Daijiworld Media Network - Kishtwar
Kishtwar, Mar 16: One person was killed and another injured after a landslide struck a hydro-power project site near Dangduru in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, while more than 230 people stranded in heavy snowfall at the high-altitude Sinthan Top were rescued in a joint operation, officials said on Monday.
Authorities also ordered the closure of all educational institutions outside the municipal limits in Kishtwar and the adjoining Doda district for Monday as a precautionary measure due to inclement weather.
According to officials, the landslide, triggered by heavy rain, hit a hydro-power project site near Dangduru during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, trapping two workers under debris. Rescue teams later recovered one worker dead, while the other was pulled out in an injured condition and shifted to a hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, a large-scale rescue operation was launched after 235 civilians travelling in 38 vehicles were stranded due to heavy snowfall at Sinthan Top, a high-altitude mountain pass connecting Kishtwar in the Jammu region with south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
In a statement posted on X, the White Knight Corps said troops were immediately mobilised after receiving information on March 15 that civilians were stranded at the snowbound pass amid severe weather conditions.
“Braving extreme weather and snow-blocked roads, the rescue teams reached Sinthan Top and provided the stranded civilians with hot meals, drinking water and shelter. Repair and recovery teams restored the mobility of the stranded vehicles, while passengers from unrecoverable vehicles were safely evacuated,” the Corps said.
Medical teams also provided essential medicines and assistance to those in need during the operation.
Officials said the rescue mission was carried out with close coordination between the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma, along with Senior Superintendent of Police Naresh Singh and the Commanding Officer of the 11 Rashtriya Rifles, supervised the operation, which continued for several hours before all stranded civilians were brought to safety.