| What if floods hit Kashmir valley again? | | Schemes approved post-2014 floods kept unutilized, preparedness goes for a toss | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, May 11: With incessant rains lashing Kashmir Valley and weather department predicting more showers in coming days, chances are high that the region would be at the brink of yet another flood-like situation. The present scenario has also given put under the radar flood preparedness measures of the dispensation on which hundreds of crores are claimed to have been spent since 2014.
After 2014 catastrophic floods struck Kashmir, there were scores of centrally sponsored schemes approved to avoid another cycle of floods in Valley. The proposals approved for avoiding nature’s fury include dredging of the main rivers, increasing their carrying capacity and also restoring the small tributaries and nallahs.
Six years later when a flood like situation has been knocking the doors of the already wretched Kashmir Valley, officials seem to have woken from the deep slumber finding the schemes and proposals unimplemented and the region once again at god’s mercy.
As per the report, in the floods of September 2014, Srinagar and adjoining districts were the most affected areas. The heavy rainfall resulted in huge water discharge in the Jhelum river exceeding the carrying capacity of the river and its flood channels. This combined with blocked flood channels and inadequate flood control measures triggered floods with devastating effect. The flood spill channels with the original carrying capacity of 17,000 cusecs of water had been reduced to a carrying capacity of 4,000 cusecs of water due to accumulation of sediment load from various nallahs which merge with the channel at various points. To address this issue, a scheme for improvement to flood spill channel by way of construction of central channel of small cross-section was taken up in the year 2008-09 by the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department at an estimated cost of Rs14.93 crore. Subsequently, this was subsumed in the year 2010-11 under the ‘Flood Threat to River Jhelum Scheme’ at an estimated cost of Rs 50.68 crore.
Similarly, reveal the official documents, against 11,947 metres and 11,78,331 cubic metres of flood spill channel required to be treated and excavated respectively as per the DPR of the scheme, only 8,087 metres (68 per cent) and 5,05,995.13 cubic metres (43 per cent) were treated and excavated respectively.
Documents reveal that Rs 9.20 crore was utilized on the construction of structures at Wullar lake and miscellaneous items which were not approved in the DPR. No Objection Certificate (NOC) was required to be obtained from wetland authorities for the execution of construction works in wetland areas falling under the area of implementation of the scheme. The requisite NOC was not obtained prior to start of the work. Consequently, construction of drainage channel covering 1,641 metres, allotted in July 2011 to a contractor for an amount of Rs 1.44 crore could not be completed due to objection raised against the construction by the wetland authorities. As a result, 2,07,172 cubic metres of earth could not be excavated from the wetland area and the wetland continued to remain filled with silt despite an expenditure of Rs 27.97 lakh incurred on the project.
“It is extremely concerning that after such havoc was wrecked by the floods in the year 2014, the government and those at the helm seem to have learnt no lessons. At present, no preventive measures have been taken and we are at the same place where we were prior to September 2014 floods in Kashmir. It merits concern and must be investigated at the higher level,” says a senior official of flood and irrigation department in Kashmir. |
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