Death toll nears 200-mark; Army, NDRF intesify rescue operations
The whole of Srinagar on Monday resembled a giant lake even as rescue teams of the Indian Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), supported by local volunteers redoubled their efforts to evacuate thousands of marooned residents to safer places in relief camps.
The overall death toll on Monday hovered around 200 with the recovery of 12 more bodies from Pancheri area of Udhampur while 30 more people remained untraceable till last reports came in. More than 30 houses were flattened after they were hit by a massive mudslide.
In the absence of telecommunication networks and ground reports from police networks, it is becoming difficult to assess the scale of devastation caused by the ravaging floods in Kashmir.
Power and water supply also remained disrupted across Srinagar city while Srinagar remained cut off from the rest of India via road network. Commercial flights, however, operated normally but reaching the airport was a major issue for passengers due to the waterlogged roads.
More than 200 boats were launched by the rescue teams on Monday to shift exhausted residents taking shelter atop rooftops and the topmost floors of their waterlogged houses for the last three days.
In the absence of essential supplies the situation is turning grim for the people who are hungry and thirsty and still waiting for rescue teams to provide succor to them.
Meanwhile, responding to the SOS alert sent out by over 200 people stranded at Haigaon on the Srinagar-Sopore Highway, Naval Marine Commandos were deployed for the first time to rescue them. So far, 23,530 stranded people have been evacuated by the Army in different regions of Jammu & Kashmir. However, the situation remains critical in parts of South Kashmir as they still remain out of bounds for rescue workers.
Efforts are on to reach submerged areas of Pulwama, Shopian and Sopore with relief supplies to provide a much-needed helping hand to the stranded population. The entire rescue operations have been taken care of by the teams of the Indian Army, NDRF and IAF personnel.
Senior officers of the Home Ministry are also camping in Srinagar to coordinate in relief operations.
The helpline numbers opened by the Government on Monday received thousands of calls from well-wishers and close relatives of stranded people to rescue them at the earliest as their patience was running thin.
With slight improvement in weather conditions the situation is limping back to normalcy in Jammu. However, the Vaishno Devi Yatra remained suspended due to the bad weather.
Army personnel and IAF men on Monday airdropped food packets, drinking water and medicines for the people in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch. On the other hand, the Indian Army is facing the daunting task of restoring the badly-crippled road network across Jammu division.
Army engineers are working overtime to restore traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. GOC-IN-C Northern Command Headquarters lt-Gen DS Hooda on Monday said: “The Army engineers are working on a new alignment to throw open the crucial road link connecting Srinagar with Jammu to rush essential supplies.”
He said if the weather didn’t play spoilsport, the road should be thrown open in the next four or five days. “The Army has cleared 14 landslides but could not restore traffic on the road due to massive landslides near Ramsoo, falling under Ramban district,” he added.
The road networks across frontier districts of Rajouri and Poonch also remain blocked due to cave-ins at different stretches on the roads.
Meanwhile, in Srinagar the rescue operations continued throughout the night across Indira Nagar, Rajbagh, Shivpora, Karan Nagar, Gobji Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, Bemina, Habba Kadal. The Army had pressed additional columns to take advantage of the improving weather conditions.
“To restore the communication system in the Valley, the Army has airlifted its communication equipment. BSNl loads are also being airlifted from Bangalore and Jammu,” said MOD spokesman Col SD Goswami.
He said 5,000 blankets and 140 tents have been distributed so far. The Army also distributed 23,000 litres of water and 600 kgs of biscuits in the flood-affected areas. Additional water bottles are being airlifted from Chandigarh and Delhi. In an endeavour to provide speedy medical aid to the affected populace, 80 medical teams of the Armed Forces Medical Services have also swung into action, he added.
According to the Defence Spokesman,16 relief camps have been set up in different parts of the State and 1,245 people airlifted by Indian Air Force helicopters and transport aircraft. So far, 140 sorties were undertaken by the helicopters and aircraft of Indian Air Force and 155 tons of relief materials dropped by the Indian Air Force. Altogether 52 aircraft and helicopters have been pressed into action, he said.
The Army has also established shelter camps at Poonch, Rajouri, Thanamandi, Bela, Potha, Sanai, Kishtwar, Akhnoor, Budhal, Gul, Gulabgarh, Sungri, Salomé, Kandi, Samote, Mahore and Chasana areas. The Army is also giving medical treatment to the flood victims.
Till date approximately 1,700 people have been treated in the flood-affected areas of Jammu-Reasi region. At many places where drinking water is not available due to breakage in pipelines, the Army is sending its water bowser’s to quench the thirst of the people.