Kashmir Flood – Update as on 16th September
Situation – Baramulla and Bandipora
The devastating floods in Kashmir, which started on 4th September 2014, after incessant rains, have
taken a heavy toll on life and property besides displacement of lakhs of people. The situation was
compounded by paralytic flood attack on the state capital Srinagar, cutting off all the communication and
connectivity.
While the flood fury in Srinagar city remained the centre of attention for media and state responders,
areas of Baramulla and Bandipora, facing the devastation, remained on the fringes of attention. The
districts of Baramulla and Bandipora, which are demarcated at most places by the river Jhelum, have
been hugely affected by the overflowing/flooding of Jhelum, its tributaries and distributaries. The floods in
Baramulla and Bandipora started on 7th September 2014. The river Jhelum, originating from Anantnag
district, flows through the heart of Srinagar, Bandipora and Baramulla districts. In Bandipora, the Jhelum
runs through the Wular Lake before it again takes its course through Baramulla. Some areas of Baramulla
and Bandipora are low lying and face constant threat of floods and inundation.
The IGSSS team visited and observed the current situation arising out of the floods in some target areas
of Baramulla and Bandipora. In Pattan district of Baramulla, around 25% of total population have been
affected by the flood, In Singhpora block of same district, the affected population is around 80% while in
Sumbal block of Bandipora, the percentage of affected people is higher than 80%.
Most of the villages in the blocks of Singhpora Pattan in Baramulla and Sumbal Sonawari in Bandipora
were submerged with the ravaging floods and are still inundated as on 16th September. The water levels
are receding gradually but, given the volume of inundation, it may take weeks and months for the water to
drain out completely.
The loss to agriculture, particularly the standing paddy crop, horticulture (apple crop, vegetables) and
livestock (poultry), is so enormous that it has hugely impacted livelihood and food security of the rural
population. The fluvial deposits are visible in the farms lands and orchards at some places, while most of
the farm lands look like lakes due to inundation. The team saw debris of many houses, which gave in to
the flood velocity. The team observed and understood that the areas are in immediate need of assistance
and with autumn/fall season setting in, the miseries will be compounded with the onset of the cold and dry
season.
The team visited following villages from two districts;
Bandipora District
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11.
Zalpora
Nowgam
Gund-e-Nowgam
Gonchipora
Shiganpora
Tularzoo
Najan
Gadkhode
Khanpaeth
Shadipora
Naninara
Baramulla District
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Duslipora
Arampora
Chak-e-Jamal Mir
Buran
Habbak Tango
Boni Chakul
Field Testimonies
During the visit, many people narrated the harrowing time spent in past ten days. The personal
testimonies from communities and accounts of valour shown by youth in rescue were shared by the
people during the visit. The communities have extended all possible help to affected areas in evacuation
and primary relief operations at their own level.
In most of the villages, the destruction to houses and orchards, where some fruit was still floating in the
stagnant water, were movingly visible. In Armpora village in Baramulla, the team saw a man, amidst mud
and slush, pulling a hand cart with drenched books extracted from an inundated library. While passing by
the team, he sighed and said,” I wish we could have saved these precious books, now we won’t get them
ever.” Children in the same village who were near their inundated school building thanked god for the
floods being on a Sunday. “We would have drowned as a stream passes near our school and the gushes
of water were very forceful”.
With his eyes moist and pain visible on his face, Awami Forum Chairperson Mohd Akbar from Gund-eIbrahim village in Baramulla, now sheltering in a local school building in village Buren of Baramulla due to
inundation of his house, told the team that irrespective of the heroic and strenuous effort of villagers to
save the embankments (by reinforcing them with whatever material was available), they couldn’t prevent
the flooding. He, however, valued the cooperation and unity shown by his villagers in saving human lives
and livestock. He opined that the response of the people to the threat of flood was prompt and the youth
played a pivotal role in saving lives. He fears that the stagnant water will pose serious threats to health,
hygiene and sanitation in his village. As per his account, the loss to agriculture and property is frustrating
the villagers and a sense of despondency is prevailing at the moment.
The team saw huge displacement of people from Village Chak-e-Jamal Mir; the people are currently living
in makeshift tents on the sideways of Pattan railway station. The village is inundated and the water level
is still around 3-4 feet. The village is already an impoverished one and the SHG had undertaken various
agri-based income generating activities there. It seems that it will take lot of time for them to be back on
track. Ghulam Hassan, youth group member from Zalpora villages, said that, “we tried our best to save
the embankment but flood channel breached into the village and flooded the whole village. Many houses
and cow sheds are damaged; paddy and apple crop is no more and the loss is going to make our
sustenance difficult. We are running short of baby food, medicines, water and ration. We are cut off from
rest of the world.”
“We have suffered a lot due to this flood as most of our houses are full of water. No one came to help us
or rescue us, not even a single food packet or water bottle was dropped. We are craving for food and
water. Some people now have set up relief camps themselves and are pooling money and supplies to
sustain these camps” - this painful account was narrated to the team by Waseem Ahmad, youth group
member of village Najan in Bandipora. The poultry farm owner in Shadipora village shared that he had to
offer hundreds of chicken free of cost to people before they drowned in the flood, but there were no
takers, as people were running for safety. During the same time, the team coincidently saw thousands of
dead chicken floating in the Jhelum; the team assumed that flood may have hit a nearby poultry farm.
Immediate Needs
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Bedding and blankets
Rations
Medicines/health camps
Dignity kits
Tents/tarpaulin sheets
Kitchen sets
Fodder for cattle
Report by: Mr.Yasir Qureshi, Senior Manager Programmes, Kashmir
Photo Courtesy - Internet