Flood toll in Indian-controlled Kashmir attains 215

The death toll from flood in Indian-controlled Kashmir attained over 215 while Indian army and rescuers have evacuated over 76,500 people from flood in Indian- controlled Kashmir, where the deluge began receding Wednesday, said officials.
A massive rescue and relief operation by the Indian Armed Forces and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was in progress on a "war footing", said Indian Defense Ministry in a statement in Jammu, winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
The statement said the army has deployed 329 columns (with 75 to 100 men each) of its personnel for rescue and relief operations, of which 244 columns were deployed in the Srinagar region and 85 in the Jammu region.
The army and NDRF personnel have been distributing food, water, medicine, blankets and tents to the homeless.
However, tens of thousands remained trapped in Srinagar city, hit by a flash flood last weekend and the exact number of dead cannot be made until army and rescuers reach all submerged areas.
The water level of the river Jhelum, one of the major rivers in Kashmir, continued to recede in Srinagar and throughout the Kashmir Valley Wednesday.
The Srinagar-Jammu highway continued to remain closed for the seventh day Wednesday after the water destroyed the only highway, some of them under expansion and construction before the flood, of the area.
However, traffic on the over 440 km long Srinagar-Leh highway from northern Himalayan region to southwest Kashmir was restored Tuesday.
The area is also facing an acute crisis of petrol and kerosene with all filing stations in Srinagar having run out of fuel, said Indo-Asian News Service.