Srinagar, September 23
For the past one week, Tufail Wani has been visiting his home along with hired workers in the posh Balgarden locality here, which remained submerged for almost 10 days.

His mission is to clean up rooms of the muck and slush and salvage whatever has been left untouched by the floodwaters, which inundated the ground floor of his double-storeyed house.

Tufail, who owns a stone-crushing plant and a travel agency, says some of the loss is irreparable. The wooden panelling, which adorns almost every house in Kashmir, has been damaged beyond repair.

The imported furniture in the drawing room lies ready to be dumped. The embroidered curtains, a craze in Kashmiri homes, are plastered with the mud left by the receding floodwaters. The costly wallpaper on the walls in Tufail’s drawing room is swollen as it remained soaked for days together. It has to be peeled off.

“It is now impossible to remove the mud from rugs and carpets. Besides, there is apprehension that these rugs and the carpets may be a source of infection. So, it is better to dispose them of,” says Tufail.

While escaping the floods on September 7, his parents took refuge at a relative’s house in Rawalpora, while Tufail along with his kids and wife is putting up with relations in north Kashmir.

When floodwaters started entering his house, Tufail and his father could only manage to salvage two newly bought carpets by keeping them on the second floor of the house.

The three cars owned by Tufail and his father remain plastered with mud, which has now dried up. As advised by mechanical engineers, he will now have to tug these cars to a motor garage without starting the engine.

“Though these cars can be repaired, but the floodwaters have definitely lessened the life of the vehicle”, he said.

Like Tufail, almost every household in the locality is busy safeguarding their belongings and salvaging the stuff they can.

The floods have not only affected Tufail’s house but have also washed away his stone-crushing plant in the Tangmarg area. Besides, his architect father has lost his office in the posh Polo View Market. ‘Yezdaan Tour and Travels’, which Tufail had set up recently in the Bemina locality of Srinagar, was also under 10 to 12 feet of water.

“Though our family has suffered tremendous losses, we will have to carry on and rebuild our lives. We will have to restart for the sake of our kids, who are still too young to understand the magnitude of this tragedy”, says Tufail.

Many houses collapsed Many flood victims will be able to enter their homes again, but there are scores of unfortunate residents in the devastated Srinagar whose houses have either been damaged beyond repair or have collapsed in the floodwaters. In just one lane in the Balgarden locality, where Tufail’s house is located, nine residential houses could not bear the pressure of floodwaters and collapsed on day one. Scores of houses are still standing but have been rendered dangerous for living after developing cracks.

Srinagar, September 23
With the floodwaters inundating almost 80 per cent of the public department offices, including the High Court complex and the civil secretariat in Srinagar, thousands of government employees are concerned about the fate of their service documents.

Some key government department buildings are housed in the Lal Chowk, Batamaloo, Jehangir Chowk and Raj Bagh areas, which were worst hit by the recent floods. A week on, some of these offices are still partially submerged.

It is learnt that crucial documents pertaining to the service records of the present and retired government employees have either been lost or damaged.

Although Law Minister Mir Saifullah has reportedly told a local news agency that the state government will find a solution, the employees are concerned.

“I am going to retire next month. My service records of the past 20 years are with the PHE Department whose building got damaged in the floods. The office is now running from an alternative site. I have not yet spoken to the Chief Engineer, but it is apparent that my service documents have been lost. The state government needs to chalk out a way to help employees like us,” said Tanveer Ahmad, a Junior Assistant. The state government had not digitised the documents. The state’s much hyped “e-Governance Plan” had failed to kick off although the proposal was cleared three years ago.

“Unlike other states, the J&K is yet to evolve a mechanism of providing an online documentation of the service records. Relying on just papers is foolish,” said Jameel Ahmad, a software engineer.

e-governance a non-starter Some crucial documents pertaining to the service records of the present and retired government employees have either been lost or damaged. The state’s much hyped “e-Governance Plan” aimed at digitising documents had failed to kick off even though the proposal was cleared three years ago.

Jammu, September 23
With the entire government machinery engaged in restoring services in the Kashmir valley, thousands of flood-affected people in the Jammu region are forced to drink polluted groundwater in the absence of mobile water purification plants.

The recent floods that destroyed infrastructure of 1,662 drinking water schemes in Jammu has left the population vulnerable to waterborne diseases as the government has failed to provide mobile water purification plants similar to those introduced in Kashmir.

Hundreds of tubewells in Jammu, Akhnoor, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur are submerged in floodwater or hit by landslides, a fact even accepted by the officials of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, who claim that it will be restored within a month.

Officials say though so far no case of any waterborne disease has been detected in Jammu, the next two months are crucial as the affected population will begin to settle down and use groundwater for consumption. The problem is more acute in Rajouri and Poonch districts where most of the infrastructure of the drinking water schemes has been damaged and people are forced to consume unsafe water for cooking and drinking.

“We have sought Rs 103 crore initial funds to restore the water supply to prevent emergence of epidemic. Hundreds of tubewells remained submerged under floodwater that has polluted the groundwater. It will take at least a month to restore the supplies and ensure safe drinking water to the people,” said Sushil Aima, Chief Engineer of the PHE Department.

Officials said the Health Department has warned that the situation could turn critical for the administration if no efforts were made to provide mobile water treatment plants in the affected areas.

“The situation is compounded by destruction of sanitary and piped water networks as well as lack of equipment and technical expertise. Waterborne diseases such as jaundice, dysentery and diarrhoea are threatening to complicate the situation further if there is any outbreak,” said Dr GS Pathania, Director of the Health Department.

The worst floods that hit Jammu and Kashmir have severely damaged the lifting stations operated by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department along the Tawi and Chenab rivers leaving many parts in the Jammu region without potable water supply.

Officials said, “The Sittle Filtration Plant at Nagrota and Boria and the Dhontli water lifting station which supply 70 per cent of water to 15 lakh people in Jammu have suffered extensive damage and machinery worth crores has been destroyed.”

Vulnerable to diseases The recent floods has left the population vulnerable to waterborne diseases as the government has failed to provide mobile water purification plants similar to those introduced in Kashmir Hundreds of tubewells in Jammu, Akhnoor, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur are submerged in floodwater or hit by landslides The problem is more acute in Rajouri and Poonch districts where the infrastructure of most of the drinking water schemes has been damaged and people are forced to consume unsafe water for cooking and drinking The worst floods that hit Jammu and Kashmir have severely damaged the lifting stations operated by the Public Health Engineering Department along the Tawi and Chenab leaving many parts in the Jammu region without potable water supply

Katra, September 23
The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has taken up the augmentation work of street lights in Katra, the base camp for the pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, to facilitate the pilgrims and the locals.

The Shrine Board had taken a decision to contribute to the Navratra festival by carrying out infrastructure and development-related activities in the town.

Mandeep K Bhandari, Chief Executive Officer of the shrine board said Navratras were starting from September 25 and considering the need of proper lighting arrangement, the board had taken up the street lights work.

Till today, 80 street lights have been made functional by replacing these with energy-efficient lights.

The shrine board, under its “social responsibility scheme”, has been undertaking large infrastructure projects in Katra, including construction of circular road, multipurpose sports stadium and expansion of facilities on the Katra-Banganga road.

Srinagar, September 23
President of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti today called for immediate disbursement of relief so that the flood-affected people could reconstruct and repair their houses before the onset of winter.

She observed that the delay in rehabilitation work could prove fatal.

After visiting several flood-affected areas of Anantnag and Bijbehara, Mehbooba said the government does not seem to have realised the magnitude of the damage caused by the natural calamity and as such was carrying out relief and rehabilitation work casually.

Quoting media reports that more than 2 lakh structures, including 20,000 houses, had suffered partial to total damage due to the floods across the state, excluding Srinagar City, the PDP president said the state could not be insensitive towards the need to provide roof to the people rendered homeless.

“There is an urgent need for disbursement of relief for reconstruction of houses so that the people can have something to live in before the onset of winter,” she said.

She said the state government had provided tented accommodation only to some affected families while others have been left at God’s mercy.

“The government should have, more than a fortnight after the floods, provided at least tented accommodation with basic facilities of electricity, drinking water and sanitation to the affected people. However, the situation on the ground is still grim as hardly any effective measure is visible,” she said.

The PDP president said in case people were not provided immediate relief to reconstruct and repair their houses, they would have to spend the harsh winter under the open sky. This, she said, will only compound the issue and risk the lives of people across the state.

Mehbooba said Anantnag district was badly affected due to the floods and relief was yet to reach the affected families. Houses, crops, agricultural fields, orchards and public infrastructure has suffered massive damage in most parts of the 
district.

Jammu, September 23
Post-floods, the traders and industrialists in Jammu, who have invested in the Valley, are a harried lot as they have pegged their losses at Rs 800 crore.

These traders feel that their losses may escalate further as they are still in the process of gathering “assessment reports” from their field functionaries.

“The initial assessment reports suggest that the direct losses to industrialists in Jammu are around Rs 400 crore and these figures may escalate as we are still gathering the reports,” said Anil Suri, president Bari Brahmana Industries Association.

Suri said the industrialists had suffered losses in terms of damage to supplied stocks and goods in transit.

He requested the government to take immediate measures to improve the liquidity of industrialists.

“The government should defer the installments of loans availed by the industrialists for at least six months, besides giving extra time for moratorium,” he said.

Yash Pal Gupta, president, Associated Chamber of Traders Federation (ACTF), Jammu, said the estimated loss to the traders in the Jammu region was around Rs 300 crore and this figure might go up.

“These losses are in terms of blocked payments or suspended transactions in the business. The rehabilitation of people in the Valley and twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch will take time and we cannot anticipate the repayment of our investments till then,” Gupta said.

Rakesh Gupta, president, Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Jammu, said they were still assessing the loss and it was difficult to arrive upon a final figure at this moment.

“The losses are quite high. We are working out the losses in Jammu province, but it is difficult to estimate the losses in the Valley,” he said.

Jammu, September 23
Senior National Conference leader and Minister for Planning and Development Ajay Sadhotra along with NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana extensively toured the flood and landslide-hit areas of Rajouri district and took stock of the damages.

The duo, which is on a week-long tour of the flood-affected areas in twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri, visited Kotranka, Darhal and Rajouri yesterday and got the first hand information about the damages caused by incessant rain and flash floods.

Sadhotra was briefed by officials concerned on the steps taken for providing respite to the dislocated population and arrangements made for their time-bound rehabilitation.

The minister urged the Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, to make the assessment of damaged houses, crops and infrastructure at the earliest, besides ensuring disbursement of relief to the needy.

Talking to the flood victims, Rana said all the resources were being pooled to meet the challenge posed by floods across the state.

He said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was personally supervising the rehabilitation process and hoped this will be achieved with active cooperation of the people.

“The NC will lend every support to the government agencies in reconstructing the areas that have braved the brunt of the natural calamity,” Rana said, adding that peoples’ welfare remained at the core of his party’s agenda.

He said the party workers were engaged in the relief operations and hoped that the people would rise above politics and join the massive rehabilitation campaign.

Srinagar, September 23
Mehraj-ud-Din who is in his mid-50’s is talking to some one from his family on his mobile near Regal Chowk in Srinagar.

After putting down his phone, he talks to a man a little distance away who enquires about his insurance policy number which Mehraj is not able to recollect.

“I have kept the documents at home and at the shop,” he tells the insurance official. “No record will be available at the shop as the floods have destroyed everything,” he tells the official.

Mehraj tries to make another phone call but fails to get through due to poor connectivity in the area. He then leaves for home to collect his insurance policy details.

Mehraj, who is the owner of a prominent handicrafts showroom at the Valley’’s main tourist market —Poloview — claims his losses in crores.

Meanwhile, the street where Mehraj’’s shop is situated is still inundated.

“I may not able to tell you the exact losses but it is huge and unimaginable,” he tells the insurance official as he rushes home.

As the business community assesses the losses caused by the floods, most of the traders say they have been shattered and will have to start from a scratch.

“Everything has been lost. What our two generations had earned has been washed away by the floods,” said Imtiyaz Ahmed, owner of a grocery store in the Koker Bazar area of Srinagar.

“The tragedy is that we have been waiting for the officials to assess the losses but they are not visible since the past fortnight,” Imtiyaz said.

Though officials are yet to assess the damages to the trading community, an initial estimate by the Kashmir Traders Federation puts the losses at Rs 30,000 crore.

“The estimates will go up as many shopkeepers in Lal Chowk — the business hub of Kashmir — and many areas are yet to make the assessment due to continuous waterlogging,” said a representative of the Kashmir Traders Federation.

While the water level has receded in many areas, many markets, including at Hari Singh High Street, Residency Road, Jehangir Chowk and Poloview, continue to remain under water.

Jammu, September 23
Anger is brewing among the people of the flood-ravaged areas of Jammu province, especially in Poonch and Rajouri districts, against the government for not launching rescue and relief operations.

The state government is facing criticism not only from opposition parties but also from its coalition partner — Congress, for selective rehabilitation.

The Congress has also joined the BJP in lambasting the state government for ignoring Poonch and Rajouri.

“Incessant rain and floods have rendered hundreds of people homeless in Rajouri district but the government has failed to provide shelter to the helpless people,” alleged former Health Minister and Rajouri MLA Shabir Ahmed Khan.

The MLA, who belongs to the Congress, said the affected people were moving from pillar to post to get tents but to no avail.

He said praised the Army for providing tents to some homeless families but took on the civil administration for adopting delaying tactics in launching relief and rescue operations.

“One thing is clear that Poonch and Rajouri are the worst victims but the relief and rescue operations in this region are not up to the mark,” said Khan.

President of the Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC) Shahnawaz Choudhary, who belongs to the Surankote area of Poonch, criticised the Omar Abdullah-led government for ignoring Poonch and Rajouri.

“The state government should treat all regions of the state equally but the present dispensation has not adopted the same yardstick,” the PYC president said and pointed out that the problems of the affected people of Poonch and Rajouri were increasing with each passing day but the government had so far failed to address them.

Shahnawaz took note of the diktats issued by the officials that the homeless people, who needed tents, should submit an affidavit. He observed that the action of the government was like rubbing salt on the wounds.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member and in charge of the J&K BJP Avinash Rai Khanna today said the people of the twin border districts had suffered a lot as more than hundred people had died, thousands rendered homeless, crops totally destroyed, roads and connecting roads of far-flung areas been washed away, means of communication badly affected.

Raising apprehension over the distribution of relief by the state government, Khanna said since relief and rehabilitation was a state subject, it was the duty of the state government to ensure equitable distribution of relief material in the state.

He said it was unfortunate that the twin districts were ignored by the state government in terms of adequate relief and rehabilitation operations.

Jammu, September 23
The recent floods claimed a number of lives, stranded hundreds of people and damaged civilian property, including houses and livestock, across the state.

In one such incident, three members of a family were buried under the debris at Dhok Bagla near Kotranka in Rajouri district on September 6 following a landslide.

It became difficult for the civil administration to retrieve the bodies due to continuous and heavy rains in this tough terrain.

“The bereaved relatives of the family wished to perform the last rites of the departed souls,” said a Defence spokesperson.

Therefore, the men in uniform reached there to help them in their hour of grief. Samote-based Rashtriya Rifles Battalion took the responsibility of the task.

A team of the Battalion headed to the village. After a long journey of seven hours, the party reached the site.

“The landslide in Dhok was so massive that even the natives could not locate the exact location, but the Army relentlessly searched for any survivors of the family despite harsh weather, chilly winds and heavy rain,” the Defence spokesperson added.

Finally, after a search of three days, the bodies of all three members were recovered. The team helped the relatives in carrying out the last rites of the departed souls.

The relatives of the deceased family expressed their gratitude to the team for their humane act.

Baramulla, September 23
The worst-ever floods in Kashmir may not have caused much damage to the property in north Kashmir, but the natural calamity has resulted in huge losses to fruit growers especially in Baramulla, Sopore and Handwara towns.

At many places growers are plucking apples using boats to navigate through floodwaters accumulated in orchards. “Floods have washed out apple crop worth lakhs of rupees, leaving a devastating impact. We are using boats to pluck small quantity of apples that are still on trees,” said Ali Mohammad Nagar, a fruit grower from Dangiwacha.

The growers said the floods hit the fruit at a time, when they were all set to transport the ripened fruit to fruit mandis outside.

“The floods shattered our dreams of good income this year. Despite hailstorm and unseasonal rains in the past, we were expecting a good revenue, but at the last minute, the floods washed away the crop,” said Riyaz Ahmad a grower from Sopore.

The growers demanded that teams of Horticulture Department should assess the losses caused to the crop, and the affected lot should be given compensation.

“The authorities ignored the growers who suffered extensive damage to the crop. I appeal the authorities concerned to assess the loss and give compensation to growers, so that their families do not face starvation like condition,” said Fayaz Ahmad, president Fruit Mandi, Sopore.

Apple is the main source of livelihood of about 60 per cent of population in north Kashmir.

Poonch, September 23
The continuous visit by various party leaders to the affected areas of Poonch has irked the locals, who alleged that politicians were trying to accommodate their supporters at the cost of flood victims.

The flood victims urged political parties to stop playing with the sentiments and also told them to refrain from using their political clout to help their party workers.

“We have been observing that various political leaders visit the affected areas daily. They claim that they are with us and are doing everything to rehabilitate us. Actually, we have not been provided even a single penny by any political group. Only some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and district administration have come to our aid,” said Abdul Rehman, a flood victim.

Political parties have been trying to get credit for the relief material being provided to the flood-hit, the victims alleged.

“The visiting leaders claim that they have brought some NGOs from Punjab and nearby states for our help, which is actually wrong. We know they have come of their own. These NGOs are not affiliated to any political party,” Rehman said.

The victims alleged that some political leaders were writing to the officials concerned to accommodate their supporters and urged them to “stop sending chits” to the relief officials.

“It is surprising to see the names of party workers in the victims’ list after every visit of a local political leader to our camps. The real victims have been devoid of relief,” alleged Abdul Razzak, one of the flood victims at the Gujjar and Bakkarwal Hostel here.

Manager, District Industrial Corporation, and in charge relief Zakir Hussain admitted that political leaders were trying to influence them. “It is right that some political leaders have been approaching us for accommodating their supporters, but we categorically refuse them,” Zakir said. — OC

Srinagar, September 23
Despite throwing normal life out of gear, the recent floods have also rendered over 15,000 light and several hundred heavy vehicles out of gear, as most of the cars were left floating when floodwaters inundated residential areas in deep waters.

Residents in the capital city and elsewhere in south Kashmir, who have been able to retrieve their cars from mud and slush accumulated after the water level receded, frantically continue to tow their vehicles to the service stations. At many places, these cars are lined up much to the inconvenience and incapacity of the stations.

“We cannot say no to anyone,” a senior member of a service station here said, adding, “We convinced some of them to take their cars back if in driving condition.” There was no alternative but to take the cars which are tow chained. This has led to heaps of damaged cars at different service stations in the city.

“At least 15,000 cars have been damaged due to the floods,” said Irfan Ahmad, Managing Director of the Maruti dealers, Jamkash at Hyderpora, where more than 400 vehicles have already been lined up for repairing.

“Some of the cars continue to be under water and have been washed away to areas that are still inaccessible such as Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Bemina and Qamarwari,” Ahmad added.

Jamkash among the three Maruti car dealers is the only station that has started cleaning work in the premises. The Jamkash premises was also under two-and-a-half foot of water which has caused damage to machines, cables and DG set. “We are planning to get manpower from other places, including Jammu, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh,” he said.

Several other premises of car dealers, including Highlands and Peaks, are still submerged in water.

“It is going to be a long process of repairing the cars damaged due to floods, which is expected take a couple of months,” said Ahmad.

He said the process of washing off the mud and dirt of cars would start tomorrow that would be followed by drying up of the vehicles. “After drying up, we will be using diagnostic equipment to identify the troubled spots as moisture inside any part of the car can damage the vehicle due to the winter ahead,” he added. 

Srinagar, September 23
Loads of garbage had gathered across Srinagar city after the floods. The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) today claimed of lifting record waste during the past eight days. The SMC said 29,800 metric tonnes of waste was lifted since September 9 that is almost 10 times more than normal even as locals from several areas are still demanding lifting of garbage.

“From September 15 to 22, the SMC has in total lifted around 29,800 metric tonnes of waste material. Usually, the SMC disposes off around 400 metric tonnes of garbage every day. This is a record. Such a quantity of garbage has never ever been collected by SMC in such a short span of time,” an SMC official said.

He said the SMC had put into service a fleet of 145 heavy duty vehicles for collection of garbage and other “undesirable materials” throughout the city, including the areas which are normally covered by the Badami-Bagh Cantonment Board.

However, garbage can be still seen at several areas of the city. “I must admit that a lot of garbage has been lifted near Sanatnagar Chowk, but still a lot needs to be done as the area just like others is still filthy,” a local said.

Meanwhile, the SMC said besides cleaning of garbage, disposal of carcasses was a challenge.

The official said a total of 515 carcases had been lifted and disposed off so far. “At Military Dairy Farm near Bemina Crossing, Chatabal, 327 cows were found dead...so many carcasses were never disposed of by the SMC in the past and each carcass weighed about a tonne,” the official added.

Regarding the health safety measures, he said the core workforce of the SMC had been administered “Tetnus Toxoid Injection and Hepatitis-B” and were working round the clock. He further said food and potable water had been arranged for the workforce, who were working at the SMC headquarters besides distributing chlorine tablets to the workers and among general public.

Srinagar, September 23
The efforts to dewater and clean up the civil secretariat and its surrounding areas are on, but it will take some more time to make it fully functional.

The attendance of employees continues to be minimal and the complex is without electricity and network facility, which is also hampering its full resumption.

Today, nearly 800 employees reported on duty. Most of them left after almost an hour or two. There are nearly 3,500 employees working in the civil secretariat.

On Monday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had visited the civil secretariat and directed the departments concerned to intensify the efforts in order to make the secretariat fully functional

“The attendance in the secretariat continues to be thin, as hundreds of employees from Jammu have not reported for duty. When the floodwaters entered the city, they were held up in hotels and government quarters and were rescued after which they fled to Jammu. A majority of them have not reported back,” said a government official of the general administration

“We are trying our best to ensure that all employees should turn up for duty,” he added.

The ground floor of the secretariat was marooned in water and official records of many departments, including the Rural Development Department, Housing, Science and Technology, Cooperative, J&K Bank and treasury, have got damaged.

The government officials, however, maintain that the secretariat has started functioning and even the working hours have been extended.

The government has already shifted some line departments of the secretariat to the old secretariat. After the floods hit Srinagar, the Chief Minister was operating from Hari Niwas Palace on the Gupkar road. Many departments too were operating from various huts on the Gupkar road.

On September 18, the civil secretariat had reopened after remaining shut for 11 days, but it did not function that day. Earlier, the government had asked the secretariat employees to report to their duties.

Srinagar, September 23
Vice Chancellor of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, Dr Tej Partap and Vice Chancellor of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu, Dr Pradeep Kumar Sharma called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today.

Partap and Sharma briefed the Governor, who is also the Chancellor of both the universities, about the damage to the infrastructure of their respective farm institutions and Krishi Vigyan Kendras due to floods.

The duo also apprised the Governor of the measures initiated to restore the functioning of the universities in the Valley.

They further informed the Governor about certain other pressing academic and administrative issues relating to their institutions.

The Governor urged both the Vice Chancellors to take timely steps to ensure full restoration of all academic and research work on the respective campuses and assured them full support of the state government.

Principal Secretary to the Governor Rakesh K Gupta was also present on the occasion.

Srinagar, September 23
The Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) has urged the authorities concerned to disinfect the flood-affected hospitals before reopening them to ward off the threat of post-flood healthcare associated infections (HAI).

This is necessary as per the “Flood Remediation Protocols”, the doctors’ body said in a statement here.

The statement from the doctors came even as the out patient departments in the SMHS Hospital and GB Pant Children’s Hospital started functioning partially.

The unprecedented floods in Kashmir damaged the health service infrastructure badly, more particularly in Srinagar city where all major hospitals, except one, were flooded and remained inundated for days together.

“Improper decontamination of hospitals will put patients and doctors at risk of infections. The premises of the hospitals have to be disinfected with disinfectants such as bleach followed by air drying and HEPA vacuum,” said president of DAK Dr Nissar-ul-Hassan in a statement here.

The statement added that high risk units of affected hospitals have to be disinfected by special decontamination such as hydrogen peroxide vaporisation. The doctors’ body has further urged that porous material such as linen and insulations in hospitals affected by the floodwaters have to be discarded and non-porous material such as metal, glass and plastic have to be decontaminated before use.

“Heating, ventilation and air conditioning system has to be examined for molds by air samples and mold remediation measures are to be adopted,” the Doctors’ Association said, adding that water quality in hospitals has to be declared safe for drinking through proper tests.

Srinagar, September 23
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan today assured the Jammu and Kashmir Government all help in restoring medical care facilities which has suffered a loss of over Rs 150 crore due to ravaging floods in the state.

"The Union Minister assured all possible help and assistance to the J&K Government in restoring the medical facilities in the Kashmir valley," an official spokesman said after a review meeting attended by Vardhan and state Health Minister Taj Mohiuddin here.

Vardhan, who arrived here today, earlier visited all hospitals of Srinagar and took stock of the damage caused to equipment and machinery, the spokesman said.

He visited the wards and surgical theatres of SMHS Hospital, Lal Ded Hospital, GB Pant Hospital and interacted with the patients and their attendants, he added.

Mohiuddin briefed the minister about the devastation caused to the health infrastructure in the Kashmir valley, particularly in the tertiary care hospitals.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has put the estimated damage to medical equipment in government hospitals at Rs 150 crore. — PTI

Taking stock of situation Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan visited all hospitals of Srinagar and took stock of the damage caused to equipment and machinery He visited the wards and surgical theatres of SMHS Hospital, Lal Ded Hospital, GB Pant Hospital and interacted with the patients and their attendants

Jammu, September 23
Several organisations today celebrated the 119th birth anniversary of last ruler of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh in a big way. Maharaja Hari Singh, who had signed the Instrument of Accession with the Union of India in 1947, was the last ruler of the Dogra dynasty in J&K.

The main function was organised by the Shri Amar Kshatriya Rajput Sabha, where Congress MP Dr Karan Singh, son of Maharaja Hari Singh, paid tribute to his father.

The presidents of all the prominent sabhas and social organisations took part in the celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh. who took several welfare measure for the people of the state during his reign from 1925 to 1947. A “hawan” wasl also be performed to pay homage to the Maharaja.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Amar Kshatyiya Rajput Sabha president Thakur Narayan Singh said the Maharaja was a great and efficient ruler, who worked for the welfare of the people of J&K and contributed greatly in the education, health and other sectors.

In recent years, there is renewed interest among people to study the history of Dogra rulers who gave present shape to the Jammu and Kashmir by extending its boundaries during their one hundred-year rule till the independence of the state in 1947.

Following the death of his uncle, Sir Pratap Singh, in 1925, Hari Singh ascended to the throne and during his reign made primary education compulsory in the state, introduced laws prohibiting child marriage and threw places of worship open for all.

Jammu, September 23
Executive Director (Projects), Power Grid, Northern Region-II, SK Sharma handed over an ambulance to Government Medical College, (GMC).

Dr Ganshyam Dev Gupta, Principal, Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, received the ambulance from Power Grid in the presence of senior doctors of the college and senior officials of the organisation.

In a statement, Power Grid officials said the organisation, realising the indispensable role of ambulance services in emergency pre-hospital medical care, patient transfer, ease of access to health services, particularly to rural and difficult areas, has undertaken the initiative of providing ambulances to government hospitals, medical colleges, rural health centres as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.

On this occasion, SK Sharma highlighted various CSR activities being undertaken by the Power Grid and stressed on the fact that CSR activities are the manifestation of its commitment to a better future for all and helping the nation in building a sustained and self-dependent social structure.

Jammu, September 23
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Vigilance, Jammu, Yasin Kichloo delivered a lecture on cyber security during a workshop organised by the Udhampur Air Force Station.

Kichloo was the special guest at the inaugural ceremony. For a week-long awareness workshop, major activities will be conducted, which include poster and slogan competition for schoolchildren, poster and slogan competition for air warriors, quiz competition for air warriors and awareness regarding cyber security.

In his lecture, Kichloo said he is indeed happy to participate in the inauguration of the information warfare awareness and he deliberated on various aspects of cyber security.

He said the country like India should immediately set up a national cyber security cell, which will prevent sabotage, espionage and other forms of attack that could hurt the country. Kichloo’s lecture was appreciated by Station Commander, IAF, and CEO, IAF. He was presented with a memento.

Jammu, September 23
The J&K National Panthers Party (JKNPP) MLA from Udhampur, Balwant Singh Mankotia, today demanded immediate relief for the people affected by the recent flash floods and landslides in the district. He alleged that administration has failed to act on time to provide relief to the affected people, particularly in hilly areas.

Mankotia, while addressing a press conference, said the coalition partners, National Conference and Congress, have failed to provide succour to flood-affected people of the Jammu province. People who have lost everything in floods have not been provided relief and other basic needs.

“More than 15 days have passed and people of hilly and far-flung areas are waiting for tents and forced to live under open sky. These houseless people need tents to provide shelter to save themselves from wild animals and inclement weather,” he alleged.

He charged the state government of failing to launch proper operation to recover bodies of 27 persons of Saddal village in Panchari block of Udhampur district and other areas where natural calamity had struck.

He said rain and flash floods cause huge damage in the province, including loss of human lives, animals, agriculture, crops, residential houses, etc, and this loss is much more than that of the Kashmir division and due attention is needed towards the province.

He asked the government to make secretariat functional in Jammu so that grievances of people can be addressed at the earliest. Near 20 days have been left for the annual Darbar move and the government should make secretariat functional in Jammu keeping in view the current situation of Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu, September 23
The sport climbing team of the Mountaineering Association of J&K was flagged off by MLA Ashwani Sharma for participation in the 20th North Zone Sport Climbing Championship scheduled to be held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, from September 25 to 28.

The team, led by Anil Kumar, comprises 18 boys and 14 girls in six categories of men, women, boys, girls, sub-junior boys and sub-junior girls.

Sonam Sidharth, a senior climber, is the coach1 and Shawetica Khajuria, a national judge in sport climbing, is the manager of the team.

The state team has been sponsored by the J&K State Sports Council.

The competitions will be held at the newly fabricated artificial climbing wall on the IIT, Kanpur, premises as per international rules.

Besides the usual lead and speed competitions, bouldering competitions will also be organised in men, women, boys and girls categories.

However, sub-junior boys and sub-junior girls will compete in lead climbing only. After the North Zone competition, a 26-member team of the IMF North Zone Committee would be selected for participation in the National Climbing Competition in Kolkata from December 4 to 7.

Jammu, September 23
The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) has issued the selection list of 22 players from the Jammu province in U-19 age group for their further selection in the Jammu and Kashmir state U-19 team for participation in the Vinoo Mankand one-day tournament and four-day Cooch Behar tournament to be organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The probables were selected by Randhir Singh Manhas and Ravinder Singh during selection trials organised by the Jammu wing of the state cricket body. The physical fitness/conditioning camp for fitness of these probables was also organised by the Jammu wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association in August.

The selected probables are Shubham Singh Pundhir, Surya Malhotra, Aquib Mustaq, Tribhuvan Singh, Jagandeep Singh, Nipun Verma, Ateev Saini, Krithik Gupta, Suryansh Raina, Aman Sharma, Rishab Gupta, Sant Baksh, Hiteshwar Singh, Sahil Chib, Sidhant Singh Bagal, Sahib Mehta, Ananya Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Ripu Daman Singh, Abhishant Bakshi, Rahul Sagotra and Jagteshwar Singh. Prajwal Sharma is a standby.