Jammu and Kashmir floods: Cries for food, medicine and supplies ring out in relief camps

JAMMU: Mohammad Ashraf had not eaten for three days before he managed to get out of a flooded hotel in Srinagar's main tourist district of Boulevard Road on the banks of the Dal Lake.

The hotel employee got to eat only after he managed to reach the safety of a relief camp in the Nishat area. He had been trapped there with other starving employees and customers.

"On Tuesday morning, we escaped from the hotel after the water level went down slightly," Ashraf told a TV channel. Boulevard Road, which overlooks the centre-piece lake and is dotted with dozens of hotels, was still under water.

Ashraf is among an estimated 4 lakh who got marooned after swirling waters flooded large parts of Srinagar. He said he had lost touch with his family at Beerwah in Budgam district on Saturday . "Last I spoke to them was three days back. They told me they were leaving for Tangmarg to take shelter. Since then I've not spoken to them." A young girl at the camp said she lived near Dal Gate and fled with her family after flood waters submerged their locality.

"My best friend's house may have been completely submerged," she told the TV channel. She said she was clueless about the whereabouts of her friends and neighbours. Residents complained relief had not reached most survivors. Camps are running short of supplies, including food, drinking water and medicines.