Srinagar, October 24
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a relief package of Rs 745 crore for the flood-hit people of Jammu and Kashmir, Opposition parties came out in sharp criticism of the move today saying the package was “too little, too late”.

State Congress president Saifuddin Soz denounced the package as a “crude joke” saying the amount was too petty and that Modi’s move smacked of politics.

He said it showed “his casual approach to give a helping hand to the people, who had to face the ravages of severest flood in their recorded history”.

The PDP described the announcement as a “relief and not a package” and urged the Prime Minister to take measures for a comprehensive rehabilitation process. Calling the package an “insult”, the CPM accused the Centre of playing with the sentiments of the people of the state.

BJP’s state unit president Jugal Kishore Sharma, however, hailed the announcement as a “great gesture”.

The latest package includes Rs 570 crore for the repair of the damaged houses and Rs 175 crore for restoring six hospitals across the state. Modi also announced free books and notebooks for schoolchildren who lost their study material during floods.

The announcement came as Modi concluded his day-long visit to Srinagar. Modi kept his date with Srinagar after he tweeted that he would “spend day with the sisters and brothers affected by unfortunate floods”.

This is a step forward from the Rs 1,000 crore package that he announced during his visit to the state on September 7. Talking to mediapersons at Raj Bhavan, the Prime Minister said “there was a demand from people here that the money be directly given to the victims. The government will seriously consider this so that the money is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the victims, particularly for the repair of damaged houses”. Modi said the Centre would “examine” the memorandum submitted by the state government.