Flood ravaged Srinagar has not only left thousands of residents shelter less but it has also robbed migrant labourers of their livelihood and dreams and forcing them to flee the ‘paradise on earth’ on foot.
On Sunday when Santosh Kumar and his roommate Rajesh, hailing from Gorakhpur area of Uttar Pradesh successfully crossed the massive landslide near Ramsoo on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway they both hugged each and said silent prayers with folded hands.
Hungry and thirsty, they were both walking since Friday evening to cross the Banihal tunnel before heading home to save their lives from the flood fury.The images of water-logged streets of Srinagar, demolished structures and the sight of floating carcass of animals, upside down vehicles were still fresh in their minds.
Staying in Karan Nagar area of Srinagar, the laborers managed to escape the flood fury but were stranded for three long days on the rooftop of a commercial building in the area.As water levels started receding they decided to rescue themselves and embarked on a long return journey on foot.
En route they met a local truck driver and he dropped them till Qazikund along with other passengers. Some State Government employees also joined them near Awantipora.
“At Qazikund when we saw deserted highway we decided to continue the journey instead of waiting for some divine help,” said Santosh Kumar.Wearing tired looks and swollen feat they rested for a while at a relief camp set up by the Indian Army at Ramban to offer some refreshment.“We came walking down from Qazikund covering a distance of 100 kms on foot,”said Santosh Kumar sipping a hot cup of tea offered to them by the jawans of the Indian Army.
In the last four days more than 20,000 stranded passengers,majority of them labourers, had managed to cover the uphill trek on foot to reunite with their loved ones.Narrating their ordeal Rajesh said, “We were both working as daily wage labourers in the valley for last five years. With no permanent shelter over their heads when Srinagar was flooded with water their landlords politely told them to vacate their rooms and shift to safer places”.
Though large number of them managed to save their lives but in the absence of any official records it is premature to make any guesses about the exact scale of damage and loss of human lives.
Now as the rescue operations are nearing end in Srinagar and water levels are receding fast the State Government is gearing up its machinery to launch massive rehabilitation work to rebuild lives of affected population.But Santosh Kumar when asked whether he would revisit Srinagar in the coming months he said he would never come back as he had lost all his life savings in the flash floods.
“I will try and rebuild my life by working hard at any other centre than Srinagar,” he said waving his hands before boarding the Army truck en route Udhampur.