Anantnag: The government in Kashmir is yet to complete even the Phase-1 of its ‘short-term measures’ of flood mitigation strategy, even as there has been no headway on funding for the Phase-2 by the central government, some six years after the strategy was formulated after 125 meetings between officials at the state and centre.
The flood mitigation strategy was chalked out soon after the devastating, unprecedented floods of September 2014 in Kashmir valley. It was approved after 125 meetings with officials of the central government in May 2015.
The strategy was divided into three parts: the immediate measures, the short-term measures, and the long-term measures. “In the immediate measures, the department plugged some 3320 breaches and restored around 1235 spots along the length of Jhelum, soon after the floods,” a source in the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department of Kashmir told Kashmir Reader.
The source said that these immediate measures were more or less completed by the department in time. The short-term measures, meanwhile, were divided into two categories, Phase-1 and Phase-2.
“While Phase-1 is incomplete, the Phase-2 is yet to be started,” the source said.
Phase-1, also named as the ‘priority flood management project’, was meant for urgent works, “which could be executed immediately with visible effect on ground.”
“This phase included land acquisition, retaining wall on banks of Jhelum from Khannabal to Baramulla, a crate wall, length of revetment on Jhelum from Khannabal to Baramulla, bridges on FSC Shariefabad/ Naidkhai, dredging of River Jhelum, earth work cutting on flood spill channel in Shariefabad/ Naidkhai, and other surveys and investigations,” the source, giving out details of Phase-1, said.
Besides, the source said, the rejuvenation of Hokersar Wetland was also included in this phase. The official record shows progress of more than 90 percent in at least two of the works, 100 percent in one, above 80 percent in two, and more than 50 percent in other cases – in March 2019 – and the I&FC department maintains that the Phase-1 will be completed in March this year.
“We are on it. The Phase-1 will be completed in March this year,” Chief Engineer of I&FC, Iftikhar Ahmad Kakroo, told Kashmir Reader.
Sources, however, maintain that it will be a longer wait than that.
“Work is yet to be started on the rejuvenation of Hokersar Wetland. Besides, other work is nowhere near completion,” the source said.
The Phase-2, meanwhile, is also hanging in balance as there has been no headway in the funding process for the project. In Phase-2, the department is supposed to increase the carrying capacity of Jhelum River from 31000 cusecs to 60,000 cusecs between Sangam in south Kashmir and Padshahi Bagh in Srinagar.
“The water is supposed to be bifurcated at Padshahi Bagh where the flood spill channel will carry 17000 cusecs and the remaining 43000 cusecs will flow through Jhelum onwards,” the source said.
He said that the main work to be conducted in this second phase has been divided into raising of banks, re-sectioning of Flood Spill Channel from offtake at Padhshahi Bagh to its entry in Wullar, re-sectioning of Doodh Ganga diversion channel up to Narkara Numbal and of its outfall channel, widening of outfall channel from Sopore to Baramulla, construction of flood channel for efficient drainage of flood water, and anti-erosion works in the tributaries of the River Jhelum.
“The project was approved under Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) with fund sharing of 70:30 between the center and state,” the source said.
However, more than two years have passed and the state government has not been able to get any funding on this second phase, leaving Kashmir vulnerable to yet another 2014-like flood.
“The case, I feel, has not been put forth in a desired manner,” the highly placed source said, adding that the “long-term measures” for mitigation of flood remain a distant dream as the short-term measures remain either pending or as non-starters.
The source said that a flood in such a scenario in Kashmir will be as devastating as the one in 2014, if not more. “We have technically done almost nothing to mitigate a flood threat. The immediate measures and the Phase-1 of short-term measures are not going to suffice until the carrying capacity of Jhelum River is increased, at least,” the source said.
Kakroo, when asked about the funding from the central government, acknowledged that the department has received none thus far. He did not give any reasons about the delay, however.

Suhail A Shah