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| Taj blames Centre's indifference, land fill of flood channels for Kashmir floods | | | Early Times Report
srinagar, Oct 2: Jammu and Kashmir Government is now attempting to shift blame on the Centre as a senior Minister in Omar Government has maintained that eventhough J&K Government had apprehension of devastating floods but a report submitted to the Centre a few years back, found no response.
However, the Congress Minister in the coalition Government Taj Mohi-ud-Din blamed local authorities for encroachment of outlets for commercial and other purposes.
Taj said a detailed report about the threat of devastating flood was submitted to the Centre when he was Public Health Engineering (PHE) and Flood and Irrigation (F&I) Minister few years back.
He said the report was based on scientific and other investigations which had clearly suggested that there would be devastating flood in the Valley.
"But we did not get any response from the Centre," he alleged.
He said if we have to meet the challenge of similar floods in future, the Centre has to consider the report so that preventive measures were taken.
However, he said, during the period he was PHE and F&I Minister, he ordered drudging of river Jhelum and its tributarites. It was because of this drudging that there were no floods even when the water level was 10 feet above danger mark in the river.
He said he also ordered drudging in flood channel Ram Bagh for increasing its capacity.
"We had apprehension during the past few years that there would be major floods in the Valley," he said, adding that this time flood devastated everything, including summer capital and nothing could be done.
Taj said," We watched water level increasing, entering our houses, offices and hospitals."
He was very critical of allowing landfill of water bodies for use of commercial and other purposes in the Valley, including Srinagar.
"We had Doodganga channel passing through the city, particularly uptown areas," the Minister said adding that Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) filled it and constructed commercial complexes without even considering its implications.
Later, other private persons also filled the rest of the water channel and used it for commercial and other purposes, thus closing the water body, he said adding that now there was even no sign of this water body as there is only a big underground drain. Taj said similarly other water bodies, including nallhas, were filled and illegally occupied by vested interests. |
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