Stone-throwing mars J&K flood relief efforts; Jammu feels neglected
13 Sep 2014
Over 142,000 people have been rescued from the flood-ravaged parts of Jammu & Kashmir so far, as relief operations entered their 12th day today.
"The Armed Forces and the NDRF (National Disaster Relief Force) have so far rescued over 1.42 lakh persons from different parts of J&K," a defence spokesperson said in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, the Army had to fire in the air to disperse stone-throwers in Srinagar, as miscreants were trying to hamper the rescue and relief operations in the Lal Chowk area of J&K's summer capital. At least one helicopter was damaged.
The Army had earlier appealed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to deploy local police and paramilitary forces in several sensitive localities, where stone-pelters and separatist elements were hampering relief operations.
An Army spokesperson said that people want help, but separatists and miscreants were obstructing relief work.
Other reports say that people in the Jammu region are agitated because the relief efforts are focussed on Srinagar while they have received hardly any aid.
As of this afternoon, 13 tonnes of water-purifying tablets and six water filtration plants with a capacity of 1.2 lakh bottles per day have already reached Srinagar.
Suction pumps and other engineering equipment from Vishakhapatnam have also reached the flood affected area for relief work, he said, adding 12 sewage pumps from Delhi have also been dispatched to the Valley.
Indian Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag is personally overseeing the relief work and has vowed that his soldiers will not return to their barracks until every person is rescued.
