SMC Warriors: A Tribute

A small but heartfelt tribute—and an enduring gratitude—to the nameless heroes of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) who stood with me through the unfathomable disaster of the September 2014 floods. They were tired, fatigued and often working with whatever resources were available. Yet these improvised warriors did not wait for ideal conditions, instructions or comforts. They simply went to work. Advertisment They left behind their submerged homes and hearths, their young children, their families and, in many cases, their old and ailing parents. For days and nights, they worked tirelessly for a larger cause—the recovery of Srinagar. You saved children from flood-ravaged colonies. You brought young people out from the debris of collapsed buildings. You answered calls from helpless families trapped inside their homes. You rescued thousands of animals and, when they could not be saved, buried them with dignity and according to scientific protocols. You repaired dewatering pumps when they were desperately needed. You assembled and put to work highly sophisticated machines under the most difficult circumstances. And when there was hardly any strength left in your bodies, you never turned back from the challenge. You kept standing tall. My warriors, I salute you. You worked on empty stomachs, with unkempt hair, clothes that had become dirty and stinking, and feet drenched in mud and contaminated floodwater. Many had hardly slept. Yet you kept moving from one street to another, one neighbourhood to another, clearing what seemed like an impossible mountain of destruction. Thousands of truckloads carried away more than a lakh tonnes of waste and debris. Roads, lanes and neighbourhoods that had been buried under the detritus of the flood were gradually reclaimed. The city began to breathe again. Perhaps your greatest achievement was not merely removing the debris. It was helping Srinagar return to normalcy without the major outbreak of epidemics that had been widely feared in the immediate aftermath of the flood. In those dark days, the people of Srinagar needed reassurance that their city administration had not abandoned them. The SMC workforce gave them that reassurance through action—not words. You demonstrated that the Srinagar Municipal Corporation was worthy of the trust placed in it by the citizens of Srinagar. I will always remember, too, the Chief Minister who came in the middle of the night to meet these SMC warriors in the flood-ravaged streets of Srinagar. It was an unusual moment of solidarity: political leadership meeting exhausted municipal workers in the very heart of a city struggling to rise from one of the worst disasters in its history. Advertisment Today, years later, photographs, statistics and official reports may record the 2014 flood. But behind every number were people. And behind Srinagar's recovery were hundreds of ordinary municipal workers who performed extraordinary acts of service. You preserved our self-respect. You preserved the dignity of your Corporation. And, in the face of an overwhelming disaster, you proved that when confronted with extraordinary challenges, you can rise above yourselves and write a new history. You did not seek recognition. You did not ask for applause. You simply did your duty when the city needed you most. My warriors, I salute you. Your contribution deserves to be remembered—not merely as a footnote in the history of the 2014 floods, but as an enduring chapter in the story of Srinagar's resilience, its people and the spirit of public service. Note: Readers may log on to the link to get a visual sense of what the SMC workers did in those trying moments: Advertisment Senior Advisor IRADe, New Delhi Former Commissioner SMC, & Vice Chairman SDA