HYDERABAD: Students from Jammu and Kashmir, studying in various universities in Hyderabad, have been undergoing harrowing times ever since the news of floods raving their home state started to break.
To add to their worries, mobile phone networks and landlines stopped working leaving them with no way to communicate with their families and learn about their condition.
While some of the students managed to speak to their near and dear ones only four days after the floods, a few are still waiting to get a word from their home.
The distressed students have comforted each other and are managing to sail through tough times.
Jammu and Kashmir has been experiencing one of the worst floods in history from over a week leaving many parts of the state inundated.
While around 100 students from the state are pursuing various courses at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) and and Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), a few of them are in IIT-Hyderabad, IIIT-Hyderabad and Osmania University.
Recalling the experience, a research scholar from MANUU Masrook Dar, who hails from Anantnag district in South Kashmir said, “I got a call on September 6 from my sisters who informed me that the region could be flooded anytime. Barely half an hour after the call, the area was flooded. Since then, I have not heard from them. I learnt of their condition from my parents,” and added that there are some students who have not been able to talk to their parents yet.
A PhD student at UoH Latief Ahmed from South Kashmir said he managed to speak to his family only four days after the floods hit. “There was no way to know the trail of devastation left behind by the floods. We learnt of the situation only through the newspaper,” he added.
No Point Going Back
The students were of the opinion that while those affected by the floods were being rescued, there was no point for them to go back now. “Everybody is trying to leave the state. What is point of we going back now? I spoke to my family and they are. We will return ony with relief material and not empty-handed,” Masrook said.
Meanwhile, Latief is coordinating with volunteers at the ground levels to know updates, coordinate relief activities and find details of the family members who cannot be contacted.