A Kashmiri flood victim pleads to an Army officer to rescue her family members in Srinagar. (Associated Press Photo)
As thousands remain stranded in Srinagar, which was flooded by the River Jhelum over the weekend, a man desperate for information about his family has written to NDTV, saying, "I just want to hear my mother's voice once."
An email from Umer Farooq received this morning states, "My mom and two little sisters are trapped in 3rd storey of home. Last time when I talked with them,water level in the house was till two storeys. "
He shares his home address and adds, "Please i just wana hear voice from my family one word is enough 'fine'. At least just let me know if the people there have been rescued, where are they? have they got the food?"
NDTV is passing on the SOS messages it's receiving to the National Disaster Relief Force (NRDF) and to the army. Both agencies, involved in a massive rescue and relief operation, say they are trying to examine individual requests for assistance at the earliest.
At least 20,000 people have been rescued so far from Jammu and the Kashmir Valley, but hundreds of villages remain inaccessible after five days of heavy rains battered the state, causing the worst floods in six decades in this region.