The landslide near the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district has claimed 32 lives, according to officials on Wednesday. The disaster occurred on Tuesday afternoon around 3 pm when torrential rains loosened the mountainside, sending boulders and rocks tumbling onto the route used by pilgrims making their way to the hilltop shrine. At least 20 others sustained injuries, prompting authorities to suspend the pilgrimage.
The tragedy unfolded along the 12-kilometer trek from Katra to the shrine, roughly halfway along the climb. While the Himkoti route had already been closed earlier in the day due to bad weather, the older track was kept open until 1:30 pm. Only after conditions worsened was the yatra fully halted until further notice.
The incident has sparked accusations of negligence. Senior police officers, speaking anonymously, criticized the administration led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for failing to act on repeated weather warnings that highlighted risks of heavy rainfall, landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts. In the past twelve days alone, three separate rain-related disasters in Kishtwar, Kathua, and Reasi districts have left 136 people dead, including 74 pilgrims. Critics argue that had timely suspensions been enforced—similar to the steps taken with the Amarnath Yatra—many lives could have been spared.
Responsibility for the deaths has been pinned by some officials on the shrine board and local magistrates in Katra and Padder. Reports highlight how natural calamities have become frequent across the fragile Himalayan region during the monsoon. On August 14, a massive cloudburst at Chishoti devastated the route to Mata Chandi temple in Padder, leaving 65 pilgrims dead and 32 missing. Just days later, another downpour in Kathua killed seven people, five of them children.
Residents of Katra have also voiced anger. Deepak Kumar, a local, attributed the Adhkuwari landslide to indiscriminate tree cutting and construction of new tracks to boost tourist numbers. He accused the shrine board of prioritizing revenue over safety and said tragedies on Trikuta Hills have increased as a result. For many, condolence messages and compensation payments are seen as inadequate, with calls for accountability growing louder. Senior journalists have described the repeated disasters as a consequence of administrative indifference and the absence of strong governance.
The region has witnessed similar tragedies before. In January 2022, a stampede at the shrine killed 12 pilgrims. Following that, the administration promised corrective steps but never made the findings of the inquiry public. Even now, many fear that investigations into the recent landslide may meet the same fate, raising doubts about whether meaningful accountability will ever be established.
