Rs 5 lakh for Amarnath cloudburst victims’ kin

SRINAGAR: J&K lieutenant-governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the 15 pilgrims who died in last week’s cloudburst-triggered landslide.
Every pilgrim is insured for Rs 5 lakh and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) will provide an additional “cash assistance” of Rs 5 lakh, Sinha, who heads the board, said. Every such pilgrim’s family would, therefore, get Rs 10 lakh, the LG added.
Of the 55 pilgrims injured in the July 8 calamity, 53 have already been released from hospitals. The remaining two, under treatment at the Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, will be discharged in two to three days. “The two are being treated at SKIMS and are stable,” Sinha said, adding that no pilgrims are missing as reported by a section of the media.
Referring to allegations “by some people” about an increase in the daily number of pilgrims allowed in the shrine potentially affecting safety, he told reporters, “The SASB has fixed the (daily) number of pilgrims for both routes (Chandanwari and Baltal) at 10,000 recently."
Sinha said he had requested the Surveyor-General of India to conduct a “digital contour mapping” of the shrine and its adjoining areas so that steps are taken to prevent human losses from natural calamities.
“The survey will recommend steps to prevent human losses in case of natural calamities at the cave shrine as seen on July 8."
Sinha referred to a bund constructed by the state irrigation department in the cloudburst zone. Some believe the casualties from the landslide would have been more if there was no such structure. Sinha further said: “There is always room for further improvement….”
The LG hailed the efforts of locals in rescuing the pilgrims, apart from security forces and disaster management teams. “NDRF, SDRF, JKP (Jammu and Kashmir police) and other central forces played a great role in the timely rescue. The operation is over now and no one is missing,” Sinha said.