J&K floods: Thousands of residential areas still submerged under water; Air India keeps aircrafts on standby

“I still don’t know about my uncle and his family,” Jibran Ahmad, who himself managed to escape with rising waters.

“I received the last call from my cousin on Sunday afternoon. He said they have shifted to third storey and water is still rising. The phone disconnected and then there was no contact.”

On Tuesday as the Indian Express team waded through flood waters to reach submerged localities, people trapped in the houses waved from roof tops seeking help. Many shouted that they had not eaten anything from the past four days.

Though the rescue teams have managed to save a large no of people from the submerged houses, thousands are still waiting for a rescue. “Our house may collapse anytime from now,” shouted a girl near Wazirbagh. “Please get a boat and help us to get out.”

The flood waters in Jhelum in Srinagar have started to recede but for many people this is not good news. “By now, we are living with hope,” said Ali Muhmmad, whose relatives were trapped in Kurso Rajbagh. “But now, I fear, we may have to prepare to retrieve bodies.”

With no communication the roads leading to Srinagar disconnected, little help is coming from outside. But the old city areas which were not affected by floods, people have set up hundreds of community kitchens for the survivors. Playing with lives, some of these volunteers managed to reach with food to the people trapped in their houses.

Over the past two days the water in Jhelum has receded by close to two feet and slowly the water is coming off residential colonies. This has created a fear that these waters will now wreak havoc in north Kashmir where two major towns, Sopore and Baramulla are situated on Jhelum Banks.

The water level in Walur lake that acts as a reservoir have already risen by many meters and now-alert district administration has started to evacuate the people residing in low level areas.