Jammu, Sep 03 (KNO): A team from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) arrived in Jammu on Wednesday evening to assess areas affected by heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides.
Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that the team would review the ground situation, assess damages, and coordinate with the local administration to ensure both immediate relief and long-term recovery measures.
The visit comes in the wake of unprecedented rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir, which has caused extensive damage to property and infrastructure.
Since early August, over 150 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the Union Territory, including a significant number of casualties among pilgrims. Rescue operations are ongoing in several districts.
On September 1, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs announced the formation of Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) to evaluate damage caused by heavy rains, flash floods, landslides, and cloudbursts in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab.
Each team is led by an officer of Joint Secretary rank from the MHA or the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and includes members from the departments of expenditure, agriculture and farmers’ welfare, Jal Shakti, power, road transport and highways, and rural development.
According to officials, the IMCTs will conduct field visits to affected districts, examine relief measures already implemented by state and Union Territory administrations, and prepare detailed assessments that will guide further central assistance.
The initiative follows a mechanism introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah in 2019, under which multi-ministerial teams are dispatched immediately after a major disaster, rather than waiting for detailed reports from the states.
The officials said the IMCT’s findings from Jammu and other affected states will form the basis for further central intervention, ensuring that resources are directed efficiently for relief, rehabilitation, and long-term mitigation efforts—(KNO)