Flood waters leave Srinagar gasping

Flood waters continued to play havoc in Srinagar Tuesday as authorities scrambled to rescue the marooned and tried to restore the telecommunications network that has been on the blink for the past three days.

The water level in the Jhelum river started receding marginally Tuesday, but the backwaters of the Dal lake inundated more areas in summer capital Srinagar.

More than 500 hostel-resident students of the National Institute of Technology in the Hazratbal area of the city were shifted to safer locations after the water from the Dal lake entered the college campus.

Flood waters from the Dal lake have also entered portions of the Hazratbal shrine even as the authorities confirmed that the holy relic of the prophet is safe and only the ground floor of the shrine has been inundated.

The authorities said that in order to restore telecommunication across the Valley, four satellite transmitting towers are being set up in Srinagar and other places by Tuesday evening.

The road connectivity between south Kashmir's Anantnag district and central Kashmir's Badgam district with Srinagar was restored Tuesday.

The Jammu-Srinagar national highway, however, continued to remain closed for the sixth day Tuesday.

Officials estimate that the toll across the state could be around 200, but unconfirmed reports indicate that the toll could be much higher.

There were some disturbing reports, yet not officially confirmed, coming from submberged residential areas of Srinagar that indicated many residents may have perished.

The army and security forces continued their rescue efforts across the Valley.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that the first priority of the government is to save human lives.