Mehbooba seeks liberal central help for flood-affected J

Srinagar, Sep 7 (UNI) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti today urged the Centre to extend liberal financial and technical assistance to Jammu and Kashmir for undertaking relief and rehabilitation measures in the state's flood-affected areas.

Ms Mufti visited various flood-ravaged areas of Anantnag and Pulwama districts today to assess the extent of damage by the gushing waters. She expressed solidarity with the affected people.

The PDP president said around 15 lakh people in 500 villages of south Kashmir have been affected and extensive damage caused to their property, crops and cattle.

As per the preliminary estimates, the crop loss has been put at Rs 400 crore with around one lakh hectares of land coming under flood waters, she added.

While 600 houses have been damaged completely, 5000 suffered partial damage, Ms Mufti said, adding around 20,000 cattle have perished in the floods.

She said given the magnitude of the damage and destruction and the resource constraints of the state government, the Centre should come forward with liberal financial and technical assistance for both short and long-term rehabilitation of the flood affected.

The state government should also formulate a long-term policy for relocation of people from flood-prone areas of Anantnag and Pulwama districts as they face the brunt of floods frequently, she added.

Ms Mufti asked the state government to provide free ration, at least for six months, to the people in the flood-affected areas as their crops have been destroyed completely.

She urged the state administration to initiate immediate measures for restoration of electricity on priority basis, especially in villages where potable water supply has been disrupted.

Ms Mufti said the health department should take precautionary and preventive measures in advance to safeguard the people of the flood-affected areas from any medical hazards.

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