He had last heard his sister sobbing on the phone, saying water levels were menacingly rising and could drown them anytime as he spoke to her from Baramulla, which remained untouched from the flood fury. The phone lines snapped shortly, leaving Ahmad, a hypertension patient, on tenterhooks for next five days.
The two stay just 40km apart, but the devastating floods made the two places seem very far than they actually are. They were clueless about each other's fate, as phones conked out and vast swathes of Kashmir came under water and were accessible only through boats, which were scarce. Ahmad could not drive either as parts of Baramulla-Srinagar road were under water and a few bridges on the way were feared to have been washed away.
The connectivity was restored intermittently on Thursday.
READ ALSO: Thousands throng IAF base for safe passage out of Kashmir valley
Ahmad could still not speak to his sister while she was at a relief camp running short of food and her life-saving drugs for diabetes. He heaved a sigh of relief after he managed to speak to his nephew in Delhi, who informed him that local volunteers had rescued his parents just in the nick of time.
Ahmad had no clue about the fate of many of his close relatives, who lived in the many of the worst-hit areas in Srinagar, where 60% of the residents are estimated to have been affected by the worst floods in the recent memory. "These have been worst days of my life with no information about the whereabouts of my loved ones," he said.
Ahmad's desperation mirrored that of those of tens of thousands of people in and outside Kashmir, who have spent sleepless nights since Sunday last when the communication lines broke down along with other infrastructure.
Telephone lines were partially restored Wednesday onwards. But the connectivity was too poor or people were unable to charge their mobile phones due to power breakdown. The situation is unlikely to ease sooner given the kind of damage the infrastructure has suffered.
Body of a flood victim lies on a bench after it was found by local residents in Srinagar
In the face of the information blackout, non-resident Kashmiris and kin of tourists stuck in Kashmir made desperate appeals via social media and in certain cases posted their locations on Google Maps., appealing for their rescue.
But little could initially be done as ministers, top officials and police officers had to be rescued as the floods submerged key buildings and locality making the entire state machinery dysfunctional.
Even chief minister's Omar Abdullah's phone connectivity had not been restored till Friday, forcing him to acknowledge he was not able to reach 90% of his cabinet to coordinate relief work.
"I had no cellphone and no connectivity. I am now starting to track down ministers and officers. Today, I met ministers who were swept up by the floods," he told a TV channel.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Omar Abdullah,Flood-ravaged Jammu & Kashmir,Breakdown in communication,Kashmir floods
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