Family seeks govt's help to rebuild life after heavy rains

As the residents of Jammu and Kashmir seek to resume their lives following heavy rains in the state which rendered hundreds homeless, a family of 14 members in downtown city today appealed to the government for their early rehabilitation.
Mehraj-ud-din Dar and his brother Abdul Rashid were rendered homeless along with their families after their two-storied house at Naidoori-Nowshehra near Mill stop developed cracks and was declared unsafe for living early this week.
"Only a police team visited our damaged house and advised us to leave immediately," said 50-year-old Dar, a mason by profession.
Dar said several other houses in the vicinity were also damaged and added that the damage was the direct result of the faulty drainage system.

"Water is still gushing out beneath our home. I think it is a matter of time before the houses collapse completely," he said.
Dar said his brother earns living as an artisan and the families cannot afford to live in a rented accommodation.

"Nobody from the civil administration has visited us so far, leave aside any help from the government," he said.
"We need help from the government to rebuild our shattered lives," he added.
Dar and his brother, who live in the house with their widowed mother, took shelter in a local mosque and were provided with food by neighbours after they vacated the house.

The mason said he had made a number of visits to the concerned Tehsil office over the past week and finally got an assurance from the revenue officials that they will visit the house to assess the damage and compensate accordingly.
However, the officials are yet to visit the house, he said and appealed to the government for an early assessment of the damage to their house, release of the compensation and building permissions from the concerned authorities without any hiccups.