* Govt fails to reach them
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Oct 4: As the floodwaters have receded from the Srinagar, hundreds of families are living on the banks of the Dal lake as their houses have been damaged.
The hapless residents living near Foreshore road whose houses were damaged by the recent floods after water inundated their locality last month are camping on the road under the open sky.
The deluge rendered them homeless and the Government has failed to provide tents to them. “Our houses have been damaged. We can’t go back. Nobody is helping us except few volunteers and NGOs. Where is the Government which claims it saved people during the floods,” said Nisar Ahmad Rather, a flood victim whose family lives under a tarpaulin.
Nazeera who is staying on the road side along with her family, says their house has developed cracks and can collapse any time. “We have been rendered homeless. Some houses have been completely damaged and others have developed cracks. It is dangerous to go inside them,” she said.
“No Government relief has reached to us. Only some NGO provided us medicine and mineral water. Some volunteers are giving us cooked rice,” says Nazeera. “The Government should immediately think about our rehabilitation otherwise we will all die,” she said.
The stranded people have no household material and it is the help of the volunteers and NGos which are keeping them alive.
Recently after the flood hit the Valley, the Government announced that it will distribute free ration to the flood affected people. However, the homeless people ridiculed the Government announcement. “We heard from some people about the free ration, but where is it. We have not received anything,” they said.
As the winter is looming over the Valley, the stranded people are worried for themselves as they have no houses to stay in. “Where will we go as the winter is soon setting in. Our children will die of cold.
We all will die” said Fatima, while feeding her baby girl some nutritious food provided by an NGO.
All the families affected by the floods here are temporarily putting up in the tarpaulin made camps.
A young man, Farooq Ahmad said that they have nowhere to go. “We were not even provided blankets by the Government nor we received any relief from the Government,” he said. He said not a single Government had paid the visit to the flood victims.
“We have lost everything including our books. Even our school building has been damaged due to floods and it seems we won’t be able to continue with this session as winter is approaching,” said Sadiya, a young girl.
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