J-K floods: Rescue and relief operations resume after rains ease up September 14, 2014 Relief operations in flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir were briefly hampered on Sunday morning due to rains even as the armed forces and National Disaster Response Force rescued another 60,000 people trapped in flood waters in Kashmir Valley. However, the rainfall which started around 8.30 am stopped within an hour. An army personnel lends an helping hand by carrying a baby in Srinagar. In view of the rainfall and dense clouds, Indian Air Force halted its flights to ferry relief supplies even though emergency operations of transporting medicines were maintained, IAF officials said, adding normal relief operations by IAF choppers resumed at 11.15 am. SDM, Srinagar, Syed Abid Rasheed Shah said that inclement weather will create problems as many people are still on the roads and without shelter. J-K flood affected laborers being fed by the Army near Ramban in Jammu and. Photograph: PTI photo At some places, people are putting up in tents which are not waterproof, he said. India Meteorological Department Director B P Yadav said, “There was mild rainfall in the morning. But, we have not issued any warning. There would be no heavy rainfall in the State today.” Continuing their rescue operations for the 13th day, armed forces and NDRF personnel rescued another 60,000 people caught in flood waters in KashmirValley since Saturday. “Armed Forces and NDRF have so far rescued over 2 lakh persons from different parts of J&K in the ongoing rescue and relief operations,” a senior army officer said. Locals wade through water to reach higher ground in Srinagar. Photograph: PTI photo Of these, 1.20 lakh people have been rescued by army alone, the officer said, adding the operation is going on. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said on Saturday that as per the figures available with the state government so far, 129 people had lost lives in Jammu region whereas 30-35 people were found dead in KashmirValley. According to unofficial estimates, the death roll was around 250. The army officer said that suction pumps and other engineering equipment from Vishakhapatnam have reached the flood affected areas for relief work.12 sewage pumps from Delhi have also been dispatched to the Valley. Also, 30 generator sets have been sent to Srinagar to provide continuous power supply in relief camps and field hospitals, the officer said. Thirteen tonnes of water purifying tablets and six water filtration plants with a capacity to filter 1.2 lakh bottles per day have also reached Srinagar. Army officials clear the national highway to facilitate movement of essential commodities to the markets. Photograph: PTI photo Besides these, as many as 8,200 blankets and 1,119 tents have been provided to the flood victims, he said, adding, 80 medical teams of the Armed Forces Medical Services are operating in full swing. Four field hospitals have been established in Avantipur, Pattan, Anantnag and Old Airfield where medical aid is being provided to the ailing people, he said, adding that till now, they have treated more than 22,500 patients. Military medical services from Bathinda have also been shifted to Srinagar, he said, adding that about 10 tonnes of medicines and other health care material, including mobile oxygen generation plant, have reached Srinagar from Delhi. More relief material, including blankets and tents, water bottles from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation and food packets, are being airlifted from Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Amritsar, he said. Armed forces personnel are distributing water bottles and food packets on a large scale, he said, adding, that till now, more than 4,00,000 litres of water, 1,31,500 food packets and over 800 tonnes cooked food have been airdropped and distributed in the flood-affected areas. Ovr 25 tonnes of Indian gram from National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India is also being transported to the flood affected areas, he said. To restore road connectivity, five task forces of Border Roads Organisation, which include 5,700 personnel, have been deployed in Srinagar, Rajouri and Akhnoor, he said. As of now, they have restored the road connectivity from Batote–Kishtwar, Kishtwar- Anantnag and Jammu-Poonch. On the Jammu– Srinagar highway, BRO personnel have cleared the road up to Ramsu, he said. -- With inputs from Mukhtar Ahmad © Copyright 2014 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 11:14:52 +0000
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