Uttarakhand grants Rs 10 crore for flood affected Jammu and Kashmir

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday announced his government's decision of granting an aid of rupees ten crore for the flood hit Jammu and Kashmir state. He also added that the people of Uttarakhand stands by with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their hour of distress.

"The situation is really bad. The people of Uttarakhand stand by with the people of Jammu and Kahmir. We have also faced situation like this. On behalf of the state government we have announced ten crore aid for them," said the Uttarakhand Chief Minister.

According to reports the armed forces and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have so far rescued 47,227 persons in different regions of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Army has deployed 220 columns of its personnel for rescue and relief operations, in which 135 columns deployed in Srinagar region and 85 columns in Jammu region. They have distributed 7,200 blankets and 210 tents.

The Army also distributed 42,000 litres of water, 600 kilograms of biscuit, 7 tonne baby food and 1000 food packets in the flood-affected areas. Additional water bottles are being airlifted from Chandigarh and Delhi.

In order to meet the shortage of food in the flood-affected area, cooked food including biscuits are being sent from Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad on a large scale. In an endeavor to provide speedy medical aid to the affected populace, 80 medical teams of the Armed Forces Medical Services have also swung into action.

So far 451 sorties were undertaken by the helicopters and aircraft of Indian Air Force and 563 tonnes of relief materials are dropped by the Indian Air Force. Altogether 61 aircraft and helicopters have been pressed into action.

135 Army boats and 148 NDRF's inflatable boats are actively involved in the rescue operation.

BSNL with the assistance of the Armed Forces is trying hard to restore its mobile services through satellite network and the telecom network at the earliest. Besides, Air Force communication equipment and a team from private telecom company are being airlifted from Delhi.

To restore the road connectivity, five task forces of Border Roads Organisation, which include 5700 personnel, have been pressed into service. As of now, they have restored the road connectivity between Batote and Kishtwar. Work between Kishtwar and Sinthan Pass is in progress and Jammu to KM 172 is open for light vehicular traffic.

Fifteen engineering task force teams along with boats and other lifesaving equipment have already reached the flood affected areas to supplement the rescue operation. The situation is being continuously monitored and progress of the events are updated at the office of the HQ IDS in New Delhi.