, said from her hospital bed in Katra, “I saw stones and boulders crashing down. People were screaming and running for safety. Out of our group of five, three are injured.”
Elsewhere in Jammu province, four deaths were reported in Doda district, including three who drowned after slipping into a swollen river and one in a house collapse.
The relentless downpour has brought the region to a standstill. Bridges have collapsed, highways blocked, trains cancelled, and vast low-lying areas inundated. Traffic on the Jammu–Srinagar and Kishtwar–Doda national highways was halted, while floodwaters from overflowing rivers—including the Ravi, Ujh, Tawi and Chenab—forced mass evacuations. The Modhopur barrage in Kathua breached the one-lakh cusec mark, triggering heavy flooding downstream.
Infrastructural losses are mounting, with reports of widespread damage to homes, public property and utilities in Kishtwar, Reasi, Rajouri, Ramban and Poonch. Telecom services collapsed after multiple optical fibre cuts, leaving millions without mobile connectivity or internet. Electricity poles and mobile towers were flattened across several districts.
The crisis prompted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to convene an emergency meeting in Jammu after flying from Srinagar. Calling the situation “serious”, he ordered district administrations to remain on high alert, directed immediate release of additional funds for emergency restoration, and instructed officials to ensure timely supply of food, water and medicines to affected families.
All government and private schools in the Jammu division will remain shut till August 27. The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education postponed Wednesday’s Class 10 and 11 exams, while the BSF suspended its constable recruitment drive at Paloura Camp, rescheduling candidates for September 3.
The Meteorological Department has issued warnings of continued heavy rainfall, with the risk of cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides persisting till August 27. Kathua recorded the highest rainfall at 155.6 mm in the last 24 hours, followed by Doda (99.8 mm), Jammu (81.5 mm) and Katra (68.8 mm).
This fresh disaster comes barely 12 days after flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Kishtwar’s Chisoti village killed 65 people, mostly pilgrims to the Machail Mata temple.
Also read: J&K: Landslide On Mata Vaishno Devi Route Leaves At Least 5 Dead And 14 Others Injured
