Flood Massacres Many in Kashmir
Question is: Could it be prevented?
What caused this monster?
What the government did.. Or did not do.
The first 2 or 3 weeks of the flood it was only volunteers and locals who managed. In some ways it was the volunteers who ran the government for that time. Even now the government is slow to react but also because they are dependent on the central government (India) to provide funds. The sad thing is the Indian government gave a bill to Kashmir government for costs of rescue. But they did nothing and only saved Non-Kashmiris. Even when they were dropping food packages, the food was expired.
The budget that India has said they will provide to Kashmir is only 10% of total need. And not one single penny has been given yet. 17 billion dollars of damage and no funds have been released to those affected. It is only donations and volunteers who are helping the poor people to survive.
How did it impact the economy?
State's economy
State's economy
Infrastructure
Could the damage have been avoided?
- It was not a flash flood where you have no breathing time; this was a disaster which was slowly building up. But the officials failed to give clear warnings based on the available data.
- The National Disaster Management Authority did not effectively spread awareness of the floods and prepare the state.
- Lack of coordination and cooperation between the states and the centre was another problem.
- Omar Abdullah said that the Central Water Commission (CWC) had rejected a “well thought out plan” for flood control in Kashmir for lack of minor details.
- Over the last three decades, water bodies in Srinagar city, including the Jhelum and its spill-over channels, have been encroached upon with construction.