Srinagar: Terming the State Governments ex-gratia relief package for the houses fully damaged by the devastating floods as a cruel joke, senior PDP leader and Member Parliament, Mr Tariq Hameed Karra today said Rs 70000 relief for fully damaged pucca house announced by the Government vide Order No: Rev/Camp/HN/2014 dated: 23-09-2014 is insufficient even for the construction of a cowshed.
Similarly, grossly inadequate Rs 12600 ex-gratia relief has been announced for severely damaged pucca house and Rs 3800 for severely damaged kuchha house, Mr Karra said while interacting with flood-affected people in and around Batamaloo area today.
Mr Karra said that given the magnitude of the catastrophe, the State Government should espouse a humanitarian approach in reaching out to the flood-affected people instead of pursuing the archaic bureaucratic norms. The devastation caused by the scourging floods in Kashmir has resulted in an extraordinary situation, that needs to be responded with extraordinary measures setting aside the so-called official prescripts, he said.
Expressing grave concern over the acute scarcity of rations in the flood-affected areas, Mr Karra said after having drowned Kashmir, particularly Srinagar, in the distressing deluge because of its ineptness, the State Government headed by Omar Abdullah was now messing up the post-flood relief and rehabilitation measures. Unfortunately, given the administrative anarchy prevailing in the State, like other official announcements, the proclamation regarding issuance of free rations to the flood-affected people has turned out to be rhetorical statement as there is no follow-up on the ground, he said and added that during his visit to FCI godowns yesterday he was shocked to learn that 48 trawlers with each trawler carrying 200 tons of rice have disappeared from FCI godown at Lethpora on September 14 while 51 truck-loads carrying 90 tons of rice each disappeared from FCI godown at Budgam around the same time.
Mr Karra said the State Government is duty-bound to come out with the details where these 14190 tons of rice, meant for the food-affected people, have gone. He said same is the case with the distribution of relief material at the official storage hub at EDI complex Pampore, where most of the relief material is being dispatched to the ruling party politicians.
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