With Phone Lines Still Down, Extent of Flood Damage in Kashmir Difficult to Assess

Srinagar: With flood waters receding and no heavy rain, rescue operations have been stepped up in flood-ravaged Kashmir. But the scale of devastation in the worst floods in 60 years is not clear yet with mobile phone networks and landlines still down in the state.

The floods have caused huge damage to telecom infrastructure. Phone lines in capital Srinagar have been down since Sunday and officials said on Monday evening that it would take about 72 hours to restore them.

Thousands are still stranded in their homes or other buildings awaiting rescue and their worried families have had no contact with them for more than two days. (Four Lakh Still Trapped in J&K, Rescue Efforts Stepped Up)

Electricity lines are also down and that has hampered efforts to get communication systems up and running.

The government, sources said, is sending VSAT stations - small satellite stations that allow users access to Internet - for the public to use.

The Army and Air Force are helping in efforts to restore connectivity.

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"Telephone exchanges of all telecom operators are under water. Not just BSNL but most private operators have had to shut operations," said Minister for Communication and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday.

State-run operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited said it is rushing experts from Hyderabad and Bangalore to immediately restore mobile services with the help of satellites.

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For over a day, as the networks of other service providers failed, the Aircel network was working as its mobile centres are on a high rise. However, the Aircel network too is reportedly not working now.