Report to duty to help those in trouble: Kashmir issues new diktat to employees

In an attempt to display solidarity with its residents and help them in these dire times, the Jammu and Kashmir government has directed all its employees to report back to their duties immediately.

Mohammad Iqbal Khanday, the state’s chief secretary, asked all government employees to report to duty to ‘mitigate the problems of the people in this crisis’.  Khanday further added that action would be taken against those who defy the directive.

Furthermore, the director of the Soura medical institute has also directed doctors to report to duty so as to provide medical relief.

State government offices, education institutions and banks have remained closed since Monday when the city was hit by the worst floods in decades.

The directive comes at a time when the government has been slammed for its failure to help people affected by the floods.

The vacuum left by the absence of the state administration has been to a large extent filled by the efforts mounted by the army, central reserve police force and the National Disaster Rescue Force in rescuing the people from the flood hit areas.

Locals have also set up relief camps in various localities to provide succor to the people in distress. Mosque and gurudwara committees have taken it upon themselves to help the affected and are also providing shelter to the homeless.

Authorities are yet to de-water the civil secretariat building, which houses the offices of the state chief minister, ministers and top bureaucrats and the adjoining state legislature complex.

The Jammu and Kashmir police headquarters at Peerbagh and the state police control room in Batmallo area are also inundated by the flood waters.