STATE TIMES NEWS SRINAGAR: Former Minister and Apni Party Provincial President Kashmir Mohammad Ashraf Mir on Sunday urged the Jammu and Kashmir administration to take preemptive measures in case of flash-floods as predicted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday. In a statement issued here, Mir said that the warning in regards to the impending inclement weather condition, which may trigger low flood like situation across Jammu and Kashmir, needs to be tackled with diligence and utmost vigil. ‘The immoderate weather conditions as forecasted by the Meteorological Department has triggered alarms especially for the people living on river-sides and higher regions. The weather reports suggest that susceptible places may witness landslides, flash-floods and shooting stones. This makes it a moral incumbency for respective District Administrations across Kashmir to dispatch its Disaster Management teams to these areas and take necessary steps to ensure that loss to precious lives is positively averted,” he remarked. Furthermore, he said that the people are busy in buying and shopping as the festival of Eid draws near, but the government must take preventive measures with regards to water-logging in the cities and handle the traffic jams in case of heavy rains. “On the occasion of Eid, the roads always remain jam-packed with both public and private vehicles that ultimately give rise to agonizing traffic congestion. However, in the event of heavy rains, the traffic department must maintain extreme vigil to avoid any inconvenience to be faced by the public. Besides, the administration must also assign water de-loggers at low-lying places wherein water gets accumulated and impedes the routine commute of the people,” he said. Mohammad Ashraf Mir also implored the government of Jammu and Kashmir to review the status of dredging and desilting projects of various water bodies including Wular and river Jhelum, as many independent reports suggest that there exists an impending potential threat for another flood in Kashmir. “The companies that have been awarded with dredging contracts worth crores of rupees must be questioned about the current status of their work that was supposed to be completed in a stipulated time period. Adopting a complacent and lenient take on this vital issue, especially towards those companies who have failed to deliver requisite results on time, would eventually cost us another flood like situation which will have enough potential to cripple the economy of Jammu & Kashmir once for all,” he said. Appealing to the people, Mir said that the weather warnings must be taken into serious consideration by everyone and unnecessary travel should be abstained from during these cautioned days unless imperatively required.
