Modi writes to Sharif as thousands go missing in Kashmir floods India intensified rescue operations in Kashmir, where thousands of people remain missing in deadly floods that have become the first major natural disaster faced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Modi said he’ll provide an additional 10 billion rupees ($166 million) of aid after an aerial survey Sunday of the inundation, which has killed 116 people so far. He also wrote to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to offer help for relief efforts in areas of the disputed region of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan. “It is a matter of great distress that the retreating monsoon rains have played havoc in many parts of our two countries,” Modi wrote, according to an Indian government statement. “The devastation caused by the record rains and the consequent flooding is unprecedented.” The deadly flooding has for now overshadowed rising tension in Kashmir, which the two nations have fought over for more than six decades. India last month called off the first formal talks with its neighbor in two years, citing the Pakistan high commissioner’s decision to meet with Kashmiri separatist groups. Pakistan said the meeting followed “a longstanding practice.” Modi in his letter offered “any assistance that you may need in the relief efforts that will be undertaken by the government of Pakistan,” adding “our resources are at your disposal wherever you need them.” Pakistan will respond to Modi’s letter and offer after deliberations, foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said by phone from Islamabad Monday. Television pictures showed many areas of the northern state under water, including the main city of Srinagar. The Jhelum river that flows through the city has burst its banks, according to India’s National Disaster Management Authority. K.S. Dhatwalia, an Indian Home Ministry spokesman, put the death toll at 116 Sunday, adding thousands remain missing. The government said more than 14,800 people have been rescued. About three dozen aircraft, 130 army columns, 50 army medical teams and emergency boats are involved in relief efforts. Some 205 people have been killed by the flooding in Pakistan, its disaster agency’s spokesman Ahmed Kamal said today. Water has begun receding in some areas of Kashmir and no heavy rains are expected in the next four days, S.N. Mohanty, a secretary at India’s National Disaster Management Authority, said Sunday. It’s hard to predict when the flood will begin dissipating in Srinagar, he said. Provincial elections, due in the flood-hit state later this year, shouldn’t be delayed, the Press Trust of India reported Sunday, citing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Abdullah’s party ended its alliance with the Congress party after the latter was ousted by Modi in federal elections in May. India’s monsoon rains from June through September bring with them the risk of floods. More than 5,000 people were feared killed in flash floods last year in the north, according to Indian authorities
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 19:45:12 +0000
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