1000s of Kashmir flood victims continue to suffer

Thousands of people from Indian-controlled Kashmir continue to live in relief camps following flash floods and landslides,  reports.

The situation continues just days before the major Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), which marks the culmination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Flood victims say they are expecting a very different Eid this year, as living in tents is very difficult and their children are becoming ill.

Jammu and Kashmir chief Secretary, Iqbal Khanday, said the crisis was a “disaster of international dimension.”

He added that state government had asked New Delhi for a special aid package to help people cope with the situation.

About 90 villages have been inundated and over 150,000 people have been urged to leave their homes for higher ground in Assam State’s worst-hit district of Goalpara.

Earlier this month, monsoon floods inundated Kashmir, killing more than 270 people in the Indian-controlled portion of the Himalayan region.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan with both countries claiming full sovereignty over it, but each only controlling a section of the territory.

Hundreds of thousands of people in both parts of Kashmir have been forced out of their homes in the flood-hit areas.

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