Govt to use hi-tech machinery to check water-logging

The Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh on Tuesday said the Government would press into service state-of-the-art machines to address issues of water-logging and choking of drains in the summer capital.

The Deputy CM was speaking at a meeting convened to discuss the issues related to the city sewerage and water-logging in Srinagar. During the meeting it was given out that the Government would take immediate remedial measures to overcome the water-logging being faced by the different areas of the Srinagar city due to incessant rains.

The meeting decided that state-of-the-art machinery would be brought in and pressed into service to ensure unclogging of choked drains and also service lines of the drainage and sewerage system of the State with the aim to provide relief to the people.

It was also decided that the machinery would be purchased within the shortest possible time in view of the freaky weather conditions leading to incessant rains and the consequential blockade of drains and water logging. Officials said the project cost of the augmentation scheme is Rs 112 crore and out of which Rs 50 crore shall be made available to the H&UDD Department by the Relief & Rehabilitation Department and the demand for rest of the funds shall be put up through Planning & Development Department.

The areas to be brought under the augmentation and modernization of the drainage, sewerage system include SMC Mechanical City Drainage Division, SND 2nd Division Drainage, SMC City Drainage Civil Division, Sewerage and Drainage Circle Jammu besides the sewerage networks of UEED of Jammu and Kashmir and other Urban Local Areas of both the divisions as well as Lakes and Water Ways Development Authority.

Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar, Minister for R&B, Syed Altaf Bukhari, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Ashraf Mir besides heads of allied departments were present in the meeting.