SRI NAGAR: The people are still using boats for commuting in the city’s posh Rajbagh area, where water level measures three to four ft even 27 days after the worst-ever floods ravaged the Kashmir Valley.
Being on the banks of Jehlum, the area was one of the worst hit in the floods and even two-storeyed houses were submerged in the water. Many houses in the area have collapsed and others developed cracks, making them unsafe for living. Many hotels, guest houses, residential houses and commercial buildings in the area are still submerged.
The boats are ferrying people, who wait in queue for the boatman to take them inside their houses. “We paid the boatman `1,500 for taking us inside our house and return us to the dry patch. The boat is the only way to reach our homes,” said Athisham-ul-Haq, a resident here.
According to him, sometimes boatman refuse to take people if they don’t pay him a decent amount. Another resident Riyaz Ahmad, who is now living at his relative’s house in downtown Srinagar, said he visits the area daily with the hope that water would have been drained out, but returns disappointed.
“As many as 27 days have passed since the flood hit the Valley. The state government has failed to drain out the flood water from Rajbagh,” said Zubair Ahmad, another local resident.
The authorities had breached the embankments of Jehlum at many places in Rajbagh area to remove water, but in vain.