Swelling waters stare at Kashmiris again

As incessant rains lashed Kashmir since Saturday evening, rising water levels in the Jhelum and swollen mountain streams brought back memories of last year’s devastating deluge to the people of the Valley.

Since Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people in low lying areas of Srinagar and other south Kashmir areas were seen rushing out of their houses to take shelter at a safer place.

The situation turned worse when authorities on Sunday night declared floods in the Valley and advised people living near river embankments to move to safer places.
For Abdul Hamid, a government employee in Srinagar, it was a nightmare to spend Sunday night at his residence along with his family. “The memories of September 2014 will haunt me always when along with my family, I got trapped for days without food due to floods. But last night was no lesser,” Hamid told Deccan Herald.

With the first light of the morning, Hamid and his family rushed out of their residence to take shelter in a relative’s house.

“My kids were crying all night as two to three feet water had entered in our area. And when government issued advisory late last (Sunday) night I couldn’t decide where to go,” he said.

Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, who lives in flood prone Bemina locality of Srinagar, was shifting household items to the attic of his house. “I am at a loss to understand what to do now. I spent at least Rs 2 lakh in the last few months to make my house habitable again. But it seems our miseries have no end,” he rued.

People living in flood prone areas also used social networking sites to give updates. “Vacating ground floor. Allah have mercy. Don’t want to be homeless again,” wrote one Ezabir Ali, a women rights activist on her Facebook page.

Syed Faisal Qadri, a lawyer, wrote on his Facebook page, “Leaving home second time in six months. Flood alert.”

Several shopkeepers on the posh Residency Road and Lal Chowk here were seen shifting merchandise to safer places. These areas had been the worst hit during the unprecedented floods last September. People here fear a repeat of the 2014 floods which left a trail of destruction and death in the state.