Urgent need to step up rescue & relief efforts in J & K, says Save the Children

JAMMU, India - Oct. 20, 2014 - PRLog -- Srinagar, September 12: Even a week after flood waters of river Jhelum destroyed the

beautiful city, Srinagar resembles a giant lake with disconnected dry areas. About 1 lakh rescued

people are living on streets, parks, temporary shelters in mosques and Sikh temples. In most

areas of the city power supply has not been restored. Mobile phones are not working in most

of the city and are erratic at best. There is severe scarcity of clean water. Food and fuel stocks

are running low and those who can afford it are buying large quantities of basic items like

medicines, salt and food stocks. As the Jammu-Srinagar and Srinagar-Leh road connectivity is

broken, Srinagar can now only be reached through air from other parts of the country.

The scale of this disaster is massive and needs to be acknowledged, only then can a proper

rescue and rehabilitation plan be worked out -- but it seems the government is also struggling

to put its system in place, which is badly affected in the floods. Local People have rallied around

to support one another and many children who were trapped displayed remarkable courage

and presence of mind to remain calm and helped evacuate their families. The army and the

National Disaster Rescue Force stepped up their operations after a delay of at least two days.

Even now, according to some estimates, 6 lakh more people need to be rescued from their

homes, as access to different parts of the city is severely restricted. This has affected flow of

information, supplies and, most severely, people who need medical care particularly pregnant

women.

Doctors have set up temporary camps wherever they can.Save the Children is setting up a medical camp in Islamia college and Hawal in downtown

Srinagar; three Child-friendly Spaces (intended to protect children when their families are

unable to tend to them) will also be set up since the tents for these have now arrived in

Srinagar. Save the Children has also distributed medicines and safe water in three relief camps.

Save the Children’s J&K office has itself been severely affected by the floods and was completely

submerged in water. “We are airlifting 5000 relief kits, as per government requests, that include

food items, hygiene kits, and blankets among other things,” says Sharif Bhat, Save the Children’s

State Programme Manager for J&K.Most of the flood-affected localities are still waterlogged: in some places like Lasjan, Tankpura

and Rajbagh the water level is decreasing very slowly thereby increasing the risk of damage to

the buildings that are still standing, most old structures have collapsed already. The government

needs to urgently step up its efforts to rescue and rehabilitate people across the city, and

restore basic services and road links to Jammu and Leh. Resentment among the locals has been

growing because they claim the government completely abandoned them. They feel that they

have done everything themselves, make boats, rescue their families and friends, feed them and

provide them with shelter and medical care. The local tradition of Bait-ul-Mal along with

Gurudwara committees have played a huge role in the relief efforts and has provided some

semblance of order among the general chaos that has gripped the city.

1. Government should start compiling and sharing information of all rescued people

covering all relief camps.

Note to Editor

It hasn’t rained in the last five days and water levels are receding, however, rain has been

forecasted for Saturday. The government needs to step up the scale of response or else be

ready to face the fury of people’s resentment, and the waters of Jhelum should they rise, once

again.

Recommendations by Save the Children:

1. The government should immediately set up a coordination cell to effectively manage the

relief efforts.

2. Government should start compiling and sharing information of all rescued people

covering all relief camps.

3. Connectivity needs to be restored fully

4. Safe drinking water must be provided

5. Medicines must be provided

6. Blankets must be provided

7. Children-appropriate food must be made available

Recommendation to CM: The government should immediately set up a coordination cell to

effectively manage the relief efforts.

Save the Children works in J&K and 15 other states of India and apart from its humanitarian

work, it concentrates on issues related to education, health and protection of the most

marginalized children. Please visit www.savethechildren.in for more information and

call 040 – 49100222 for making a donation to support flood relief in J&K.