Kashmir – soil of sorrows

The recent floods in Kashmir were catastrophic in every sense. It left ruins that are beyond repair. With hundreds dead and thousands homeless the valley of Kashmir today exhibits poignant scenes all around. What follows is a personal account by Junaid Rather …

Situated on the foothills of mighty Himalayas, the beautiful valley of Kashmir has been struck by the worst ever witnessed floods. The devastating waters of Jhelum, a major tributary of river Sindh flowing into Arabian Sea, turned the valley into a landscape of ruins. From district Pulwama in southern Kashmir to Baramulla in North this flood took almost the entire Valley in its ambit. But the worst hit part was the capital city Srinagar. Srinagar- a city built by Ashoka is a low lying patch of land on the route of river Jhelum. This congested city houses over 20 lakh people who live along either banks of this river.

The recent flood has had a devastating impact on almost every part of this culturally affluent city. The tragedy struck the valley on Sunday, September 7 when the water from Jhelum river started breaching the bunds that once stood as barriers. Within moments its waters reached almost every possible corner of the city. The furious water currents even left the outskirts engulfed. Jhelum water, at an alarming pace, washed away hundreds of structures along its route and left thousands stuck in their houses. It was sudden. None could escape.



Like every other Srinagarite, I too suffered a loss-a personal loss. It hit the mosque where I was introduced to the word of my Creator. It washed away the school where I learnt the lessons of life. It devastated the streets where I spent hours of boyhood leisure and sadly, it struck the house where I heard lullabies from my mother. Structures don’t exist now but memories do – on swampy walls, in the rubble, on the broken blackboard.

On the fateful day, I left my place to get a few packets of cigarette to secure some puffs in the coming days of possible shortage. Cigarettes are the first thing to disappear in times of crisis in Kashmir.

On my way back to home I stumbled upon a plastic white bottle floating on the water. The flood water had just started entering our area. I was taken aback when I opened the bottle.. Inside, it had a small piece of paper which read “Give us milk for kids or take us to the safer side. We are about to die_ Green Lane Azad Basti.”These wails were from an area just a few strides away from my house. Azad Basti is a place where I often go for a walk (for smoke) in the evening. God knows how many times I must have seen the person writing the chit.

I knew that it was not just the kids of Azad Basti, but the flood had begun to inflict miseries on thousands – young and old. The message in the chit had served its purpose. It had incited the volunteer in me. I joined the brave lot who were rescuing people stuck in their houses and taking food to the needy.

Journey as a volunteer turned out to be an experience for lifetime, a painful one of course. The scenes I witnessed were of gloom and despair. From every corner we could hear women and children crying for help. Those screams still reverberate in my ears. We managed to save a few, provide food to many. Thankfully, I did give milk to many houses of Azad Basti.

This rescue operation was memorable and eventful too. At one point of our operation, life and death came close to each other. Along the margins of a narrow street, our boat was sailing through a three storeyed house as it collapsed producing shock waves in the water. A portion of its debris fell on the boat and it capsized. Death seemed closer than ever.  I jumped into the water before I drowned. As I took my head out of water, I saw dust and dust all around. The house was galloped down by the flood water as if it never existed. For a moment I could see no one from the team I was a part of. I swam to the safer place. That day I realised that the rebellion to learn swimming as a kid was worth every distasteful punishment I was given by my parents who were always against it. Thankfully all my teammates also turned out to be good swimmers. We had a close encounter with death. It could not however kill my conviction to carry on the courageous operation. I was not the only soul who felt the pain of the people. There were hundreds of brave men from all shades of life, from all the parts of valley who took on the rescue operations despite all hurdles.

These catastrophic floods have incurred huge losses in Kashmir. It left hundreds killed, thousands orphaned and many others displaced. Now the bigger question is that could this fury have been averted. Could Srinagar city been saved or the damage reduced? There are many theories in air.  ‘Kandzal’ is the most important barrier (bund) to the water of Jhelum located in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. Whenever the water level in Jhelum reached its pinnacle, a section of this barrier is brought down at an appropriate time to prevent the water from entering Srinagar city and divert the same to a flood channel. But in the present situation, experts argue that the water of river Jhelum could not find a perfect management mechanism. Some local politicians of the areas representing the people living in the flood channels of Pulwama and Srinagar ordered the officials of the Flood and Irrigation department against diverting the water of river Jhelum. Timing is important in such cases. As the water was not diverted on time, it breached the barrier at Kandzal and thus washing away the whole Srinagar city besides inundating the flood channel entirely.

It is not the first time when Kashmir has been struck by such a natural disaster. In the year 2005, the valleys Baramullah, Uri and Tagdar areas of northern Kashmir were hit by a massive earthquake which took away hundreds of lives. Pertinently it was the year when the Government of India enacted National Disaster Management Act which necessitated the establishment of a full-fledged state disaster management force and a well-structured disaster management mechanism in every state. Crores of rupees were allotted to the state of Jammu and Kashmir for the purpose but till date, we could only see few (ill) trained battalions of state disaster response force which are inadequate in all areas. The state is yet to have a well-structured disaster management board to tackle such natural disasters. These floods have exposed the weaknesses and ill preparedness of the government.

Kashmir is a conflict ridden zone for the last two decades now. Miseries and pain are not an alien entities to its residents. They have been victims throughout and yet managed to maintain the fervour of life. These floods are yet another litmus test to the courage and conviction of Kashmir.