National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday termed the flash floods and landslides in Ramban district a “national disaster” and called for urgent relocation and rehabilitation of the affected families.
Triggered by heavy rain and cloudbursts, the disaster caused widespread destruction across several villages in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The landslide-hit Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed for a second consecutive day, with a senior National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official saying the road clearance operation, underway at 20 locations, was likely to take about six days.
Hundreds of vehicles were left stranded on the strategic 250-kilometre highway after Sunday's heavy rainfall and cloudbursts triggered flash floods, landslides and mudslides in the district.
Three persons, including two minor siblings, were killed and over 100 people have been so far, while several residential buildings and roads have been badly damaged. Several vehicles were also buried under the debris.
"This is a very big disaster -- it is actually a national disaster. Entire villages have been affected. Three people have died and we are still uncertain about the full extent of the damage. I hope the Government of India and the Prime Minister will provide maximum assistance and support to these people," Abdullah told mediapersons on the sidelines of a function. He added that another cloudburst at a separate location had claimed two more lives.
Abdullah also called for urgent improvements in water management systems and repairs to local canals (nullahs) to mitigate the risk of similar disasters in the future. “We need to act urgently and put measures in place to prevent their recurrence,” he stressed.
"We need to fix the canals so that their water flows directly and doesn't scatter. The entire mountain has collapsed. People can no longer live there, they must be relocated and resettled in safer areas," Abdullah said. He further urged both the Central and state governments to take swift and coordinated action. “This is the time to act and save lives. Everyone needs to step in,” he added.
Abdullah also raised concerns over the fragile condition of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir to the rest of India. “It has been badly affected. If the train had been operational, people could have used it and been safe. Unfortunately, the weather was so bad that even the Prime Minister could not come for its inauguration,” he noted.
Underscoring the urgent need for alternative connectivity, Abdullah said, "The burden on Mughal Road has increased and people are being stopped at Sundarbani (Rajouri) and released in phases. We have only one road -- it has become a path of destruction." The Mughal Road connects the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu region with south Kashmir's Shopian district.
He reiterated the importance of building more tunnels to ensure safer and more reliable connectivity. “A tunnel from Doda must be expedited, and a tunnel on the Mughal Road is also essential. We need multiple alternative routes to connect the region,” he said.
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