Hundreds of Gujjar-Bakerwal families and labourers continue to live in extremely vulnerable conditions in makeshift tents and hutments along riverbanks in Pulwama and Shopian districts of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, with no alternative accommodation or rehabilitation provided by the administration. Mohammad Hussain Khan has pitched a tent on the banks of Romshi Nallah in Karemabad area of Pulwama where he has been living with his family for several years. He said heavy rainfall brings a familiar fear as the river swells and currents turn stronger, making their tents vulnerable to sudden flooding.

“Over the last few years, we have seen the river flowing fast and rising dangerously many times, but nobody has taken care of us or relocated us to a safer place,” Khan said. Similar makeshift settlements can be seen along Rambiara, an important tributary of the Jhelum, and other riverbanks, where structures have come up extremely close to the river channel. Many belong to Gujjar and Bakerwal communities, living in high-risk zones prone to flash floods, cloudbursts and sudden rise in water level. “We want to be shifted to any safer place.

We know the risks involved in living on a riverbank, but we have no choice,” Khan said, while a resident said, “We are poor people. Where will we go? We know the water could wash our tents away with our families inside.” The residents said they depend on seasonal work that keeps them close to these areas and lack land or affordable housing elsewhere. They appealed to authorities to identify vulnerable settlements and provide safer places, warning that extreme weather events have turned traditional temporary habitation sites into high-risk zones.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)