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| Peoples' anger simmers as State Govt fails to provide relief to flood affected people | | Preliminary relief amount of Rs. 75,000 reaches handful, majority yet to receive | | Jehangir Rashid
SRINAGAR, Sept 28: Resentment is brewing among the flood affected people of Kashmir valley as the state government is moving at the pace of a snail in providing them relief despite the fact that they are going through testing times.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's direction to the authorities to provide Rs. 75, 000 as preliminary relief amount to the flood affected people has turned out to mere announcement. No family in the summer capital has been paid the amount and just a few have received the said amount in the other flood affected districts of Kashmir valley.
Sources told Early Times that although multiple agencies are working in the field to assess the losses suffered, but there is confusion as far as functioning of such agencies is concerned. This confusion has put the entire system of delivery in a quandary with the emotions and sentiments of affected people being tested to the extreme end.
"In the first instance the Revenue officials were asked to compile an assessment report of the damages in their villages and localities so that the same is forwarded. However, there has been a change of heart with the concerned Patwaris being asked to carry out door to door assessment of the losses suffered by the people," said sources.
Sources said that had the assessment report of the losses being compiled first and then forwarded to the relief agencies it would have given some relief to the flood affected people. They said the door to door survey would consume a lot of time adding that there are apprehensions that winter might set in by the time this exercise is completed.
"No less than the Chief Minister announced that Rs. 75, 000 would be paid as interim relief to the families whose houses have been damaged in the flood.
This amount is yet to be paid in more than 90 percent cases and going by the present pace it may take months together for the affected families to get this amount.
This aptly proves the slackness of the government as there is no follow-up action of the announcements made for the relief of flood affected people," said sources.
Sources said that Kashmir's divisional administration has already regretted that there is paucity of funds for the flood affected people. This is despite the fact that the relief money has been paid in lakhs so far and not in crores. As majority of the cases for interim relief are pending at various levels one can anticipate that the things would go from bad to worse in the coming days.
"Prime Minister Narinder Modi had asked the state government to utilize Rs. 1100 crores that are there in disaster management fund for providing interim relief to flood affected people. The state government has not shown any headway in this regard and the affected people continue to suffer. The delay maybe due to the reason that this fund may have been exhausted on activities not related to disaster," said sources.
Importantly protests broke out in various parts of the city in the past one week or so wherein the flood affected people castigated the state government for its inapt handling of post flood situation. The protesters said that government is paying very little attention to dewatering of flood affected areas. They also blamed the government for its failure to provide basic amenities like water, electricity and food grains to the affected people. |
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