Several houses were destroyed in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda in a flash flood after a cloud burst.
Did poor planning lead to the
flash floods in Jammu and Kahsmir's Doda last week leaving six people dead, scores injured and several houses destroyed? Cloudbursts have been causing massive damage across the state and while not much can be done about natural calamities, local residents that poor planning or illegal construction may have led to the loss of human life in Doda.
"There was loud noise, we came out and saw lot of water, silt and rocks entered the residential houses, we were saved but not our neighbours. All the houses have been destroyed, broken down," said Huma, a student.
Locals say the flash flood was caused due to concrete slab that blocked the flow of water. The
nallah was a major water exit until the government constructed a concrete slab over it in 2011 to create space for vehicles and pedestrians. Now, it has been reduced to a mere drain and during flash floods the water has nowhere to go except into the houses. People accuse the government of poor planning.
"This used to be a
nallah in the past, but now concrete structures have come up, some people resisted when the construction was started but nothing could be done about it," said Mohammad Hussain, a local resident.
The government has, in turn, blamed the previous regime.
"There is encroachment in the
nallah from the state urban department. There is a concrete slab on the
nallah. People say it has been forcibly done. The concerned MLA ensured that it was done. The government is investigating the matter," said Shyam Chowdhary, Flood Control and Irrigation Minister.