Before Jammu and Kashmir could fully recover from the disastrous flood of September last year, the valley woke up to another nightmare due to the incessant rain, which has created havoc in the state.
The unseasonal heavy rain in the most part of Kashmir destroyed homes, crops and raised fears of flash- flood in the state. Hundreds of people fled their homes to safer places as the main rivers started to swell. People in the state witnessed continuous power cuts, water logging and landslides, bringing back the dreadful memory of the flood last year. The weather department has forecasted torrential rain in coming week.
According to the J & K government officials, water level of Jhelum River has passed the danger level at 22.4 feet and 18.8 feet at Sangam in South Kashmir and Ram Munshi Bah Srinagar city respectively. If the water level crosses 23-feet mark, state will have to undertake massive rescue operations to evacuate people stranded in areas adjoining the river.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi rushed Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to Kashmir in order to assess the flood situation in the valley and coordinate with state authorities for any help. On the worsening situation of Kashmir, J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said, “I hope situation will further be improved from today. We will try to provide compensation to non-insured people who have been affected by the flood.”
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju has assured that the Central government understands the kind of panic among people of Kashmir which is again facing floods and is prepared to deal with the situation. He underlined that the Centre and the state government will work together and provide all kinds of help required.
“Whatever is necessary we will do. We will together work for the relief,” Rijiju said.
On March 30, a hillside collapsed onto a house in Ledhan village of Kashmir, burying everyone of the house who was sleeping inside it. The neighbors suspect more than 10 people were there. The landslide smeared the entire house making it impossible to rescue people from it.
According to a study by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, India is experiencing more extreme rainfalls as a direct result of climate change due to global warming. March 2015 has been the wettest month in more than a century and has destroyed millions of hectares of corps.
The flood in September 2014 was the worst that Kashmir has suffered in more than a century. It killed nearly 300 people and displaced hundreds of houses. This year, Kashmir has been flooded again and people living in low-lands have been warned. The government has put forth several flood experts, rescue and security teams along with advanced machines to tackle the threatening situation.
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