WE THE PEOPLE
Cosmetic treatment to river Jehlum is not the real answer and can’t avert flood threat to valley of Kashmir
Hence people demand its dredging and of allied channels to improve their discharging capacities to ensure safety to life and property
By: M. Shirjeel
SRINAGAR: With peculiar hydraulic characteristics, special care and caution is required to tame rivers and Nallahs to allow safe passage to high discharges of flow without endangering lives and property of lakhs of people living in the valley of Kashmir. Hence cosmetic treatment to embankments of the river in the city of Srinagar is not the answer to the burning problem of floods, especially when estimated flood discharge is much higher than the present capacity of the river. It is learnt that huge sums of money have been spent on the Beautification Project so far, but experts question the logic behind the project. They lay stress on taking-up such works which could contribute towards improvement of the discharging capacity of the river so that it is fit to carry any flood discharge without endangering the Kashmir population. It would be ideal to start dredging of the Out-fall channel in Baramulla district so that the suction power of the river gets improved. It is this very power which enables water-bodies to develop more velocity and improve the capacity without overtopping the embankments. The bunds need to be strengthened wherever there is apprehension of getting the hydraulic gradient exposed. Moreover, laying spurs at curves could help in minimizing scouring and siltation.
It is worth mentioning that dredging of river Jehlum was taken-up at the Out-fall channel during sixties and heavy machinery was purchased and installed at the Out-fall channel to dredge the silted material and the work continued for long, but it was later abandoned for the reasons not known. It was the right step to improve the discharging capacity of the river as it has lost the same over the years. The experts had suggested that sufficient dredging of the channel be done and later the same process be adopted wherever shoal formation has taken place along the riverbed from Khanabal to Khadinyar. It had also been suggested that slender sections of the embankments be strengthened so that water pressure is easily resisted without failure of the banks. There is a tendency among some people to cut the outer slope of the embankments and construct structures on such areas acquired illegally. This has led to the failure of the embankments on number of occasions and resulted in mass scale inundation of residential areas. There are also some allied channels which take-off from the river, especially in the city of Srinagar, which need to be dredged and improved to render them fit to carry the flood discharge. It is a fact that lot of encroachments have taken place over the past years in the said channels which need to be removed on war-footing basis.
“It is beyond our comprehension as to how the Engineers in-charge Flood Control Department have chosen to beautify the river and not concentrated on such works which could improve its discharging capacity. Perhaps they are not aware of the fact that the river has lost its capacity over the past several decades and is not capable to carry the expected flood discharge. Some experts had calculated the volume of water that is expected during high floods and had suggested several measures to tackle the situation. They were aware of the devastation that is likely to occur in case the river section is not improved. We must give credit to those Engineers who had constructed Flood Spill Channel, Chuti Khul, Kut Khul and Sunri Khul to bye-pass floodwaters whenever the river would be in spate. They had anticipated the volume of destruction that could come into play in case the floodwaters would overtop the embankments and submerge the city population. The present Engineers seem to be oblivious of the scenario that is likely to come into play when the river will be running full. Lot of encroachments have taken place all along the banks of the river both upstream and downstream of the city of Srinagar which need removal without any mercy. There are also huge shoal formations at number of places which need to be removed to enhance the carrying capacity of the river”, said a group of elderly persons of Kashmir Valley.
Hence people demand its dredging and of allied channels to improve their discharging capacities to ensure safety to life and property of lakhs of people living in the valley of Kashmir. The authorities must concentrate on improving the discharging capacity of the river along with city channels. Durability must take precedence over beautification to avert flood threat to Kashmir population. The common masses cannot anticipate the amount of destruction that is likely to unfurl if encroachments are not stopped and measures adopted to improve the discharging capacity of the river without any further loss of time.
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