International Aid and Kashmir Floods

Towards Rebuilding Kashmir

The exemplary resolve shown by the people of Kashmir, coupled with the international aid, can set us on the path of rebuilding

Z. G. MUHAMMAD

Resilience has been part of our story. Lurching from crisis to crisis, we have learnt to navigate the toughest challenges. Famines, floods, earthquakes, incursions, coercions and oppression never took away our resolve to live with dignity and honour. ‘Let us not submit to oppression’ and never give up during adverse times’   have been our catch phrases now for past many centuries. And even when our adversaries wrote our dooms-day, like mythical Greek bird Phoenix we always rose from ashes- more resolved and more determined.
Historically, floods and Kashmir have been made for each other. Chronicles and folklore of Kashmir is full of stories about ravages caused by heavy downpour and floods. The folklores also narrate tales of courage and determination of the people in braving the catastrophes. History records that greatest inundation of Kashmir valley was caused in 879 A.D because of slipping of Khadanyar hillock below Baramulla and stemming the waters of the Jhelum River. Most of the valley was submerged leaving behind very few dry patches. Thereafter many terrible floods devastated Kashmir Valley. Many of them like that of 1099, during the period of Harsa have been documented.
The Sultans of Kashmir took steps to prevent frequent recurrence of floods in Kashmir. The capital was shifted to the foot of Koh-i-Maran hillock in the middle of the city. And after the floods of 1462, the embankments of Jhelum were raised and strengthened, as had been done in 9th century by Suyya. River bed at Baramulla was deepened ‘for speedy discharge’ of waters. History also tells us that after devastating floods of 1638, Mogul emperor Shah Jehan personally supervised the relief work and worked zealously to see death toll reduced.  Hardly has been a period in our history that has not witnessed a deluge. True, every flood brought us a train of miseries but it has been through share resolve of the people that this tiny nation in the bosom mighty Himalayas not only survived but touched new heights.
The nearest comparison to the flood of 7 September 2014 could be that of July 1893, as documented by Sir Walter R. Lawrence and captured through the lens by a British photographer / tourist from Takhet-e-Sulieman, the Mount Solomon. Fifty two hours incessant rains had deluged almost the entire city. Of the six bridge of the Srinagar city, the flood waters had washed five of them. ‘Amira Kadal the first bridge had withstood the floods but was underwater.’ Across the valley the floods had destroyed 2225 houses. But compared to hundred and twenty one year old flood the economic losses suffered by the state, more particularly by Srinagar city, during the recent floods has been astronomical. According to a preliminary study conducted by KCSDS, a Srinagar based advocacy group Kashmir has suffered massive damage of over Rupees One trillion to infrastructure and business in the devastating floods. There is hardly any sector that has not suffered enormously in the deluge, according to the report over 390 villages were fully submerged, some totally washed away and 1,225 partially damaged in Kashmir. Of twenty one lakh houses    in J&K as per 2011 census, at least three lakhs houses have got either fully or partially damaged. The Kashmir Centre has calculated damage to public infrastructure at Rupees twenty five crore as a vast network of roads and bridges and government institutions have been washed away by floods while premier hospitals located in the city have been badly hit both in terms of infrastructure and machinery. One third of four lakh business establishments have been destroyed including spoiling of stocks, merchandise and infrastructure. The nature’s fury did not spare even the agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors. The losses suffered by these sectors are over Rupees four thousand crores. The state more particularly Kashmir valley will be facing acute shortage of food grains during winter months. If timely steps are not taken, the much hated beast of   famine that in the past has devoured hundreds of thousands people can possibly visit Kashmir once again.
Some economists, financial wizards, and social scientist looking at the magnitude of losses suffered by the people are of the view that it will take at least twenty five years to rebuild the infrastructure and make up the economic losses suffered by the people in these floods. To salvage the state economy, preventing it from sinking further, they have been rightly demanding international organizations to play their role in rebuilding Kashmir as they had done during 2005 earthquake in AJK – Kashmir on other side of the LOC or in 1993 earthquake in Latur and during 2001 earthquake in Bhuj Gujrat. In 2005, when earth shattered on both sides of the LOC, aid flew to Muzaffarabad from   US, Turkey, Italy and China and in a very short span of time a modern AJK was reborn from the debris of disaster. And its economy was revived to its full vitality.
No doubt the state needs international aid for rebuilding its infrastructure but it is equally high time for reinventing the gospel of economy introduced seven centuries back by Syed Ali Hamadani by launching massive skill-development programs in Kashmir.  It has been his doctrine of creating training centres for imparting training in various arts and crafts   alongside   construction of hospice and masjids that has sustained our economy for past over six centuries. Even when our peasantry lost their crops, it was their alternative occupation of weaving high quality woollen blankets and embroidering shawls and other skills that sustained them. One of biggest drain on our economy has been   growing dependence on skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour force from outside the state.
The Mir Syed Ali Hamadani gospel of economy once reinvented and moulded to contemporary needs by our enterprising economists   will lead us towards self-sufficiency and enable us to build an independent and vibrant economy.