Amarnath Yatra Cloudburst: Eyewitness narrate woeful stories
About Us | Contact Us | E-Paper
Title :    Text :    Source : 

Amarnath Yatra Cloudburst: Eyewitness narrate woeful stories

It was a nightmare for everyone who was present at that time near holy cave

Post by on Sunday, July 10, 2022

First slide

 Srinagar, July 09: Following the cloudburst near Amarnath Cave that left 16 people dead and scores injured, eyewitnesses on Saturday narrated the woeful stories of the tragic incident.

 
Sushil Kumar, a pilgrim from Jharkhand said it was a miracle that he survived the incident.
 
 “There was a loud noise when the cloud burst took place, then the debris started coming. A visible trepidation took over everyone standing in line. I was shocked and started running away,” he said.
 
Kumar said it was immediately followed by heavy rainfall and a deluge of muddy water, and heavy rocks.
 
“The floods triggered by the cloudburst carried a large number of stones with it. Our group had a harrowing experience as we witnessed people and bags get swept away with the water," he said.
 
Riyaz Ahmad Wani, a tent owner from Bandipora said he had never seen a heart-wrenching scene in his life.
 
" For the past 12 years, I have been working here but have never seen such a disaster, he said.
 
Wani said when the incident took place I was setting up four tents near the Amarnath cave. Passengers were staying in all. On the evening of July 8, it was raining lightly in the plains. Everything was normal till 5 pm, he said.
 
“At 5:30 pm, suddenly there was a strong influx. Like a bomb had exploded. Then on seeing the Amarnath cave, water came from four big drains. There was panic among the people. Nobody got a chance to recover,” he said.
 
Wani said the water washed away the tanks and anchors that came in its way. People swept away like tree leaves in the water. 
 
“In no time everything was ruined. About one hundred and fifty tents and three anchors have flown in the water. There were three or four people in each tent,” he said.
 
Another pilgrim Sham Lal said it was painful and we could see dead bodies and body parts of the dead in the derbies. We never thought we can survive from disaster and will able to meet our families back, he said.
 
“I lost one member of my group in front of my eyes and saw the high speed flowing derbies taking her away. It was like that Baba Barfani is not happy with us,” Sham said.
 
He said this incident has left a scar on our hearts and minds. We will not able to live in peace now. I hope the government will take measures to address matters so that such disasters never happen, Sham said.
 
Another pilgrim, Subhash Singh from Haryana said he had a narrow escape when the tragedy took place.  I witnessed the whole incident in front of my eyes and it was very scary,” he said.
 
“I followed two local vendors who assisted me that time. The people were reverberating devotional songs and slogans. There was chaos and panic everywhere. Prayers of my mother gave me another life,” he said.
 
So far 16 people have lost their lives and scores have been injured after a major cloudburst took place near Amarnath Cave. 
 
As per officials, rescue operation is underway and no Yatra will be allowed on Sunday.

Latest Post