Rescue workers attacked, heckled by angry Srinagar locals

People in Srinagar trying to survive the fury of the floods, which have already claimed 200 lives, are angry and emotional. On Wednesday, four helicopters, carrying relief material, could not land after angry locals threatened to throw stones at them.

Earlier on Monday too, the desperate locals allegedly attacked two rescue workers and even deflated their boats after claiming the aid had not come soon enough. The locals apparently wanted the NDRF men to concentrate on a particular area and when the force personnel decided to go to a different marooned area, the locals attacked them.

One of the National Disaster Response Force jawan has been seriously injured and has been airlifted to Chandigarh for treatment.

Worried by the development, the NDRF and senior home ministry officials have asked the Cabinet Secretary to devise some mechanism so that troops are kept safe while they render their duty. “It has been decided that CRPF will guard rescue teams but we are still to find a way to implement this mechanism as there is limited space on the boat. Carrying securitymen on a boat means reducing space for people to be rescued,” a senior official said.

Complete coverage: Flood fury in Kashmir

The floods, which are being described as the worst in 60 years, have stranded around 4 lakh people. Telecom services in the Valley are also slowly being restored with operators resuming network connectivity in various parts of the region.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who has been personally helping out in rescue operations, acknowledged that people are angry, but said, “I understand the anger but it is not true that nothing is happening...this situation is unprecedented.”

The chief minister said that a lot of people seem to have underestimated the fury of the floods. “We asked people to move out of their homes and sent vehicles, but many did not do so believing that the water would subside,” Abdullah said.

-- With inputs from Agencies

Image: Kashmiris hang on to a tree to prevent being swept away by floodwaters in Srinagar on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI photo