Marine commandos to establish waterways in Srinagar
Srinagar: Navy’s elite Marine Commandos will establish a waterway in the city to enable faster movement of people stuck in low-lying areas to higher grounds.
The Navy has been given the task to establish a waterway in Srinagar to enable faster transportation of stranded people in the city which is now turned into a big pond, Navy officials said.
At present, this task of relocating people is happening mostly through the helicopters but once the waterways are created, this will lead to faster movement, they said.
The waterway would be created across the Jhelum river and will also help in evacuating tourists stranded in the city to airport and the locals stuck in low-lying areas, the officials said.
The Navy has deployed three teams of its elite MARCOS, who are in the Valley to protect and guard against counter-terrorism activities in the Wular lake.
The MARCOS using their Gemini boats equipped with high-tech gadgets would establish waterways over which the boats used by the NDRF and other agencies can travel without the risk of hitting any underwater wire, house or cloth-lines as this can cause damage to them, they said.
The MARCOS have already saved 1,500 people who were stuck in the floods. They have been equipped with diving sets and satellite phones to carry out their operations, the officials said.