Mir Farhat
SRINAGAR, Mar 10: To avert the repeat of September 2014-like deluge, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department has kick started preparations for digging first flood spill channel, skirting south to north on western side of the river Jhelum in the Valley.
The IFC officials said that the Central Government has okayed the digging of the channel for diversion of extra water of the Jhelum river.
Since the carrying capacity of Jhelum and other water streams has reduced due to continuous encroachment and failure of the Governments to de-slit them, the plan of the spill channel was mooted.
Now, the department is preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for construction of the channel to save Kashmir from similar flooding in the future.
“The Central Government has sought a Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the proposed mega project, estimated at Rs 20,000 crore, for construction of new flood channel to prevent any catastrophe in future here,” Chief Engineer IFC department Javeed Jafar told Excelsior.
The 80-km long Dogripora spill channel will be in addition to an existing one in Srinagar, though having less carrying capacity, and would divert water in the Jhelum from Dogripora in Sangam town, and carry it all the way to Wullar lake in Bandipora, bypassing Srinagar.
“It will take us around one year to complete DPR. Initially, we are seeking Rs 400 crore till it gets approved and it will be part of the project. We expect that this amount will be released by the end of next month,” Jaffer said, adding, the estimated cost is likely to increase after we incorporate all aspects including land acquisition.
“We have sought Rs 20 crore from Ministry of Water Resources for preparation of the DPR,” he said.
During last year’s floods, the unusual rainfall had led to a flow of about 2,500 cubic metres per second or cumec (about 88,277 cubic feet per second or cusec) in the Jhelum at Sangam, about 50 km upstream of Srinagar.
Just ahead of Srinagar, the peak flow was about 3,200 cumec. Within the city, the Jhelum can safely carry only about 900 cumec.
The existing flood channel in Srinagar was built following the floods of 1903. It was designed to handle about 481 cumec, but can now carry only about 100 cumec, he said.
Jhelum has the capacity to carry 25000-30000 cusecs of water while its flood channel can discharge up to 8,000 cusecs. However, during the floods, over one lakh cusecs of flood water passed through Jhelum, submerging habitations on its both sides.
“This channel can have capacity to discharge around 55,000 cusecs of waters during floods. After de-siltation, the main Jhelum river can cater to 45,000 cusecs and the spill channel upto 15,000 cusecs,” Jaffar said.
Earlier after floods, an expert committee from Central Ministry of Water Resources conducted a comprehensive study of the Jhelum flood plain and recommended construction of small storage facilities on various tributaries of the Jhelum.
The committee said these facilities could be used to generate power, and would also moderate the effect of flooding, if not prevent it altogether. However, the committee pointed out, the storage would need to be built in compliance with the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, which allows construction of flood storage only up to a maximum of 0.75 million acre feet.
After the floods, Department of Environment & Remote Sensing (DERS) and ISRO conducted a survey in which it warned that intensity and frequency of rainfall in the Himalayan region may increase in 2030’s, leading to another flood in Kashmir if the drainage system of Jhelum is not restored immediately.
“The DPR will also study impact of the channel on hydrology of Wullar lake and importantly the Indus Water Treaty,” the Chief Engineer said.
“We will incorporate previous studies on Jhelum, besides technical and environmental aspects of construction of the channel. For this, we will utilise services of subject experts to make the DPR comprehensive,” he said.
2.54 lakh private structures, more than Rs 6500 crore public infrastructure were devastated in the 2014 floods and around 300 people lost their lives besides rendering thousands of people homeless.
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