Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday that the government will try its best to open the Jammu-Srinagar National highway within 24 hours after the landslides triggered by the cloudburst wreaked havoc in Ramban district.
While continuing his assessment of the extensive damage caused by the natural phenomenon, he told reporters that “Our priority was to protect the innocent lives stuck in the landslides, and we evacuated them swiftly.”
“Now our priority would be to reconnect the National Highway because until we reconnect and reconstruct the road, we can't send the material to Ramban,” he told reporters.
Omar added, “Officials from the civil administration have assured me that they will restore single traffic towards the highway.”
He said, “For three consecutive days, the administration visited the Ramban. On the first day, the Deputy Chief Minister and the concerned MLA visited Ramban on the spot on the very first day.”
“On the second day, I reached the spot to ensure that no life was harmed because of the massive landslides,” he said.
“I believe any work that can be done at a quick pace will be more beneficial,” he said.
“As of now, we are trying to provide temporary relief to the victims, and we will ensure that they will get the compensation through the Red Cross at the earliest,” Omar said.
When asked about compensating the affected families, Omar replied, “We will assess the damage to the properties of the victims and then we will accordingly provide them compensation through NDRF and SDRF norms.”
“We will also request the Government of India (GoI) to declare the area a disaster zone, and I am sure that they will help the victims for sure,” he said.
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