J-K floods: Cong leader Soz heckled amid anti-govt protests

Former union minister and senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz was heckled in one of the relief camps in Kashmir with flood victims expressing anger over alleged absence of state government officials during relief works.

Soz, who had gone to a relief shelter near Humama in Srinagar to take stock of the condition of flood victims yesterday, faced angry protests.

Amid slogans "go back" and "go to hell", angry protesters virtually tried to pounce upon him and booed him after he was also pushed.

However, Indian Air Force officers and security men intervened to move him away from the angry crowd at the camp.

Amid anti-government slogans, victims asked "where is government and administration on the ground?"

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also faced opposition from irate people in Srinagar but some people pacified the flood victims.

In Jammu, kin of government employees held protest demonstration against the government "inaction" in not rescuing government employees stranded in Tulsi Bagh in Srinagar city.

Families of the over 90 sportsmen also held a protest and asked government to find out their whereabouts.

Over 200 people have so far been rescued from Anantnag town and sent to Awantipora relief camp, official sources said.

Over 4,000 people, rescued from Shiv Pora, Indra Nagar, Batwara and Jawahir Nagar areas in Srinagar and put at Zeisht Devi area, have been facing shortage of food. Over 70 medical students are also trapped in hostel in Batmaloo area seeking help of IAF.

About 50 to 60 people trapped at Hari Prabat hill in the city are also making frantic calls for food and water supply as they have nothing to eat and drink for the past 5 days.

Protests against the government today also rocked in Anantnag town during the rescue operation by the Indian Air Force and Army.