A Kashmir trader is detained by police during a protest in Srinagar yesterday against a lack of help by the federal government to victims of the worst flooding seen in the state in more than a century.

Agencies/Srinagar

Kashmir largely shut down yesterday to protest at government delays in rebuilding the state hit by devastating floods a year ago, as hundreds of police and troops patrolled the streets.
Shops, banks and schools were shuttered in the main city of Srinagar after traders called a 24-hour strike over perceived government inaction in helping businesses and families recover from the floods.
The shutdown was held to mark the first anniversary of the floods that swept through the state, killing 300 people and causing an estimated $16bn worth of damage.
Business leaders and Kashmiri separatist leaders were detained in police stations or confined to their homes yesterday to prevent them leading a rally in Srinagar against the state and central governments.
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah criticised the government’s response.
“All these people wanted to do was register their dissatisfaction at the absence of any meaningful flood relief,” he said.
“The government of India refused international aid for Kashmir and did almost nothing itself after failing to protect us from the devastation,” Mohamed Yasin Khan, chairman of the Kashmir Economic Alliance, a coalition of traders’ bodies, said by phone from a police station where he was being held.
Security forces locked down Srinagar’s main business hub of Lal Chowk, including with barbed wire barricades, and deployed police and paramilitary forces in riot gear.
The University of Kashmir cancelled exams scheduled for yesterday as part of the strike, which was also observed in towns across the region.
Kashmir is accustomed to strikes and shutdowns called by separatists against Indian rule.
But anger has been mounting over a perceived failure by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to deliver on rehabilitation promises following the floods.
Jammu and Kashmir government has asked Modi’s government for aid worth Rs440bn ($6.6bn), but that money is yet to be approved.
About 300,000 homes and other buildings along with 700,000 hectares of farmland were damaged in the floods, according to a state government assessment.
The Modi government says it has given state authorities millions of rupees for relief efforts.
Srinagar was hardest hit after the rain-swollen River Jhelum burst its banks, leaving thousands stranded.
City resident Bashir Ahmed said he cannot afford to rebuild his home completely after receiving little in government compensation.
“I received Rs75,000 ($1,122) which was just about enough to clear the debris of my destroyed home,” said Ahmed.
Paddy farmer Abdul Gani Bhat lives with his family of five in a tin shed after his home was washed away. He says he has not received enough government money to rebuild it.
“The prime minister promised to rehabilitate us during the elections,” Hassan said of the state polls in December. “We need help so we can build a roof over our heads.”
Nirmal Singh, Kashmir’s deputy chief minister and a member of Modi’s party, told reporters that the central government will announce a big aid package soon.
“The government is working out where the money will be spent,” he said. “It will come soon.”