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 Wave: Sensex Breaches 24,000-Mark

    Modi Wave: Sensex Breaches 24,000-Mark
    A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Tuesday crossed the 24,000-point mark for the first time in its history, recording the third straight high.

    Modi Wave: Sensex Breaches 24,000-Mark

    Don't write off Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party just yet!

    Don't write off Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party just yet!
    As the nation waits with bated breath for the results of the just concluded mammoth nine-stage election, one clear winner is already on display. And that is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its radically fresh and welcome electoral strategy. It is of little importance if it can send any member to parliament.

    Don't write off Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party just yet!

    BJP to crush Congress in battle for India, say exit polls

    BJP to crush Congress in battle for India, say exit polls
    The BJP-led NDA coalition is set to return to power in India led by its prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi, ending a decade of Congress-led rule, exit polls said Monday after the country's most bitterly fought general election ended.

    BJP to crush Congress in battle for India, say exit polls

    Reliance pleads not guilty in 2G case

    Reliance pleads not guilty in 2G case
    Reliance Telecom told a special court on second generation telecom spectrum allocation case Monday that it had violated no guidelines formulated by the government.

    Reliance pleads not guilty in 2G case

    SC notice to EC on vote count procedure

    SC notice to EC on vote count procedure
    The Supreme Court Monday issued notice to the Election Commission on a plea seeking direction for combined counting of votes from a constituency as a whole and not ward-wise.

    SC notice to EC on vote count procedure

    Lok Sabha election ends, India awaits verdict

    Lok Sabha election ends, India awaits verdict
    India's most bitterly fought national election ended Monday evening, with some 60 percent of the 66 million electorate in three states voting in the 10th and last leg of a contest widely tipped to end a decade of Congress rule.

    Lok Sabha election ends, India awaits verdict