Updated on: August 17, 2025 10:37 AM IST
“I went back to Punjab around 7 am on August 12. At around 10.30 am, she went to Machal Mata Madhir for Darshan.”
Mandeep Saini along with his wife came to his parents’ house in Kishtar district of Jammu and Kashmir, where he celebrated Raksha Bandh on 9 August. She stayed for three days and left home in Punjab on August 12, to follow her wife in a few days. She went with the family for the pilgrimage of Chandi Mata temple in Machal a few hours later, and Flash Flads hit the route for the pilgrimage site the same afternoon.
At least 60 people, most of them, were allegedly killed by Hindu pilgrims, a cloudburst in the disaster. The bodies are still being recovered from Chasoti village and its surroundings.
“A day later, on August 13, I received a call from my wife’s brother -in -law. He told me about CloudBust and said that my wife and her mother were lost,” Saini told Annie. They were a group of eight on Machal Mata Yatra, but six are now back to their way after saving.
“I went back to Punjab around 7 am on August 12. At around 10.30 am, she went to Machal Mata Mandir for Darshan,” Saini said, “It’s four days, and we still have no clue (my wife and my mother -in -law). My mind is not working.
He sought government help: “I don’t have any other request other than finding me.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Army chief General APS Bal, who is leading the efforts, said: “All the security forces are trying their best to save more and more people from the area affected by Claudbst.
Earlier, on Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the affected areas and met the affected families. He announced compensation to damage the families of the victims and the property.
