Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 19: Urging the State Government to put its act together even at this late stage, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has said that the claims made by the Government about relief efforts are mostly confined to the announcements.
“Many areas in South Kashmir, Srinagar city and other parts of Central and North Kashmir continue to be inundated”, she said adding that the mechanical dewatering of these areas has not been taken up at the desired pace.
She added that the main business centers around Lal Chowk, Badshah Chowk, Hari Singh High Street, Residency Road and Moulana Azad Road continue to be filled with water. The business establishments have suffered a huge loss and the inaction on the part of Government has even snatched their opportunity to retrieve whatever goods might have survived the calamity, she said.
Along with the continued inundation of residential areas like Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Gogjibagh, Batmaloo, Karan Nagar, Bemina and Qamarwari the inability to dispose of dead animals has made it impossible for the survivors even to visit these areas, she added. She said heavy duty pumps needed to be deployed but it seems that there is lack of coordination between Centre and State Governments as hardly any major dewatering machinery is in evidence anywhere functional in the affected areas.
PDP president said in rural Kashmir, especially in the apple growing areas of Shopian, Pulwama and North Kashmir the farmers have suffered immense loss to the fruit after having made huge investment throughout the season. She said that whatever fruit has survived is now facing the prospect of rotting on the trees because of non-availability of transportation facility. In Kulgam, she said, some villages have altogether disappeared rendering hundreds of families homeless, but the administration was yet to wake up from its slumber.
Mehbooba said that the reports reaching from Jammu region also present a grim picture of Government inability and administrative apathy even at this belated stage.
PDP president further observed that non-availability of ration was also creating problems in various parts of the State, particularly in Kashmir valley.
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