Religious heads should take call to regulate smaller yatras: CM

Jammu, Aug 16: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that the religious heads dealing with smaller religious yatras should take a call to regulate them in the wake of changing weather patterns, which lead to disasters.

“The main issue is not just about terrain, but it is about numbers. In such smaller yatras, earlier the number of pilgrims would be just around 300 to 400, but now this number has gone up to thousands. Obviously, in the wake of changing weather patterns, we should think about some kind of regulation and registration,” CM Omar said.

However, he hastened to add, “But if I make some announcement on this account today, it will be a mistake on my part because people’s religious sentiments are involved with it. So we should deliberate these issues with the religious heads or the persons associated with these yatras and then take some appropriate steps (to regulate them).”

The CM was responding to related media queries after his visit to the disaster-struck Chisoti in Kishtwar district.

“We have already lost many precious lives, and several are still missing. Around 55 are confirmed dead, while over 100 are injured, out of whom many have been shifted to (GMCH) Jammu, and they are undergoing treatment there. Around 70-80 persons are still reported to be missing. This number will keep on fluctuating, but will not reach 500-1000. Though even 70 or 80 is not a lesser number,” he said.

CM Omar said that while he was coming back, he received the news of the recovery of another body, swept away from Chisoti, near the Dul Hasti project.

“You can well imagine how difficult the situation is. So our effort will be to do the maximum possible vis-à-vis the rescue operation. It will be followed by a recovery to retrieve the dead bodies. Our endeavour is to trace as many missing persons and save precious lives, if we still can. Then we will take the relief and rehabilitation process,” he said.

About queries regarding compensation he announced during his visit, the CM said, “There was no talk of compensation today. That was immediate relief as the people lost their houses or they (houses) suffered severe damage. People have suffered economic losses. As far as loss of human lives, they can never be compensated.”

He reiterated that his government was standing by the affected people in their hour of extreme distress.

“This was a terrible disaster. We will do everything possible,” CM Omar said.

Regarding queries about plans to relocate the people from this vulnerable stretch, he said, “No, this demand has come to us. But a call in this regard can be taken only after the advice of an expert team, after proper studies. We cannot take the risk of relocating people to another vulnerable stretch.”