Kashmir Floods: Rotten Carcasses The Major Concern, Epidemic Looms Large
By Tahir Ibn Manzoor
19 September, 2014
Countercurrents.org
The floods claimed more than 500 lives across the Jammu and Kashmir state so far and in neigbouring country Pakistan, heavy downpour triggered the landslides, rains lashed the valley from September 3rd leaving thousands homeless and ruining thousands acres of standing crops mostly the paddy fields. Trees were uprooted, so as, electric poles, houses and the roads which connect the various towns and districts to city were submerged and severely damaged. The Jhelum embankment eroding was reported in the city and various parts of the districts across the valley. The situation was grim for a week, south Kashmir cut-off from the city and the other towns of the Kashmir valley. 67% of the Srinagar city was submerged in flood water.
The newly constructed houses, bridges were damaged in the flash floods. Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway was closed after incessant rains triggered the landslides and the incidents of shooting stones took place in various areas on the National Highway. Hajj flights, train service was suspending owing to heavy downpour across the valley. More than 1500 villages got affected by the worst floods of its recent history. As parts of Srinagar submerged in flood waters, demands for rescue boats rise.
There was no respite from the heavy downpour. The incessant rains have led to rise in water levels in streams and river Jhelum has crossed the danger mark in various parts across the Kashmir. Jhelum breached in many areas resulting in inundation of the lanes and by lanes including the residential houses located in the city. Thousands flee Saturday night after the flood water enters in the residential houses in the city.
Reportedly the centre government tried and pressed everyone be it air force or the NDRF to reach all the affected areas as soon as possible to rescue the people.
Thousands were trapped in their homes waiting to get rescued from the flood stricken areas. Many parts of the Kashmir were reeling under the darkness since past 8 days. Cellular network was down and the Internet service has been hampered since Thursday, now partially it has been restored in parts of the city and around. Kashmir is lacking the basic amenities in many parts of the flood stricken.
On Friday the rains stopped in parts of the Kahmir, but Srinagar was flooded due to the breach in Jhelum. Jawhar Nagar, Raj Bagh areas are the worst affected areas due to the flood fury, the water level in these areas was 20-25 feets which now is receding. Also, the water level in the Lal Chowk was above 7-9 feet.
Army, NDRF and civil administration were seen rescuing the non-locals mostly what Tv news footages showed in the various affected areas. Communication network was down in the valley since past one week. Kashmir has seen this kind of flood devastation after 5 decades.
A visit
On a gloomy morning I was on the way to Srinagar, I found the animal carcasses floating and some dogs in a group eating the flesh, their party begins with the smelly making a way in the inundated city and the outskirts, people were seen crying for the help some were hungry and some lampooned the government for not being able to do anything in the dire need of rescuing them while the water level was rising in most parts of the city. Also, Kashmir has been affected by the floods in 1902, 1959. According to the Indian media more than 15 air force planes, 29 choppers were operational in the flood-hit Kashmir valley for the ongoing operation Sahayita. But whom they were actually saving when the operation began in Kashmir? This question is in everyone’s mind and this needs to be answered soon…
Media
The choppers dropped the expired food in some flood stricken areas, this shows how things were actually going on which national media has been mostly avoiding by giving the credit to the army and NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), from their air conditioned newsrooms by calling them (Devdoots or Desh Kay Rakshak).
3 lakh people has been evacuated so far to safer places and 2lakh people are still trapped in which some denied to come out of their homes by fearing of loot and plundering in the flood furry, reports the media.
A women on one of the Tv news channel said, “here we are dying in our homes, water entered in our houses in the midnight, we are starving from the past 3 days, we didn’t receive any basic amenities from the government or any civil administration where is our government? We were rescued by our own brothers and sons.”
In her mid fifties talking to Kashmir Outlook one of the victims said “government completely failed to get up and deliver. We were left to die and to live of their own… Heroes were behind the scenes.”
A lean man with the curled hair sitting on the window crooned, “they were saving the non-locals for a moment I thought I was in Bihar.”
The magnitude of the tragedy was so huge mostly the locals were seen rescuing the stranded people on their shoulders, cots and self made boats using the plastic drums.
[The author is an Online Editor at Kashmir Outlook Kashmir based monthly online magazine. He tweets at @TahirIbnManzoor, blogs at http://www.TahirIbnManzoor.Wordpress.Com]
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