|
Local News
|
| Devastating floods ruin Jammu's oldest cremation ground | | | | Jammu, Sep 07: The recent devastating floods in the Tawi river have left the Jammu’s oldest cremation ground at Jogi Gate in ruins, with the ashes of four people washed away and most of its facilities reduced to silt and debris.
Swarag Dhaam, spread across several ghats and dotted with temples and prayer spaces, now lies buried under six to eight feet of muck. The floodwaters, which struck on August 26, tore down the Tawi-facing wall of the cremation shed, damaged ghats, wood banks, temples, vehicles and records, and left the sacred complex unrecognizable.
It is heartbreaking. The floodwaters washed away the ashes of four people whose cremations were underway that evening. Despite our watch, a sudden surge swept everything away, leaving the platforms submerged under muck,” said Rakesh Kumar Sharma, general secretary of the Seva Samiti, which manages the ground, told reporters. The ashes of Pritam Chand of Hari Nagar, Anil Kumar Puri of Janipur, Veeran Wali of Rehari Colony and Kiran Bamba of Resham Ghar Colony were lost to the river, though six urns stored in a locker were saved.
For four days now, workers, labourers and heavy machines have been engaged in clearing the site, but the scale of devastation is daunting.
The Seva Samiti has made an urgent call for assistance to rebuild the site, once a space for meditation, rituals and prayers, now transformed into a mound of rubble.
Caretaker Vinod Sharma recalled that the cremation ground was inundated during the 2014 floods, but said this year’s deluge was unprecedented. “The river swelled nearly 12 feet higher than in 2014. I have never seen the Tawi rise to such a level,” he said.
| | | | |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|