Needed a flood management policy
Kashmir witnessed a drought like situation for almost six month. 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.
Similarly, 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 had become the order of the day as people craved 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 meant that a flood like situation reached in many regions which include Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu, Ganderbal and various other parts in south Kashmir. Even in Srinagar, authorities announced an alert on Friday as the Jhelum started to show its real colours.
This situation means that a downpour that continued for mere two days swelled our water bodies to the brink and the danger mark was about to be breached and the region was well about to witness yet another September 2014 like disaster.
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.
