Severe Floods Devastate Jammu Kashmir Punjab Causing Widespread Damage

Recent floods in the Indian Himalayas and Jammu and Kashmir have caused widespread devastation, exacerbated by both climate change and poor infrastructure planning. Cloudbursts and glacial lake outbursts, natural phenomena in the region, have become more deadly as towns and roads are built in vulnerable flood paths, leading to tragic losses of life and property. Jammu and Kashmir have seen severe damage including the washing away of hundreds of bridges, extensive road damage, and losses in agriculture and dry fruits, prompting calls for urgent relief packages and loan waivers for affected farmers. In Punjab, unprecedented floods impacted thousands of villages and hundreds of thousands of people, destroying crops and livelihoods, particularly harming marginalized farmers who face increasing climate unpredictability. The flooding has also disrupted critical infrastructure and economic activities, with Kashmir's apple industry and tourism severely affected, highlighting the wider socio-economic consequences beyond immediate environmental damage. Despite the region's potential for hydroelectric power generation, as seen in Kishtwar's numerous projects, local communities continue to suffer from inadequate support and unfulfilled demands such as free electricity, underscoring a gap between development ambitions and human costs.