Work on Khrew Nallah to being by September: Tehsildar
PAMPORE: Flash floods and heavy rain on Sunday night caused huge damage to paddy crops in two villages Wuyan and Munpora villages of Pampore area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
The locals from twin villages told Kashmir Reader that flash floods caused by heavy rains submerged standing paddy crops on hundreds of Kanals of land.
According to locals, the rainwater entered paddy fields after heavy rain causing a flood-like situation at Wuyan-Munpora agriculture land. They said the rainwater entered hundreds of kanals of land and created panic among the people. The Wuyan-Pampore road also came under rainwater which affected the movement of pedestrians.
They urged authorities for cleaning the stream to save their agricultural land from damage.
Talking to Kashmir Reader, Ilyas Ahmad Dar, a local of Pampore, said that heavy rains on Sunday night affected a huge area of agricultural land in their area.
“Eight years ago, the flood control department cut down many trees along the embankment of a stream with the aim to carry dredging in it,” he said, adding that the stream was not cleaned till this date.
He added that it has been cloaked due to the accumulation of garbage and other waste. He appealed to authorities of the flood control department for de-silting the stream.
Fayaz Ahmad Bhat of Wuyan said that hundreds of kanals of land have been affected due to the flash floods. “We have been facing the flash floods two to three times each year,” he said, adding that they were assured by authorities of the flood control department that the stream will be de-silted.
“We have moved from one office to another for past many years but to no avail,” he said, adding that they once again appeal to authorities for cleaning the stream so that rainwater will get a passage to move on.
Another farmer Mohammad Ameeen said that his 20 kanals of land has been affected by the flash flood. “We will not able to get anything from the affected crops,” he said, adding that they have suffered huge losses.
Tehsildar Zuber Ahmad Bhat along with his revenue team visited the area to take stock of the situation. He said that floods have been caused by heavy rains.
“Due to continuous rain last night, the water level increased in the stream which breached its embankments at many places,” he said, adding that the water inundated agricultural land in the area.
The tehsildar said he has talked to the AAE Flood Control Department and was informed that a DPR has already been approved for Khrew Nallah. The work on the Nallah will be started in September-October, he said.
The stream running through the area has accumulated a lot of silt due to which its water running capacity has been reduced, the tehsildar said, adding that the stream is running through five Panchayats and contribution from all five Panchayats under MGNREGA and DPR of Rs five lakh from flood control department will become around Rs 35 lakh.
“For starting work on the stream, it needs to be diverted and that will be possible in September -October,” he said, adding they hope a lot of improvement in the stream after September.