Suhail Bhat
Srinagar Sept 16: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hameed Karra today dismissed the Centre’s Rs. 209 crore flood relief package as “a joke,” saying it was grossly inadequate for the scale of destruction across the Union Territory.
While talking to reporters after a meeting of party coordinators and district presidents at party headquarters, Karra said, “For this magnitude of damage, they have given Rs. 209 crore. What will happen with that? At most one or two bridges, a few kilometers of roads, or a few buildings can be completed.”
The JKPCC Chief recalled that India was “very liberal” in supporting Nepal during its 2014 disaster, while flood-hit Kashmir, which suffered losses of Rs. 80,000 crore the same year, waited more than a year for aid.
Click here to watch video
He said the current floods have caused “colossal damage” to agriculture, horticulture, private homes, public infrastructure, and Government property. Entire villages have been destroyed, he added, forcing families to relocate. “It is a huge damage beyond our comprehension,” he said.
The JKPCC chief said his party has suspended its political campaign “Our State, Our Right” to focus on relief. He urged the Government to waive Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans and reissue them interest-free. “This is not an ordinary situation. People are in trauma; many are mentally affected,” he said.
Karra also criticized the collapse of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH44), calling it a “failed project” that began crumbling within three years of construction. “Without tunneling, this road is a failure. Lakhs of tons of explosives were used. We are challenging nature, and this is a punishment from nature,” he said.
He said damage stretched across kilometers, not just a few meters, leaving trucks carrying apples and essentials stranded from Udhampur to Samroli.
Karra urged the Government to provide extra railway bogies to move fruit and fuel and dedicate the Mughal Road exclusively for trucks. “If the hit-and-trial method remains on the highway, neither essential commodities will reach here nor fruit will go there,” he said.
He accused the administration of being unresponsive. “Senior officers should go to the ground rather than deciding things in cozy offices,” he said. Although he praised some departments for exemplary work. He suggested the Army, which restored a bridge in Jammu in a day, could be used for highway repair.
On Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s proposal to hand over the highway to the J&K Government, Karra disagreed, saying the Border Roads Organisation had the necessary expertise and equipment.
Warning of worsening conditions in the coming months, he called for mindful planning. “I have not seen such colossal damage in my life. The hit-and-trial methods will not work,” he said, linking the disaster to ecological damage caused by cutting mountains and ignoring natural limits.
The Congress leader said his party would soon draft a program to highlight horticulture losses and press for compensation. “Every sector is involved. When there is no rotation of money, the damage multiplies. This road has surrendered. It is not just a matter of days, but months,” he said.
The post Karra calls Rs 209 crore flood relief ‘joke,’ seeks comprehensive package appeared first on Daily Excelsior.