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                   Flood-Hit Pakistanis Try to Divert Rivers

   by Ayaz Gul

   Army engineers in Pakistan have been breaching dikes in a bid to divert
   swollen rivers from flooded cities and towns across populous Punjab
   province.

   The flooding has killed nearly 300 people in Pakistan and disrupted
   life for more than two million others. Authorities in neighboring India
   are also stepping up rescue efforts in the portion of Kashmir they
   control, where monsoon floods have killed more than 200 people.

   The Jhelum River overflowed its banks amid heavy rains last week,
   leaving a broad swath of sever infrastructrual damage and upturned
   lives across the disputed Himalayan territory.

   Pakistani authorities say they blasted openings in dikes along the
   overflowing Chenab River to disperse floodwaters before they reach
   cities including Multan, which is famous for its Sufi saints.

   The Pakistani military has been leading relief and rescue operations
   for flood victims. Helicopters and boats have evacuated tens of
   thousands of stranded people.

   However, according to [1]news reports by Reuters, residents of Indian
   Kashmir have dumped food aid into open sewers to demonstrate their
   wrath for state administrators, whom they accuse of failing to provide
   help.
   The worst flooding in decades is said to have taken local
   administrations by surprise, and they have been criticized for not
   responding to the emergency quickly enough.

   Large parts of Srinagar, a city of about one million, have been covered
   with water for at least a week. Some survivors have been clinging to
   the roofs of their homes all that time.

   "Their misery has added to problems of the administration in a
   Muslim-majority region where a revolt against Indian rule has simmered
   for nearly a quarter century," said the report, adding that
   flood-stranded residents say the army has been selectively evacuating
   tourists.

   On the Pakistani side, wire reports indicate, some residents have
   described a total lack of police and government presence.

   Army spokesman Major-General Asim Saleem Bajwa says troops have been
   instructed to make all possible efforts to rescue flood victims.

   "Don't wait for orders. Human life is the most important thing.
   Therefore, go to any extent to save human lives," he said.

   General Bajwa says the military is operating 16 medical relief camps,
   and it has dispatched mobile teams of doctors to help civilian
   authorities treat patients and prevent the spread of water-borne
   diseases.

   Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority reports the floods
   have affected more than two million people overall, and caused both
   human and material losses in the part of Kashmir that Pakistan
   administers.

   The government has asked the United Nations to help in assessing the
   extent of flood damage, but has not yet requested relief assistance
   from the international community.

   Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam says Pakistan will welcome
   contributions from individuals and groups worldwide, however.

   "We have not launched an appeal for international assistance, but our
   [diplomatic] missions have been asked to open an account [for the]
   Prime Minister's Flood Relief Fund 2014," Aslam said. "And these funds
   would be accepting contributions from [expatriate] Pakistanis or
   international resources."

   India has deployed around 30,000 troops for relief and rescue
   operations in its portion of the divided Kashmir territory, where the
   central city of Srinagar and surrounding areas have been hard hit by
   the floods.

   The Indian military is said to have rescued nearly 100,000 people in
   the past week, mostly by helicopter. Together with civilian
   authorities, troops also have set up relief camps and field hospitals
   on higher ground for flood survivors.

   Some information for this report comes from Reuters.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/flood-stricken-pakistanis-try-to-dive
   ry-rivers/2449074.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-anger-mounts-in-indian-kashmir-after-worst-flood-over-century/2448796.html
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/flood-stricken-pakistanis-try-to-divery-rivers/2449074.html