Large groups of pilgrims were gathered at Chasoti village in J&K’s Kishtwar — a key stop on the pilgrimage to the Hindu shrine Machail Mata Mandir — and collecting food from a langar (community kitchen) when flash floods washed them away on Thursday.
Triggered reportedly by a cloudburst, the flash floods claimed at least 37 lives, deputy commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma told HT. More than 100 people are injured, while more than 60 have so far been rescued, officials added. The death toll is likely to rise as rescue efforts are hindered by continuous rain.
The disaster took place by the banks of a rivulet, a stopover on the popular pilgrimage route to the temple in Padder area. The pilgrimage began on July 25 this year, and over 130,000 (1.3 lakh) pilgrims have already paid obeisance.
“The deluge hit a community kitchen set up for the pilgrims where 100 to 150 pilgrims were having food,” an officer said.
This weekend is also a major date on the religious calendar when the number of pilgrims rises. Each year, on the occasion of the first Bhadon or Bhadoon Sankranti (August 15 or 16), devotees from all over Paddar gather outside the Chandi Mata temple in Machail to offer prayers and seek blessings, the shrine’s website says.
Chasoti is where the motorable part of the pilgrimage concludes, and final 8.5-km trek to the temple, located at a height of 9,500 feet, begins.
The flash floods followed a cloudburst between 12 and 1 pm, officials said.
A cloudburst, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), is a sudden downpour of over 100 mm of rain in just one hour, which can trigger floods, landslides, and devastation, especially in mountainous regions during monsoon.
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