People's Democracy

SNOWFALL IN J&K

Nature’s Fury Compounded By An Inept Govt

The following statement was issued by M Y Tarigami, the secretary of the Jammu & Kashmir state committee of the CPI(M) on February 21, 2005.

JAMMU–Srinagar National Highway has outlived its existence but due to the drought like situation for past several years both the state and central governments took it for granted, resulting in the havoc it played with the people for last fortnight.

The people in the state are sandwiched between administrative apathy and natural disaster for past several days. Heavy snowfall recorded after many years in the state played havoc with the people especially in far-flung and hilly areas. As forecast by the meteorological department most of Kashmir valley witnessed above six feet snowfall. Over a hundred of people have died so far, and according to reports coming in from the valley a number of people lost their lives in Waltangu, Gujjar Basti falling in Qazigund area. The inefficiency of different administrative units is quite visible in the whole valley.

Given the weather forecast, the state machinery should have been set into motion and disaster management, snow clearing machines, first aid centers, medical facilities and public distribution system should have been kept alert to face the situation.

But the saddest part of the story is that the state machinery remained totally paralysed. So much so that snow was not cleared in the Srinagar city too where hospitals and other important institutions are still stuck in the snow. Districts and tehsil headquarters are incommunicado and the administration is totally unaware of the loss to life and property of the people in the outskirts of the valley. In the areas where extreme high snowfall is recorded, residential houses and other apartments are damaged and destroyed in large numbers. But the government as of today is just making tall claims of sufficient quantity of food grains stored but the fact is that there is severe scarcity of food grains, LPG and kerosene oil in the entire valley.

On the other hand Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is proving fatal for the people due to heavy snowfall, landslides, snow storms and erosions and has remained closed for about 15 days by now and the people stranded on both sides are struggling between life and death, hundreds are halted at Jammu bus stand, crying for help from the administration. Despite the fact that survey for upgrading the National Highway was completed way back in 1995 and proposals were made to cut short the avalanche zones and its length was proposed to be minimised by about 100 km, nothing has been done concretely in this direction. This is a clear indication of administrative inefficiency and official apathy the people of the state are by and large subjected to.

The state committee of the CPI(M) demands that the government should explain its position and the reasons for non-coordination, non-communication between its administrative units. It also demands that loss to the life and property of the people in the valley be immediately compensated after getting it assessed.

The CPI(M) is of the view that, given the importance of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and given its dilapidated condition, the government should promptly consider the proposal of providing an alternative to it in the best interests of people.

In the meantime, the government should take measures to provide relief to the stranded passengers and should make use of its choppers to drop food grains and other essential commodities in the far flung areas of the valley and should also start rescue operations in snow-laden areas to save precious lives.

CPI(M) BOYCOTT

Earlier, the CPI (M) legislators boycotted the governor’s address to the joint session of state assembly on February 21 in protest against the apathy of the government towards its people who suffered a great loss in terms of life and property due to the heavy snowfall, avalanching and shooting stones.

The CPI(M), state legislators M Y Tarigami and M K Naik said that they were boycotting the governor’s address to impress upon the government that it has totally failed to protect the people from the disaster by not taking rescue measures and asserted that it was the volunteers from among the people in Waltangoo and other affected areas who were doing a commendable job to save their fellow beings but the government was still demonstrating inefficiency to tackle this climatic situation. (INN)