Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 12: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference general secretary Ali Mohd Sagar today slammed the administration for its failure to handle the situation after rains in Kashmir.
While expressing concern over the widespread inundation of low lying areas across Kashmir especially the Srinagar city, Sagar said that the failure of the Government to carry out routine desiltation of drains was one of the reasons why the low lying areas took no time to get inundated.
“As part of new normal which is in vogue at present, the Government has not taken a comprehensive review on civic conditions across Kashmir including that of the summer capital itself, the present situation is an outcome of the continued negligence of administration. Previously also, the administration had miserably failed to live up to the expectations of the people during the preceding winter months. It has become a routine of the bureaucracy to respond in a reactionary manner rather than having emergency plans in place to deal with such weather vagaries,” he said.
Remarking on the failure of the Government to up-grade the present urban infrastructure in Kashmir, Sagar said the number of pump stations across Kashmir have seen no increase to meet the demands of the population across the city. He stated that the situation in the heart of the city, the Lal Chowk and other urban nerve centers around it debunked the tall claims of the concerned agencies on the so-called renaissance of Srinagar.
The black topping which was carried out during the autumn months last year didn’t even last for a fortnight and wore down within a few days after being laid leading to innumerous potholes, depressions, and cracks, he added. The tons of slush and run off on city roads can help us gauge the gravity of problems faced by people in rural areas across Kashmir, he added.
Sagar said the phased flood management plan on river Jhelum despite huge budgetary allocations was yet to pick up. “The work was supposed to be done on war-footing seeing the devastation the 2014. But the Government seems to have dumped the mega project. The annual desiltation and dredging of the small rivulets, ponds, swamps, irrigation canals and lagoons in Srinagar and elsewhere, is not on the to-do list of the Government,” NC leader said.
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