Jammu: Prime Minister Modi on Sunday announced a special assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir, besides a Rs 2 lakh compensation from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for the kin of each dead and Rs 50,000 each for the seriously injured.
After an aerial survey of the flood-affected Jammu and Srinagar regions, Modi declared it a “national level disaster”.
Meanwhile, the Army, Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were coordinating the relief operation.
He said medical and other assistance would be provided on an urgent basis.
“We are ensuring that the state receives fast medical services. We are dispatching medicines to Jammu and Kashmir.”
“We are getting boats from Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is a sunny day today, so we hope that helicopters would be able to operate faster.”
In view of damage to houses, efforts are on to arrange tents. “Many houses have been destroyed. We are speeding work to provide 5,000 tents in flood-hit areas,” he said.
“We will be providing one lakh blankets to the state as the temperature is dipping fast”’.
The government has directed officials to repair roads leading to Leh and Ladakh so that food and other livelihood supplies could be sent before the state gets cut off at the onset of winter.
“During winters, Leh and Ladakh get disconnected from the rest of the country. This is the time we usually send all necessary stock to the state but the roads leading to Leh and Ladakh have suffered damages. It is a big challenge for us. I have instructed that the roads be repaired fast so that food and other supplies reach there on time,” Modi said.
“I would like to assure the people of the state that it is not their crisis alone. It is a crisis for the whole country,” he said.
The prime minister also offered to extend all possible help to the flood-affected people in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“India will never hesitate from doing work of humanity,” Modi said, and also appealed to all states to provide assistance to Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, Modi was received at Jammu airport by Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.