Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Mar 17: Seven months have passed since 40 houses collapsed in devastative floods in village Lelhar in South Kashmir’s district of Pulwama. Majority of the families have constructed makeshift shelters or two room houses here but seven families are still living in tents in extreme weather conditions.
Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat, a scooter mechanic, is living with his three children and wife in a small tent provided by an NGO. Bhat hardly earns few thousand rupees a month to feed his family. He has failed to construct a house or winter resistant shelter for his family as he had no money.
Bhat was provided Rs 75, 000 by the Government as compensation under SDRF norms as were the other people who lost their houses to the floods in September last year.
“We have been living here since September floods. An NGO provided us tents and this is our new home for last 7 months. It is very chilly here especially for past one month as it has been snowing here. We had to erect our tents several times during past one month as our tent was uprooted by the snow”, said Bhat.
Another person Bashir Ahmad Lone, a labourer, living in an adjacent tent has a similar story to tell. He along with his mother, wife and an infant, also live in the tent. He has also received Rs 75, 000 as compensation but failed to construct house due to extreme poverty.
“We shiver in cold as the tent is wet due to frequent snow and rains. We have no alternative than to live in this tent. We need monetary help beyond SDRF so that we can construct a strong shelter. So far no one has come forward to help us”, said Lone.
The other families who live in tents in the village due to extreme poverty are of Feroz Ahmad Lone, Nasir Mushtaq Bhat, Abdul Salam Rather, Bashir Ahmad Bhat and Gulam Hassan Lone.
Around 2.5 lakh houses were damaged in floods in Kashmir valley last year. Large numbers of people are still living in temporary shelters while others have started construction of their houses. Majority of those whose houses collapsed have received Rs 75, 000 as compensation from SDRF and around one lakh from PM package but those whose houses didn’t collapse but are unsafe for living have only received few thousands rupees.
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