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| Why were ONGC special dewatering pumps not used in Srinagar? | | |
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Sept 25: While dozens of commercial and residences areas in summer capital Srinagar are still waiting to be freed of water-logging so that the people could start rebuilding their businesses and households, why were the special dewatering pumps flown in by the ONGC sent back and not used?
Almost all the installed dewatering pump stations in Srinagar have been rendered non-functional because these were flooded and damaged. The entire dewatering process in inundated areas in the city is presently being done by making cuts in the embankments of Jhelum River and the flood channel. Whatever is mechanically being drained out of water-logged areas is being done by pumps of the state fire services department.
Luckily, the water level in Jhelum River and the flood channel is presently lower than that in water-logged residential and commercial areas of Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Gogjibagh, Wazirbagh, Bemina and Shivpora. This is helping drainage of the flood waters through cuts made in the Jhelum River and the flood channel. Dozens of fire services pumps being used to drain out water from areas in Srinagar are doing a good job. The local fire services department has being doing a commendable job to help drain water out of areas those still are under two feet of water in Srinagar city. But, the real problem is that no fire service pump anywhere in the World is meant to be used for dewatering.
These pumps are actually used to draw out water from water points and water sources to doze flames in areas those are engulfed by accidental fires. Therefore, the water draining capacity of these pumps is very limited.
To address this problem, the ONGC sent special water drainage pumps to Srinagar a few days back. These special pumps have the capacity to drain out huge amounts of water from water-logged areas and free these areas of stagnate waters within hours.
After the state mechanical department which is supposed to operate these special pumps failed to operate these pumps, the ONGC has now taken these backs as they were not used for the emergency for which they had been flown into the city.
This is an administrative failure during a natural calamity that cannot be pardoned in any case. The least the State Government can now do is fix responsibility as to why the ONGC pumps were never used for the purpose for which they had been flown in emergency to Srinagar.
The sooner such a responsibility is fixed the better for an administration that has been battling to assure residents of Srinagar city that the Government is trying to do everything possible to remove water-logging from inundated areas in the city. Flood has receded for more than 15 days now. But Srinagar is still inundated. Who is to blame? |
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