Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Sept 21: Reiterating the demand for coordinated and planned efforts in order to provide much needed respite to the flood affected people across Jammu and Kashmir, President People’s Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti today said after natural calamity and Government and inaction mishandling of relief and rehabilitation process was compounding the miseries of general masses.
The PDP president after visiting several flood affected areas in the outskirts of Srinagar and of Budgam, Beerwah and Tangmarg constituencies said that the situation on ground was grim as people were not only susceptible to the outbreak of diseases but they were also at the verge of starvation. She said that the process to provide relief to the affected families was slow and being carried without any coordination thus compounding the miseries of general masses.
She observed that the people at large were alleging that in the name of relief distribution the ruling parties were trying to cash on their miseries. “It was the general complaint of the people that the relief was being routed through ruling party members”, she said adding that the process was so slow that relief material was yet to reach to the most affected areas.
She said that Government, ironically, has not paid any heed to the suggestions made by her party during the recently held All Party Meeting. “Distribution through religious and social organization with proper coordination and monitoring could have ensured speedy and judicious distribution of relief”, she said.
Mehbooba said that large areas continue to be submerged as the dewatering mechanism remained non-existent or ineffective. Flood has destroyed paddy crop completely while a large portion of the land in many areas has also washed away.
The PDP president said that contradiction by the Government in the announcement of ration has also compounded the matter as people were complaining of not even getting the paid ration from the state run depots. The Government, she said, first announced that free ration would be given to general public of the state but later it was claimed that the concession was for only the flood affected people. “Now as per the people there was no ration available even in the areas which were not affected due to floods”, she said.
She said that a huge population has been rendered homeless but till now the Government has not established proper tented accommodation. “Tents have been erected at some places on road sides while at some places people have taken shelter at the houses of their relatives”, she said adding that till now Government should have established the tented accommodation at a proper place with proper facilities of sanitation and electricity.
She also reiterated her concern about the slow dewatering process from all the affected areas especially the business centers in and around Srinagar city.
In Srinagar the main business centers around Lal Chowk, Badshah Chowk, Hari Singh High Street, Residency Road, Moulana Azad Road continue to be filled with water, she said, adding that the continued inundation of residential areas like Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Gogjibagh, Batmaloo, Karan Nagar, Bemina and Qamarwari also speaks volumes about the Government claims that dewatering process has been initiated.
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