PTI, Srinagar :Over 1000 Army personnel and their families are stranded in various camps in Kashmir without food and water even as Army personnel work on a war footing to evacuate civilians from their marooned homes.”Many camps of Army located in south Kashmir and Srinagar have been flooded and over 1000 Army personnel and their families are stranded without food and water”, am Army officer said.Army personnel working round-the-clock to evacuate lakhs of people trapped in flood-ravaged areas are yet to reach to them.With water, electricity, supplies and other services hit, Army personnel have adopted measures to conserve resources so that major share of supplies are made available for the civil population, he said. There are over 20 small and big Army camps located in central and south Kashmir belts, which are affected due to floods.On September 8, the Army had rescued 1400 of its personnel and their families including 120 children trapped in Kashmir’s Army headquarter at Badamibagh cantonment.Badamibagh Cantonment, which house Kashmir’s Army’s headquarters and biggest military hospital along with areas of Shivpora and Indranagar, got submerged as the water level rose alarmingly due to breach in Jehlum river on September 7.Showing courage in time of adversity, two Russian women trapped in flood waters in the city refused to be evacuated till those ailing were brought out first. Army and IAF on Wednesday reached out to the two Russian women lodged in a hotel here after they got a distress call from them, an Army officer said.When they were approached for evacuation, the duo refused to come out saying there were people who were ill and they should be moved out first, he said.While greater desperation was seen in the areas which are on the outer fringes, people in the interiors of some marooned colonies are displaying a great sense of responsibility and directing the rescue teams to those people who are worse affected.Around four lakh people are caught in flood waters in Kashmir valley and are waiting for help. In yet another direction to help passengers trapped in flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir, DGCA on Wednesday asked all airlines to cap the fares on Srinagar-Delhi and Leh-Delhi sectors to Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,000.If an air traveller is cash-strapped due to the precarious situation prevailing in Srinagar and elsewhere in the state, the DGCA has asked the air carriers to collect fares only after they reached Delhi.The airlines have also been asked to mount additional flights to clear the rush of outbound tourists from Srinagar.The decisions were taken by the aviation regulator in consultation with the airlines in view of the flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir and all airlines have agreed to the decision, official sources said.
