Rashid Mirza
Jammu and Kashmir is today facing the worst floods in 60 years. The unimaginable magnitude of this deluge caught the State Government and the local administration completely off guard and they are still struggling to get their act together. When the situation appeared hopeless and all seemed lost, it was the army that immediately came to the rescue of people trapped by flood waters in Kashmir. By working day and night without any respite to extricate marooned people and move them to safer places, the army is rendering a yeoman service in this mammoth humanitarian crisis and its concerted efforts has saved numerous lives. The best part about the army is that like always, this time too, it is silently going about doing its job in full earnest without trying to seek glory or take credit. Therefore, it becomes all the more our moral responsibility to recognise and appreciate the army’s untiring efforts due to which thousands have been rescued.
With over 2,000 villages affected by floods, rescue operations are not easy. People who have been trapped in areas by flood water need to be evacuated on priority as any delay could well end in a tragedy. Though the army in Kashmir has some boats, their numbers is very small as there is hardly any military use of these in a mountainous area like Kashmir. However, inadequacy of the required number of boats did not deter the army from undertaking extensive rescue missions and it overcame this handicap by increasing the frequency of its operations. In this way, the army despite having only a limited number of boats has still been able to evacuate thousands of people. Conducting rescue missions without any breaks over prolonged periods result in extreme physical and mental strain on the army men involved. However, when an army man knows that any rest break taken by him could endanger the lives of several others, his sense of duty and conscience will never allow him to take rest. So, defying gushing floodwaters which could easily overturn boats and fatigue, the army men are continuing rescue operations with full gusto, thus displaying extremely high levels of motivation and deep sense of responsibility for which the Indian army is renowned.
While the whole world is witnessing the spectacular performance of the army, few may know that the army in Kashmir has itself been hit very badly by the floods. However, even as the army is still struggling to come to terms with the extensive damage that it has suffered due to the floods, it has ensured that there is no letup in its rescue and relief operations to help civilians. Speaking to the media, Lt Gen DS Hooda, commanding the Udhampur based Northern Command stated that the army had deployed a total of 200 rescue and relief columns that had evacuated more than 30,000 people. The army is also providing food, shelter and medical facilities to more than 6,000 people and in the process of extending this facility to more evacuees. However, this is not all. Despite adverse weather conditions and an accident prone environment, the army has worked relentlessly, rendering more than 10 vital roads and tracks fit for traffic by clearing massive landslides and repairing long stretches that had been washed away by floodwaters. It has also constructed seven bridges to replace the ones swept away and deployed 10 medical teams to attend to the flood victims. During this media interaction, the body language of Lt Gen Hooda reflected both his heartfelt grief for the hardships which the flood victims were undergoing as well as his firm determination to leave no stone unturned in reaching out and helping the unfortunate victims of nature’s fury.
The residents of flood affected areas are also helping the army in its rescue and relief work and it is this teamwork that is making the difference. The army has the resources while the residents have the local knowledge of the area and they know where help is most urgently required. This coordination is helping in timely evacuation of those who need it the most and also ensuring that no one is inadvertently left behind. By also assisting the army in its bridge construction and road repair activities, the pace of restoration work has increased many folds and this is facilitating the movement of urgently required rescue equipment, relief material and medicines. The civilian-army cooperation has helped bring a very critical and grave situation quickly under control and deserves to be complimented. In the days ahead, this relationship will prove extremely beneficial when reconstruction and rehabilitation work commences. One only hopes that vested interests do not create a wedge in this relationship as an end of civilian-army cooperation would only ruin things for the people who have already been totally devastated by the floods.
