In an effort to save his family of a seven month pregnant wife, four children, a father and brother, he sacrificed his life. "He had asked all of us to leave saying that he will join later. But when he tried to get out of that mess, it was too late..." explains Parvez Ahmed, Mohammad Farid's brother.
The family, which lost the sole bread earner, has temporarily been shifted to the Eid gah building where several others affected by the waters too have taken shelter. Each having an equally horrifying experience to share.
The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is facing the worst natural disaster in the last six decades. Be it the valley, the snow desert of Ladakh or the mountainous region of Jammu, devastation in every region is evident. The border district of Poonch, located in the lap of mighty Pir Panjal Range, which was already one of the most backward districts of the state, has been the worst-affected district in Jammu region based on the assessment of flood damages done by the Government with massive devastation of public and private property, besides loss of over two dozen lives.
The intensity of the floods can be estimated from the fact that the Sher -e - Kashmir Bridge, the lifeline of Poonch, has been washed away along with the abutment on its both sides. Houses built on the river beds have been wiped out. People have been shifted to the Gujjar Boys Hostel which now feeds more than 500 people along with the 125 Gujjar boys. "It's a difficult task, but somehow we are managing" says Jehangir Iqbal, Assistant Warden of the Hostel.
Mohammed Khalik, a retired Naik from the army and a Sena Medal(gallantry) winner, who served in the Army for around 19 years, has lost everything too. He approached a nearby army unit and whatever assistance could be given by the unit has been rendered.
So much so that he could at least take a rented accommodation and shift out of the Gujjar hostel, with his wife and four children.
"My brother and I want to join the Army," says Shahzad Koser, Khalik's elder daughter confidently. The glimmer in her eyes and her infectious smile is heartwarming even in such difficult times. Khalik says the school in which her younger daughter Shabnam used to study has been washed away in the floods; most of the school records have been lost.
The government survey shows that 594 concrete houses, 2008 kacha houses are totally damaged while 448 concrete houses and 3788 kacha houses are partially damaged.
Besides, around 211 shops are fully or partially damaged while 28369 kanals of land has been affected by flash floods.
The figures about the loss of public assets show that around 28 school buildings have been totally damaged and 165 others are partially damaged out of which nine buildings have been declared as unsafe.
Floods have washed away 40 pumping stations and 21 electric sub-stations besides partially damaging 84 water supply schemes and three bore wells at Purani Poonch, Maize Farm and Chandak.
These figures may help the Government to design relief work but the heart breaking stories of the already disadvantaged communities will never reach them. Story of Mohammed Rafique - a handicap who has lost his wheelchair and his house in this horrific flood, story of twenty one year old Nazma Kausar who is battling for life with a paralyzed husband and three very young daughters to take care of - their tears, their cries hopeful of help, must reach the Government.
"These people have nowhere to go, the land where their homes were has been engulfed by the water. There is no land." says Pradeep Khanna, a Senior Radio Journalist with AIR, Poonch. So what is the way ahead from here, what is the government and the administration planning, how are they going to help pick up life from here?
"We will be zeroing a place and will shift them to tents, that is what we are looking at, as of now" says Shafique Ahmed, the Assistant Commissioner of the Revenue department for the Poonch district.
It's a huge task for the State as well as Central Government because there are thousands of families waiting to be heard and helped.
While the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had announced a package of relief for those affected by the floods including a Rupees 200 crore assistance for the Jammu region and for the valley and Rupees 3.5 lakh for the kin of those who lost their lives in the disaster, other state governments like Maharashtra and Haryana have also pitched in to give an assistance of Rupees 10 crore each.
The Charkha Development Communicator network feels that the affected people need human assistance more than the crores of money being given in the name of relief. They need immediate action to be taken to re locate them as the threat of outbreak of water borne diseases looms large over the state as flood waters recede.
The views expressed in the article are that of the author.
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