Floods leave trail of destruction

5 Dariya News (Yawar Shafi)

Srinagar 23-Sep-2014

It has been more than a fortnight since worst floods in over a century devastated Jammu and Kashmir.While Jhelum has since started flowing below the erstwhile danger mark, the quantum of destruction caused by it is colossal.The official count about the number of humans claimed by it is little less than 300 while the loss to property is uncountable even as some tentative estimates put it in millions of crores and that too without Srinagar, the worst hit district in the Valley.Approximately 2, 34,516 structures across the state excluding Srinagar district have been damaged and include 20000 houses which have been completely destroyed.In all 5411 villages excluding Srinagar District have been affected by the floods, the government has revealed.

In Srinagar, majority of the areas have been badly affected by the floods and it will take some time to arrive at exact figures about the loss, it said.Not only civilian property, there has been colossal damage to public assets also and include hospitals, J&K High Court and civil secretariat, the seat of the state government. SMHS hospital has alone suffered loss of more than Rs 100 crores. Many roads and bridges have been swept away by the flood waters caused according to officials by record rainfall.Except Poonch and Samba, all the remaining 20 districts the state recorded higher than normal rainfall from 4 to 10 September, leading to flood fury in the state. 

The departure was 2953% in Shopian and 1410% in Srinagar, the government of India revealed.  Because of the higher rainfall, breach of embankments and landslides that occurred in different locations, the natural disaster devastated different districts both in Jammu and Kashmir, in particular Srinagar.Many people are still putting up in relief camps or living with relatives situated in places spared by the wrath of Jhelum.Problems of people have been augmented by the lackadaisical approach on part of the administration as water remains stagnant in many areas. This is despite claims that more than 200 dewatering pumps have been installed at various places to dewater the sub-merged areas round the clock. 

The stink in Srinagar and other parts of Srinagar too has ebbed even as government claims to have taken “effective steps” “in time” to lift the garbage and its disposal so as to keep the city clean.“Since the magnitude of flood was huge and the damages extensive, it will take some time to free the city of the garbage and filth. Over 300 Animal carcasses which were found floating in different areas have been removed and disposed. If after the dewatering, any other carcass is found, it will be disposed off scientifically,” the government has said.There is hardly any spectrum of life which has not been affected by the devastating floods and fourth pillar of democracy is no exception. The floods destroyed office of GNS too and today we have started operation from a make-shift arrangement.   (GNS)