Amit Sharma
Our Paradise on Earth has been swept away by nature’s worst swing today. It all started just few days back when untimely rains stated playing havoc in northern belts of India. Although it came as a sigh of relief in North India initially from the scorching heats of long summers and scanty rainfalls, taking it as an extension of ‘monsoon season’ of the year. But all of a sudden, Weather Gods started showing anguish and meteorological predictions started showing a week of continuous rains and thunder showers all across J&K. Still, we thought these rains would subside after these dark clouds pour down in the form of rains and subsequently, life would come back to normal as a matter of routine in a couple of days.
However it seems that Indra Devta & Inc. (Weather Gods) had this time something bigger & more furious in mind. No one could estimate the quantum of catastrophe it was carrying in the current avatar. It all started with heavy rains across the state when everyone estimated that like always, these rains will subside soon and life will come back to normal from standstill state, as it normally happens in case of incessant rainfalls. But it was not to be so. Jammu division initially faced the wrath and fury of rains. The first impact was felt when a bus carrying a marriage party got swept away in a stream in Rajouri district, followed by news of huge damages to road networks linking Jammu with rest of the districts of state. Then followed news of huge losses of lives and properties in Poonch, Udhampur, Doda and other districts of Jammu division. Next threatening signal came with continuous overflow of all rivers of Jammu above danger-mark. The final big scary moments arrived in Jammu during last week when a major portion of newly constructed 4th Tawi Bridge got swept away and flood waters crossed all barriers in outer areas of Jammu such as Belicharana, Flymandal, Marh and adjoining areas causing irreparable damages.
This havoc of nature caught attention of all rescue & relief worker towards J’s disaster situation in J&K with hardly any anticipation about what was lying ahead in K part of J&K. As a consequence, authorities began relief operations all across winter capital of the state with the notion that the bigger losses & damages have already occurred in the state. But the real side of nature’s fury had yet to show its impact. The ‘K’ part of J&K had yet to be swallowed by nature’s devil. In the meantime, with these incessant rains, the rivers of Kashmir valley had already crossed danger-marks quite thick and fast. In fact, much to the surprise of everybody, all the water bodies in and around Kashmir valley had started overflowing last week onwards only and they started spilling all across nooks and corners of Srinagar and adjoining cities within no time.
With this started the real face of destruction of this natural calamity and disaster of floods in Kashmir valley. Due to it, all the areas of Srinagar city got flooded with excessive rain waters which entered through overflow of waters from Jehlum and other adjoining rivers and streams in valley. It hardly gave anytime to public, administration, weather department or rescue teams to realize what was lying ahead. Just within sometime, everything in Srinagar got submerged into waters. The quantum of these floods fury was so large that at an average, most of the thickly populated areas of Srinagar city like Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Down Town, Lal Chowk, Dal and around got completed flooded with waters upto 6 to 10 feets of water.
To make the situation-tackling worst, all communication and transportation networks came to a standstill. Right from broad roads of Srinagar where once vehicles used to find tough times to ply in congested traffics, now, the boats of Army and rescue teams were finding it difficult to sail so as to save human lives. All the landline and mobile tower networks got totally snapped with no means of communication left to exchange well-being of near & dear ones alongwith calling authorities for help. Alongside, the electricity and water supplies got cut-off completely. The supplies of essential commodities or food and water became a distant dream. Whether a highly influential person or a poorest chap in Kashmir, they were all stranded on the same platform for common mission i.e., to save lives. Nobody knew what to do and how to tackle this fury of nature.
In the process, the Prime Minister as well as Chief Minister took aerial survey of situation and pressed all possible help to tackle the situation. The defence as well as civil administration have been making best attempts to rescue people from completely flooded and submerged areas of Srinagar and relief packets are being continuously dropped upon the roof-tops of people where people are standing and clamouring for help and aid. At present, the 2nd floor onwards till the roofs of the buildings have become the homes of humans and animals. There are chaotic scenes of total devastation and destruction across the valley.
The world-known paradise or heaven on earth has become the hell on earth, for all, as of now. Srinagar city is almost, fully submerged into flood waters with hardly any chances of water completely receding down and draining-out immediately. It can be termed as an ‘isolated island’ which is completely cut-off from rest of the world. Major national highways are cut-off due from Kashmir due to this nature’s fury. Only air-link is working smoothly which is within limited reach of the common masses. Rest all means of transportation and their smooth restoration seems a distant dream.
In the moment of this worst fury and disaster of nature, one cannot even properly estimate the quantum of colossal losses which have occurred to lives and property in J&K. This process has completely shattered human psychology and many people have started losing faith on Almighty. The worst part is that many families are shattered and got affected out here in Jammu as well. As the heads & members of lot of families, not only across the whole of Kashmir valley but also across Jammu region, are working in this summer capital Kashmir, who are finding it tough to know their well-being. Most of them are only harping upon prayers and at the same time, they are pleading before authorities for their safe passage back to Jammu at the earliest.
Authorities or anybody for that matter, on the other side, are finding it tough to estimate how much time, it would take to bring life back to normalcy in J&K. State Assembly elections are also around the corner. Severe winter season is also knocking doors of Kashmir valley. Financial crunch and resources scarcity is another big challenge before J&K. However, inspite of lot of challenges, the defence forces like Air Force and Army, NDRF teams, state revenue and relief teams are working in full-swing, day and night, to help almost 4 lakh affected people across Kashmir to bail themselves out from this biggest fury of nature, the state of J&K has seen since long.
Infact, we all are praying and hoping that nature will show little mercy upon us as of now and our relief operations will fructify at the earliest so that losses of human lives and property can be minimized in Kashmir valley. From our personal contribution levels as well, we all must come across at this time, leaving all barriers of caste, religion or regions and press ourselves hard towards fighting this worst natural catastrophe so as to ensure that the glory of this paradise on earth is restored back once again, which is a well-known ‘Land of Saints and Sufis’ since ages. This is the biggest tribute one can give towards saving humankind in this moment of crisis, before it’s too late to realize this and react!
(The author is an e-Governance Expert of J&K Government and a Senior KAS Officer who is presently working as Special Secretary to Government. He can be reached at amit1kas@gmail.com or amit1kas (Facebook ID))
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