In a boost to relief efforts in the flood-ravaged Kashmir valley, the Jammu-Sringar National Highway on Tuesday reopened for traffic after remaining closed for 13 days due to landslides triggered by incessant rains.
Engineers of Border Roads Organisation and the army restored the vital road link. "After sustained effort by the BRO and army engineers, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has been opened on Tuesday," a defence spokesman said.
He said multiple landslides were cleared with simultaneous deployment of engineers and specialist equipment coordinated by the chief engineer of Northern Command Headquarters of the army based at Udhampur to restore this vital road.
"The hghway was reopened for vehicular traffic after remaining closed due to landslide and washing of a portion of highway in Ramban district," a police officer said.
On the intervening night of September 2 and 3, a five-km road patch was washed way in flash floods besides multiple landslides, sinking of road and flooding at various places in Ramban district.
"The highway was reopened for only light motor vehicles (LMVs)", he said. Over 3,000 to 4,000 vehicles, particularly trucks carrying supplies had been stranded on the highway.
Earlier, the military engineers had restored the land link to flood-hit KashmirValley from Ladakh side on September 9 and cleared SinthanPass route via Kishtwar on September 13.
"The major impediment to opening the NH was a massive landslide at Ramsoo near Ramban, where over 300 metres of road had been entirely washed away leaving a sheer cliff of 80 degrees slope," the Defence spokesman said.
He said the entire hillside had to be excavated afresh and the effort had to be further intensified due to a repeated landslide on September 12. "Undeterred, the engineers worked night and day to make a new passage through the mountain slope. Work is now on to construct a new bridge over Ans River near Budhal, which will be completed in two days while several army bridges have already been constructed and over 40 landslides cleared expeditiously by the Sappers (as military engineers are called)," the spokesman said.
He said clearance of remaining debris and slush on several roads in the State continues in an effort to improve traffic movement on all road links in the state.
With life showing signs of returning to normalcy, security forces and police personnel are also back on the roads at various places. However, the extent of damage is still unfolding. There are reports about a number of houses collapsing. Also the exact number of those who perished is also being ascertained.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said the death toll in the entire KashmirValley is not more than 30. There are hopes that the death toll may not be much as most of the people had been evacuated to safe places in time.
The rescue was conducted not only by the army, paramilitary forces and NDRF but even by locals. There are several instances of locals arranging boats or making makeshift boats to evacuate people.
"A famous doctor and his wife were in the third floor and top floor of their house in Rajbagh. They were refusing to leave. But we went to them in a boat and persuaded them to eave. They are now in Pune," said Nasir Khan, a businessman of Hyderpora, who went around localities with some friends to see whoever can be evacuated.
According to him, he and his friends also evacuated a lady teacher of famous BurnHallSchool who had got her leg fractured in a fall. Relief trucks are also moving around in the city, distributing essentials to the people who crowd the vehicles when they halt.
As the people come to terms with what happened, many of them allege that the state administration did not do enough when the tragedy struck. Senior officials, however, say they were initially unable to help as they themselves were stuck in flooded waters.
"A state government can never be capable of dealing with the calamity of such a magnitude. We were ourselves crippled as phones went off and there was no way to connect with anybody," says Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Farooq Shah.
He said the state authorities soon after swung into action and the chief minister himself was monitoring the situation. But locals in many areas are not impressed with the performance of the state administration. Some thank the army and the NDRF for rescue operations but some give no credit to them.
There is anger among the people at the media also, alleging that some sections did not portray the true picture.
Photograph: ANI
