SRINAGAR: Terming the hardships faced by the people due to heavy  snowfall as “failure of government at all levels,” Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday said “the government preferred to remain in deep slumber to make people suffer despite weather advisory issued by the met department.”
In a statement, the Hurriyat (M) chairman said that the “authorities were completely caught off-guarded to tackle the emergency.”
“They only acted when the situation turned out of control thereby adding to the hardships and sufferings of people,” he said, adding “The state authorities expressed its helplessness before the situation arising due to unprecedented rain and snowfall and only issued hollow statements which was reflective of the reality that like past the government had not even a distant concern regarding the worries and hardships faced by the people.”
Mirwaiz said that the snow and rains were not new to Kashmir, but government failed to take advance measures to deal with the situation “thus putting people on their own mercy.”
“At many places, people prevented untoward incidents from happening due to their own valor efforts,” Mirwaiz said.
He said the people were facing acute shortage of food items, and added that power and water breakdown has further complicated the sufferings of Kashmiris.
Mirwaiz said that the callous attitude of government reflected its complete failure at all levels to deal with the situation.
Expressing serious concern over shortage of food items in the market due to black marketing, Mirwaiz said “it was against the moral and Islamic values of Kashmiris.”
“As a nation, Kashmiris should think collectively in these testing times and lend their solidarity and help to fellow Kashmiris instead of making them to suffer,” Mirwaiz said and expressed profound grief and sympathy over the loss of life and property due to recent snowfall.
The statement said that he appealed people to lend their helping hand to those who have lost their properties and relatives during the recent snowfall.
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of CPI(M) also  flayed the government over its response to the recent snowfall, alleging that the administration was “caught napping” while the snow and storm created havoc.
“The heavy and untimely snowfall is not new to Kashmir and the weather office had already predicted such a situation but the government miserably failed to chalk out a comprehensive strategy for tackling the emergency situations like the present one,” CPI(M) said in a statement here.

Reader correspondent