Jammu & Kashmir: Months after Chisoti cloudburst, families of missing wait for closure to perform rituals

Jammu: For months, Rajesh Kumar and Bindiya from Punjab's Jalandhar are living between despair and acceptance, searching in Jammu for answers about their 22-year-old daughter and her friend, who went missing after a cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district in August last year.

Another family from Jammu has lost eight members to the tragedy. The families say they are not asking for compensation but acknowledgement -- death certificates that would allow them to perform the rituals for the dead.

As DNA reports remain pending, they say every passing day deepens the pain of not knowing whether to hold on to hope or accept the loss.

The devastating cloudburst struck Chisoti village -- the gateway to the Machail Mata temple -- on August 14, 2025, killing 65 people, mostly pilgrims, and leaving more than 30 missing.

Holding photographs of their daughter Vanshika and her friend Disha, Rajesh Kumar and Bindiya were among the several people who gathered outside the Press Club here on Wednesday, pressing for justice and answers.

"We were walking together. Our daughter and her friend went ahead of us and vanished without a trace. We are desperately waiting for some news and seeking justice," an emotional Bindiya told PTI.

She accused the Jammu and Kashmir government of doing nothing for them so far. "We were called for DNA sampling in September but no report has been shared with us till date," she said.

Kumar said the family made repeated efforts to trace the missing women. "We submitted affidavits to the sub-divisional magistrate for the death certificates and gave DNA samples on September 8 but till date, there is no word from the Jammu and Kashmir administration," he said.

He said they have not received any compensation either. "My daughter and her friend were MBA students and we want the government to release their death certificates so that we can perform the necessary rituals," he said.

A similar account was shared by Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Resham Garh Colony in Jammu, who witnessed eight of his relatives, including two sisters, perishing in the tragedy.

"We have only retrieved one body, while seven people -- three women and four children -- remain missing. We are not asking for money, we only want justice -- death certificates before the completion of the six-month period since the deaths," he said.

He said his sister and her two children -- a seven-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy -- are among the missing.

He claimed that there was mismanagement from day one of the tragedy.

"My friends helped me retrieve the lone body from the scene, while no one from the administration extended any support. Our parents are distressed. We want the missing to be declared dead so that we can at least perform the rituals," he said, adding, "We cannot bring back those who are gone, but we deserve a closure."