Aug 18, 2025: The Kishtwar cloudburst has prompted the Committee on Environment of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to call for an immediate and time-bound investigation. MY Tarigami, Chairman of the Committee on Environment, stated that the deadly cloudburst has once more highlighted the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir's vulnerability to extreme weather events like landslides, avalanches, and flash floods.

In spite of early warnings from the Meteorological Department about severe rainfall, cloudbursts, and flash floods in the Jammu region's high altitudes, Tarigami questioned why precautions were not taken. Why weren't these warnings heeded and preventative steps taken? The leader of the CPI(M) stated, "Bureaucratic inertia and lack of concern must be accounted for," and "it amounts to criminal negligence." He stated that the incident demonstrates the existential threat posed by climate change to the Himalayan range's fragile environment and ecological equilibrium. The majority of the area is home to shrines, drawing thousands of devotees annually. As a result, measures need to be taken to protect people's lives," he stated.

Tarigami, who is the MLA from Kulgam in the J&K Assembly, asked whether any survey and assessment of the whole area has been made by involving the department of environment and other organisations and suggestions recommended for prevention of cloudbursts and safety of people.

The senior CPI(M) leader said such disasters are not merely natural, but are “exacerbated by the reckless exploitation of resources, deforestation, unabated and unauthorised use of stone crushers and the commodification of land”.

He stated, "The working class and marginalized people of J&K cannot continue to be sacrificed on the altar of profit-driven environmental degradation." In the meantime, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, also voiced concerns regarding the increasing number of cloudbursts and declared that this was a wake-up call. He wrote, "Kishtwar cloudburst has taken 65 lives, left more than 100 injured, and many missing a heartbreaking tragedy and a test from the Almighty" in a post on X.


The Kathua cloudburst of today also killed innocent people. Prayers for the injured and the families of the deceased are offered. Cutting down trees, building roads, unregulated construction, and tourism disrupt the fragile Himalayas in J&K, transforming rain into ruin. It’s a wake-up call. Policymakers must act with foresight , we must protect nature to protect life”.