When the floodwaters completely submerged Srinagar, an SOS alert was sent by the relief teams to rush motor boats to rescue stranded residents to safety.
Now when the waters levels are receding fast and most of the residents are struggling to clear the slush in and around their houses the residents still remain stranded.This time the light motor vehicles (lMV’s), SUV’s, tourist taxi’s and public transport vehicles, which were submerged in waters for over one week, are in need of emergent help.
To prevent break down/jamming of engines of these submerged four-wheelers, an advisory has been issued to the general people to remove battery of their vehicles and avoid starting it to prevent engine damage.As per rough estimates, thousands of vehicles remain parked in submerged streets of Srinagar and many of them were washed away in fast flowing water after embankments along river Jhelum caved in.
live videos shot by local residents and currently in circulation on social media networks clearly show four-wheeler being washed away in flood fury.
Though none of the general insurance companies have assessed the total losses but rough estimates suggest the claims could vary between 1,000 crore or more. The tourist taxi’s and private transport buses too have suffered major damages and has crippled the movement of common people on the streets of Srinagar.
Since most of the local offices of these general insurance companies remain shut, the company executives are waiting for the normalisation of working conditions to make fair assessment. To extend relief to the affected people various insurance companies have directed their local offices to open special counters to register claims for early repayment.
The service stations in Srinagar located on the outskirts and other district headquarters which largely remain unaffected by floodwaters are flooded with requests to service the four wheelers at the earliest to ensure mobility of local residents.None of the residents has so far filed any claim as they are still struggling to ensure their survival under challenging circumstances.
Hundreds of houses which collapsed in Srinagar and other districts of South Kashmir remain the biggest worry of the State Government authorities and care givers who are trying to help the flood-affected population.