Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 14: Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Gulam Ali Khatana today visited the flood-affected Khairi-Kangar belt in Jammu, where he met displaced families and inspected areas hit by landslides, soil erosion and flooding.
A statement said the locals told the MP that tunnelling and earth works linked to the National Highway Ring Road had worsened soil erosion, as the sites were left exposed without protective measures.
They said heavy rains under such conditions triggered landslides, causing widespread damage.
Khatana assured people that relief and rehabilitation work was being carried out under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha closely monitoring the situation.
He said road clearance, restoration of services and supply of aid were progressing swiftly and that normalcy was gradually returning.
The BJP MP, however, came down heavily on the Omar Abdullah-led Government, accusing it of indifference and mismanagement.
He said decisions on declaring disaster-hit areas and compensation were being delayed, further adding to people’s hardships.
Directing the local administration to ensure timely action, Khatana stressed that negligence in disaster preparedness must not be repeated.
He also flagged poor drainage in Khairi-Kangar as a long-standing problem that causes frequent floods and waterlogging, urging a permanent solution.
Concluding his visit, Khatana said the issue was not about politics but people’s lives, and pledged to press for full relief and rehabilitation for all affected families.
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