Every time it rains Srinagar gets panicky. A few centimeters of rainfall can put life out of gear and turn business streets into rivulets. Syed Asma reports the waterlogged lives

Waterlogged Hari Singh High Street. Pic: Bilal Bahadur
Waterlogged Hari Singh High Street.
Pic: Bilal Bahadur

“Dewatering is no solution,” shouted a shopkeeper in Lal Chowk, after fire tenders were seen roaming in the city centre to clear the water logged roads. “Mufti sahib must be coming again!” said someone sarcastically in the background. He provides the context, “last time he [Chief Minister] visited Lal chowk the water was pumped out on immediate basis.” And this time over (last week) as well water was pumped out before he arrived.

“The Chief Minister commands respect, that is true,” he further elaborates mockingly, “but we can’t get a VVIP every time to get rid of waters.”

Since September 2014, Lal chowk was inundated twice. The first time was when the river Jhelum breached near Abi Guzar and the second time it was due to water logging, which is worth explanation.

 Why is Srinagar inundated by storm waters [rain run-off]?

Perhaps because, “only 30 percent of the city possesses drainage system,” says Ishtiyaq Ahmed Shah, Superintendent Engineer, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, “rest we are working on.”

The drainage system of the city is in shambles and poor co-ordination between different engineering departments is cited as one of the reasons.

It is said that in 2005 when the cabinet ordered devolution of SMC from Committee to Corporation, all the engineering wings operating within the municipal limits of Srinagar had to operate under the umbrella of SMC but it did not happen. Only a part of UEED, catering drainage was shifted under SMC which created the mess!

Lal chowk, the heart of the city, has no drainage network, says an officer in SMC wishing anonymity. “It has no drainage system and a bit which exists is of no use because it cannot cater to such a huge area.”

The network is too poor and a comprehensive drainage system is needed. The officer suggests to build a couple of deep drains some places like residency road (near State Bank of India), Polo View and Regal Chowk to prevent the water logging in the area which is irksome for the trespassers as well as the shopkeeper.

A well connected surface drains to deep drains is the only solution for water logging in the area, the official suggests.

“In September 2014 floods, we accept that the damage was uncontrollable but now even light rainfalls seem to have the potential to cause a damage of similar magnitude,” said a shopkeeper.

The shopkeepers in the city centre are aghast and distressed. “We are in strange dilemma. The new arrived stocks are in our homes and godowns and due to scare of floods [water logging] in the area we can’t get them here [in shops],” says Ghulam Ahmed Wani, a shop owner in the city centre.

The dilemma is now taking a toll on their business and temporary de-watering is no solution, they say. A proper drainage network is the only way-out for storm waters [run-off of rain].

City already had poor, almost non-existent, drainage system but the recent September 2014 floods deteriorated its condition further. The existent deep drains or sub-drains need now to be revamped because the slit and the mud [after the floods] has shrunken their area and thus reduced their carrying capacity. They frequently overflow now.

Examples being the areas like Raj Bagh, Nawa Kadal, Jawahar Nagar, Bemina, Safa Kadal, Dalgate, Pantha Chowk and Mahjoor Nagar. The residents complain that the rain water enters into their houses because of clogged drains or open drains in these areas.

Besides, a general revamping is much needed in the overall drainage system. The existing drainage system is said to be designed and implemented in the times of former Prime Minister of Kashmir Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed. Four decades down the line no significant up-gradation has taken place.

One of the apt examples to explain the condition of the city’s drainage system is the ‘Green sewer’ that drained storm water out of commercial pockets of Srinagar like Lal Chowk and Jahangir Chowk. It is 1.9-km-long and is believed to be 100-year-old.

“How long will it serve us?” asks the SMC official, “though it is still relevant and can work with same efficiency but it is not maintained and cleaned properly.”

The hindrance that comes in place for proper maintenance is its depth and perhaps the location. The Green sewer is 15 feet deep and is located beneath the premises of the High Court.

Though Ishtiyaq Ahmed Shah says that the work on new drains is on, the experts criticize SMC’s role for not upgrading the existing system.

They believe, “when the department was transferred to SMC, they were supposed to upgrade the drains, instead of taking up new projects.”

Since 1979 till 2014, only 196.902 km of main [deep] drains have been constructed and 179.329 km are pending. Besides, 62.314 km of sub-main drains are built against the requirement of 147.782 km and 43.46 km exist while as 96.029 km is included in the new plan.

Defunct drainage triggers waterlogging in Lal Chowk whenever it downpours. Pic: Bilal Bahadur
Defunct drainage triggers waterlogging in Lal Chowk whenever it downpours.
Pic: Bilal Bahadur

The data is shared by the Superintendent Engineer’s (SE) office in Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) but includes the work done since inception of UEED. SMC has been tackling city drainage system since 2005 but do not have their separate work sheet.

Pertinently, it was UEED, from 1979 to 2005, which handled the drainage and the sewerage of the two major cities, Jammu and Srinagar. Presently they only cater to sewerage and since NBCC and ERA took the major two sewerage project of the two cities UEED’s role has been reduced to mere coordination.

The drainage system, whatsoever exists, is in downtown. The expanded city, uptown and outskirts, do not have any drainage system and thus often experience water logging in their localities.

“It is really irksome!” says Mehraj Ahmed, a resident of Lal Bazar, “there are no surface drains in our area, let alone deep drains. Rainfall for a few continuous hours makes it difficult to get out from the house.”

The officials in the concerned department have surfaced tender notices and are planning to build surface drains in these areas, besides have started taking actions against encroachments on the irrigation canals.

“The uptown or the newly built up city is basically developed over paddy fields and has thus encroached upon the irrigation canals,” says an engineer on duty while driver against encroachment is on.

He adds, “We are planning to use these irrigation canals to lay down the pipes which will help to get rid of water logging in the area. The project is time consuming but will show its results in some time.”

The other reason engineers believe is worsening the drainage scenario in the city is a non-local heading the department.

 “To understand the topography of any area, you need to be a local or need to have a very good understanding of the area at least,” says an UEED official, “but it has been more than a decade that departments handling drainage and sewerages have been headed by a non-local boss.”

Srinagar has a different topography. Different localities are located on different contours. The experts say that apart from surface drains and sub drains, pumping station is a very important constituent of the drainage system in the city. “In the area lying on different contours, gravity plays a minor role to drain off the waters; pumping stations need to be constructed at regular intervals.”

Besides, continuous electricity supply is a necessity. “Most of our pumping stations do not have continuous supply of electricity, not even during the heavy rainfall,” says an SMC officer.

He opines, if the pumping stations are continuously put on during rainfall, no water logging will take place.

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Syed Asma completed her masters in journalism from the Islamic University, Awantipore, in 2010. After working with Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Times, she joined Kashmir Life in February 2011. She covered politics, society, gender issues and the environment. In 2016, she left journalism to pursue her M Phil from the University of Kashmir. She is presently pursuing PhD.

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