By: Raja Syed Rather
Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said the government will try its best to open the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway within 24 hours.
Speaking to reporters, Omar said the government’s top priority was to protect the innocent lives stuck in the landslides, who were evacuated swiftly.
“Now our priority is to reconnect the national highway because until we reconnect and reconstruct the road, it is not possible for us to send the material to Ramban,” he said.
Omar said officials have assured him that they will restore single traffic towards the highway.
“For three consecutive days, the administration visited the Ramban. On the first day, the Deputy Chief Minister and the concerned MLA visited Ramban on the spot on the very first day. On the second day, I reached the spot to ensure that no life was harmed because of the massive landslides,” he said.
The CM said he believes any work that can be done at a rapid pace is more beneficial. “As of now, the situation in Ramban is very bad. I spoke to the officials and we are hopeful that one-way traffic will be thrown open,” he said.
As far as the essential services are concerned, the chief minister said he has directed the officials to ensure that convoys of fuel tankers are being sent through the Mughal Road towards Kashmir so that the locals won’t feel cut off.
He warned that the government won’t tolerate black marketing and hoarding. “We will take strict action if such complaints arise,” he said.
Omar urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to keep a check and balance on the prices of air tickets. “As of now, we are trying to provide temporary relief to the victims and we will ensure that they will get the compensation through the Red Cross at the earliest,” he said.
About the compensation, the CM said the government will assess the damage to the properties of the victims and accordingly provide them with compensation through NDRF and SDRF norms.
“We will request the Government of India (GoI) to declare the area a disaster zone. I’m sure that they will help the victims,” he said.
Omar further said the Jammu and Kashmir government was expecting relief from the Supreme Court with regard to the Waqf Bill.
Speaking about the One Nation One Election (ONOE), he said, “If the ruling party in the Centre tries to bulldoze and implement new laws on us, we will approach the SC the way we did in the Waqf Act.”
During his visit, the Chief Minister interacted with affected families and assured them of all possible support. He emphasized that the immediate restoration of NH-44 is the topmost priority and directed the district administration Ramban to expedite the damage assessment process, covering death cases, structural losses, property damage, agricultural losses and livestock casualties.
The Chief Minister assured that relief compensation will be provided by the J&K Government to all those affected by the cloudburst. He further stated that the J&K Government is committed to supporting the victims during this difficult time and will seek assistance from the Central Government to ensure timely and adequate relief measures are extended to the affected families.
He instructed the administration and NHAI to intensify relief and restoration works and assured adequate financial assistance for the same. He further directed for clearing of link roads and removal of debris from residential areas, restoration of power supply and deployment of water tankers to ensure drinking water in affected localities. He also called for the enhancement of community kitchens (langars) to support displaced families and the submission of fund requisition to the Finance Department for immediate financial support from the government.
The Chief Minister also appreciated the prompt response and real-time action by the district administration and Police, which helped save many precious lives.
The Chief Minister was accompanied by Advisor to CM Nasir Aslam Wani, DDC Chairperson Dr. Shamshad Shan, MLA Banihal Sajad Shaheen, MLA Ramban Arjun Singh Raju, Deputy Commissioner Ramban Baseer-Ul-Haq Chaudhary, SSP Ramban Kulbir Singh and other senior officers.
Later, a review meeting was also held at Ramban, where Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took stock of the ongoing rescue, relief, and restoration efforts being carried out by the district administration and stakeholder departments. Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani suggested measures for the timely restoration of essential services and urged early insurance claims processing to avoid delays in compensation.
The Chief Minister also directed authorities to strictly regulate construction near water channels and nallahs to prevent obstruction to natural water flow. The DDC Chairperson, MLAs, and other officials highlighted various pressing issues that require immediate attention.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Baseer-Ul-Haq Chaudhary briefed the Chief Minister about the tragic incident and measures undertaken so far for rescue, relief and restoration across the district.
Restoring traffic within 24 hrs priority: CM Omar
