Nature’s wrath: Over 60 killed, 1,600 homeless in AJK floods

Police arrest 13 for stealing wood from Jhelum River.

MUZAFFARABAD: The death toll in the flood-hit areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has reached 62 and has left 1,600 people homeless, causing damages worth Rs6 billion to infrastructure across the region .

The flood and landslides have affected roads, bridges and other road links. The AJK prime minister on Sunday visited the most affected areas of Haveli and Bagh along with AJK Chief Secretary Khyzer Hayat Gondal and the disaster management authority chief Akram Sohail.

AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed has announced Rs500,000 per person for the families of those who have lost their lives in the flash floods, saying it is a natural calamity and we should use all available resources to help flood-victims.

Responding to a question, the premier rejected the relief offer of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who on Sunday in Srinagar offered relief for the people of AJK.  “If Modi really wants to give relief to the people of Kashmir then he should give them the right of self-determination which is the biggest relief they need right now,” he said.

Dozen law violators nabbed

Meanwhile, police have arrested 13 people for violating Section 144 on collecting wood from the flooding Jhelum River near Ambore, on the suburbs of Muzaffarabad.

Secretariat SHO Rashid Habib said all 13 people were arrested near Jhelum River while trying to collect logs from the flowing river. The police have registered the case under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The SHO said the police will continue to monitor both Jhelum and Neelum rivers to discourage people from risking their lives for the sake of salvaging useable wood.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2014.