Kashmir's disaster is India's disaster, Rs 1,000 crore aid: Narendra Modi

JammuSrinagar Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday visited floodravaged Jammu and Kashmir to review the situation and announced special assistance of Rs1000 crore while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah asked people not to panic and assured help will reach them soonModi who Sunday undertook an aerial survey of the floodaffected Jammu and Srinagar regions along with army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag also offered assistance to Pakistan for flood relief operations in Pakistanadministered Kashmir but Islamabad said its relief and rescue operations were proceeding effectivelyThe Indian Air Force IAF meanwhile began a massive aerial relief and rescue operation in floodaffected regions where over 100 people have been killed as well as property and infrastructure badly damagedThe Rs1000 crore package announced for the floodhit state was besides a Rs2 lakh compensation from the Prime Ministers Relief Fund for the kin of each dead and Rs50000 each for the seriously injuredModi termed the current crisis the worstfloods in the state in six decades a national level disasterAbdullah who also met the prime minister promised the floodhit people that help will reach them soon and asked them not to panicThis is an unprecedented situation and we are doing the best we can under the circumstances Please dont panic we will reach you I promise the chief minister wrote on his Twitter accountThe floods continued to wreak havoc in Kashmir Valley with flood waters entering many more residential areas here Sunday Radio transmission in the Kashmir Valley was cut off after flood waters inundated the transmitter installations of staterun Radio Kashmir in Srinagar officials saidThe floods which hit the Valley Tuesday breached a Jhelum River embankment Saturday night submerging Shivpora Indira Nagar Kursoo Rajbagh Jawahar Nagar Gogjibagh Hari Singh High Street Batmaloo and other civil lines areasThe situation in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag Kulgam and Pulwama has assumed the proportions of an unparalleled natural calamity as residents in these districts have never experienced in their living memoryThousands of people in more than 700 villages have abandoned their homes and livestock and shifted to higher reaches to escape the fury of rising watersModi said the army air force and the National Disaster Response Force NDRF were cooperating with the state to expedite relief workHe said medical and other assistance would be provided on an urgent basis and in view of damage to houses efforts were on to arrange tentsMany houses have been destroyed We are speeding work to provide 5000 tents in floodhit areas he said adding the government was prepared to provide relief to people as the weather becomes colderThe government has directed officials to repair roads leading to Ladakh so that food and other livelihood supplies could be sent before the state gets cut off at the onset of winterThe prime minister also offered to extend all possible help to the floodaffected people in Pakistanadministered KashmirIndia will never hesitate from doing work of humanity Modi said and also appealed to all states to provide assistance to Jammu and KashmirHe also wrote to his Pakistani counterpart Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif offering help if requiredMy heart goes out to the affected people and my deepest sympathies are with them and their families In this hour of need I offer any assistance that you may need in the relief efforts that will be undertaken by the government of Pakistan Our resources are at your disposal wherever you need them he saidOfficial sources in Islamabad however said that Nawaz Sharif Sunday undertook an aerial survey of floodhit areas in Pakistanadministered Kashmir and appreciated the rescue and relief operations underwayOur Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had aerial survey of Azad Kashmir Pakistanadministered Kashmir and other floodhit areas today Sunday Our rescue and relief operations are proceeding effectively a Pakistan government source saidMeanwhile the IAF announced it has sent a C17 Globemaster aircraft from Delhi to Awantipur with RAMT Rapid Action Medical Team two IL76 aircraft with medical supplies and boats and another IL76 with teams of National Disaster Response Force personnelThree C130J Super Hercules special operations aircraft have been pressed into service to transport boats from Pune and Gandhinagar to Srinagar and blankets and tents from Kanpur to Jammu and Srinagar it saidA total of 26 IAF helicopters are also operating in the floothit regions