Asif Iqbal Naik
KL NEWS NETWORK
KISHTWAR
Authorities have involved IAF choppers to fly necessary relief material to the remote Wadwan valley village that was destroyed in a devastating conflagration, weekend night. The remote Sukhni has lost 50 of its 80 households in the devastating fire thus making 115 families with 621 individuals homeless, officials in Kishtwar said.
Divisional Commissioner Jammu Dr Pawan Kotwal has flown to the town with two lawmakers – Sunil Sharma and Firdous Tak who are in the process of flying to the remote valley that lacks any surface communication with the rest of the world. Local district officers will also accompany them.
Red Cross Committee is dispatching the relief material through IAF choppers to the village. Top officials in the district said the armed forces have reached the spot and are in the process of creating temporary communication setup near the village for smooth communication and relief operations. This spot will have a launching pad for the choppers to fly the relief.
The relief tat is being flown include 40 tents, 400 blankets, 40 kitchen sets, 50 Darie, 50 solar lights kits, 30 torches beside medicines by the Kishtwar health department and two tons of CAPD flour. The major hurdle in the rescue operation is being faced as the area lacks road and communication and efforts are being made to prepare the landing for the IAF Chopper near to the effected village.
Officials said apart from houses, the village lost 80 cow sheds, one middle school, two medical shops, two floor mills, three provisional stores, two Anganwari center, one health sub center, beside a mosque and a shrine. The sources told the Kashmir life that the fire broke out from the house of Mohammed Ashraf son of Mohammad Jamaal Lone at around 6.30 PM which engulfed the whole village.
Authorities had sounded alert and some security men and police, deployed in the area already, had reached the village past midnight. The fire is reported to have been controlled by 6 am, Sunday morning.
The twin valley’s of Madwa and Wadwan located on the mountains separating Kashmir and Chinab Valley, lack access to proper roads. They are normally inaccessible for six months of winter. For many years, it has remained a crisis that some of the villages go up in flames in accidents, normally in autumn or winter.
