Doda (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 28 (ANI): Amid heavy rainfall and flash floods, residents of Doda moved to safer locations due to heavy destruction in the area.

Ganesh Kumar, a local who had also relocated to another area, stated that his entire house had been damaged after debris fell down.

'A loud sound was heard at around 2:30-3 AM. After a while, a lot of debris came down and everything in our house was damaged. We somehow saved our lives. My entire house is damaged. We are staying at someone else's house now...' Ganesh told ANI.

Meanwhile, the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has taken the responsibility of repatriating bodies of the landslide victims to their native places.

A devastating landslide occurred near the Vaishno Devi temple in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, claiming more than 30 lives and injuring 20 others. The disaster struck on Tuesday afternoon, around 3 pm, when heavy rains triggered a massive landslide near the Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkuwari, about halfway along the 12-kilometre trek from Katra to the shrine.

BJP MLA Baldev Raj Sharma informed that 34 people lost their lives in the Vaishno Devi landslide, stating that the injured in the incident are getting good treatment.

'People injured in the landslide near Vaishno Devi temple are getting good treatment...34 people have lost their lives in this incident,' he said.

Sharma further stated that the injured are receiving the best treatment at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital.

'People injured in the landslide near Vaishno Devi temple are getting good treatment...14 people are undergoing treatment at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital...More than 30 people have lost their lives, and the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has taken the responsibility of sending the bodies to their native places,' Sharma told ANI on Wednesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting to review the rescue and relief operations and preparedness of the Union Territory following the landslide that occurred near the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Katra, as well as the flash flood situation in several districts.

The Lieutenant Governor directed officials to take every possible measure to ensure that people staying in low-lying flood-affected areas are safely evacuated.

He asked the officials to ensure the maintenance of all essential services, such as power, healthcare, clean drinking water, rations, and teleconnectivity. He said the essential services disrupted in flood-affected areas must be restored on priority, and the natural-disaster-hit regions should have an adequate stock of essential supplies and medicines. (ANI)