Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi, The distribution of relief material to the victims of the J&K floods is fast turning into an onerous task for the Central agencies as the state machinery continues to remain virtually defunct. According to top officials, the Centre has withdrawn five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from the state on Thursday, after rescue operations were completed and the flood water levels in several areas had ebbed.
Officials said 14 teams of the NDRF, comprising 700 personnel remain on the ground to provide medical assistance and relief, but eventually the state will have to take over the relief and rehabilitation work.
“Our primary job is to carry out rescue operations and provide immediate relief. We also provide enough food stocks to the state government, but in the present case the state has failed to put its machinery together,” officials said.
They also indicated that the Centre was likely to withdraw the Central agencies after handing over relief work to the state government in a week.
“The local administration knows the families here and that is why relief and rehabilitation post-disasters is the state’s responsibility, but it is unfortunate that the state is still inactive on the ground,” a source said.
Officials confirmed that the municipal workers were nowhere to be seen in the flood-affected areas and the current sanitation and hygiene situation in the state leaves a lot to be desired.
About 400 truckload of relief material, including food packets, baby food, water and medicines have been sent to different affected areas.
However, separatists have been a major source of concern for the Central agencies. After, snatching boats and distributing looted goods, they now accuse the Centre of distributing food items past their expiry date .
A Home Ministry official said around 12.47 lakh litres of drinking water has been moved to affected areas and 20 water purification plants have been given to the state government with a total capacity of purifying around 6 lakh litres per day.
“About 400 tonnes of rice and 68 tons of skimmed milk powder have been dispatched to the state for the affected people. In addition, medicines are also being distributed by teams operating in affected areas,” a source said.
