Mir Farhat
SRINAGAR, Dec 1: As the poll fever has gripped the State, the victims of September floods accused the Government of neglecting them.
Hundreds of families hit by the floods are living in a wretched state after their houses were destroyed in the devastating floods.
The flood victims are demanding help for their resettlement, after being rendered homeless due to the calamity.
“Our houses have been damaged. We can’t live in them. The Government and the legislators have forgotten us in the election fever,” said Nisar Ahmad Rather, a flood victim whose family lives under a tarpaulin camp on the Dal lake bank near Hazratbal.
These victims have been living in tents for the past two months, after their homes were washed away by the floods.
The Government had put the figures of houses destroyed due to the floods at 1.04 lakh across the State, while over 1.5 lakh houses suffered partial damage.
It had said that the number of people living in tents at less than 1 lakh, but the number of homeless is believed to be around 6 lakh.
A majority of these homeless are putting up with their relatives, and some live in rented accommodation.
“Ever since floods took away everything, we have been living on roadside in a tent. We have small kids and have not received any help so far. It is becoming very cold due to winter, we are falling ill,” said Ghulam Jeelani of Bemina, who is one of the victims rendered homeless due to floods.
With the winter the temperatures are falling sharply to freezing point and it has severely affected the homeless.
Some victims also said that free ration announced by the Government has not reached them yet.
“We have not seen the free ration which the Government had announced for us,” said Irshad Ahmad Dar, a flood victim of SK Colony in Qamarwari.
Dar was among hundreds of residents of the locality who blocked the Baramulla-Srinagar highway in the morning today for hours.
“We are protesting against the Government for not giving us relief,” Dar said.
The flood victims also said the Government has not provided them pre fabricated structures which it had promised them.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had immediately announced after the floods that State administration will provide prefabricated structures to provide shelter before the winter to those rendered houseless by the recent floods.
“Let it be 500 prefab structures in the first phase,” he had told Kashmir’s Divisional Commissioner Rohit Kansal.
As the winter is looming over the Valley, the homeless people are worried for themselves as they have no houses to stay in.
Farooq Ahmad said that they have not received the paltry interim relief of 75000 rupees which the Government had announced as compensation for losing a house in natural disaster.
“Even that paltry sum has not yet reached us,” said Farooq, who was with a group of protesters on Saturday outside the office of Srinagar’s Deputy Commissioner.
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