J&K flood victims grateful to Sikhs for shelter at gurdwaras

Srinagar: Hundreds of flood-victims in Jammu and Kashmir who found shelter at various gurdwaras across the the state are grateful to the Sikh community for their contribution in the rescue efforts.

Abdul Rasheed has been staying in Gurudwara Shaheed Bunga for past 17 days ever since he along with his family was rescued from his marooned house in Jawahar Nagar here.

"Floodwater did not spare any community, everybody was equally affected, but we are thankful to the members of the Sikh community" he said.

Expressing gratitude towards the Sikh community, the flood victims, of whom a majority were Muslims, said they would remain indebted to the community as they helped them without discriminating on the basis of religion.

"I had never been to Gurudwara before and I am overwhelmed to see the love and care these people gave us. Without being bothered about our religion, they allowed us to live inside the main hall of the gurudwara," Maqsood Ahmed, a resident of Bemina locality, said.

Besides setting up relief camps at gurdwaras, several members of Sikh community also volunteered in rescue efforts.

"A sardarji used his turban to pull my drowning family out. We owe our life to him, he even used the turban cloth to stop the bleeding of my daughter's wounds," Shabeer Ahmed another resident of Jawahar Nagar, said.

Various Sikh organisations from across the country and the globe too have extended help for the relief and rehabilitation of the flood affected residents.

"UK-based Khalsa Aid and US-based United Sikhs were among the first few charitable organisations which rushed their men and equipment to carry out the relief work in the Valley," a government official said.

Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DGMC) and the Amritsar-based Shri Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) have set up 24-hour free Langer (community kitchens) at various places across the Srinagar city.

"Besides establishing Langers at several places in Srinagar, we have been providing packed food for more than 70,000 people daily," DGMC member P S Chandok said.