In Anantnag, a cancer patient, others crave for a tent ‘District administration seems to be least bothered about our plight’ Uranhal (Bijbehara): Ali Muhammad Dar, 60, a cancer patient who lost his house during the recent devastating floods in this south Kashmir village has been moving from pillar to post for a tent which he can use as a temporary shelter. However, his pleas have fallen flat leaving him with no choice but to erect an ordinary tarpaulin on the debris of his collapsed house. Dar’s son Muhammad Shafi is an auto-rickshaw driver and is the sole bread earner of the family consisting also of Dar’s wife and four other children in their primary classes. “I and my son have been making rounds to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office Anantnag for a tent despite possessing the necessary recommendation slip from the local Auqaf Committee but the authorities are unmoved about our plight,” says ailing Dar. He said that they were living in open after the floods and now have erected an ordinary tarpaulin tent. Dar, struggling to speak amid coughs, says, “I am ailing for last three years and don’t have money for medicines now. My son’s auto-rickshaw was also damaged in the floods.” Dar said that all the belongings of his house were washed away by the floods. “We even did not receive any relief from the administration. Whatever help we received was from the local volunteer groups,” says Dar. “Our son was toiling hard to support the family and bear medical expenses of his ailing father but the loss of shelter has shattered us,” says Jameela, Dar’s wife. “We are left with nothing except some broken utensils which I managed to salvage from the debris,” she says. Jameela said that no one came to rescue them when the Jehlum embankments breached and the entire area got submerged. “Only the local fishermen came to our rescue and took us to the nearby masjid where all the villagers had taken shelter,” says Jameela. Around 12 houses were razed to rubble and many others damaged by the flood waters in Uranhal village and most of the villagers are living in a pitiable condition. “No government relief came to this village,” says an orphan, Zubair Ahmad Rather, a class 12 student. Zubair’s house also collapsed in the floods and he has erected an ordinary tent where he puts up along with his widow mother and two sisters. In Hassanpora, Hussanpora and Laktipora villages of Bijbehara where Vaishaw caused widespread devastation, razing to ground around 300 houses, people also complained that they were neither provided with tents nor any relief by the administration. “Most of the people whose houses collapsed were not provided tents,” say the residents of Hassanpora. They said that only people of adjacent Arwani village and local volunteer groups provided them relief. Similarly, in Islamabad town, many people complained that they were not getting tents and relief material despite recommendation slips from the respective mohalla committees. Aadil, whose house collapsed due to floods is the sole bread earner of the family consisting of his ailing father, mother, younger brother and two sisters. Aadil said that he did not even get a single blanket or ration from authorities. Haneefa, a widow in Mattan Chowk area of town, has also been knocking the doors of the authorities for a tent but every time she had to return empty handed. “I lost my shelter and am living in a neighbor’s house along with my two educated but unemployed sons. I have been pleading to authorities to at least provide me a tent but they seem least bothered about my miserable plight,” says Haneefa. She said that they did not get any relief from the administration.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 03:25:19 +0000
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