| Flood declared in south Kashmir as Jhelum crosses danger mark | | Water-logging in Srinagar, SMC in slumber | |  Saahil Suhail/Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Anantnag/Srinagar, June 29: Due to continuous rain from the last two days, the gauge at Sangam-Bijbehara in south Kashmir's Anantnag district crossed flood declaration level of 21 feet at 6 pm on Friday.
The Irrigation and Flood Control department issued an advisory and requested the habitations residing along the embankments of Jhelum and low lying of south Kashmir to remain vigilant.
Besides, the department has directed the staff deputed on flood duty in south Kashmir to report to their respective sector and beats.
Earlier on Friday, the tributaries of Jhelum including Lidder and Nallah Vaishu had also crossed flood mark and were flowing over it.
Nallah Vaishu in Kulgam district had washed away Ashthal-Kulgam diversion fallowing the district administration issued advisory and setup a helpline.
"We have kept men and machinery ready to tackle any kind of emerging situation due to inclement weather," Deputy Commissioner Kulgam Sajjad Hussain said after conducting a tour of different flood prone areas.
The Deputy Commissioner said that he directed all concerned departments to stay in touch with all village level committees which have been constituted specifically for helping administration in such situations.
By the evening flood water had partially submerged Anantnag-Kulgam road at Qaimoh.
In Anantnag, incessant rainfall caused huge water logging water problem in places like Ganiwara, Mattan Chowk and Dangerpora.
Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Mohammad Younis Malik along the Irrigation and Flood Control department officers of visited the affected areas and directed them to start dewatering of such areas.
Congress Leader Hilal Ahmad Shah also visited the affected areas and impressed upon the district administration to ensure the safety of people and property by initiating prompt actions including dewatering
Meanwhile, continuous rains on Friday brought down the mercury level and caused heavy water-logging in Srinagar city thereby exposing fragile drainage facility in the summer capital.
The low-lying areas in Srinagar city situated closer to the water channels face the problem of water-logging. The locals complained that the inundation was mainly due to the lack of proper drainage system in the city.
"Whenever it rains, the lanes get inundated. One can't even think of stepping out of home," said Showkat Ahmad resident of HajiAbad Bemina.
Residents complained that the issue is persistent but the authorities do not bother to address it effectively.
Reports said that different areas of Srinagar including the city centre Lal Chowk remained submerged after continuous rains throughout the day on Friday.
Inhabitants accused that water-logging in Lal Chowk, Residency Road, Jehangir Chowk, Batamaloo, Karan Nagar and many other areas once again exposed the tall claims of authorities about the drainage system in the summer capital.
Water-logging of roads was also witnessed at Exhibition Crossing, Hari Singh High Street, Ram Bagh, Hyderpora, Padshahi Bagh, Kursoo Raj Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, Natipora, Lal Bazaar, Achanambal, Pandrethan, Iqbal colony, Sonawari, Lasjan, Naveedabad, Batamaloo Bypass, Babademb, Samandarbagh, Khanyar, Aali Masjid, Braripora in Nawa Kadal, Safa Kadal and Soura.
Khalid Ahmad, a Batamaloo resident said that in spite of prediction for rain, authorities were unprepared to handle water logging. "Despite knowing that the flood situation may occur, the authorities did not take any serious step for de-watering in low-lying areas," he said.
People in different parts of city were also seen up in arms against the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) for failing to reach out to the waterlogged areas especially Lal Chowk which caused inconvenience to commuters, drivers and shopkeepers. Residents said the problem of water-logging seems an unending process. They said even after a slight rainfall the roads turn into small streams.
"SMC comes into action when everything is submerged and people suffer immensely. They should take a serious note of it as we have been suffering for so long," said Ahmad, a resident of Lal Chowk.
"Our business is suffering badly due to waterlogging. A few customers visited my shop my today. Rain might be one of the reasons but the road was completely waterlogged and we were not able to move," said Hussain Ahmad, a shopkeeper in Lal Chowk.
Authorities of SMC said the men and machinery were already on job to dewater the waterlogged areas. |
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