(Khanmoh) Pampore, Aug 11: An overnight cloud burst followed by flash floods caused severe destruction of property and agriculture in this village on Srinagar outskirts.
Though there was no loss of life reported due to the natural calamity, floods damaged many residential areas located in the mountain lap with preliminary assessment suggesting damage to more than 350 houses and thousands of kanals of agriculture land including prized saffron fields. Villagers at many places complained about the absence of administration in relief operations.
The knee deep water which forced its way into the houses in many Mohallas including Kati Mohalla, Wani, Shah and Najar Mohallas, bringing along huge quantity of mud, has wreaked havoc with visible cracks to many buildings. The flash floods have brought down the brick walls around compounds of almost every house in some Mohallas. A thick cover of mud brought along by the flash floods could be seen on the roads, compounds and buildings.
The villagers who had gone to bed when the cloudburst struck midnight were taken by shock. Mushtaq Ahmad, a resident of Kati Mohalla, said his sleep was disturbed by a huge sound of lightning at around 12 midnight. “I mustered courage to venture out only to see that rivers of water had reached foot of the mountains. The lightning sounds and water flowing down created panic among people who could only watch the destruction helplessly,” Mushtaq told Greater Kashmir while clearing the mud from the compound of his house.
“Look the inner walls of the house have developed cracks in the direction of the flow of the water,” he pointed as his family members were clearing water from the ground floor. It was a common sight in every house with family members busy clearing mud and removing water which made way into the rooms.
The faces of family heads wore a concerned look as the flash floods caused damage to the household items including kitchenware, clothing and floor matting which was scattered on inner roads at many places.
Head of the Disaster Management Cell and officer on special duty in Divisional Commissioner’s Office, Amir Ali said preliminary assessment suggested that at least 285 structures have been damaged at Khanmoh and 33 at Balhama.
“It was found that 290 families at Khanmoh and 40 at Balhama have got affected,” he said.
More than 3,300 kanals of paddy, orchards and saffron fields have been inundated due to natural calamity, Amir Ali said.
An angry looking Ghulam Rasool Shah of Shah Mohalla said nobody from administration was bothering to asses the damage caused to buildings including his own house. “Come with me and I will show you the extent of destruction caused by the flash floods,” he tried to persuade the media persons. Besides causing damage to houses the floods completely destroyed paddy and maize crops in vast fields of the area.
An official of Revnue department said four to five team of the department along with police parties were assessing the damage. It would take a few days before the actual cost of damage could be assessed, he said.
The flash floods have completely damaged the black-topped road in the Mohallas with water still flowing through.
Except for the official teams to asses the damage there was no visible presence of authorities from district administration or police to help in relief operations. People were themselves seen clearing the blocked drains and removing mud from the roads.
“It is already afternoon and nobody from the government has come here for help,” said Showkat Ahmad of Kati Mohalla.
However, Amir Ali said a team of officials headed by the Deputy Commissioner visited the spot to take stock of the situation while the Divisional Commissioner sought help from Army.
In a statement, a Defence spokesman said that army columns along with civil administration was monitoring the situation and provided relief to the people whose houses were submerged. He said the army provided temporary accommodation and medical assistance to the victims, adding that the services of Indian Army helicopters have been requisitioned to drop essential engineering equipment to drain out the stagnant water.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST