Civil Secretariat reopens, yet to become operational, less than 10% of employees report on time
The death toll in Jammu and Kashmir has crossed 260 with Jammu region accounting for most of the deaths in the worst flood in the state in more than a century.
The death toll in Jammu region was 210 while in Kashmir Valley so far 54 bodies have been recovered, officials said.
“We have recovered 190 bodies while 20 others were washed away, and presumed dead, in the flood-affected areas of Jammu division. Rajouri district was the worst-hit in terms of loss of life,” a senior official from Jammu said.
Divisional commissioner, Kashmir, Rohit Kansal said that 54 bodies have been recovered from various parts of the Valley so far. Jammu and Kashmir was hit by the worst-ever floods since 1892, wreaking havoc in several districts on either side of the Pir Panjal mountain range.
Public infrastructure like bridges, roads and government buildings worth several thousand crore has been destroyed by the floods while the damage to private property, including crops like apple and paddy is estimated to be several times higher.
Meanwhile, Civil Secretariat, the seat of Jammu and Kashmir here, opened on Thursday after 11 days but could not become operational as the ground floor of the seven-storey building is still under three feet of water.
Less than 10 per cent of the nearly 4,000 employees, who work in various offices at the Civil Secretariat building, reported at the main gate at 9.30 am the scheduled time of opening of the offices. The employees got their names entered in the attendance register maintained by the security personnel at the main gate and returned to their homes. Forest minister Mian Altaf Ahmad was the first to arrive at 11 am followed by finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather at 11.20 am and tourism minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir at 11.30 am.
However, the ministers could not enter due to the water-logging in the ground floor. They instead entered the State Legislative Assembly complex, where water has been drained out, and stayed there.
The state government on Tuesday announced that the Civil Secretariat will start functioning from September 18 and directed the employees to report for work. Several employees criticised the government decision’s to reopen the secretariat as “hasty”.