On Friday and Saturday, the Valley was again on the brink of another flood. Two days were an unmitigated nightmare. It was for the umpteenth time since 2014 apocalyptic September deluge, we were again bracing for a repeat. What started as spasms of vernal showers soon turned into long uninterrupted spells of a gentle, noiseless rain that brought Jhelum to the point of spilling over its embankment into Srinagar. This so, even when people are dealing with the still unfolding fallout of the last flood and the businesses and the lives that were shattered by it are still on the rebound.
There was, as a result, an understandable alarm in the city. The silent incessant rain played on the worst fears of the people. Scarred by the last experience, most residents stayed awake on the first night fearing river might catch them off guard as it had done in 2014. But as the rainfall continued, many residents living in colonies alongside Jhelum were getting ready for the worst. Shopkeepers in Lal Chowk were similarly alarmed, worried sick about their merchandise which was turned into slush.
This has created a deeply disturbing situation in Valley. Still recovering from the last deluge, we are reminded of our hapless vulnerability to flooding whenever there are two or more days of uninterrupted rain in a warmer climate. More so, in Srinagar whose new-found susceptibility to flood threatens to put a question mark on its viability as a summer capital. That is, unless we conceive and execute a course of action that drastically reduces this vulnerability.
If anything, it highlights how little has been done by way of infrastructure building to protect the Valley against flood. Less than two days of rain creates flood-like conditions. What it means is that in the past four years, we have not been able to increase the capacity to brave one more day of rain. The legitimate question to ask is what was the previous government doing in these years. Or what has the dredging of Jhelum and the repairing of its embankments done in terms of enhancing our capability to resist the flood.
Now, what if the Valley once again experiences the uninterrupted two to three-day rainfall? Considering the erratic weather this year, such a prospect isnt unlikely. What is doubtful is the state governments ability to face up to this. And largely because the previous government has built little defense against an extended incessant rainfall. Can Jhelum carry now more water than it did few years earlier? Not at all. Similarly, can the spill channel carry the more excess discharge than it did in 2014? The answer is again no. This is a dangerous state of affairs to be in. One can only hope that the new government understands the enormity of challenge and sets about in right earnest building our defences against a repeat of the Friday’s scare, which could sooner than we are prepared for.
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