Choked funds, choked water bodies
Without dredging, flood threat looms large as silt chokes rivers, flood channels
After the calamitous flood of September 2014, the rivers and flood channels of Kashmir were choked by silt. In the official analyses that followed, diverse authorities recommended additional flood channels in order to avoid a recurrence of the devastating floods.All these plans remain confined to files. The Government of India (GoI) has not provided funds required for this urgent project, pushing Kashmir toward dangers.
“Our department had proposed the development of a new flood channel in Kashmir at an expenditure of Rs 18,000 crore,” Chief Engineer of the Irrigation and the Flood and Irrigation Department, Mir Javed Jaffer said. “However, the government has sent the proposal back, asking the department to re-assess the project.”
Jaffer said GoI had taken the pretext of Indus Water Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 for ordering the re-assessment.
“The GoI has asked us to investigate the project within the ambit of the Indus Water Treaty, its effects on the lakes of Kashmir and the dams of the neighbouring country,” he said.
To increase the immediate water holding capacity of the flood channel, the department had proposed a plan costing Rs 390 crore.
The department estimated that this would increase the capacity of the channel from 35,000 cusec meters to 44,000 cusec meters.
“The department has an urgent need of Rs 390 crore for dredging the flood channel, and to connect the flood channel,” Jaffer said. “It is presently detached from Bemina to HMT for about 7 km and to connect this, the department has estimated an expenditure of Rs 190 crore of the Rs 390 crore.”
He said though GoI’s Ministry of Water Resources had approved the project some months back, not a single penny had been sent to Kashmir for this purpose.
This project is the part of main project of connecting water bodies and of making a new flood channel, which would increase the water holding capacity to 65,000 cusec meters.
“The department, on its own strength, has started dredging the Jhelum at three sites,” Jaffer said. “In Baramulla, two dredgers have been given the task of cleaning the silt, which had formed mini islands within the Jhelum.”
He said that the department had also earned Rs 7 crore revenue from it.
Due to encroachment on water bodies in Kashmir, the water retention capacity of flood channels has been severely compromised over the years.
Jaffer said the capacity of Wullar Lake to hold water in times of emergency had fallen by 30 percent.
Doodh Ganga can now hold water for only 16 hours while earlier its capacity extended to around 72 hours.
Similarly, Anchar Lake does not have the capacity to hold water now.
In August this year, a report prepared by the Department of Environment, Ecology and Remote Sensing in collaboration with Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO revealed that floods in Kashmir are a result of intense rainfall in the catchments over short period of time.
These were no lesser than cloud bursts.
The combined effect of such extreme rainfall due to climate change and the reduced capacity of the drainage system is that water overflows alarmingly, resulting in floods.
According to the report, “There were incessant rains on September 4 for 30 hours continuously. In three days, the rainfall touched 450 mm which was very unusual. On September 3, there was rainfall deficit of 32 percent. But on September 8, the rainfall showed excess of 18 percent that is a change of 50 percent in five days.”
Commenting on the report, noted environmentalist, Muhammad Shafi Bacha said the situation now is that continuous rains over 17 hours can submerge entire Kashmir.
He expressed regret that the natural water bodies with which God had bestowed Kashmir were disappearing now due to encroachment.
Expressing concern, Bacha said Wullar Lake, which used to be Asia’s second largest fresh water lake, has started shrinking.
The surface area of lake has shrunken by one third, and the lake has also become shallow.
“If the water bodies are not preserved, we are inviting floods,” Bacha warned. “It is regrettable that LAWDA and Wullar and Manasbal Development Authority are failed organizations, and have failed to protect Kashmir’s lakes.”
Jaffer too admitted that if the water level goes beyond 35,000 cusec meters, Kashmir will again witness massive floods.
He said the water-holding capacity of more than 55 percent of water bodies and wetlands has been severely compromised.
Jaffer said to avoid any other future destruction from floods, the government was thinking of creating mini storages on river tributaries in order to store water during a flood-like situation.
The government does not seem to have learnt a lesson from September 2014 floods.
Even now, they are thinking of clearing the silt from flood channels and rivers.
This year alone, the government announced a flood-like emergency thrice.
No remedial measures have been taken, and the next emergency may also be declared without any preparation.
Jaffer admitted that the circumstances were the same as in September 2014.
The residents of Jawahar Nagar, Bemina, Sonwar and Rajbagh areas said whenever it rains for more than 12 hours, they get panicky.
They said it was unfortunate that the government had not taken any initiative in cleaning the River Jhelum and flood channels.
The youth living in the area said in such circumstances, there cannot be any progress or development.
They pinned hopes on the Prime Minster, Narendra Modi’s visit onNovember 7 and said it was high time GoI and the State focused on sustainable development of Jammu and Kashmir.
Although, the GoI has for the past one year not come to the rescue of the flood-affected people, Modi is likely to announce a Rs 2500 crore to Rs 3000 crore for their rehabilitation.
