Sunday, December 21, 2025
ADVT 
India

Srinagar flooded, internet connectivity snaps

Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 Sep, 2014 08:46 AM
    Flood waters Monday inundated most of Srinagar's residential and commercial areas as people scrambled to save whatever they could from the muddy, swirling waters.
     
    Mobile coverage was patchy across the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir while there was no internet connectivity.
     
    An estimated 70 percent of Srinagar was inundated for a second day Monday.
     
    Water entered shops in the main business hub of Lal Chowk and Residency. Desperate shopkeepers tried to retrieve their goods from the flooded shops.
     
    The death toll in the worst floods in Jammu and Kashmir in over 50 years is said to have crossed 150. However, information is patchy from remote areas now made inaccessible by the flood waters.
     
    The radio and television stations were shut Sunday after flood waters entered the installations.
     
    The authorities appeared ill equipped to battle the terrible calamity but did all they could in the circumstances.
     
    Mobiles went on the blink as private telecom service providers said their towers were badly damaged.
     
    Waters entered the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) headquarters on Maulana Azad Road, forcing its closure.
     
    There was no internet connectivity in the Kashmir Valley.
     
    The only communication tool still up and running is the police wireless system.
     
    Except for inter-district connectivity between Srinagar and north Kashmir's Ganderbal district, all other districts of the valley including Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Badgam, Baramulla and Bandipora were cut off.
     
    The air force Monday airlifted 70 boats as seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force struggled to save the flood victims. 
     
    Soldiers did a herculean task, rescuing the marooned. The navy deployed marine commandos.
     
    The Srinagar-Jammu highway as well as the Srinagar-Leh highway remained closed for the fourth day Monday.
     
    The floods have hit petrol availability in Srinagar. All petrol pumps were practically running dry, prompting pump operators to ration the fuel to just one litre for each vehicle.
     
    All educational institutes have been shut. All Haj flights to Saudi Arabia have been cancelled till Sep 12.
     
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reviewed the flood situation Sunday, has called it a national disaster.
     
    The silver lining is that there was sunshine in both the valley and Jammu region, with the weather office saying there would be fair weather for the next four days.
     
    The water level in all mountain streams and seasonal drains has gone down.
    But the Jhelum river, which caused maximum devastation, is still flowing above the danger mark.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Modi's wife, mother to get Special Protection Group security cover

    Modi's wife, mother to get Special Protection Group security cover
    Modi's mother stays with Soma, while his wife, a retired school teacher, lives in Rajosana village in Banaskantha district in Palanpur. 

    Modi's wife, mother to get Special Protection Group security cover

    Criticism mounts in Congress at 'Team Rahul'

    Criticism mounts in Congress at 'Team Rahul'
    Voices are growing in the Congress over the role of "Team Rahul" in the Lok Sabha elections with suggestions that the aides of vice president Rahul Gandhi could not read the ground realities.

    Criticism mounts in Congress at 'Team Rahul'

    Magnitude-6 Quake rocks India, Tremors felt across the country

    Magnitude-6 Quake rocks India, Tremors felt across the country
    An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 occurred in the Bay of Bengal Wednesday evening. Tremors were felt across India, but there was no tsunami warning and no reports of casualties or damage

    Magnitude-6 Quake rocks India, Tremors felt across the country

    @PMOIndia Twitter account will be available to Modi

    @PMOIndia Twitter account will be available to Modi
    All PMO internet-based platforms and communications therein will continue to remain under the administrative control and management of the PMO after the changeover of the government

    @PMOIndia Twitter account will be available to Modi

    In a first, Modi invites SAARC heads to swearing in

    In a first, Modi invites SAARC heads to swearing in
    In a major diplomatic signal to the region as well as to the global community, India's prime minister-designate Narendra Modi, who surprised the world with his election victory and is set to head the country's next government, has invited heads of all the SAARC countries, including Pakistan, for his oath-taking ceremony May 26.

    In a first, Modi invites SAARC heads to swearing in

    AAP in Trouble: Arvind Kejriwal Arrested! AAP Workers Clash With Cops

    AAP in Trouble: Arvind Kejriwal Arrested! AAP Workers Clash With Cops
     AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was Wednesday sent to judicial custody in a defamation case filed by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, hours after he apologised for resigning as Delhi's chief minister in February.

    AAP in Trouble: Arvind Kejriwal Arrested! AAP Workers Clash With Cops