| Follow us on:
|
An Indian army trooper helps a woman to evacuate from flooded area in outskirts of Srinagar, summer capital of India’s Jammu and Kashmir, Sept. 6, 2014
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the floods in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir as a “national-level disaster” while announcing relief payments during his tour of affected areas on Sunday.
At least 160 were killed and thousands rendered homeless in the floods ravaging Indian-controlled Kashmir. The incessant downpour came to a halt on Sunday.
“This is an unprecedented situation & we are doing the best we can under the circumstances. Please don’t panic, we will reach you, I promise,” tweeted Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Kashmir.
“The boats have begun rescuing people. And operations will continue as long as they are needed. The state government has asked Air Force to begin air rescue operations in Srinagar,” he added.
The Prime Minister also announced 10 billion rupees ($16 million) of extra aid to the region.
The Indian army has moved in 200 columns, each with 75-100 personnel and five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also reached the state.
15,000 people have been evacuated so far from flood-affected areas.
The Indian Air Force also airlifted soldiers from flood-hit border posts along the line-of-control bordering Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
“A total of 850 personnel have been airlifted so far in the flood-affected regions of the state,” an Indian defense ministry statement said.
Twitter India, alongwith a few Indian collaborators are coordinating relief work via this site: JKFloodRelief.
TBP and Agencies
