Srinagar:
With rain having stopped and water receding, educational institutions in the Jammu region, except those serving as relief camps for flood-affected people, reopened after almost a week today. In flood-ravaged Srinagar, water has receded but there is still substantive flooding in certain areas. Focus has now shifted to supplying relief material to lakhs of those stranded.
Over 200 people have died in the worst flood in the state in over a century. While one lakh ten thousand people have been rescued so far in a non-stop, tireless operation by the armed forces and the National Disaster Response Force or the NDRF, lakhs are still believed to be stranded.
Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami is in Srinagar to coordinate relief and rescue work following a directive by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a late night operation yesterday, the NDRF rescued nearly 70 Central Reserve Police Force or CRPF personnel who were stranded on a building that was about to collapse.
Now that the flood water is receding from many areas, some people are reluctant to leave their homes. Rescuers however want all people evacuated as there are concerns about the potential spread of water-borne diseases. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said rescue operations have been "re-oriented" to help those people.
The Indian Army has deployed around 30,000 troops for rescue and relief operations - 21,000 in Srinagar region and 9,000 in Jammu region.
The Indian Air Force yesterday scaled back rescue operations that involve winching up stranded people into helicopters, after angry residents pelted stones at their choppers in several areas of flood-hit Srinagar.
Security forces believe separatist elements are provoking crowds, sources said. Mr Abdullah told NDTV, "The usual elements are fishing in troubled waters, stone pelting and attacks are being provoked."
Efforts are on to ensure essential commodities like water and food reach those stranded at the earliest. So far 2,24,000 litres of water, 31,500 food packets and over 375 tonnes cooked food have been airdropped and distributed in the flood-affected areas, an official statement said.
Restoring communication and connectivity in the state remains a big focus area - BSNL phones began working on Wednesday. The Border Roads Organisation is working relentlessly to restore road links.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has said that his government, accused by the people of his state of being short on assistance in a crisis, "couldn't respond in the first 24 hours as we didn't have a government...Many of my ministers I've only been able to meet after six days."
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