KL Report
SRINAGAR
An officer associated with the water-logging management in the city said their worry is not that the surging river will overflow the embankments but the weak treatments to the September 2014 breaches may give in and create a crisis.
“We had been telling the Irrigation & Flood Control department to take care of the massive breaches on the two banks of the river for all these months,” an officer speaking on the condition of anonymity said. “We had been arguing that the water level in the river usually remains manageable till March and these breaches must be taken care of during this period as levels will go up with spring, but it was not taken seriously.”
There has been some temporary restoration but the quality of these interventions is weak. Some have already started giving in. In fact, there has been a minor breach somewhere near Bemina and the officials are busy plugging it. The high volumes that the river is coming down with can damage the temporary fillings of the September breaches especially in the heart of the city and around Sonawar.
They said their attention is divided between two fronts – water logging and embankment supervision. Most of the city is water logged as drainage systems are reportedly clogged.
Jhelum is flowing down steadily but surely with higher volumes. The gauge statistics released by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department at 3 pm, suggest the Sangam was at 14.25 ft, Ram Munishi Bagh at 13.90 ft and Asham at 8.75 ft. Tension is visible in area of Mehjoor Nagar, Raj Bagh, Kursoo and even in Lal Chowk and Bemina. There are rumours flying around on the other side of Pampore too.
Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed who flew from Delhi to Srinagar with Dr Haseeb Drabu joined his four ministers. They, however, refused to interact with the media, so far.
