Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Apr 7: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today briefed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the flood conditions in Kashmir valley.
According to official sources, during their talks, Mr Singh assured the State Government that the Centre is ready to provide all assistance to help mitigate problems of the citizens.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have already reached Srinagar for rescue and relief operations, sources said.
During the day, the Home Minister also spoke to DG, NDRF OP Singh.
Earlier in the morning hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Mehbooba and assured her Central assistance and support. According to reports, Jhelum river crossed the danger mark of 18 feet.
The State police have been put on a high alert and emergency control rooms have been set up in all districts of the Valley to provide help to people in need.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today visited various areas in srinagar to personally inspect the status of dewatering and administration’s response in dealing with the flood like situation that arose due to continued rains and snow in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir valley during the past few days.
The Chief Minister visited Lal Chowk, Hari Singh High Street, Maharaja Bazar, Gogji Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, Humhama, Rajbagh and other areas. She directed deployment of more pumps in areas like Humhama and Gogji Bagh to drain out excess water at the earliest.
Mehbooba also visited some spots at river Jhelum, flood channels at Ram Bagh and Barzulla to take stock of the water levels. She directed the Flood Control Department to patrol constantly the banks and breach spots on river Jhelum and other streams. She said it is a matter of satisfaction that water level in Jhelum and other streams has started receding and administration is working round the clock to bring things to normal and extend relief to people.
Minister for Horticulture, Syed Basharat Bukhari and Minister for Youth Services & Sports, Moulvi Imran Raza Ansari accompanied the Chief Minister during the visit.
The Chief Minister, who had herself been monitoring the situation continuously, had yesterday directed the administration to gear up to meet any eventuality in view of the inclement weather.
She called upon the authorities to ensure that water is drained from lanes and by-lanes to ensure free movement of the people. She asked them to use machines to drain water expeditiously.
The officers accompanying the Chief Minister to gave detailed briefing to her on the steps taken to minimise inconvenience to general public.
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