At least one pilgrim from Bengal has died and several are stuck in Amarnath in the wake of Friday’s cloudburst, with frantic relatives asking the state government for help to trace their loved ones.
According to a source, a young woman from South 24-Parganas was killed in the cloudburst on Friday.
“Shocked and stunned by the Amarnath disaster. Sincere condolences to the kins of the victims, solidarity to the trapped and stranded. Opened a control room in Nabanna (033 22143526), activated our Delhi RC office, connected J&K government for rescue of pilgrims from Bengal. All help will be extended to our affected families,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.
Sources at Nabanna said that while most people from Bengal are in camps after being rescued by the Indian army, some are missing. Nabanna is in touch with the authorities in Amarnath for information on tourists from Bengal and ensure the speedy return of those rescued.
Instructions have been sent to districts in Bengal to gather details of people stuck in Amarnath, sources said.
Tragedy struck the Muhuri family in Baruipur of South 24-Parganas when they learnt that the younger daughter of the family, Barsha, 26, a second-year MSc student, was killed in Amarnath. Family and police sources said Barsha, her mother and some of her relatives left Calcutta on July 1 and reached a camp on their way to Amarnath on July 4. “Both the mother and the daughter went missing after the cloudburst.... We (later) learnt that while the mother has been rescued, the daughter lost her life,” said a neighbour of the family.
As more grim news from Amarnath came in — the toll touched 16 on Saturday — the family members and relatives of Sheela Singh, 68, of Howrah Maidan’s Kings Road, remained worried with no news of her and her daughters Jhuma, 43, and Preeti, 40.
Sheela’s other daughter Nirupa contacted the district administration.
In Dhupguri of Jalpaiguri district, family members of six youths, who had left for Amarnath on Monday, heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday after they managed to contact them after over 36 hours.
One of the six youths, Ajay Ghosh of Netajipara in ward 3 of Dhupguri, said over phone on Saturday that he and his five friends were relaxing in their tent after a trek when the cloudburst happened.
“We started trekking for Amarnath in the morning and reached there in the evening. After the trek, we were relaxing in a camp when suddenly we heard people shouting…. We rushed out and found huge boulders rolling down the hills….. Soon, the camp got flooded and many of our belongings were washed away and our group separated,” said Ajay, adding that his friends were Apu Bhowal, Apu Pal, Debabrata Sarkar, Bidhan Saha and Subhajit Pal.
Ajay and Apu walked 10km to reach another camp while their four friends were rescued by the army, he said.
“We had no inkling about our friends till today (Saturday) afternoon,” he said.
Moumita Godara Basu, the district magistrate, assured the families that the administration would do the needful to facilitate the return of the six.
“We hope they return safely. The administration should see that they do not remain stranded there for days,” said Jayanti, Ajay’s mother.
Two other groups from Jalpaiguri town who had been to Amarnath are safe and staying at camps in Pahalgam, said sources.
Tourists from West Midnapore, Hooghly and Bankura are also stuck in Amarnath, said sources.
