Kashmir flooded with woes: Landslides, no connectivity, communication hit

The death toll is Jammu and Kashmir mounts to nearly 200 and thousands still wait to be evacuated.

A Kashmiri man tries to comfort a flood victim as she wails after being airlifted by the army from her flooded neighborhood to the air force base in Srinagar. Photograph: PTI

Five days of incessant rains have claimed nearly 200 lives in Jammu and Kashmir. The armed forces which are leading the rescue operation in the flood-ravaged state have rescued more than 22,000 people but lakhs remain stranded.

The valley has been cutoff as many roads and bridges have been washed away. The 300-km-long national highway, which links the state to the rest of the country, is closed due to landslides and floods. Around 1500 people are stranded on the highway. General Officer Commanding Northern

A man takes a snap of a flooded Jammu and Kashmir high court complex in the heart of Srinagar. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI

Command Lieutenant General DS Hooda said that a stretch of 300 metres has been washed away and efforts were on to plug the breach.

Communication lines have been almost totally snapped. According to the army, it will take four to five days to restore connectivity.

The army has deployed 215 columns for rescue and relief operations. As the death toll in the worst flooding to hit the state in six decades continues to mount, the Centre has rushed more National Disaster Response Forces teams equipped with boats and other flood relief equipment. Naval commandos ere also deployed for the first time.

A flood affected girl walks amidst the debris of a residential house which was damaged by floods on the banks of the river Tawi in Jammu. Photograph: Mukesh Gupta/Reuters

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for offering help in flood relief efforts in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and said closer collaboration in disaster management should be a part of their agenda of peace and development in the region.

"I gratefully acknowledge your letter of 7 September, conveying deep sympathies for the people affected in Pakistan by unprecedented monsoon rains and consequent flooding. The offer for assistance in our relief efforts is equally thoughtful. Such solidarity in the face of adversity is indeed valuable," he said in reply to Modi's letter of assistance.

Jammu and Kashmir government has set up a relief cell where people can seek information about their near and dear ones stranded due to floods in Kashmir division.

A worker carries relief material to be delivered to flood victims in remote areas, onto an Indian Air Force's helicopter at an army airport in Jammu. Photograph: Mukesh Gupta/Reuters

All queries with regard to the Kashmir division can be made on telephone numbers: 0191-2565838, 2565848 and 2576594.

Meanwhile, help from states has also started pouring in for Jammu and Kashmir. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has announced an aid of Rs 10 crore while Tamil Nadu has donated Rs 5 crore for flood relief. The United Nations too have offered to help both India and Pakistan.