Jammu: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday arrived in Jammu to assess the damage caused by the floods. Visited Tawi Bridge and Bikram Chowk in Jammu city. During this, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma and other senior officials were present. The Tawi bridge was heavily damaged by the recent floods.
The Home Minister interacted with the concerned officials and took stock of the situation. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the Government of India stands with them in this hour of crisis. He reiterated that the Central Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands firmly with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and is providing prompt relief, financial assistance and technical support for rehabilitation and reconstruction, while ensuring the safety and welfare of the affected communities. During his visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Home Minister expressed grief over the loss of lives and property in the recent incidents in Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement issued today, Shah said that “the Union Territory and all agencies together have significantly reduced the potential damage and through coordinated efforts, we have successfully saved many lives.”
The Union Home Minister said that the Meteorological Department and the NDMA should jointly study the relationship between cloudburst trends and the amount of moisture in the clouds, identify the causes and establish an early warning system. He stressed that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) should take steps in this direction by leveraging data analytics and AI.
Amit Shah said that the advanced survey teams of the Home Ministry will assess the damage and further assistance will be provided. He announced that a meeting of the concerned departments of the Central Government and the Union Territory Administration and the Union Home Secretary will be held within 1-2 days. The Union Home Minister directed that the teams of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Union Territory Government should give priority to the assessment of damage. He also emphasized on providing assistance to the medical units of the Army, Central Armed Police Forces and Air Force. The Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister said that since Jammu and Kashmir is prone to natural disasters, an amount of Rs 209 crore has been allocated to the Union Territory as the Centre’s share for the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), which has started relief work.
Amit Shah said that people’s personal property has been damaged and assistance under SDRF for damaged houses is being assessed and assistance will be provided as soon as possible. He further said that many roads have been damaged and repair and restoration work has started. Traffic has started on most of the roads and relief material has started reaching wherever needed. More than 80 percent of power supply has been restored in the affected areas, people have started getting pure drinking water.
The Union Home Minister praised the efforts of all the agencies and said that the Union Territory Government carried out a successful rescue operation very quickly and efficiently. As a precautionary measure, more than 5000 people have been evacuated to safer places. 17 teams of NDRF and 23 contingents of the Army, Indian Air Force helicopters, UTDRF, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel are still engaged in the entire operation. Helping the people. Amit Shah arrived in Jammu on Sunday evening. He was welcomed at the Jammu airport by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, among others. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Tapan Deka, BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary, senior officials of NHAI, IMD and many other security agencies also reached Jammu on Sunday.
