100 NDRF personnel rushed to Kashmir; 4 teams on standby

NEW DELHI: Two NDRF teams comprising 100 personnel have been rushed as part of contingency measures in Jammu and Kashmir, where Jhelum river today crossed the danger level in Srinagar and Sangam area of South Kashmir following heavy rains.

The two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising about 50 personnel each, were taken in an IAF plane from Bhatinda in Punjab to Srinagar.

"We have pre-positioned two of our teams in the Kashmir Valley in order to combat any situation in the wake of flood alert.

"Four other teams at Ghaziabad and Bhatinda will be on standby," NDRF Director General O P Singh told PTI here.

The DG said there was no need to panic and the force along with the state government is putting in all measures to tackle a possible flood situation.

"There is no flooding as of now. There is some water logging in areas of Kashmir Valley. It is good news that there have been no rains for a couple of hours now in the state," he said.

However, the IMD has predicted rains in the next 2-3 days.

"The situation is not bad and we are all ready to tackle any situation," he said.

Singh said the teams which have been airlifted are equipped with communication, rescue and retrieval gadgets as per the standard operating procedures to combat flood situations, he said.

The NDRF had played a vital role along other defence forces in undertaking massive relief and rescue operations last year when Kashmir Valley was inundated in the worst-ever floods in the history of the state.