Six bodies, including that of a 22-day-old baby, were recovered from debris of a collapsed house in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Monday even as flood threat loomed large over the Valley despite halt in rainfall and recession in ferocious Jhelum River’s water level. Flood alert was sounded in the Valley on Sunday midnight when water level in the Jhelum River crossed the danger mark at Sangam in South Kashmir and Ram Munshibagh in Srinagar. Several nullahs and rivulets flowing through countryside breached at several places to wreak havoc. Many buildings, culverts and diversions have been washed away. The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained closed for the fourth consecutive day while the train service between Banihal and Baramulla was suspended. Around 700 vehicles are reported to be stranded on the highway.
Hundreds of families living closer to Jhelum embankments left homes in panic to avoid a situation similar to devastating floods of September 2014, which ravaged most of Srinagar city. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dispatched MoS Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for spot assessment of the flood situation while Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed assuring him all possible help to counter the second consecutive disaster in six months.
During the telephonic talk, the Chief Minister briefed the Home Minister about the prevailing flood situation in Kashmir Valley and the steps being taken for rescue and providing relief to the affected. Singh assured full Central assistance to tackle the flood situation and conveyed to Mufti that relief materials are being airlifted to the Valley in shortest possible time to help the State Government in rescue and relief operations, official sources said.
Mufti had arrived here from New Delhi on Sunday to oversee the preparedness and rescue operations. He left for the winter capital after interacting with the flood-affected traders in lal Chowk and overseeing nightlong operations to pre-empt worst scenario. The Jammu & Kashmir Government has sanctioned Rs235 crore to meet the situation created by floods in the State. “I have authorised release of Rs225 crore in favour of Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir and Rs10 crore in favour of Divisional Commissioner, Jammu and SDRF (State Disaster Relief Fund) for rescue and relief,” the CM said.
Around a hundred NDRF personnel have arrived in Srinagar and four teams were kept in standby mode. Union Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth spoke to Chief Secretary Iqbal Khanday through video conferencing and assured all possible help to the State administration. The Army is also on alert to plunge into rescue operations even though the civil administration has not requisitioned their help so far. A Defence spokesman said that Indian Air Force (IAF) has placed its resources on standby in view of the flood situation. “Two Mi-17 helicopters each at Jammu, Udhampur and Srinagar and one each Cheetah helicopter of IAF are on standby to be part of rescue and relief operations,” the spokesman said.
Director of Meteorological Centre at Srinagar Sonam lotus said that the weather would show improvement but rain in the plains and snowfall in the upper reaches were not ruled out. Though the sun came out briefly during the day, the clouds continued to hover for most of the time. A little drizzle in the evening triggered panic in the evening. Naqvi, J&K Flood Control and Irrigation Minister Sukhnandan Kumar and R&B Minister Altaf Bukhari visited several flood-affected and deluge-prone areas to interact with the affected.
Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed and Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu visited lal Chowk area where shopkeepers were shifting merchandise to safer ground. He assured the traders that compensation would be given to even those small merchants who lacked insurance cover in the previous devastating floods. “The Government must take concrete measures to safeguard the trading community. It is not possible to empty our shops every time it rains. The Jhelum embankment must be strengthened and waterlogging problem should be addressed seriously,” said Fayaz Ahmad, a shopkeeper in lal Chowk.
Meanwhile, schools remained closed in the Valley and all examinations were postponed due to the flood situation. The 300 km Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained closed for the fourth consecutive day due to landslides at various places between Banihal and Ramban. Around 700 vehicles were stranded on the highway. The authorities also halted train services between Banihal and Baramulla due to inclement weather.
Meanwhile, rescue operation continued in laden village of Central district Budgam where 16 people, belonging to two families, were buried alive when their house collapsed. Six bodies were recovered from the debris when reports last trickled in. Minister for Agriculture Gulam Nabi lone Hanjoora visited the landslide hit villages of loolipora, laden and other affected villages. At least 16 residents were buried alive when house of one lalla Hajam crumbled as ground beneath it sank due to heavy rainfall. The victims belonged to two families who had gathered in the relatively secure house after four houses had been damaged by mudslides in the vicinity.