Srinagar witnesses sanitation drive after flood waters recede

Srinagar has been witnessing frequent cleanliness and sanitation drives ever since the flood waters receded in the city.

Emergency workers have been battling to prevent waterborne diseases like cholera from spreading as fetid water swilled around the Kashmir Valley after the devastating floods.

More than 75,000 people were in partly submerged homes in Srinagar, where roads transformed into stagnant canals strewn with wreckage, trash and dead animals during the floods.

Close to 300 people died in the natural disaster and thousands remain homeless, some in relief camps.

Sanitation and cleanliness drives have swung into motion as the waters recede after a month of heavy flooding.

The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has deployed tippers, robotic arms and excavators, among other machinery alongside hundreds of staff members who have been cleaning roads and garbage non-stop.

The Municipal Commissioner, G.N. Qasba, said a record 22,000 metric tonnes of garbage had been extracted from the city after the floods.

"On an average, we take out around 2,000 metric tonnes of garbage from the city. But in the past 10-12 days, 22,000 metric tonnes of garbage has been extracted and scientifically disposed off," he said on Friday.

Residents affected by the floods could not dispose of their trash since all systems had been washed away by the floods.

"We are very thankful to the municipal corporation. The deployed their vehicles on the road and have worked day and night. We had to keep the waste generated from our households on to the roads because there was no way we could dispose them after the floods. The municipal corporation has deployed 50-60 trucks to clean up, so we are very thankful," said Raeez, a local resident.

The floods in Jammu and Kashmir caused extensive damage last month with Srinagar particularly hard hit.