Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 27: Leaders of almost all political as well as social organizations today stressed upon the J&K administration to come to the rescue of rain or flash flood affected families across the UT and provide them all help including monetary compensation, living shelters and food items.
Former Member Legislative Council (MLC), Ch Vikram Randhawa conducted an extensive tour to flood affected areas in Gandhi Nagar assembly segment and took stock of the damages occurred due to incessant rains. Randhawa assured people that whatever required avoiding such damages in future, would be taken into consideration. He also urged upon the administration and Jammu Municipal Corporation to ensure proper drainage system before issuing building permissions so that flood like situation is avoided in future.
Ex-Minister and president DCC Kathua Dr Manohar Lal Sharma also took stock of damages caused due to flash floods and heavy rains in Billawar and Kathua and urged the administration for swift action for rehabilitation and compensation to those affected. Dr Sharma said due to heavy rain and flash flood a number of residential houses have damaged and major landslides have been reported in tehsil Billawer and Marheen of district-Kathua.
Former legislature of Ramban Ashok Kumar has strongly urged to Lieutenant Governor of J&K that instant financial help, relief and rehabilitation should immediately be dispensed for those who have lost their dear ones, houses and cattle sheds and Agricultural land along with standing crops in the recent flash floods in union territory of J&K.
Ashok said immediate shelters along with food items should be provided to those who have lost their houses completely in flash flood. He further demanded that after complete assessment of damaged crops and agriculture land, compensation be provided to affected farmers. Ashok further demanded immediate restoration of National Highway-44 and all link roads on priority basis.
Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) senior leader and Former Minister Aijaz Ahmed Khan today appealed to the Government to declare natural calamity in Jammu and Kashmir to the destruction caused by the heavy downpour. “The affected people should be given compensation under the norms set by the SDRF by declaring the mayhem caused by the rains as natural calamity,” said the former Minister.
Stating that the farmers have lost their crops while houses have damaged partially/completely in many areas of the Reasi, Ramban, Jammu and other places of the division due to heavy rains, Khan said that an overall assessment of the losses should be prepared and the compensation should be given to the affected families.
While expressing anguish over the loss of lives and property due to flash floods, CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami urged the J&K administration to provide adequate compensation to farmers whose crops were damaged due to floods in parts of the Jammu region.
“The concerned departments must release immediate preliminary relief in terms of free rations and financial assistance in favour of the victims till a survey is conducted to ascertain the actual losses,” Tarigami added.
The AAP leader Gurmeet Singh demanded that adequate compensation be paid to the people affected by the heavy rain, water logging and landslides. He said that water logging was reported from several areas in Jammu and other cities of J&K. “The Government should pay compensation to people whose houses and other properties were damaged due to heavy rainfall, landslide and water logging,” he asserted.
BJP spokesperson of ST Morcha Mohd Irfan Chowdhary while expressing deep concern over loss of lives and property including houses, agricultural land and roads and bridges, requested the J&K LG to constitute a committee of officers to access the losses caused to the people of Rajouri, Poonch, Jammu and Reasi districts for paying immediate compensation to the affected persons.
All J&K Youth Federation (AJKYF) state executive committee also expressed serious concern over the damages caused due to flash flood because of heavy rains in several parts of J&K and urged upon the administration to take immediate preventative measures for protecting life and property of general public. AJKYF spokesperson Haroon Rashid urged upon the Government to conduct survey for assessing the loss and provide assistance to the affected people.
Social activist Raghav Mahajan said that people are feeling helpless and ignored after witnessing overflow of nallahs and washing away of roads and bridges in just few hours of heavy rainfall. Stating that many people lost their homes, lives, cattle and suffered damages to their shops, vehicles, appliances due to heavy rains, Mahajan appealed LG Manoj Sinha to take some prompt and necessary steps to provide relief to the aggrieved citizens.
Two groups of Dogra youth held a protest against Jammu Municipal Corporation for its unpreparedness for Monsoon season in Jammu East and Jammu West areas. Speaking on the occasion at Jammu East, Nikhil Sharma said that the water-logging problem has aggravated over the years as civic body has failed to provide any proper drainage system.
Bhanu Partap Singh Goria at Jammu West said that JMC stood exposed as heavy rains caused massive water logging in more than dozen areas of the city. He said that this water logging raises questions on the underground sewerage and the new drains constructed under the multi-crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
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