Recent flooding in India&amp;#8217;s Kashmir region has left at least four hundred dead and five hundred families still stranded on their rooftops, awaiting rescue, as reported in New York Times on September 10, 2014. Many have run out of food, but claim the state government is making little effort to provide assistance.
&ldquo;Some said only the politically connected were being evacuated,&rdquo; Betwa Sharma and Nida Najar write. &ldquo;Others complained that the rescue teams were incompetent.&rdquo;
But this week&rsquo;s disaster is not the first time Kashmiri people have expressed frustrations with their leadership&rsquo;s slowness. Pulitzer Center student fellow Reana Thomas&rsquo; reporting &ndash; which explores ongoing ecological threats to Kashmir&rsquo;s Wular Lake &ndash; reveals similar sentiments among environmental crusaders.
&ldquo;None of the authorities who support the lake actually come down to the lake. No one supports you,&amp;#8221; aquatic biologist Dr. Ather Masoodi told Reana. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a real challenge.&rdquo;
Read Reana&rsquo;s reporting on Kashmir locals&rsquo; quest for environmental justice to learn more.