PM Modi condoles loss of lives in Vaishno Devi landslide incident

New Delhi, Aug 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed grief over the deaths caused by a landslide on the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra route in Jammu and Kashmir. The whole union territory is battling a wider crisis triggered by relentless rains, flash floods, and widespread landslides that have crippled communication and transport networks across the Valley.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister described the incident as “saddening,” extended condolences to the bereaved families and wished the injured a speedy recovery. He said the administration was extending all possible assistance to those affected and prayed for the safety and well-being of all pilgrims.

Home Minister Amit Shah yesterday called the landslide “extremely tragic,” and said he had spoken with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to review the situation. He added that the local administration had been mobilised for relief and rescue work and that teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were being rushed to the affected areas.

Communication blackout adds to panic as valley goes silent

While rescue operations continued the Vaishno Devi route, in Jammu city and surroundings where several bridges and other infrastructure collapsed, the wider Kashmir Valley slipped into silence as a near-total communication collapse struck late tuesday afternoon. Persistent rains and flooding triggered landslides at multiple points, damaging telecom infrastructure and leaving both government and private networks paralysed.

Mobile services, landlines, and internet connectivity remain severely disrupted. Thousands of Kashmiri families living outside the state were in panic since last evening. The blackout and silence in communication has created deep anxiety, as they have been unable to connect with loved ones in the Valley for nearly 24 hours. “It feels like we are cut off from our people. We don’t know if they are safe,” said a Kashmiri businessman in Delhi who desperately was trying to speak with his family or relatives but of no luck.

The crisis has also disrupted the flow of news. Several Newspaper offices and television channels in Srinagar and Jammu reported thar for several hours they had lost touch with correspondents in the countryside, or outside J&K  limiting coverage to unverified accounts and sporadic official updates. The tragedy was compounded by the closure of key highways and arterial roads leading into the Valley. Landslides on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway have halted traffic, blocking vital supply lines for essentials such as fuel, food, and medicines.

Preliminary reports suggest that remote mountainous areas, including Warwan Valley, have been among the worst affected. Now after 24 hours some reports are pouring and trickling in of washed-out homes and stranded villagers. Several areas are still without phone connectivity, even today evening some of the phone connections in Srinagar have been functioning. Common people are struggling to verify the extent of damage and newspaper reporters are struggling to verify unverified news pouring into their news control rooms.

Authorities admit the situation is grim. Relief teams including army, paramilitary, police and state disaster management authorities, fire brigade and others have been working against the odds trying to help the victims and population in general attempting to clear blocked stretches and restore communication links. Heavy rains and unstable terrain continue hampering their efforts. For now, the Valley remains on edge, its residents caught between the devastation of floods and landslides. The frustration of being cut off from the outside world in this fast-running communication world leads to much of frustration, reminding us that tomorrow if we continue destroying the nature, its fury will make us all paralysed.  It has unfolded into a wider humanitarian challenge, exposing the fragility of infrastructure in one of the most sensitive and disaster-prone regions of Kashmir valley.