People deserve a comprehensive package, says J-K Congress on flood relief measures

Speaking at the press conference held in Jammu, Karra said, "Everywhere there's destruction, whether it is private property, public infrastructure, crops, cars, or livestock. This is a natural calamity that has been wreaking havoc every day," Karra said.

"We are not here for a blame game, but we cannot ignore the insensitivity shown at certain levels of administration. The Home Minister's (Amit Shah) visit was casual. He tried to show his presence by visiting one or two places, but unfortunately, the hope that the Jammu people had was not fulfilled," Karra said.

Earlier, Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister, Amit Shah, visited Jammu and inspected the rain, flood, and landslide affected areas of Jammu division and took stock of the damages caused by the natural calamity. The Union Home Minister also met the flood-affected people in Mangu Chak village, Jammu. Amit Shah inspected the Tawi Bridge at Bikram Chowk, the Shiv Temple, and homes damaged by floods in Jammu, an official statement said earlier.

"With such massive losses, what we get is just Rs 209 crore. People deserve a comprehensive package covering reconstruction, resettlement, crop and reclaiming of land," he said.

Karra further called for revisions in the guidelines under SDRF and NDRF. "If a house has cracks, it is categorised as half-damaged, which denies families full compensation. These rules need relaxation. Lakhs of vehicles have been damaged, yet insurance companies are offering only scrap value. This too requires relaxation, just like during the 2014 floods...Farmers also need fair compensation, Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 for crop loss is a cruel joke," he said.

"We want to know who allowed the Machail Mata and Vaishno Devi yatras to continue when there were clear weather warnings...We demand an independent probe by a retired judge," Karra pointed out.

"Flash floods and landslides may not happen every day, but the administration must anticipate and prepare," he added.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever