Jammu and Kashmir DyCM Surinder Choudhary blames L-G for Vaishno Devi tragedy

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir's Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Friday launched a sharp attack on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, holding him responsible for the Vaishno Devi tragedy, in which about 34 pilgrims died in a landslide.

"(At Vaishno Devi) the shrine board is present, which monitors everything. Then why was the yatra not stopped in bad weather? And even if people were returning, why were they not stopped at the Durbar (the location of the shrine)? Why didn’t the L-G direct the CEO to stop the yatra?" Choudhary told reporters while visiting flood-affected areas in Jammu.

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has refuted allegations of allowing the yatra to proceed in disregard of weather advisories and at the cost of pilgrim safety, saying that the pilgrimage was suspended at noon on August 26 ahead of the cloudburst that triggered the landslide.

“Yatra on this track was suspended by 12 noon on August 26 upon issuance of the specific weather advisory,” the Board said in a statement on Thursday night. However, the Board did not share details about the number of deaths in the disaster.

About 34 pilgrims were killed when a landslide triggered by a cloudburst struck the route to the Vaishno Devi shrine at Adhkuwari in the Trikuta hills of the Katra belt on Tuesday. Twenty others were also injured in the tragic incident.

Pointing to the role of the L-G-headed shrine board, he questioned, "As this board is under him, then why was the yatra not stopped? This is a very big question, and he must answer it," and accused the LG administration of failing to learn lessons from past tragedies.

Calling for "governance by a single elected government" in Jammu and Kashmir, the deputy CM said, “Today in Jammu and Kashmir, two governments are running. One is the L-G’s government, and the other is Omar Abdullah’s government. Abdullah’s government has been chosen and sent by the people, and it is fulfilling its duty.” He also said that instead of being in Jammu during this tragic time, Sinha is visiting poll-bound Bihar.

Meanwhile, Sinha has constituted a three-member panel, headed by the additional chief secretary, to inquire into the reasons behind the incident. The committee will submit a report within two weeks.