300 from Karnataka stuck in Jammu and Kashmir, wait for help

BANGALORE: A communication collapse, compounded by a blackout over the past four days in Jammu & Kashmir, has rendered mobile phones useless.

In Bangalore, anxiety levels are soaring, with reports of 300 persons from Karnataka either stranded or missing in the flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir. Reports of six more persons missing came as late as 9pm on Monday.

Of this number, 282 are from Bangalore while the others are from across the state - Mangalore (7), Hubli (3), Chintamani (5), Chitradurga (2) and Haveri (1). "It's 294 and counting, we're updating the list every hour," K Sarojamma, deputy commissioner, revenue department, told TOI.

With the tourist season of autumn (September-November) kicking in, hundreds of people from across the country have landed up in the troubled state, not anticipating a disaster of this scale. The other tourist seasons are spring and summer (March-late August). For Nanjunde Gowda, who has coordinated several rescue operations on behalf of the Karnataka government, including Uttarakhand, these floods are personal.

His niece MU Rajeshwari, a lieutenant with the Indian Army, is stranded in Kashmir. Rajeshwari, in her early 20s, was transferred to Kashmir from Delhi about a fortnight ago.

"She was posted in Delhi for three years. Now, she is working with the Srinagar Military Hospital and we've not been able to reach her," Gowda, who works with the state disaster management team, said.

An officer of the rank of colonel, posted in Kashmir, told TOI: "The cantonment is completely affected. My house, which is on the first floor, looks like it's floating on water. But the Army is determined, and there will be no problems with the rescue operations, which are going on in full swing."

Close to 30 planes and helicopters, including the trusted Soviet-era IL76 and new-age American C-17 Globemaster, have been pressed into action along with hundreds of specialized troops.

However, several attempts to get in touch with rescuers by state officials failed, with communication severely affected. "This is a big problem. We hope that those from Karnataka are safe and only lack of communication facilities is preventing them from keeping their families informed," an official said.

According to the state revenue department, which is coordinating the rescue efforts, most people missing from the state are in Srinagar, largely in hotels around Dal Lake, while there have been some cases of people going missing from marketplaces and temples.

Anxious to contact his brother MC Subramani, who is missing in Srinagar, Nagaraj, a civil court employee, has left no stone unturned. "We had just finalized a bride for him, only the wedding date was to be fixed. We're all anxious," Nagaraj said. Late in the evening, Nagaraj was informed that his brother had been brought to a safe site. "But we've not been able to contact him yet, we are still waiting," he said.

Subramani, 32, is a travel agent who had gone to Srinagar with his friend Ravi.