Details

Written by: Bilal Bashir Bhat

Category: ENVIRONMENT

Published: 04 July 2019

As Jammu and Kashmir battles one of the worst floods in decades, the main reason for this devastation are encroachment and growing shallowness of the Rivers, wetlands and streams in the valley.

The growing encroachments on the banks of one of the most prominent rivers in the state, the Jhelum that passes through Srinagar J&K. In 2005-06, the department of Irrigation and Flood Control launched a drive to remove encroachers along the Jhelum channel. However, the drive was not to manage the natural drainage of Srinagar but to beautify the river front. The waterbodies in Jammu are also under threat.

Every year flood alarms are reported from Jammu and Kashmir due factors like inadequate drainage systems, housing on flood plains, natural drains and river beds, loss of natural water storage areas, increasing shallowness/disappearance of rivers and wetlands. These factors demonstrate how rapid urbanisation in and around the city limits make flood events inevitable in the urban areas.

The growing shallowness of waterbodies in J&k decreases the water holding capacity in them and after one- or two-day rains, theses waterbodies swell up leading to flood fear among people. The (dredging) project would help to increase the carrying capacity of Jhelum and its flood spill channels, and other waterbodies. Almost all the wetlands have been silted up. These too need to be desilted. The Srinagar City itself is now in continuous danger of getting submerged with every sizeable flood. 

The River Jhelum which gave life to Kashmir has been vandalised and desecrated by us. The muck and filth of almost entire Kashmir is made to flow into the River. At present, the carrying capacity of Jhelum is around 27000 cusecs while that of the flood channel, is around 8000 cusecs. After the dredging and de-siltation is completed, the total capacity of the river and spill channel would increase to 45000 cusecs.

Sadly enough, unbridled urban development in recent decades has not only deprived the rivers and waterbodies of that pleasantness, but has turned them into a vast cesspool which receives untreated sewage from old Srinagar city and other districts. The historical channel Nala-i-Mar has been filled up and converted into a road. We have hardly left any space for the extra water to flow in anywhere.  In the catchment areas, most of the rain water would get absorbed but now it runs down straight as we have totally denuded the catchment area of the River.

In a detailed study of the lake, Wetlands International says that the original area of Wular Lake was 217.8 square km, which included 58 square km of associated marshes. The study says the area was reduced from 157.74 square km to 86.71 square km during 1911 to 2007.  Overall, there was reduction in the lake area by 45 percent mainly due to conversion of parts of the lake for agriculture, siltation and willow tree plantation.

The Himalayan wetlands play an important role in storing and cleaning water that flows into major rivers like the Indus, and act as a buffer between glacial melt waters and outflows to smaller rivers and streams. Any change to these wetlands will affect flooding and the availability of water for communities living in downstream river basins.

The Governor in a high-level meeting held recently had ordered the Secretary Irrigation and Flood Control to immediately start dredging of the River Jhelum and also strengthen its embankments. The process was directed to be completed in a given time frame and had also to be continuously monitored. But the waterbodies of Jammu and Kashmir are still waiting for desilting and drudging to prevent the future floods in Jammu and Kashmir.

The work of dredging has to be undertaken throughout the length of the River, especially, at Baramulla and Sopore in the downstream area and beyond Sangam in the upstream area. During Maharajas time there used to be a dredger permanently stationed in Baramulla.

It has been seen that most of the flood basins of the Rivers and other waterbodies have been fully silted or encroached upon. The Rivers and its spill over channel have not been dredged for decades leading to its reducing capacity of water. Apart from this the water shed of the River has been deforested thereby allowing the rain water to run off immediately after it falls. There is hardly any retention because of the denuded soil. It has also been observed that there is a definite climate change which has resulted in either very little precipitation sometimes while as some other times like during the start of the month of September, 2014, there is too much precipitation.

The iconic Dal Lake, Wular Lake, Haigam lake and Khushal Sar near Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir have fallen victim to unbridled development, with extensive encroachment, garbage dumping and the release of untreated sewage. The massive urban expansion in Srinagar and some major towns of Kashmir is also consuming the region’s wetlands. More than 50 percent of water bodies in Srinagar and its suburbs have been lost during the past century. Over the same period, the area of Srinagar grew 23 times and population 12 times.

Most of the water bodies in and around Srinagar and other districts have either disappeared or have shrunk due to encroachments. To restore all these will take quite some time. The immediate solution to save the Jammu and Kashmir from yet another disastrous flood would be immediate and sizeable dredging of the River Jhelum and other water bodies all along its length and strengthening of the embankments on the its two sides as it passes through the City. This task can be successful only if it is entrusted to a very resourceful agency with sufficient equipment and trained manpower. Piecemeal dredging here and there like recently done by a Calcutta based company in the Jhelum river will not solve the problem. 

The government has been brooding over many schemes for prevention of floods and protection for the city areas. However, the progress on ground is abnormally slow. The most important aspect is the dredging of the River and its flood spill over channel and strengthening of its embankments especially in the city of Srinagar a major portion of which was submerged in the last flood. During the short spell of Governor’s rule, the dredging operation had been started through some Kolkata based firm.

However, there were some mechanical problems and the fate of the project is not known. If one travels along the Bund in the city or along the embankments of the flood spill-over channel, nothing substantial seems to have been done. Instead, the dug-up soil is in huge mounds all along the channel. Just 10 feet of water will spill over the embankments.

Drudging/desilting of water bodies in J&K, Rehabilitation and restoration of the infrastructure even if delayed, will not be as fatal as neglecting measures for prevention of future floods. No one would like to be once again rehabilitated after yet another disastrous flood. People already rehabilitated have still not forgotten the nightmares of the last flood trauma.

In view of the climate trends and recurrent disasters, it is extremely important to address the underlying risks of floods in the Jammu and Kashmir. There is an urgent need to improve river flow by drudging and de-silt flood channels, conserve wetlands and provide effective early warning. Flood management in the region also has cross-boundary dimensions which need to be addressed. It is not possible to prevent floods, but its human and economic losses can certainly be reduced by implementing well identified measures.