For two days, Makwal village and its surrounding areas, 27 km west of Jammu, were ravaged by the floodwaters after the Tawi breached its embankment and flowed into villages, mostly inhabited by poor farmers. While hundreds of families struggled to save themselves from the wrath of the river after rain lashed Jammu and Kashmir for four days from September 3, thousands of acres of land with maize, pulses and vegetable crop was destroyed by the floods. Although the extent of the damage is yet to be ascertained as the administration is involved in rescue and relief work, the floodwaters have left a trail of destruction in hamlets and villages on the banks of various rivers. Though water has receded in the last 48 hours, fields are waterlogged. “We could only watch the destruction unleashed by the Tawi as it breached its embankment and water inundated the fields. We will face starvation in the coming weeks, if relief is not provided immediately,” said Choudhary Chaman, a resident of Barjala village, ravaged by the floodwaters from the Tawi. Farmers in Akhnoor, 25 km from Jammu, have been badly affected by the Chenab. The Marh, Gajansoo, Bishnah, Suchetgarh, Kathua, Samba and Hiranagar areas were inundated by the floodwaters from rivulets, destroying the standing crop of vegetables. Reports say in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and in Udhampur and Doda districts, damages are severe but there is no assessment of the damages as the areas are cut off from rest of the state. “Rain would not have damaged the crop but wherever floodwaters have entered, standing crop of maize, pulses and vegetables have been damaged. The exact data will be revealed after when the Agriculture Department sends its teams. However, heavy rain would not impact paddy because due to the weak monsoon this year it was cultivated late,” said BC Sharma, agrometeorologist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu. Officials said as rain had stopped, the government had given instructions for making detailed assessment of losses and the Chief Agriculture Officers concerned had been advised to furnish crop-wise and area-wise damages. The National Agriculture Insurance Scheme was launched about five years ago in the state with an aim to cover the cultivators and their crops, but it has failed to help the farmers. It does not provide any help to people because as per rules, compensation is given in case of 50 per cent loss to crops in a block. Trail of destruction Thousands of acres of land with maize, pulses and vegetable crop destroyed by floods in Jammu. The extent of damage yet to be ascertained as the administration is involved in rescue and relief work. The government has given instructions to officials to make detailed assessment of losses.