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In Srinagar, Floodwaters Are Receding but Anger Is Rising In Srinagar, Floodwaters Are Receding but Anger Is Rising
(about 1 hour later)
SRINAGAR, Kashmir — As people here waited for rescue on rooftops and balconies Wednesday, fear was giving way to anger and resentment over what some saw as a slow response to the flooding that began last week, which has left hundreds dead in India and Pakistan. SRINAGAR, Kashmir — As people waited here on Wednesday for rescue on rooftops and balconies, fear was giving way to anger and resentment over what some saw as a slow response to flooding that began last week and has left hundreds dead in northern India and eastern Pakistan.
In the Srinagar neighborhood of Wazir Bagh, where the water was about five feet at its highest point, residents on Wednesday watched rescue boats make their way to another area where the waters were higher. Some said that only the politically connected were being evacuated. Others complained that the rescue teams were incompetent. In the Wazir Bagh neighborhood, where the water was about five feet at its deepest point, residents watched rescue boats make their way to another area where the waters were higher. Some said that only the politically connected were being evacuated. Others complained that the rescue teams were incompetent.
Jaspreet Kaur, 25, was rescued Wednesday, taken by boat to a tractor that slowly bore her and about 50 other people to dry land. She said she had been trapped on the roof of her house with her grandmother for five days and they had run out of food. One woman, Jaspreet Kaur, 25, was taken by boat to a tractor that slowly brought her and about 50 other people to dry land. She said she had been trapped on the roof of her house with her grandmother for five days and they had run out of food.
“We were on the brink of drinking the muddy water,” she said. Roughly 500 more families were awaiting rescue in her neighborhood, she said. We were on the brink of drinking the muddy water,” she said. Roughly 500 more families are awaiting rescue in her neighborhood, she said.
The army said Wednesday that the water level in Srinagar had receded three to four feet from a peak of about 18 feet. But the situation in the city remained grim, O.P. Singh, an official with the National Disaster Response Force, told the Indian news channel NDTV. The army said Wednesday that the water level in Srinagar had receded three to four feet from a peak of about 18 feet. But the situation in the city, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir State, remained grim, O .P. Singh, an official with the National Disaster Response Force, told the Indian news channel NDTV.
On Monday, Mr. Singh said, an aggressive crowd had tried to take boats and equipment from the response force, and one member of the force was hurt in the ensuing struggle. On Monday, Mr. Singh said, an aggressive crowd had tried to take boats and equipment from the rescue team, and one member was hurt in the ensuing struggle.
“We are facing a lot of difficulties in carrying out work,” Mr. Singh said. In much of the violence-scarred Kashmir Valley, where a militant separatist movement has been largely vanquished but a heavy security presence remains, interactions with the military and law enforcement are often strained. In the Rambagh neighborhood of Srinagar, where rescued people were being brought to dry ground Wednesday, a group shouting pro-independence slogans.
In much of the violence-scarred Kashmir Valley, where a militant separatist movement has been largely vanquished but a heavy security presence remains, hostility toward the state government and the armed forces is widespread. In the neighborhood of Rambagh, where rescued people were being brought to dry ground Wednesday, a group gathered shouting pro-independence slogans. “They are pelting our boats with their stones,” said Kishore Prasad, a spokesman for the Central Reserve Police Force at the security forces’ quarters in Rambagh. He said it would take at least two more days at least to rescue the thousands still stranded in Srinagar.
“They are pelting our boats with their stones,” said Kishore Prasad, a spokesman for the Central Reserve Police Force at the security forces’ quarters in Rambagh. He said it would take at least two more days at least to rescue the thousands stranded in Srinagar. Mr. Prasad said one problem with the rescue operations was a lack of coordination among the agencies working on the ground, which include the National Disaster Response Force, the police and the armed forces. The army says it has rescued more than 76,500 people from Jammu and Kashmir since the flooding, and cellphone connectivity has begun to be restored, with 10 mobile towers put back in service in Srinagar, according to an employee of Bharat Sanchan Nigam, a state-run telecommunications company.
Mr. Prasad said one problem with the rescue operations was a lack of coordination among the agencies working on the ground, which include the National Disaster Response Force, the police and the armed forces. The army says it has rescued more than 76,500 people from Jammu and Kashmir since the flooding began last week, and mobile connectivity has begun to be restored, with 10 mobile towers put back in service in Srinagar, according to an employee of Bharat Sanchan Nigam, a state-run telecommunications company.
But relief has not come fast enough for some, who complain that the state government is nowhere to be seen.But relief has not come fast enough for some, who complain that the state government is nowhere to be seen.
On Wednesday, local residents were handling much of the relief effort for those who had made it to relative safety. At one patch of dry ground, doctors were distributing medicine they had gotten from a local pharmacy and worrying that it would soon run out. On Wednesday, local residents were handling much of the relief effort for those who had made it to relative safety. On one patch of dry ground, doctors were distributing medicine they had gotten from a local pharmacy and worrying that it would soon run out.
At a mosque where residents had set up a makeshift relief camp, Ghulam Hassan was coordinating efforts to feed 2,000 people. He complained that the volunteers were on their own.At a mosque where residents had set up a makeshift relief camp, Ghulam Hassan was coordinating efforts to feed 2,000 people. He complained that the volunteers were on their own.
“India says that we are theirs, and Pakistan says that we are theirs, but we really don’t belong to anyone,” he said, referring to Kashmir’s disputed border between the two countries. “If we did, someone would come to help us.” “India says that we are theirs, and Pakistan says that we are theirs, but we really don’t belong to anyone,” he said, referring to the disputed Kashmiri border. “If we did, someone would come to help us.”
Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, defended the state government’s response in an interview that NDTV aired on Wednesday.Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, defended the state government’s response in an interview that NDTV aired on Wednesday.
“I understand the anger, I understand the frustration, but it’s not true that nothing is happening,” Mr. Abdullah said. “There will always be an element of dissatisfaction with a situation like this because it is unprecedented.”“I understand the anger, I understand the frustration, but it’s not true that nothing is happening,” Mr. Abdullah said. “There will always be an element of dissatisfaction with a situation like this because it is unprecedented.”