Close X
Monday, December 2, 2024
ADVT 
India

Srinagar flooded, internet connectivity snaps

Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 Sep, 2014 08:46 AM
    Flood waters Monday inundated most of Srinagar's residential and commercial areas as people scrambled to save whatever they could from the muddy, swirling waters.
     
    Mobile coverage was patchy across the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir while there was no internet connectivity.
     
    An estimated 70 percent of Srinagar was inundated for a second day Monday.
     
    Water entered shops in the main business hub of Lal Chowk and Residency. Desperate shopkeepers tried to retrieve their goods from the flooded shops.
     
    The death toll in the worst floods in Jammu and Kashmir in over 50 years is said to have crossed 150. However, information is patchy from remote areas now made inaccessible by the flood waters.
     
    The radio and television stations were shut Sunday after flood waters entered the installations.
     
    The authorities appeared ill equipped to battle the terrible calamity but did all they could in the circumstances.
     
    Mobiles went on the blink as private telecom service providers said their towers were badly damaged.
     
    Waters entered the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) headquarters on Maulana Azad Road, forcing its closure.
     
    There was no internet connectivity in the Kashmir Valley.
     
    The only communication tool still up and running is the police wireless system.
     
    Except for inter-district connectivity between Srinagar and north Kashmir's Ganderbal district, all other districts of the valley including Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Badgam, Baramulla and Bandipora were cut off.
     
    The air force Monday airlifted 70 boats as seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force struggled to save the flood victims. 
     
    Soldiers did a herculean task, rescuing the marooned. The navy deployed marine commandos.
     
    The Srinagar-Jammu highway as well as the Srinagar-Leh highway remained closed for the fourth day Monday.
     
    The floods have hit petrol availability in Srinagar. All petrol pumps were practically running dry, prompting pump operators to ration the fuel to just one litre for each vehicle.
     
    All educational institutes have been shut. All Haj flights to Saudi Arabia have been cancelled till Sep 12.
     
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reviewed the flood situation Sunday, has called it a national disaster.
     
    The silver lining is that there was sunshine in both the valley and Jammu region, with the weather office saying there would be fair weather for the next four days.
     
    The water level in all mountain streams and seasonal drains has gone down.
    But the Jhelum river, which caused maximum devastation, is still flowing above the danger mark.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    HSGPC Row Gets Nastier: Tension in Kurukshetra

    HSGPC Row Gets Nastier: Tension in Kurukshetra
    Tension prevailed in Haryana's Kurukshetra town Saturday as the newly-constituted Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) tried...

    HSGPC Row Gets Nastier: Tension in Kurukshetra

    Anguish of BJP's Grand Old Man: Modi sends Advani, party's old guard into exile?

    Anguish of BJP's Grand Old Man: Modi sends Advani, party's old guard into exile?
    In the Hindu way of life, old age entails exile from home and hearth. As the Manu Smriti says, when a man sees "his skin wrinkled and his hair gray...

    Anguish of BJP's Grand Old Man: Modi sends Advani, party's old guard into exile?

    India's veto doesn't mean collapse of global trade talks

    India's veto doesn't mean collapse of global trade talks
    India's demand for concessions on food subsidy as a quid quo pro to a pact to simplify procedures on global commerce may have blocked the first....

    India's veto doesn't mean collapse of global trade talks

    58 Indian nurses returning home from Libya

    58 Indian nurses returning home from Libya
    Days after India rescued 49 nurses from Iraq, 58 Indian nurses from violence-hit Libya are on their way back to India, the government said Friday....

    58 Indian nurses returning home from Libya

    Modi's Nepalese protege to accompany him to Nepal

    Modi's Nepalese protege to accompany him to Nepal
    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be accompanied by a Nepalese youth who has been living with him for the past 16 years on his Nepal visit....

    Modi's Nepalese protege to accompany him to Nepal

    Indian educational system broken somewhere: Writer Chetan Bhagat

    Indian educational system broken somewhere: Writer Chetan Bhagat
    Celebrated writer Chetan Bhagat feels that the college cutoffs should not bog one down because hard work can also take people places, adding...

    Indian educational system broken somewhere: Writer Chetan Bhagat