Think for the future
Kashmir witnessed a drought like situation for almost six month this summer. For almost half a year we have had no or very little rain and this meant that the entire water bodies in Kashmir valley were almost dry as no drop of additional water entered their periphery.
This meant that there was no challenge posed by these water bodies as no issue like threat of floods or dealing with excess water arose for the administration. The dry season also meant that the other rivers and tributaries that feed our agricultural lands as well were carrying very little water and as a reason the entire region was craving for a rainfall as many orchards and other agricultural lands could not be irrigated. In south Kashmir many paddy fields dried up owing to non-availability of water for irrigational purposes.
The shortfall in rains also meant that many areas across Kashmir valley went dry for even potable water. Protests and demonstrations have become the order of the day as people crave for water everywhere.
The government departments that have been entrusted to provide water for agricultural and other purposes had one argument that Jammu and Kashmir witnessed very little rainfall activity and as such the shortage of water has led to the situation.
These arguments proved a point that the water level in all our reservoirs was critically low even though Kashmir witnessed a huge snowfall during the winters and the snow accumulation in the higher reaches was above normal.
However, despite all this a downpour for mere two days means that a flood like situation is reached in many regions which include Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu, Ganderbal and various other parts in south Kashmir.
This situation means that a downpour that continues for mere two days swell our water bodies to the brink a situation like September 2014 like disaster comes to our mind instantly.
This may sound a bit scary but on ground the situation tells us that the carrying capacity of all our water bodies has reduced to such an extent that they are not able to accommodate the discharge from various rivulets and streams. This also points out to the fact that the planners here are more interested in implementing political agendas rather than working on administrative requirements.
Kashmir has witnessed devastation on many fronts. But the way floods ravaged through our streets and towns in September 2014 made various international bodies to realize that Kashmir needs a flood management programme.
That being the reason that the World Bank approved a flood management programme only to be shelved by the administrative authorities that too without even bothering to provide a reason for the same.
The WB funded project stressed on creating an alternate flood channel to save the region from future devastation, but the work on that front too has been shelved. This gives us a clear indication that the priority of the government lies elsewhere.
The construction of a workable flood channel is the need of the hour and this project should be on the priority list of the administration if the September 2014 deluge like situation is to be avoided in future.
KV Network
