Jammu-Kashmir floods: Villagers say no relief work from government has reached them

Alleging that no relief work has reached them since the tragedy struck the state, villagers of Gulzarpora said they are an an "unfortunate lot", as anger brewed among them over the harried experience in coming to terms with a natural disaster.

Gulzarpora, with a population of around 3000 people, is less than 10 kilometres away from the main town here, in this south Kashmir district. First it was the floods that almost wiped out the village of 300 families, along with their cattle and crops – leaving them not only shelter-less but without food as well – and now even after 15 days since the tragedy struck, they have seen no relief from the government.

"We have seen no one from the government visit here except a local patwari (revenue official) who compiled a report of the destruction," a local, Ghulam Nabi Hajam, alleged. The villagers claimed that had it not been for the people from the nearby areas, there would have been many casualties.

"The locals from the nearby villages of Rengipora, Badriwan, Banderpora, Tahab and others rescued us. We caught hold of the television cables to wade through 8-10 feet of waters," Hajam said. 

Another local, Ali Mohammad Wani, whose house was destroyed by the flood waters, said the main problem the villagers face was shelter as around 95% of the houses in the village had been damaged. Wani said tents were the need of the hour in the village and alleged government had failed to provide succour to the people in their hour of grief. "The only relief we got was from the people of the nearby districts like Shopian and some Delhi-based NGOs, but how long will it last?" he said.

Hajam said the entire village mostly depends upon agriculture but the crops had been washed away and destroyed. "Our crops have been destroyed. What will we eat? Whatever we had stored has been washed away too," he said.