This Article is From Nov 10, 2014

A Few Blankets and a Temporary Shelter is All These Flood-Hit Victims Have in Freezing Kashmir

These shelters are not adequate for Kashmir's freezing winter.

Srinagar: For Mohammad Ayub and his family, a temporary structure made of wood will be 'home' during Kashmir's harsh winter, when temperatures drop well below zero.

His family of four eats and sleeps in this wooden hut; when the winter chill becomes unbearable, they sit in a huddle in an effort to keep warm. A few blankets are all they have to keep themselves warm during the freezing nights, but that's not enough to beat the winter chill.

But Ayub is not alone, there are hundreds of families in Kashmir who were displaced by the devastating floods in September, and are now living in temporary shelters like tents and huts.

"Only we know what problems we are facing; it is extremely cold here, we need warm clothes", says Ayub, who works as an auto driver.

A little distance away, Javed Ahmad, his wife Rosie and their two children are spending the night in another temporary hut; their house was completely destroyed by the floods.

These structures, known as 'pre-fabricated huts', are more durable than the tents, but they have no solid base, making them prone to ground water seepage.

"If we were in our own homes, we would have had our bedding at least. Whatever we have now, has been donated by others", says Rosie

"It is getting so difficult just now, can you imagine how difficult it would be for us during the harsh phase of winters," she said.

Several organisations, including the Uday Foundation which is working in collaboration with NDTV, is constructing these 'pre-fabricated huts' in the valley

And while structures like these are being constructed across the valley for flood survivors, much more help will be needed for the hundreds of families which do not even have a roof over their heads.

While the valley is in the grip of a bitter cold wave right now, with forecast of heavy snowfall, the situation will get worse for families who are being forced to live in the open.
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