J&K floods: Death toll crosses 150; lakhs stranded

Floods in Jammu and Kashmir have claimed over 150 lives and have left lakhs of people stranded. Many locals are still stranded on rooftops in Jammu. Communication lines are down, power cuts in many parts of the valley.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in the state on Sunday to review relief operations, has called it a national disaster and has promised help to the flood affected areas in Kashmir as well as Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. He also announced an assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to the state."I assure the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the whole country is with them. This is a national level disaster. All the tourists will be sent to Pathankot by the sorties going back. The situation is also the same in PoK. We will help people in the PoK area as well," Modi said.More than half of Srinagar including the Civil Secretariat and the historic Lal Chowk are under water. Over 300 patients are stranded at the GB Pant hospital. There could be some relief with the Met department predicting better weather in the next 24 hours.Massive rescue operations by the Army and the Air Force continue as 130 Army columns have been deployed. They have rescued nearly 15,000 people while 50 Army medical teams have also been deployed to provide medical assistance in flood affected areas. Six NDRF teams equipped with boats and other flood relief equipment have been directed to Srinagar and Avantipur."I am thankful to the services rendered by the Army, Air Force, police and administration. They have done commendable work," Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said.The Army's engineering wing rescued nearly 100 people in the Nowgam area and in Pulwama, where an Army boat on a rescue mission capsized, seven of nine people were saved.The Jammu and Kashmir police too saved nearly 5,000 people. The NDRF and Air Force teams are reaching out to interior regions where road links have been cut off.The forces still have a daunting task ahead of them. Nearly 25,000 villages are partially under water while more than 450 villages have been totally submerged. The Air Force teams are hoping skies will clear out so that they can fly sorties while the ground troops make a push for rescue, relief and rehabilitation.Helpline numbers:Flood Control Room No.-New Delhi J&K House (011)-24611210 and 24611108Srinagar-0194-2452138Jammu-0191-2560401