Drainage overhaul must deliver results

Srinagar’s drainage crisis is no longer an occasional inconvenience but a growing urban vulnerability. The Chief Minister’s decision to order a time-bound, five-year overhaul of the city’s stormwater drainage system is therefore both necessary and overdue. The numbers presented by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation are revealing. The city has around 680 km of stormwater drainage but faces a projected deficit of nearly 2,500 km under Master Plan 2035. Worse, around 15 per cent of the existing network is already functioning below optimum hydraulic capacity because of inadequate dimensions, ageing infrastructure, silt and solid-waste ingress. These shortcomings become painfully visible after even a few hours of heavy rainfall. The proposed immediate measures like desilting drains, removing blockages, lifting waste daily, addressing missing links, installing mechanical screens and ensuring backup power at dewatering stations must be implemented as a routine system rather than activated only during crises. The proposed Detailed Project Report should likewise become the foundation of an integrated drainage strategy, not another document that remains on paper. However, infrastructure alone cannot solve Srinagar’s waterlogging problem. Rapid and poorly managed urbanisation has weakened natural drainage corridors, while indiscriminate disposal of polythene, plastic and other waste continues to choke existing drains. Conservation of lakes and natural waterways must consequently be treated as essential drainage infrastructure, not merely as an environmental concern. Most importantly, implementation needs measurable deadlines, clear departmental responsibility and regular public reporting. Funding constraints cannot become an excuse for indefinite delays. Srinagar needs a drainage system designed for the city it is becoming, not the city it was decades ago. The government has identified the problem and outlined a roadmap. The real test now is whether this roadmap produces visible results before the next major spell of rainfall exposes the same weaknesses again.