45 IIIM students evacuated in Jammu after floodwaters submerge hostel ground floor

At least 45 students of the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) were evacuated to safety in a joint operation by the State Disaster Response Force and police after floodwaters submerged the ground floor of the hostel complex here on Sunday, officials said.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police deployed manpower equipped with boats to reach out the students after more than seven feet of water from the overflowing canal entered their hostel buildings this morning, the officials said. They said the rescue operation continued for more than five hours and all the trapped students were evacuated to safety.

Director IIIM, an autonomous body under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Zabeer Ahmed said the institute has made arrangements for the safe stay of the students.

Thanking police and SDRF for their assistance in evacuating the students, he said there was no need to panic. “We have enough alternative arrangements to provide accommodation to students,” he said, adding as the floodwaters started collecting in the ground floor, the institute mobilised all resources, including dewatering pumps for the safety of the students.

SR Choudhary, one of the students, said their colleagues putting up in the ground floor suffered losses due to the flash floods. “My room is located on the top floor but those in the ground floor immediately shifted to upstairs, leaving behind their belongings,” he said, adding they waited for at least five hours for getting shifted out of the submerged buildings.

Meanwhile, a portion of a road adjacent to a temple near Tawi bridge caved in, while a culvert on the exit gate of Jammu bus stand also collapsed owing to the heavy rainfall.

The overflowing streams and drains aggravated the situation in low-lying areas where the flood waters entered home, damaging boundary walls at several places and dozens of vehicles. (With PTI inputs)