Life limping back to normal at Leh, rescue operations continue

LEH - Life is limping back to normalcy in Leh district after five days of floods caused by cloudburst.

People have started coming back to their homes with the support of their relatives and friends.

The Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF), police and civilian authorities were trying hard to remove the piles of mud and slush which had buried villages in the worst-battered Choglusmar belt.

According to the latest information, the death toll has risen to 165 and 400 people are still missing.

The Ministry of External Affairs has set up a special control room in order to streamline the dissemination of information about the people who are stranded in different parts of Ladakh.

The Ministry has been in close touch with the concerned agencies involved in rescue and relief effort. The control room numbers are 23012113 and 23015300 and its email id is controlroom@mea.gov.in.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah directed the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to clear the Leh-Manali highway within next three days to restore Leh’s road link with the rest of the country.

Omar Abdullah, who reached Leh for the second time since the cloudburst hit the region, asked officials to ensure a quick restoration of public services and rehabilitation of the affected families in Leh and nearby areas.

He also assured the supply of essential goods and healthcare services for the affected people and made an assignment of the prevailing situation.

He has also instructed the Ministers of his Cabinet to avoid visiting the affected areas as it might attention from the ongoing relief works.

Omar told the officials to initiate programme to help in speedy rehabilitation of the affected people before the onset of winter. (ANI)