Srinagar: Over four lakh people are still marooned here as the flood waters continued to recede in river Jhelum and its tributaries, bringing relief to the flood-ravaged Kashmir Valley.
“There has been a nearly four feet drop in the water level in the river Jhelum which has brought overall relief in the Valley. But a major challenge continued in the Srinagar city where nearly four lakh people are still marooned,” a senior official said yesterday.
However, the official said the water level in the Dal Lake was rising because the lake’s water discharge gates were closed to ensure that the water from the Jhelum river does not enter the lake.
More navy and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been flown into the Valley to help the ongoing rescue operations in the city. The state administration is now trying to put its act together, but many Kashmiris feel it failed them because it could not anticipate the devastating floods. The local radio station and Doordarshan continued to be non-functional for the fifth day.
Relief efforts were scaled up in flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir, especially Srinagar, with additional personnel, boats, drinking water, blankets and food rushed to the state even as authorities said over 110,000 people have been rescued so far.
The death toll in the floods stands at 220 so far. Authorities in Jammu said the toll in the region is 153 but was likely to go up as many people were still missing.
A fresh batch of marine commandos, equipped with rubberised inflatable boats, diving sets and satellite phones, arrived in Srinagar where the waters of the Dal Lake and Jhelum river have swamped most of the tourist hub.
The Indian Army has deployed around 30,000 troops for rescue and relief operations — 21,000 in Srinagar region and 9,000 in Jammu region. The Armed Forces personnel are distributing water bottles and food packets on a large scale. So far 2,24,000 litres of water, 31,500 food packets and over 375 tonnes cooked food have already been airdropped and distributed in the flood-affected areas, an official statement said.
Telecommunications companies worked to restore connectivity where the unprecedented rain, floods and landslides led to massive damage to telecom infrastructure, crippling communications. Airtel, Reliance Communications, Aircel and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, worked to restore networks across the state including Jammu, Kargil, Ladakh and Leh.
Home Secretary Anil Goswami, accompanied by a team of officers, reached Srinagar to coordinate relief and rescue operations.
Airline companies like Jet Airways, GoAir, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India also added their bit to the rescue efforts by running special charter flights. Budget carrier GoAir operated a special flight yesterday morning from Leh to Delhi to evacuate 151 students stranded in the state while Jet has been flying in relief material like tents, blankets, food grains and medical supplies into Srinagar on its daily Delhi-Srinagar service without any charge.
It yesterday operated an additional Boeing 737 non-scheduled flight from Leh to New Delhi to evacuate 133 stranded passengers — in addition to the existing daily Leh-New Delhi service. Air India too operated special flights for the second consecutive day to evacuate stranded people.
According to an official statement, 8,200 blankets and 650 tents have been provided to flood victims while 80 teams of the Armed Forces Medical Services are in action. Four field hospitals have been established in Avantipur, Pattan, Anantnag and Old Airfield where medical aid is being provided. Till now, more than 21,500 patients have been treated.
More relief materials including blankets and tents, water bottles and food packets are being airlifted from Hyderabad, Baroda and Delhi. Until now, 1,081 sorties were undertaken by the armed forces helicopters and aircraft and 1,411 tonnes of relief materials dropped.
Keeping in view the urgent requirement of more boats, the Army has deployed 90 more craft in Srinagar and adjoining areas. A total of 224 boats of Army and 148 of the NDRF are now involved in the rescue operation.
Armed forces have also established 19 relief camps in Srinagar and Jammu region, where thousands of rescued people are being sheltered and being provided food and other basic amenities.
Thirteen tonnes of water purifying tablets and six water filtration plants with a capacity to filter 1.2 lakh bottles per day have also been transported to Srinagar, while engineering stores including suction and submersible pumps from Vishakhapatnam and Jodhpur are also being sent to flood affected areas.
Meanwhile, all staff members at the Prime Minister’s Office have decided to voluntarily contribute a day’s salary for relief operations, a statement said.
IANS
