SRINAGAR SUBMERGED! At 4 pm this afternoon I switched on the television and saw that due to massive rainfall in the mountains the entire city of Srinagar was last night flooded by up to fourteen feet of water! The visual images shown from a helicopter showed the extent of the floods in this beautiful city.The Army was pressed into action immediately as road links were broken, landslides all over, ration supplies precarious for people marooned in the second floors of their homes (fortunately most houses in Kashmir have two floors at least) and the public was in a state of panic as homelessness, food shortages and medical requirements were immediately required and a miracle could not happen. A few years ago Ladhak cloudburst in Leh, then last year the Uttarkhand floods, now Srinagar! This is the clearest evidence of ecological imbalance and climate change. With much of the country reeling under lack of proper monsoon rains such pockets of heavy rainfall balance the equation (almost) and the monsoon is declared robust officially.The scale of this human disaster is a national one and the government has been quick to act in the face of staggering odds. The Army can be counted on to do their very best as usual in such circumstances. But what of the people, their lives and belongings ? What of the art treasures in this art capital of northern India ? What of the countless treasures in carpets and embroidered shawls and papier-mache work and the famed walnut furniture ? What of the Tomb of Jesus (Yus Asaf) on Khanyar Street in Srinagar held sacred by the followers of the Ahmadiyya Movement ? My heart is heavy with anguish because I have loved Srinagar because of countless visits since my childhood both as a place of great peace and beauty and a home for all who love nature. May God be kind to its inhabitants in this hour of great trial is my prayer.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:02:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015