At saturday evening on September 6th, 2014, much to the respite of inhabitants of Srinagar city, rain had stopped after incessantly falling for the previous five days. Sun had started shining bright behind the clouds at the Srinagar horizon moments before the dusk. A pleasantly coloured rainbow had emerged from the western sky. People of Srinagar had started taking a sigh of relief after a painstakingly long spell of rainfall throughout the week. Netizens had joyfully started posting pictures of rainbow and shining sun upon Facebook and other social networking sites with attached messages of hope for a pleasant weather in days to come. Hopes of pleasant weather and sunshine had started rising among the people since the meteorological department had flashed a forecast that the weather was likely to improve over the next few days alongwith an assurance that the “worst was over”. They had predicted sunny days thereafter for more than a week. However an inimical danger was brewing up in the backyards of Srinagar. Due to incredibly heavy rainfall in southern Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Kulgam and Pulwama over the weekend, river Jhelum had swollen beyond imaginable proportions and had assumed a lethal posture sufficient enough to consume precious human lives in tens of thousands. Nobody from the government side was hinting at the alarmingly rising water level in river Jhelum by any possible means. No warnings, announcements or flood alerts had been propagated from any quarter throughout the day until it was 10.30 pm at night. Consequently nobody in Srinagar had any inkling of an impending disaster that was likely to strike during the following night.
At around 10.30 pm during the special radio broadcast Chief Engineer, Flood Control and Irrigation Department stated that next four to five hours are going to be very crucial for Srinagar city since water level had risen considerably above the danger mark in southern Kashmir district of Anantnag and dangerously swollen waters of river Jhelum were proceeding fast towards Srinagar. He stated that it will take these waters around 4-5 hours to pass through Srinagar during which there was a threat of severe flooding in some low lying areas like Rajbagh and Jawahar Nagar and he advised the people residing in these areas to evacuate to safer places. When asked about his advice for other citizens of Srinagar city, he vaguely stated that entire central Kashmir is under threat of flooding but didn’t suggest evacuation in any other area of the city. Meanwhile Irrigation and Flood Control Department on its Facebook page reported water level at the entrance of Srinagar city at Ram Munshi Bagh level measuring gauge at 23.2 feet which was much above the danger level of 16 feet and flood level of 18 feet. This little but dreadful piece of information was sufficient enough to trigger panic waves among those who were tuned to the special radio broadcast or were following the situation over facebook. Within no time warning messages and flood alerts started circulating over facebook.
Even while Chief Engineer IFC dept was asking people of low lying areas to evacuate reports came that Jhelum had already breached the embankment near Chattabal and flood waters had inundated several localities in its vicinity there. At around 11.30 pm news came that Natipora, Budshah Nagar, Chanapora and Mehjoor Nagar areas had been submerged by overflowing Doodhganga rivulet, a tributary of Jhelum. All this had started sending adrenaline rushing throughout my body and there were no signs of sleep even though by midnight I am usually fast asleep. Our own locality was under no threat of flooding at this point of time. At 12 am water level at Ram Munshi Bagh was reported to be 25.2 feet showing an increase of 2 feet within a span of just two hours. This was a clear indication that water level was constantly rising above the danger mark and entire Srinagar was likely to get drowned if it continued to rise at the same pace. Meanwhile I started wondering why there is no labeled demarcation beyond the danger mark. Some height above the danger level should have been labeled as catastrophic or evacuation level whereafter all the people living on Jhelum banks or upto some specific distance from Jhelum should be asked to evacuate irrespective of virtual water level in their own respective areas. At around midnight reports started making rounds that entire Bemina locality, Batamaloo and Qamarwari had been inundated by flood waters overflowing due to several breaches in river Jhelum as well as in the flood spill channel at as many as sixteen places. Barzulla and several areas near Rambagh had already been flooded on the previous day due to overflowing Doodganga whose water had been diverted into the flood spill channel by the local residents after flood gates meant for the purpose failed to open near Barzulla. Flood waters had already seeped into Bone and Joint Hospital at Barzulla due to which all patients there had to be shifted to the Govt. Nursing Home at Gupkar.
It was 1 am in the morning of September 7th, 2014 and I was still awake closely monitoring the flood situation over facebook keeping in touch with a cousin of mine who lives with his parents near the Jhelum bank at Noorbagh locality. He was constantly updating me about the overflowing Jhelum persistently trying to breach the embankment near Malik Sahab, Safa Kadal as well as near Cement Bridge, Qamarwari. Infighting had broken out among residents of Noorbagh and other deeper localities like Shunglipora, Gooripora etc over diversion of overflowing water into their respective localities. People living in these low lying areas were afraid to get completely drowned in case overflowing Jhelum waters were diverted towards their areas. I was also following scary updates of some of my students who were helplessly watching noisily overflowing Jhelum waters near Fateh Kadal and Gaw Kadal areas. Their houses too were situated near Jhelum embankments and constantly rising water level was severely threatening the safety of their lives and property. I was persistently alerting them to remain vigilant throughout the night and shift to some safer areas at the higher altitude as soon as it rises above the maximum threshold level.
Exactly at 2 am on Sunday morning water level at Ram Munshi Bagh crossed the highest recordable level of 26.25 feet and the gauge plate got completely submerged under water. By now several localities of Srinagar city had been inundated by flood waters and their inhabitants were crying for help. Frantic calls were being made for rescue over facebook and its users were asking each other to send rescue teams to these areas without knowing of any other means by which they could be of help. Everyone looked helpless and absolutely clueless about how to help the needy people in the middle of the night. Majority of the population of Srinagar city was fast asleep not aware of the impending disaster. No efforts were made by the govt. at all to make announcements through public address systems even at least in the most vulnerably low lying areas like Rajbagh, Jahawar Nagar etc. This was a total govt. failure of criminal nature. At this juncture phone calls should have been made to the people in these areas, announcements should have been made over loud speakers in mosques, from mobile vans, radio stations etc. However nothing of this sort was happening as if govt. had completely slept and left the city at the mercy of God or perhaps left it to get drowned once and for all. Srinagar netizens were silently watching the devastation and destruction caused by the flood with great sadness and feeling of haplessness. By now there was no doubt that Srinagar was in for a major catastrophe. Only thing that was left to guess work was the extent of damage and the areas most likely to suffer the most. Only thing at that juncture one could do was to pray for God’s mercy. Nothing else seemed to be working at all.
At around 6 am in the morning news came that Jhelum had breached embankments near Shivpora locality on the outskirts of Srinagar city and flood waters had submerged Indira Nagar, Sonwar, Pantha Chowk, Athwajan, G.B. Panth Children’s Hospital leaving thousands of people stranded in their houses struggling against the gushing waters. Oxygen plant located in the ground floor of G.B. Panth Children’s Hospital had been rendered dysfunctional and the children had been shifted to the topmost floor of the hospital with many of them in critical condition. Some reports suggested several deaths during this mayhem. This was the worst form of fury of the floods. Water had terribly logged into these localities and risen upto second stories of the buildings leaving absolutely no chance for the inmates to move out for rescue. Meanwhile Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Chattabal, Karan Nagar, Qamar Wari, Bemina, Nawab Bazar and Lal Chowk areas too had been inundated. Among all the hospitals of Srinagar city, G.B.Panth Children’s Hospital, L.D. Maternity Hospital, SMHS tertiary care hospital, SKIMS Medical College Hospital and Bone and Joint Hospital had been marooned by flood waters and the patients had been shifted elsewhere, God only knows how. With these major hospitals rendered inaccessible and dysfunctional, SKIMS was the only major hospital that was still operational in Srinagar city. A very painful morning had dawned over Srinagar. Srinagar was confronting floods of biggest ever magnitude, a magnitude that it had not witnessed even sixty years back when for the last time worst ever floods were recorded in the history of Kashmir valley. After flooding numerous villages of Southern Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Kulgam and Pulwama, floods had wreaked havoc in Srinagar city and the worst didn’t seem to be over yet as had been predicted by the officials of Metereological department previous night. There seemed to be lot more devastation still in store for the Srinagarites.
Coming days proved to be the worst nightmare for the Srinagar city and its people. All mobile and fixed telephones got disconnected, internet services got snapped, broadcast from all radio stations and telecast from all local TV stations got disrupted, half of Srinagar city got completely dissociated from rest of the state as well as the country. Initial estimates suggested economic losses to the infrastructure and businesses of Kashmir valley caused by the massive floods to the tune of rupees one trillion. By all means it was unmanageable and unbearable. More than 250 precious lives had been consumed in the state. Srinagar was pushed literally to pre-historic times with no essential supplies like food and fuel, no electricity, no water supply, no police officials, no rescue teams, no govt. services, no govt. officials visible anywhere. Complete failure of government machinery compounded the problems faced by the people multifold. Government’s command and control system was thrown completely out of gear. With almost all govt. offices completely inundated, there were no signs of government anywhere, consequently no inflatable rescue boats, no lifebuoy jackets, no inflatable tubes, no rescue ropes, no rehabilitation tents, no relief material was anywhere in sight in any submerged locality of Srinagar for almost a week after the floods. Valiant local youth had taken governance, law and order, transport, rescue, relief and rehabilitation completely in their own hands in absence of any government functionaries. Srinagar had been pushed several decades behind with colossal damage to its infrastructure like schools, colleges, bridges, roads, residential houses, business establishments, communication networks as well as to life and property of the common people.
In the hindsight flood fury proved that the state government was totally lax and unprepared to face a calamity of such a magnitude. Worst ever disaster preparedness and management was displayed by the state government. There was no prevention, mitigation, rescue, relief or rehabilitation plan anywhere in sight. It seemed that the state government out of sheer complacency had never ever thought let alone planned of such a catastrophe. Most criminal negligence on part of the concerned government officials was that they did not divert flood waters of river Jhelum towards Dal Lake before it entered the Srinagar city and wreaked havoc in highly populated areas. Water was diverted towards Dal Lake two days after it had submerged most parts of Srinagar. Had Dal dwellers been evacuated in time and water diverted from Ram Munshi Bagh flood gates on Saturday evening itself Srinagar could have been saved from the inundation that it faced because of govt. negligence.
Worst display of govt. inaction was visible at Sangam Saidapora flood gate whose control was seized by the land mafia brigade of Aanchar who didn’t let the gate open in order to allow flow of flood waters into Aanchar lake which is the natural and destined route of overflowing Dal waters. Govt. failed to take control of this crucial flood gate even for a week and allowed the land mafia to take into hostage a huge population under threat of floods living in the vicinity of Dal Lake, Nageen Lake, Pokhribal, Nala Amir Khan, Khushaal Sar and Zadibal. This kind of government inaction and negligence was totally unseen and unheard of wherein lives and property of lakhs of peoples were put to immense risk for want of administrative control. The damage done to all these areas by flood waters of Jhelum would by no means have been any greater than if the water had been diverted on Saturday evening itself. This was the biggest lapse on part of the government whose price had to be paid by the people of Srinagar city particularly those living in the civil lines of the city. Besides God’s mercy, tradition of constructing three storey buildings and the habit of Kashmiri people to stock sufficient food grains in their houses proved to be the life-saving conventions since majority of flood struck people got trapped in their third floors and food grain stocks proved quite handy to them. Moreover resilience and courage of the Kashmiri people under trying circumstances also turned the tide favourably. These floods were just another litmus test of the courage and conviction of Kashmiri people who passed the test with courage and valour.
Dr Geer M Ishaq
Dr Geer M Ishaq
