A massive rescue operation has been mounted by the Army and close to 4,000 troops have been deployed in the affected area. Since much of the region has been cut off from the rest of the country, reaching relief is not easy. Both the Kargil-Leh and Manali-Leh road links have been closed due to landslides. Leh airport was cleared for relief flights only by evening after the IAF worked overtime to remove the slush. Civilian communication networks, including mobile phones, have been badly hit.
"So far 33 columns of Army personnel have been deployed in the affected areas to carry out relief and rescue operations. The road link to Leh from Srinagar through Zojila and from Rohtang Pass has been cut off due to washing away of bridges by heavy mudslides," said a spokesperson of the Defence Ministry.
The affected areas stretch from the village of Pang on the Rohtang-Leh highway up to Nimmu on the Leh-Srinagar highway, a distance of more than 150 km.
The injured are being treated at the Army base hospital as the local civil hospital has been badly damaged. Over 400 injured are being treated at the hospital and more people are being rushed in as rescue workers try to reach far-flung areas.
While the IAF conducted repeated aerial sorties throughout the day to assess damage and placed helicopters on standby in Kargil, Thoise and Chandigarh, relief flights are expected to land only by Saturday morning. But sources said that due to the massive military presence, there is no immediate shortage of resources that is hampering rescue efforts.
The Army activated its Disaster Management Cell in early morning to control the situation. "More than 26 Army columns have been deployed for rescue purposes. Detachments of the formation located at various places on the highway, too, have been activated to provide relief and shelter to stranded civilians and foreign tourists. All aid is being extended to evacuate them to safer areas, using Army vehicles," an officer said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah flew to Leh to take stock of the situation, risking a landing despite a damaged runway. The government has already announced a sizable relief package.
Chief Secretary S S Kapoor told The Indian Express that Rs 5 crore had been released to the district administration. "Rs 3 crore has been given for temporary accommodation, medicine, food etc while Rs 2 crore will be immediately spent on temporary restoration of road links, communication and other things," he said. "Kin of the dead will receive Rs 3 lakh each. Apart from the state government's ex gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh, another Rs 1 lakh each will come from the Prime Minister's relief fund and Chief Minister's relief fund respectively. The injured will get Rs 50,000 from the PM's relief fund while CM has announced a similar package from his relief fund."
J&K Tourism Minister Nawang Regzin Jora, who belongs to Ladakh, was in Leh when the calamity struck. He told The Indian Express that the first priority of the government was to rescue the trapped and locate the missing. "The civil administration, Army and police have launched a massive relief operation in Leh city and all adjacent villages that were hit by the flash floods," he said. "I have be never seen such a big tragedy in Ladakh. There is every possibility that the death toll may go up. Many people are missing from Old Leh and adjacent villages."
Other than residential houses, a portion of the CRPF camp in Leh, ITBP camp, BSNL building, major portion of the Leh district hospital and a Doordarshan transmission tower has been damaged. Several Army barracks have also been washed away.
