Describing the youth as the greatest asset available with the State, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today hailed the efforts of the local volunteers, national and international NGOs, police and the security forces in launching massive rescue and relief operations and saving precious lives during the devastating floods that hit J&K in September 2014.The Chief Minister said the Government will formally recognize the valiant efforts of these brave persons.
Mufti Sayeed was speaking in two separate functions after handing-over relief cheques to the uninsured marginal traders and destitute of Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian districts of South Kashmir, whose livelihoods were washed away in the raging waters of Jhelum and its tributaries last year.
Asserting that he is averse to doing politics over a grave humanitarian crisis that hit the State, the Chief Minister said reviving the livelihood of the most-weaker sections of the society, is his prime concern. “I still feel the helplessness of the people when I met them here at Khannabal Dak Bungalow last year. With their lives in tatters, I resolved not to rest till I remove the sufferings of all the affected people,” he promised.
Referring to the unprecedented floods in more than a century that caused extensive damage and halted State’s economic growth, the Chief Minister said the Government will soon embark on a massive reconstruction programme to put the infrastructure back on track. “Leaving apart other important issues confronting the State, I only discussed with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi the concrete measures to be taken to ameliorate the sufferings of the flood-affected people and restoration of damaged infrastructure,” he said.
Mufti Sayeed said that following his meeting with the Prime Minister, things have started moving positively and he will not rest till all are rehabilitated in a time-bound manner. The Chief Minister made a special mention of the voluntary efforts of the local youth and reinforcements rushed by the Central Government in rescuing marooned people, when the surging waters of river Jhelum had literally collapsed the State administration. He said the efforts of these brave men who put their lives at risk and saved many others will be recognized by the Government.Praising the people from within and outside the State in providing timely relief to the victims, the Chief Minister thanked their collective and individual efforts in providing support to the helpless victims at the time of the tragedy.Referring to the steps being taken by the Government to minimize the damage caused by floods and other vagaries of nature, Mufti Sayeed stated that dredging the riverbeds and strengthening the embankments will be undertaken on priority to prevent rivers and the rivulets from going wild. “We have to be pre-emptive in providing advance information to the people living in low-lying areas,” he added.
The Chief Minister further said that the State is pursuing Rs 2500 crore Comprehensive Flood Management Programme with the Centre to increase the carrying-capacity of the rivers and fortifying the alternate spill-over channels. “We will also examine calamity-resistant prototypes to minimize the damage to permanent structures in future,” stated the Chief Minister. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Horticulture, Hajj & Auqaf, Abdul Rehman Veeri, said the Chief Minister is aware of the political and economic issues confronting the State. He said J&K is facing a huge challenge in rebuilding infrastructure after the massive devastation caused by the floods. “The Chief Minister has resolved to provide succour to those who lost their houses, business and property in the terrible aftermath of September 2014 floods,” he added.
Minister for Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Relief & Rehabilitation, Basharat Bukhari, in his address, said the State Government is vigorously pursuing a special financial assistance package of Rs 44,000 crore with the Centre to rehabilitate the victims and restore damaged infrastructure. He said till the package is announced by the Centre, the Chief Minister decided to compensate the uninsured small-time traders and destitute out of the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund so that they get a start-up incentive to commence their business activity.Referring to the extensive damage caused by floods in south Kashmir, Minister for PHE, I&FC, Sukhnandan Kumar, said the State Government will vigorously pursue with the Centre a special financial assistance to provide relief to the affected people. “I have visited a number of villages and seen the widespread damage caused by floods,” he stated.
The Minister for Finance, Dr Haseeb Drabu, who also spoke on the occasion, said completely rebuilding lives of the affected people and restoring infrastructure will be a gradual process. “The Government is first focusing on revival of small business activities of those shopkeepers and traders whose turnover is less than 5 lakh. Subsequently, he said the Government will provide compensation to those whose business turnover exceeds Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh respectively. “The people whose houses were damaged extensively in the floods will also be compensated,” he added.In all, 1027 small traders from Anantnag, 400 from Kulgam and 100 each from Pulwama and Shopian districts were handed over relief cheques today. Several others will be provided cash assistance after their verification processes are completed by the respective district administrations.
Minister of State for PHE, Abdul Majeed Padder, MP, Nazir Ahmad Laway, MLAs, Abdul Rahim Rather, Gulzar Ahmad, Mohammad Amin Bhat, Altaf Kaloo, Farooq Andrabi, Aijaz Ahmad Mir, Mohammad Khalil Bandh and Zahoor Ahmad Mir, MLC, Sofi Mohammad Yousuf, and senior officers of the Government were also present on the occasion.Later, the Traders’ Federation, Pulwama, called on the Chief Minister and apprised him about the issues of de-congesting the town and improving its connectivity and essential services’ infrastructure.Mufti Sayeed said he will look into the issues raised by the federation for proper redressal. (GNS)