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Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Climate
- Express Tribune
Sudden, heavy rain in IIOJK leaves 46 dead
Rescue workers remove the debris as they search for survivors after a landslide following torrential rain in Shimla in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India, on August 14. Photo REUTERS At least 46 people died and more than 200 were missing following sudden, heavy rain in Indian Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Thursday, the second such disaster in the Himalayas in a little over a week. The incident occurred in Chasoti town of Kishtwar district, a stopover point on a popular pilgrimage route. It comes a little over a week after a heavy flood and mudslide engulfed an entire village in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. The flood washed away a community kitchen and a security post set up in the village, a pit stop along the pilgrimage route to the Machail Mata temple, said one of the officials, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media about the incident. "A large number of pilgrims had gathered for lunch and they were washed away," the official said. The Machail yatra is a popular pilgrimage to the high altitude Himalayan shrine of Machail Mata, one of the manifestations of Goddess Durga, and pilgrims trek to the temple from Chasoti, where the road for vehicles ends. "The news is grim and accurate, verified information from the area hit by the cloudburst is slow in arriving," Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of IIOJK, said in a post on X. Television footage showed pilgrims crying in fear as water flooded the village. The disaster occurred at 11.30 am local time, Ramesh Kumar, the divisional commissioner of Kishtwar district, told news agency ANI, adding that local police and disaster response officials had reached the scene. "Army, air force teams have also been activated. Search and rescue operations are underway," Kumar said. A cloudburst, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, is a sudden, intense downpour of over 100mm (4 inches) of rain in just one hour that can trigger sudden floods, landslides, and devastation, especially in mountainous regions during the monsoon. The local weather office in Srinagar predicted intense showers for several regions in Kashmir on Thursday, including Kishtwar, asking residents to stay away from loose structures, electric poles and old trees as there was a possibility of mudslides and flash floods.
Express Tribune
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Police confiscate books in IIOJK raids
Police in Indian Illegally-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir raided bookshops on Thursday after authorities banned 25 books, including one by Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, saying the titles "excite secessionism" in the disputed region. The raids came after the government accused the writers of propagating "false narratives" about IIOJK, "while playing a critical role in misguiding the youth" against the Indian state. "The operation targeted materials promoting secessionist ideologies or glorifying terrorism," police said in a social media statement. "Public cooperation is solicited to uphold peace and integrity," it said. Authorities also seized Islamic literature from bookshops and homes after a similar directive in February. Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the ban "only exposes the insecurities and limited understanding of those behind such authoritarian actions". "Banning books by scholars and reputed historians will not erase historical facts and the repertoire of lived memories of people of Kashmir," Farooq said on social media platform X. The ban listed 25 books authorities said "have been identified that propagate false narrative and secessionism", including Roy's 2020 book of essays, "Azadi: Freedom, Fascism, Fiction". Roy, 63, is one of India's most famous living authors but her writing and activism, including her trenchant criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, have made her a polarising figure. Other books banned include titles by academics, including one of India's foremost constitutional experts A.G. Noorani, and Sumantra Bose, who teaches political science at the London School of Economics. Historian Siddiq Wahid said the edict contravenes the constitution, "which allows for the freedoms of speech and expression".
