Srinagar, Sept 4 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the floods across the Valley could have been mitigated had the promises made after the 2014 disaster been kept, pointing to the lack of dredging in the Jhelum and its flood channels.
“Somewhere in these 11 years, our rulers have been careless. If we had taken the right steps after 2014, if we had dredged the Jhelum and its flood channel, this situation would not have been created,” Omar told reporters during a visit to flood-affected areas in Srinagar.
“This time we were able to save Srinagar from flood. But if you look at Kulgam district, there has been a lot of financial loss. This should not have happened,” Omar said.
The Chief Minister thanked the administration, including the Divisional Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners and local representatives, for their swift response, saying timely evacuations had prevented loss of life. “No one was harmed. People were thrown out of their homes at the right time. But no one can deny that there has been a financial loss,” he said as per KNS.
Omar also called for immediate intervention by the Union government. “A team is being sent from the central government to inspect the 10 districts of Jammu. Today, I am going to request Home Minister Amit Shah to send the same team to Kashmir. We will have to assess the losses in Kulgam, Anantnag, Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Baramulla and Bandipora. A relief package should be approved by the central government for both Kashmir and Jammu,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that lessons from 2014 must not be forgotten. “After learning the lesson of 2014, we had prepared a package. Under this package, the carrying capacity of water was to be increased through dredging in Jhelum and flood channels. Unfortunately, it seems that 11 years have been wasted. I don’t want to see such a situation again,” he said, adding that the state government would begin immediate review of pending works.
“The rain is from Allah, but this rain should not have caused so much loss. From today, we will start preparing so that such a situation never repeats,” Omar said.(KNS)
