Swell in Jhelum: No Lessons Learnt from 2014
Locals allege that cosmetic measures taken to protect Jhelum embankments
By: Our Special Correspondent
Srinagar: As the Jhelum ‘roared back to life’ following two days of relentless downpour, fear-stricken residents of Pampore and Srinagar once again found themselves staring at the spectre of floods.
Memories of September 2014—when swollen waters breached embankments and drowned entire neighbourhoods—came rushing back, rekindling an old question: Has anything really changed?
On Tuesday evening, at Frestabal in Pampore, anxious men stood along the weakened stretch of the riverbank, watching the restless current pound the mud embankments. Women carried bedding and essential belongings to safer places, while children clung to their mothers in visible distress.
“What you see here are just sandbags and loose soil. We were promised permanent embankments, dredging, and a flood channel. None of that has happened. These are cosmetic patches that won’t hold if the water rises another few feet,” said Ghulam Nabi Dar, a shopkeeper who lost his shop in the 2014 deluge.
Nearby, Zahida, a mother of three, recalled the nightmarish week of displacement eleven years ago.
“Our children still wake up crying when it rains heavily. The government only comes alive when the water rises. The rest of the year they forget us. How long will people live in fear?” she asked, hurriedly moving household items upstairs.
At Drangbal, farmers with fields abutting the river worried about crops already submerged.
“Our maize is gone. If the embankment gives way, the water will take our homes too. In 2014 we lost both. We cannot survive another such blow,” said Bashir Ahmad, a farmer in his fifties.
The administration, however, maintains it is “fully prepared.” An Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) engineer supervising work in Pampore said: “We have over one lakh sandbags stocked across Kashmir. Our men are deployed round the clock at the most vulnerable points. Boats have been requisitioned from SDRF for emergency evacuation. We are taking no chances.”
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, in an official statement, urged calm: “The water level is being monitored closely. Controlled releases are underway at key points. People should not panic; the administration has taken adequate measures.”
But these words find little resonance among the residents. “Officials come and stand here when cameras arrive. After that, we are left on our own. Flood management cannot be a seasonal drill—it has to be year-round,” said Abdul Rahman, an elderly resident of Kakapora.
Experts have repeatedly warned that Kashmir Valley remains highly vulnerable to floods due to unchecked construction in floodplains, deforestation in catchment areas, and incomplete dredging of the Jhelum. The 2014 deluge had submerged large parts of Srinagar city and displaced lakhs of people, exposing glaring lapses in preparedness.
Yet, over a decade later, little appears to have changed. The Jhelum’s carrying capacity has only marginally improved despite official claims of dredging. The proposed flood spill channel expansion remains stuck in files.
“We are staring at the same threat we faced in 2014. Unless structural measures—such as raising embankments, widening the flood spill channel, and scientific dredging—are taken, every spell of heavy rain will push the Valley to the edge,” said a water management expert.
For the people of Pampore and Srinagar’s riverine belts, the message is clear. “We don’t want sympathy visits after floods. We want prevention before floods,” said Zahida firmly, adjusting her scarf as she watched the swollen waters churn.
As the night fell and the Jhelum’s current throbbed louder in the rain-soaked darkness, locals braced themselves once again—haunted by the memories of 2014, and uncertain whether the promises of 2025 would be any different.
