SRINAGAR: As relief and rescue efforts continue, to salvage the remains of the deadly deluge that has mercilessly destroyed lives and livelihoods of the residents of a region who have mostly felt marginalised and misunderstood, the receding waters are starting to unravel a trail of death and destruction across Jammu and Kashmir. Homes, that have crumbled upon their occupants are only gradually starting to show what they hide- whole families, gone, save a pet that paces on a terrace, in the hope of succour, from a passing saviour.
In the midst of the mayhem, media reports are starting to stress the lack of balance in the coverage of the floods mostly by television channels, which have tended to take sides, often doing a disservice to those behind the rescue efforts- risking life and limb to save others- be it selfless local youth volunteers, or soldiers from the Indian army. While there is unanimity on the view that local administration which practically evaporated in the wake of this tragedy, remained woefully invisible and is still absent in a desperate time of need, there is also a distinct sense that time and resources are being unnecessarily wasted on providing airtime to the politics of who helped the most and theories of who might have scuttled relief work.
The conspiracy theories and propaganda apart, increasingly remarkable stories emerge of survival against the odds, of selfless service in the most demanding circumstances and of cooperation, between people united in grief and loss. The story of the daunting task that lies ahead to rehabilitate and then rebuild the devastated region from scratch, of saving everyone possible with a fighting chance, of preventing further disaster through the spread of disease through polluted water, of finding medical care for everyone in need, remains the big priority.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
