Jammu, October 6
Protests erupted in the city against the killing of civilians in shelling and firing from across the border. Protesters demanded an “appropriate and strong response” to the neighbouring country for “unprovoked” cross-border firing.

The protesters criticised the Centre for “adopting soft approach” and “maintaining silence” on the civilian killings in border villages and said it is high time to give a strong message to Pakistan for its “proxy war” in Jammu and Kashmir.

The protesters also raised slogans against Pakistan and said it should refrain from provoking Indian troops along the border.

“Time has come when a strong and appropriate response is needed to be given to Pakistan for the killing of innocent civilians on borders. The Central Government, which had announced that it would make the border area safe, should act sternly and appropriately so that the killing of innocent people is stopped,” Ashok Gupta, president of the Shiv Sena and Dogra Front, said while addressing protesters here.

Activists of the Jammu West Assembly Movement (JWAM), led by their president Sunil Dimple Jammu, held a demonstration against Pakistan for pounding civilian areas in the Arnia sector. They also staged a protest in support of thousands of families who migrated from the border villages due to firing and shelling.

Addressing the protesters, Dimple urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give a strong and clear message to Pakistan that no violation of ceasefire would be tolerated in future.

He said the Centre has adopted a “soft approach” towards Pakistan despite the fact that Indian troops are capable of giving a befitting reply to the neighbouring country.

He asked the Central Government to end all bilateral talks with Pakistan as talks and terror could not go together. “The number of ceasefire violations and killing of innocent people have gone up in the past three months. The border residents are spending sleepless nights due to terror and fear psychosis as border areas are being pounded with mortars, fires and shells,” he said.

He regretted that Pakistan has started a direct war with India while the Central Government has been terming it “proxy”.

The Shri Ram Sena has also urged the Central Government to act tough against Pakistan as the country has lost many civilians in ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

Condemning the attack, state president of the Shri Ram Sena Rajiv Mahajan said such incidents are not acceptable and India should send a strong message to Pakistan.

“Now in the festival season, when the whole nation is celebrating Eid, Pakistan is doing it again, killing and injuring our civilians. This is unacceptable,” he said, adding that there should be no compromise on the question of security at the border. The Prime Minister should act tough on the issue.

Jammu, October 6
Even after the creation of posts of zonal physical education officer (ZPEO) by the Department of Youth Services and Sports (DYSS), the department is yet to grant drawing and disbursing powers to the officials.

The posts of ZPEO were created by the state government in the DYSS to lessen the burden of district sports officers for conducting activities.

Sources claimed that the reorganisation of the DYSS was specially done to create posts of ZPEO on the lines of zonal education officers (ZEOs) in the Education Department, but all the executive powers vested in ZEOs have not been provided to the newly elected 199 ZPEOs.

But in spite of creation of new posts, the officials are still deprived of the drawing and disbursing powers, preventing them from discharging their duties in an effective manner. Sources said a delegation of ZPEOs had earlier met former Sports Minister RS Chib and apprised him of their problems, but to no avail.

Not only that, the officials had written a letter to the then Sports Minister a few years back wherein it was mentioned that despite the establishment of zonal offices, there was a need to create adequate infrastructure. Besides, other powers vested in ZEOs could also be given to ZPEOs claiming that all the rules pertaining to the Education Department are applicable to the DYSS.

“A number of representations have been made to the authorities concerned to accept our long-pending demand of granting drawing and disbursing powers, but nothing significant has been done so far,” a ZPEO said.

“Former Directors of the DYSS had convened meetings on many occasions and assured us that our demand will be fulfilled, but till now we got nothing. Already we are struggling to get an independent office to carry out official functions, but non-granting of drawing and disbursing powers has further worsened the situation,” he added.

The ZPEOs have been entrusted the task of ensuring the implementation of common minimum programme in primary, middle and high schools and the Centre-sponsored scheme (CSS) Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA), now Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA), to furnish physical and financial proposals to district officers for their approval, etc.

Jammu, October 6
The Lions Club, Jammu Royal, today organised a relief camp for flood-effected residents of Tawi Mohalla, Company Bagh and Commerce College Lane.

During the camp, 150 double-bed blankets and clothes were distributed among residents of the area. Water up to 4 feet had entered the houses in the area and washed away their belongings.

The camp was organised in cooperation with Lion JBS Chowdhary and Baba Kashmira Singh Sewa Sansthan of Jalandhar, Punjab.

Residents requested the club to organise a medical camp in the area. A mega medical camp will soon be organised in the area.

Gautam Jamwal, Ajay Kapoor, Sanjay Nagpal, Yudhvir Sethi, BB Kotwal, Anil Gupta were the prominent Lions Club members who were instrumental in organising the relief camp.

Jammu, October 6
A delegation of the Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi, a representative organisation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits living in Delhi, today met Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (independent charge) of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.

The delegation, led by samiti president Vijay Raina, apprised him of various problems being faced by the community.

Appreciating the gesture shown by the representatives of displaced Pandits towards the flood victims, Dr Jitendra Singh said it is a matter of great satisfaction that even after having gone through the nightmare of mass exodus from the Valley, the community still holds the same amount of commitment to their homeland and yearned to reach out to the flood-hit Kashmiri people in the Valley regardless of whichever religion or sect they belong to.

Jammu, October 6
National Mazdoor Conference (NMC) senior leader Rajan Babu Khajuria has expressed gratitude towards the Power Development Department (PDD) for restoring power supply to the Kashmir valley, which was badly affected due to floods.

Rajan Babu said Arun Kumar Mehta, Principal Secretary, PDD, along with his team had done a remarkable job. He, however, expressed concern over the working in Division-I at Parade.

Khajuria said state government should constitute a committee to check the work culture in the Parade subdivision. He alleged that the subdivision is harassing its consumers regarding their connections and also creating hurdles for its junior employees in the smooth functioning of the department.

The NMC leader demanded 20 per cent interim relief for both Centre and state government employees and pensioners, release of pending salary of casual labours working in various departments of the state government, increase in medical allowance, etc. — TNS

Jammu, October 6
Ucmas Abacus, the only abacus training institute in Jammu, organised a level completion ceremony for students at its Channi Himmat Centre here.

Sonia Masson, centre head, presided over the function along with master franchisee, Ucmas, J&K, Rupesh Masson, course instructor, Sonia Jamwal and Rita Sharma.

Aditya Sharma, a student of KC Public School and Muskaan Gupta from Jodhamal Public School jointly secured the first position by completing the basic level (first term) of Ucmas Abacus classes.

The second position was bagged by Mehar Singh of Presentation Convent School, while Lavanya Abrol of Presentation Convent School and Abhidyu Mahajan of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) No 1 shared the third position.

In the second batch, the students who scored 100 per cent marks in the basic level (first term) and stood first were Videhi Matto and Nitya Rishi of Jodhamal Public School and Pratham Kumar of KV No 2.

The second position was secured by Rossa Vishwanath of JK Public School and Ritisha Jagotra of GD Goneka School, whereas the third position was bagged by Mohit Kohli of Delhi Public School and Aarya Mahajan of Jodhamal Public School.

Later, level completion certificates were given to all students and medals were awarded to meritorious students. Students were also issued second-level study material and books. A demo of abacus skills was given by students.

Srinagar, October 6
The deluge that hit parts of the Kashmir valley and the heart of Srinagar exactly a month ago has left a trail of devastation on various fronts.

The floodwaters in the Jhelum and its tributaries wreaked havoc in some areas of south Kashmir five days prior to the deluge in Srinagar without putting on alert the civil administration.

It was something that the administration had not anticipated and there was hardly any warning, posing a challenge in terms of preventing loss of human lives and damage to property and crops.

In the absence of any proper disaster management organisation with men and machinery, the task is Herculean with the breakdown of the telecommunication network adding to the handicaps of the state administration to handle the situation.

The major challenges now are to prepare for the winter ahead people rendered homeless, relief and rehabilitation work and restoration of all essential services paralysed by the devastating floods. At least 81 lives, including 45 in Srinagar, had been lost in the floods.

Governance is yet to be brought back on track. The seat of the Jammu and Kashmir Government in Srinagar and other government offices had become the first casualty of floods due to the telecommunication breakdown and inundation of the Civil Secretariat.

The records of various departments housed in the ground floor of the main building, the new complex and adjacent temporary structures have been damaged. Thousands of files filled with mud and water were spread for drying on the lawns of the Civil Secretariat.

Heaps of computers, furniture and other goods damaged in water are being cleared in trucks. “The records on the ground floor have been damaged, but other work is going on in various departments,” said an official.

The seven-storey Civil Secretariat remained closed for at least 11 days due to inundation. It was reopened on September 18 for restricted number of employees who could make it to the inundated complex. The number of employees joining duty has grown with the decline in water level around the complex.

The temporary restoration of essential services like power, drinking water and road connectivity across Kashmir is above 90 per cent. Permanent restoration will take more time with massive financial assistance having been sought from the Centre.

The floods did not spare the main telephone exchange at the Central Telegraph Office in Lal Chowk, serving landline telephone needs, and the main switching centre, catering to mobile services in the Valley. With disruption of telephone and mobile connectivity, the state government had a tough time.

Rescue came from the Army, which provided at least 70 mobile phones. The BSNL started restoration work from September 8 with the help of satellites, facilitating connectivity from outside the Valley.

The BSNL is awaiting permission from the state government for digging roads and lanes to reconnect damaged infrastructure. Nearly 9,000 landlines are yet to be restored and services of 4.5 lakh mobile phones in Srinagar yet to be restored.

Srinagar, October 6
The summer capital has turned into a city of masks as piles of post-flood garbage remain dumped beside dusty roads.

Though the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) was among the few departments that started functioning four days after the floods, there seems to be no end to garbage and dust.

SMC Commissioner GN Qasba said the corporation had removed ‘record’ 27,439 metric tonnes of waste from September 11 to October 3 in Srinagar city. He said 5,000 men and 200 machines had been pressed into service and the SMC had also lifted 1,580 carcasses and disposed them scientifically.

Despite the SMC’s record claims and warnings from health experts over the hazards posed by the filth and dust, the residents are still waiting for the government to get proactive.

Miffed at the government’s lackadaisical approach, some volunteers were seen undertaking sanitation drives at a few places.

Showkat Ahmad, a shopkeeper at Lal Chowk, who has been cleaning his two shops for the past few days, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should personally monitor his ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ in Srinagar. “While Srinagar has not been among the cleanest cities, we must be among the filthiest after the floods. Narendra Modi should take personal interest and ensure that his sanitation drive is fully implemented here,” he said. 

Srinagar, October 6
A month after the deluge, the gushing Jhelum has silenced and along with it has calmed down the usual buzz around the city schools.

Some of the major schools in the summer capital including Tyndale Biscoe, Burnhall and Presentation Convent, which have been credited with some of the best academic talent the Valley has witnessed over the years, are yet to restore the normal functioning. Scores of children, which are on the roll of these schools, are unsure about when they would be able to go back to their school as parts of these institutions are still inundated.

Although the state government has directed all the government and private schools to resume normal class work, a preliminary enquiry by the School Education Department has revealed that nearly 5,000 school buildings across Kashmir have been damaged due to floods.

The Private School United Front (PSUF), a representative body of 1,200 private schools, has pegged the damage to school infrastructure at Rs 4,000 crore.

The annual board examinations for class VIII, X and XII, which were scheduled to be held in October, have also been delayed due to the catastrophe that hit the Valley on September 6 night.

Secretary, School Education Department, Nirmal Sharma said there was no question of cancelling these examinations.

A survey would be conducted to identify the safe examination halls following which the date sheet for the board examinations would be announced, Sharma said.

Sure Chak, October 6
A trail of destruction is visible in the flood-ravaged Sure Chak village of Phallain Mandal in Jammu district, where the victims have been trying hard to restart life from the scratch.

Their eyes remain glued on the vehicles entering the village through the dusty road for the want of relief material as the administration is yet to extend “adequate assistance” to them.

Whenever a vehicle carrying relief material (sent by some non-governmental and social organisations) enters the village, it leads to a fight and exchange of heated words among the flood victims as they blame each other for depriving the “deserving and needy” from the relief material.

It was the fateful morning of September 6 when the overflowing Tawi inundated the village. The villagers, who had earlier never seen such violent nature of the river, didn’t get the opportunity to salvage their belongings and had to either rush for safer place or take refuge on double-storey buildings in the area.

“Despite the fact that we lost everything in the flood, the administration gave us just one tent, a cheque of Rs 13,000 as financial assistance and 10 kg ration after the natural calamity,” said Rattan Lal. “We lost all household goods as our house remained filled with 5-6 feet slush for four consecutive days,” he said while ruing the government apathy.

Ratan Lal’s neighbour, Raj Kumar said no mechanism was followed in relief distribution in the village as the “deserving and needy” remained deprived. 

Srinagar, October 6
Forced to live in tents along the roadside, Eid was not so memorable for many of the people rendered homeless by the recent floods.

“I was in tears when one of my children asked for new clothes this morning. I am a poor man, but in the past I used to buy new clothes for them (on Eid),” said Ghulam Hussain Beig, who is putting up in a tented accommodation.

For this 45-year-old labourer from Tengpora, whose single-storey house collapsed in the September 7 deluge, the Eid in the past would mean buying new clothes for his children and to ensure that his wife prepares three to four mutton dishes for the lunch.

“We were provided chicken by some voluntary group on last evening and that is what we cooked for the lunch toady,” Beig said.

While her wife was busy preparing tea on a hearth set up outside the tent, Beig’s two poorly-dressed children were busy playing in one corner of the tent.

Bashir Ahmed Wani said his family was compelled to live in such a “miserable condition” as they cannot afford to reconstruct their collapsed house.

“We are very poor people and may never be able to reconstruct our house. After the floods, many families were putting up in tents but people who could afford have shifted to other places or moved to rented accommodations. The poor like us are living in these tents,” said Wani.

Waheeda, who puts up in a neighbouring tent, said it was the “most horrible experience” to live in a tent.

“The most difficult part is cooking food on the roadside. With so many vehicles passing around and passengers peeping out….Today, as it was Eid, I prepared rice and chicken,” Waheeda said.

Srinagar, October 6
“It was a natural catastrophe which could not have been prevented. If the government had vision, the flood on September 7, which inundated Srinagar, could have been managed better,” said Dr Shakil Romshoo, head of the Earth Sciences Department at the University of Kashmir.

He had warned about the catastrophic floods in a scientific write-up way back in 2010. In his field study, the Jhelum embankment in Srinagar had 22 major breaches from Kandizal to Chattabal, the points of entry and exit, during the floods on September 6 and 7. Apart from the breaches, water overflowed river embankments at dozens of places.

“The danger of floods will always lurk over Srinagar as capacity of the river or its discharge capacity is 35,000 cusecs. It reached 1,20,000 cusecs, the highest ever discharge mark, on September 7. Where will the water go? It was destined to flow into the city,” said Romsho.

He is preparing a scientific paper on causes of the floods and steps needed to prevent a deluge in the future. The flaw in the project was that it would bring newer areas and villages in Kashmir under the threat of floods in the future if water discharge in the Jhelum exceeded 1,20,000 cusecs.

Flood control engineers had been working to plug in major breaches in Jhelum embankments in Srinagar and other areas. Immediate steps like drudging of the Jhelum to desilt it and strengthening embankments on both sides were needed.

The only long-term solution to prevent the kind of flooding Srinagar witnessed on September 7 was construction of an additional flood spill channel. This was in addition to desilting and strengthening of embankments of the existing flood spill channel passing through Rajbagh and Rambagh. Then Chief Minister Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad had got it constructed after major floods in 1959.

During a press conference on September 29, Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey and Commissioner Secretary of Flood Control Department Pawan Kotwal said the state government hoped that the Centre would approve Rs 2,200-crore project for construction of a second flood spill channel to handle the water discharge in the future. The project was submitted to the Centre in 2007.

The project proposed bypassing the Jhelum from Srinagar in case of emergency to prevent inundation. An amount of Rs 97 crore was released by the Centre in 2010. Officials said it was used for dredging the flood channel, which enhanced its capacity by 9,000 cusecs. Since then, the project was not vigorously pursued by successive state governments.

Another challenge for the state government was removing encroachment and freeing the plain, which officials had blamed for the floods.

Srinagar, October 6
The state government is not vis ble for homeless residents even a month after the deluge. Many people, including women and children, are putting up in either houses of relatives or rented accommodation.

In case neither is available, 100 square feet tents without toilets are their homes. The tents have neither water supply nor medical facilities. Nine tents are housed in the Lal Mandi area on the banks of the Jhelum, in which 19 families are putting up.

“We have not seen any official, legislator or minister all these days and have been left to fend for ourselves,” said Shenaz, wife of Mohammad Yousuf Mattoo, a driver. Their tent is home to two families with eight members each, including four young women.

Shenaz puts up in a tent provided by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which is the only help that has come from the government. Those putting in the tents are being provided food by their distant relatives not affected by floods or local volunteers.

Ashiq Hussain Dar, a retired tehsil supply officer, is putting up in the house of his sister-in-law at Shalimar. “Four brothers of mine have shifted to houses of their in-laws. How long will this continue?” he asked.

“The state government and the Centre have failed in their duties. They make tall claims, but have done nothing to help us in getting out of the mess even after a month,” he added.

While there is no official figure on how many people have been rendered homeless, unofficial figures have put the number in thousands. The worries of the homeless are becoming even more visible as winter is around the corner.

“There are more challenges ahead as winter approaches. We will need bedding for thousands of displaced people as the temperature falls,” said Showkat Ahmed, a social worker said.

There are many homeless people who are putting at various relief centres in Srinagar. The government has no details about the exact number of houses damaged in Srinagar which remained under water more than three weeks after the devastating floods.

New Delhi, October 6
The displaced Kashmiri Pandit community residing here today offered to lend their services and go to the flood-hit Valley in Jammu and Kashmir to help people in the hour of calamity.

Appreciating the gesture, the Centre said it would make every effort to facilitate such an effort.

Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said it is a matter of great satisfaction to note that even after having gone through exodus, members of the Kashmiri Pandit community, settled in other parts of the country hold the same commitment and yearn to reach out to the flood-hit people in the state.

“This, indeed, is the distinct richness of the Kashmiri culture which stands out unscathed even in the most hostile circumstances,” the Minister said, after accepting a memorandum from a delegation of Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi, a release from his office said.

The delegation led by its Samiti president Vijay Raina said even though they had been uprooted from the Valley nearly 25 years ago, they had lived together in harmony for several centuries and therefore they felt their responsibility towards their brothers and sisters there.

The unprecedented floods in the state brought large parts of Srinagar under water, claimed over 250 lives and rendered thousands homeless, besides causing extensive damage to infrastructure.

The delegation through a memorandum also demanded rehabilitation of displaced people at places of their present settlement, grant of ownership rights to the Pandits living at Jagati Township near Jammu, compensation for over-aged Kashmiri Pandit youth and enhancement of monthly relief from Rs 1,650 per head to Rs 5000 per head.

The memorandum also sought bifurcation of migrant cards for displaced families living in Delhi on the pattern followed in Jammu, employment package for Kashmiri Pandit youth living outside the state and restoration of relief for registered migrants living in Delhi, who were corporate employees and have since retired.

On his part, the Minister assured the delegation that the Centre will seriously deliberate on all the suggestions put forward in the memorandum.

The delegation also included vice presidents Rakesh Razdan and Ramesh Raina, general secretary Sumeer Chrungoo and treasurer LN Dhar. 

Srinagar, October 6
A month after the deluge, the corridors of one of the Valley’s premier hospitals Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) in Srinagar are mostly empty.

Prior to the floods, the hospital corridors used to be packed with patients and their attendants.

Not many patients have been admitted to the hospital that was reopened recently after remaining shut for nearly a fortnight.

While the hospital has been cleaned of the mud and filth brought in by the floodwaters, it would take time to bring it back to its original.

When Srinagar sank on September 7, the biggest casualty was the healthcare sector. All major hospitals in Srinagar, including SMHS hospital, Valley’s only maternity hospital Lal Ded, lone children hospital GB Pant and Bone and Joints hospitals and Jhelum Valley College, Bemina, were inundated and remained shut for many days.

However, the SMHS has been the worst hit.

A month later, while the authorities claim to have resumed functioning of various hospitals in Srinagar, health experts say it would take two to three months before the hospitals start functioning like they did before the floods.

The SMHS suffered losses worth more than Rs 250 crore. The ground floor of the hospital which used to cater to thousands of patients daily was inundated and costly equipment, including MRI and CT scan machines, were damaged by the floodwaters. The ground floor of the hospital has been isolated.

Principal, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Rafiq Pampori said the Out Patient Department (OPD) and the casualty ward of the hospital were made functional in the fourth week of September.

“The triage at the hospital is very much functional and the surgical ICU has also been restarted. The gastroenterology and cardiology units have also been restarted as the catheterisation laboratory at the hospital is safe. We have also started admitting patients and even carried surgeries,” Pampori said.

While the GMC Principal says the hospital has been made functional for the patients, the fact is that few patients are turning up at the hospital.

People allege that the government was in a hurry to reopen the hospital and no examination had been done to check whether infection had been controlled at the hospital after the floods.

“The patients are at risk in the hospital,” most people visiting the hospital say.

Pampori justifies the reopening by saying that a start has to be made somewhere and the hospital is safe for patients.

Like SMHS, Lal Ded too was inundated and marooned. The blood bank and the oxygen centre at the hospital were submerged.

However, the operation theatre, neonatal care room and labour rooms in the upper floor did not suffer any damage.

Though the OPD of Lal Ded Hospital has started functioning and patients were admitted to the hospital few days ago, there is no rush of the patients as used to be seen prior to the floods.

The GB Pant has only managed to resume its OPD. The hospital’s oxygen plant and generator, vital for the patients, has not been made functional. 

Srinagar, October 6
In the vastness of the Himalayas, there now stands a city in mourning. On a moonlit night in the first week of September, death made a midnight knock at the doors of thousands of sleeping people. It chased them wherever they escaped.

The fury and its aftermath continued even after a fortnight as each night turned into a doomsday. It was Kashmir’s black September when the region’s postcard and innocuously flowing Jhelum, a delight of poets’ imagination, erupted in a maddening and dangerous avatar. Whatever came in its devastating path, the river vanquished it.

Jhelum flows from south Kashmir and meanders through the region’s urban heartland, Srinagar city, flowing north towards Baramulla and further into Pakistan.

On September 3, the state’s Meteorological Department issued a warning about the incoming western disturbance storm over the region which, it said, would cause moderate to heavy rainfall for four days. The warnings are routine in the region and are issued several times every year, mostly in the winter. The rains continued incessantly for four days till the September 6 afternoon when a rainbow appeared over the city.

The spectrum of colours was a mirage.

On Saturday evening, only a few localities of the city were submerged and the rainbow had created a hope that the next day would be a routine. People went home. There were no alarms, not until 10 pm, when the public address system of city’s various mosques began blaring out the first warnings.

Anxious voices told the residents to be awake and alert as the water level in the river and its various canals was rising. The night kept growing longer as the wait continued and water began to rush into localities. It happened on a slower pace, initially, as water trickled over the embankments. What happened later that night, around dawn and then during the day, shocked everyone. The people had only one word to describe it: God’s wrath.

The state government had no words to picture what had happened as it was the first to vanish under the mountain of water. There was no sign of the administration. It had melted away in the darkness of the deluge, which made no distinction between the rich and the poor and the powerful and the powerless.

On Sunday morning (September 7), the city had lost its map. There were no roads. The bustling city, its various markets, traffic, roadside eateries and cafes, its gardens, lake, the smell of barbeques, all of them existed no more. The only thing visible was an exodus of distressed people in search of land as deluge, appearing out of nowhere and bursting out of the earth at some places, was shrinking the city’s landscape and sinking it in the vastness of water.

When everyone thought it was the worst that could happen, another calamity befell the city. Its people lost contact with each other as mobile telecommunication system went down and the mobility of the city’s residents was confined to a few metres.

Many people spent their days and nights huddled together in attics. For a fortnight, a few knew who survived the deluge and death.

When the deluge finally began to recede, it unveiled the extent of disaster and havoc it had unleashed. Raj Bagh, an upscale residential neighbourhood which sank in a casket of water as high as 25 feet, was a minuscule ghost town. The locality, before the flood ravaged it, was the first stop of modernity’s incursions. It was here that Kashmir had its first pizza outlet. A month after the flood, the road to Raj Bagh, which used to be jammed with traffic on usual days, is desolate. It is a place in mourning.

The economic loss, estimated by the state government at a preliminary Rs 1,00,000 crore, is evident by the post-flood scenes at Lal Chowk and its adjoining markets, which constitute the commercial hub of the city and the region.

Lal Chowk’s posh shops are deserted as deluge devastated the bustling and crowded city centre, turning it into a nightmarish and dusty abyss of the economic pillage.

The talking points of the city, its restaurants, cafes and hangouts, are shut. The bookshops are ravaged, letters evaporated from the pages.

The fashionable streets of Lal Chowk, some of them having a historic link with Kashmir’s past, are in ruins.

The deluge wrecked the people of Kashmir in unprecedented ways, displacing thousands of families who found shelter in relief camps, with relatives and friends and in makeshift tents.

The people of Srinagar had become refugees in their own city, many ate nothing for days, some received the food donated by people of other districts and distributed by volunteers from as far as Doda in the south and Lolab in the north.

The only silver lining in this dark and heartbreaking episode is the will of the people who stood by and helped each other, innovating boats out of rugs, swimming and wading through ice cold water and doing everything and anything possible to save lives. 

Jammu, October 6
Muslims in the city today celebrated Eid-ul-Zuha, an important religious festival celebrated by followers of Islam to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God.

In localities like Khatikan Talab, Ustad Mohalla, Sidhra and Bhatindi, spirit of festivity prevailed as thousands of people offered prayers in mosques and visited markets to buy gifts for their relatives and loved ones.

“Eid is also about spending time with family and people wait for this day. As some of our relatives have been affected by floods in Poonch and Rajouri, celebration is a low-key affair this time,” said Zulfikar Hassan Khan, a local resident.

For the festival people buy new clothes and prepare delicious dishes of meat. Sacrificial goats are in great demand, which are offered as sacrifice after the prayers.

“We are selling a pair of goats for not less than Rs 25,000 this year, and if the demand increases then we can even sell it at Rs 70,000,” said a seller, Ali Mohammad.

Meanwhile, the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and civil administration had made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the prayers. The Jammu Municipal Corporation had installed water tankers and additional manpower at mosques in the city.

Srinagar, October 6
Asif Fayaz has returned home in the Jawahar Nagar locality of Srinagar two days back. The purpose was to clean a couple of rooms in his three-storey house so that the family could come on the occasion of Eid as friends, relatives and acquaintances dropped in to show solidarity.

The mood is sombre and Eid festivities are missing. A majority of residents of his locality are not back yet. Most of the streets are still stinking with heaps of mud and slush all around, left by the receding water.

“I have never seen such an Eid in my otherwise bustling locality. Particularly aroung Eid, my locality wears a festive look and children sporting new dresses roam the streets. All that is missing,” said Asif. He added that the water in his locality had reached 17 feet.

Asif pointed that a day before Eid, volunteers of the Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Foundation, distributed chicken and a ration kit comprising 10 kg rice, flour, sugar, edible oil and tea, among the affected who had returned to their homes on the occasion of Eid.

“This is not relief. It was just a token gesture towards the affected who returned to the Jawahar Nagar locality to celebrate Eid so that they did not feel that they had forgotten by society,” said Kousar Ahmad, public relations officer of the foundation.

He added that a majority of residents had not returned to their homes. Most of the houses in the Jawahar Nagar locality had either collapsed or developed cracks. A majority of houses in Rajbagh, Gojgibagh, Wazirbagh, Mehjoor Nagar, Ikhrajpora and Shivpora wore a deserted look on Eid.

Some families which had returned were cleaning muck in their houses. In a majority of localities, main streets were empty and houses deserted with most compound walls having collapsed. In some lanes and bylanes, people could be seen distributing relief material or meat of sacrificial animals, which would indicate that somebody had returned home.

The only spot which wore a festive look was the Children’s Park in the Wazirbagh area, behind the Lal Ded Maternity Hospital, where dozens of children in their colourful new clothes and fancy dresses were busy celebrating Eid. Some rode seesaws and merry-go-rounds while a few went to stalls selling ice-creams and candies. The presence of children was the only bright sight in the otherwise deserted area.

Srinagar, October 6
Eid congregational prayers across Kashmir today turned as occasions for fund-raising and collection of relief material for flood-hit people.

Before Eid prayers, hundreds of volunteers from local charities and Auqaf Committees collected money from people to be used for the rehabilitation of the people affected by the floods in Srinagar, Anantnag, Kulgam, and other parts of the Valley.

While addressing a major Eid congregation, which had assembled at the Eidgah ground in Srinagar, chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq announced construction of 50 to 100 houses by Dar-ul-Khairaaat, a charity being rung by his organisation, for those worst-affected by the recent floods.

“I appeal to the people to stand up on their own feet and show the spirit of self-help,” Mirwaiz said in his address to the gathering at the Eidgah, while announcing a housing project for the badly hit people.

He said under this project to be undertaken by a charity run by his organisation 50 to 100 houses would be constructed at the cost of Rs 5 lakh each in the first phase.

Likewise, in Baramulla in north Kashmir, where the biggest Eid congregational prayers were held at Eidgah Jadeed, organisers and local volunteers raised funds for the flood-hit people in the areas around the Wular lake and Pattan tehsil.

The main speakers urged well-off people to donate generously for the rehabilitation of those who had lost their houses during the September 7 deluge.

There were also similar reports of fund raising from other major towns like Kupwara, Handwara and Sopore in north Kashmir, where people were seen collecting money for the flood-affected and religious heads issuing appeals to help flood-hit people in other parts of the Valley.

In Pampore town, the biggest Eid congregational prayers were held at Khanqah Hamdania, where volunteers from the local Quqaf Committee were seen raising funds and collecting money. 

Srinagar, October 6
Eid-ul-Zuha was celebrated in a subdued manner across the Kashmir valley today. Though congregational prayers were offered at several places as per the past practice, the traditional fervour was missing after the recent floods caused a lot of destruction, especially in the summer capital and parts of south Kashmir.

The largest Eid congregations were held at the Eidgah in old city and the Hazratbal Shrine on the banks of the Dal Lake.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah too offered Eid prayers at Hazratbal and urged people to remember flood-affected families on the occasion of Eid. Later, Omar donated blood at a camp that was held at the SMHS hospital.

Even as people sacrificed cattle to honour Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son before Allah, there was around 50 per cent slump in sheep sales this Eid. Several families are still cleaning their mud-filled houses while others are yet to shift back to their homes. Many others have been rendered homeless after floods damaged their houses.

As per official estimates, 12.5 lakh families had been affected by the floods. Moreover, 83,044 pucca houses have been fully damaged and 96,089 partially. Similarly, 21,162 kutcha houses were fully damaged and 54,264 partially damaged forcing a low-key Eid.

While Kashmiris are known for cooking a range of dishes, mostly non-vegetarian, on Eid, people preferred to go for austere Eid celebrations. Though the trend of bursting firecrackers had picked up for the past few years, no loud celebrations were witnessed this time at most parts.

Shops at the commercial hub Lal Chowk, which had always remained a hub for Eid shoppers, and in the vicinity continue to remain shut for a month now due to damages caused by the floods.

Srinagar, October 6
Just a day before Eid, Mohammad Amin managed to move back to his residence at Qamarwari, an area that had remained submerged in floodwaters for more than three weeks.

The walls of his house are still damp and the roads outside are stinking and full of filth and garbage. But, he along with his family and a few other neighbours preferred to move in just to celebrate Eid.

And now that they have moved in, nobody is wishing them ‘Eid Mubarak’ – the traditional way of greeting each other on the festive occasion. Whosoever is entering their house is just uttering ‘mubarak’ that means congratulations.

“Many relatives and friends came here today, but nobody said Eid Mubarak…they were just saying mubarak (congratulations). We were being congratulated for re-entering our flood-hit homes after nearly a month,” Amin said.

He said others, who had just started re-entering their homes, too are being greeted in a similar manner amid subdued Eid celebrations.

“All my neighbours used to do qurbaan (sacrifice lambs) on Eid-ul-Zuha, but today you will not find a single sheep in our neighbourhood. We have suffered huge losses and there is no reason to celebrate,” he said.

“And all are being wished and congratulated for surviving floods….we still entered our homes but many are still homeless,” Amin said.

The tale of people shifting back to their homes at other areas is the same.

There is no flooring on Zafar Ahmad’s residence at Magarmal Bagh. He is planning to buy new carpets after his floor completely dries up, but moved in to celebrate Eid-ul-Zuha.

“We shifted back just for Eid-ul-Zuha though we knew there are going to be no celebrations here. However, Eid-ul-Zuha has become ‘mubarak’ for us as we finally re-entered our house,” he said.

Srinagar, October 6
CPM state secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami today wrote to the state Chief Secretary seeking rehabilitation of villages in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district which have been damaged by the floods.

“The recent floods have devastated Arrigatnoo and parts of Chambgund villages of Kulgam district, rendering hundreds of families homeless. The affected families are putting up in a relief camp without basic amenities,” Tarigami, who is Kulgam MLA, wrote to Chief Secretary MI Khanday.

Tarigami said Achthal and Kilamgund villages in Kulgam “too suffered heavily and the inhabitants are unwilling to rebuild their houses in the said villages, being extremely vulnerable”.

“It is requested that alternate land be identified for the affected families so that they can build their houses before the winter…the matter deserves to be accorded priority,” he wrote. — TNS

Srinagar, October 6
On a day when Pakistani troops opened heavy mortar shelling and firing along the international border in the Jammu region, the Army foiled an infiltration bid in the frontier district of Kupwara in the Kashmir region killing three unidentified militants.

The three were killed close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Tangdhar sector, 185 kms from Srinagar.

Last month, four militants were killed in the same area when they were trying to sneak in to the Valley.

The Army said the encounter erupted during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday when the troops of 5/5 GR noticed the suspected movement close to the LoC.

“The troops deployed along the LoC in the Tangdhar sector observed the movement of a group of terrorists along the fencing. The counter infiltration grid was reinforced while the terrorists were kept under constant surveillance till they crossed the fencing. The terrorists were effectively engaged resulting in elimination of all the three terrorists,” an Army spokesperson in Srinagar said.

During searches three AK-47, 78 rounds of AK-47, seven magazines, one radio set, a night vision device, two hand grenades and other warlike stores were recovered, the spokesperson added.

He, however, said the identity of the terrorists was yet to be ascertained. The sources though claimed the three belonged to the Lashkar-e-Toiba.

The troops after conducting searches in the forests called off the operation in the area Monday afternoon.

Sources said militants were desperate to infiltrate into the Valley before the snow blocks the mountain passes along the LoC for several months.

The militants, they said, were also trying to take advantage of the heavy damage to the LoC fence by the flash floods last month that triggered heavy landslides in the upper reaches of the Valley.

In past the four weeks, the Army has foiled four infiltration attempts in which 12 militants have been killed. 

Jammu, October 6
As Pakistan Rangers continued to target the civilian areas in Jammu with heavy calibre weapons, Government Medical College and Hospital here is flooded by people with shrapnel injuries.

Around 29 people admitted to the hospital are being treated for splinter injuries and doctors are worried as unlike bullet wounds, small fragments inflict greater damage to the vital parts of the body.

Scenes at one of the biggest hospitals in the region reminded one of the war zone. From early morning the injured streamed into the hospital.

Medics wheeled out people in agonising pain, while policemen at the door of the emergency room scuffled with the panicked relatives trying to burst in.

Talking to The Tribune, survivors described the horror of intense shelling from across the border in Arnia and its surrounding villages, which has forced people to abandon their homes to take shelter in government schools and other buildings.

“It seems Pakistan is waging war against us. Every family in our village has an injured member or a relative. It was very difficult to shift them to the hospital as shells were falling for the whole night,” said Joginder Pal, from Arnia, which bore the maximum brunt of shelling.

Fear and anger is written large on the faces of survivors as they grapple with the agony. “In villages near the border, life has no meaning. We are exposed to bullets and bombs every day. Our children and women are living under the shadow of gun. We want to live in peace,” said Manish Kumar from Kothe village.

The fear-stricken survivors said every wall in their village was riddled with bullets and splinters.

“Nobody can understand our pain. We have been reduced to just showpiece for the leaders. We want suitable action against Pakistan Rangers who kill our people,” said Suraj Prakash, another villager.

Srinagar, October 6
A delegation of Kashmir operations of ‘Sarhad Puna’, a Non-governmental organisation (NGO) led by Nazir Ahmed Khan, called on Governor NN Vohra here today.

The other members of the delegation were Zakir Geelani and Rohullah Mirza.

The NGO delegation apprised the Governor about the relief work done by their organisation in the past month in collaboration with New City Hospital, Srinagar. It provided medicines and health care services at medical camps set up by them in Bandipora, Pulwama, Srinagar, Budgam and Anantnag. The doctors working with the Non-governmental organisation are presently carrying out door-to-door immunisation of the flood-affected people in various parts of the Valley against measles and tetanus.

The Governor lauded the work being done by the group of young doctors.

He also appreciated the commitment with which they were working to alleviate the sufferings of the flood victims. The Governor wished them success in their ongoing endeavour and future careers. 

Srinagar, October 6
After dawn prayers and special Eid congregations, people spend time over brunch with family, friends and visit their relatives.

However, this Eid, Faizan Hassan Khan, an engineering graduate, did something different. As soon as he finished Eid prayers, Faizan headed towards Nadiyar and Khan Mohallas of the old city with his relief team to provide essential supplies of rice, edible oil, sugar, tea and skimmed milk packets to 20 families from these localities whose houses had collapsed in the recent floods and do not have a roof over their heads.

Although many NGOs and state-sponsored relief materials have flown into the Valley, the residents of the old city feel alienated since the statistics reveal that much damage happened in central and uptown Srinagar.

But there were parts of downtown Srinagar too which were flooded and where houses collapsed.

Families who lost their houses are from the lower-middle class income group and have nothing to eat, let alone celebrate Eid.

But Faizan and his group, Mukhtar Memorial Society, are ensuring that all the essential supplies reach these victims who feel an ignored lot.

Faizan, whose own family survived the floods, is collectively involved in this charity work.

Till now, Faizan has donated relief supplies worth Rs 34 lakh to various flood-affected people of the old Srinagar city.

From the interiors of the Dal Lake to the crowded Noorbagh, Qamarwari neighbourhood, Faizan is doing whatever possible so that help reaches the people who are in the dire need right now.

Ever since his father died, Faizan has taken it onto himself to revive his father’s dream of helping the poor and needy sections of society and he thinks that trying times like these provide the opportune time to help the distressed.

Srinagar, October 6
K Rajendra Kumar, Director General of Police, J&K, called on the Governor NN Vohra here today.

The Director General of Police briefed the Governor about post-flood relief and rehabilitation and sanitation measures being carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) to mitigate the sufferings of the flood-affected people in the state.

The Governor lauded the role being played by the J&K Police in obtaining situation in the state and discussed with K Rajendra several matters relating to internal and external security management in the state. 

Srinagar, October 6
A Kashmiri Pandit family braved all odds to stay back when militancy engulfed the Valley in 1990, but the devastating floods last month have forced them to live separately after losing everything, including the roof over their heads.

“I am putting up with a friend in Shalimar, my son and wife are at Aloochi Bagh with her friend’s family, while I was forced to shift to my parents place in Delhi following the floods. We want to live together again, but we have no roof over our head,” Arun Kumar Gaind, a Kashmiri Pandit, said.

The Gainds, who chose not to migrate when militancy erupted in the Valley in 1990, own an electronic goods shop in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk and Arun works as a technician in the state’s Power Development Department (PDD).

They lost everything in the deluge as their rented house in Jawahar Nagar collapsed due to the ravaging floods while the goods in the shop were destroyed in Lal Chowk.

A well-to-do family, before the natural calamity struck on September 7, Arun is now running from pillar to post to get some help from the gGovernment so that he can reunite his family.

“We had a close shave with death in the deluge as our rented accommodation collapsed minutes after we moved out of it to a neighbour’s concrete house,” he said.

“I approached my department (Power Development Department) and the Estates Department as well for some accommodation, but my case has been rejected on the basis that they don’t have enough room for Civil Secretariat employees,” the 37-year-old government employee said.Jawahar Nagar was one of the worst-hit localities in Srinagar and remained submerged for nearly a month, forcing hundreds of families to leave for safer places.

Many residents, whose houses have escaped damages, have started returning and are busy clearing the muck, but Gainds at the moment have nowhere to go. Arun is now cursing the day when his family decided to stay back in the Valley in 1990.

“The state government is providing so many facilities to migrant employees, but those who stayed back are being denied the same. I guess it would have been better for us to migrate as well,” he added.

He suggested that the government should provide flats constructed for migrant Pandits to accommodate the families affected by the floods.

“Why cannot these buildings be used to accommodate those in immediate need? Whenever the migrants decide to return, we will vacate these flats,” he said.

Last month, the government asked Darbar Move employees whose accommodations have been affected by the floods to seek alternate arrangement.“The Estates Department has made sufficient arrangements for ‘move’ employees whose allotted accommodation has been affected due to unprecedented floods,” the government had said.

Arun said he was not in a position to arrange private accommodation since he had nothing left.

“Nobody is coming forward to help us...We have no money or clothes,” he said.

Pointing towards the clothes he was wearing, Arun said even those were borrowed from his Muslim friend with whom he was putting up.

“The Muslim neighbours not only supported my family but several others for three days. It was after three days that some local Muslim youth reached us in a boat and we were evacuated and dropped at Rajbagh bund. The youth did not charge us any money,” he said.

From there the Gainds moved to Shalimar with a friend, but due to shortage of space, Arun sent his parents to Delhi.

“They were airlifted by the Indian Air Force to Delhi free of cost. They are now staying with a relative, but are craving for early return,” he said.

Arun is worried about his mother who is suffering from a heart ailment and want his parents back with him as soon as possible. — PTI