Omar reviews drainage system of Srinagar city

Srinagar, Aug 27: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the drainage sector of Srinagar city, with a focus on addressing waterlogging, strengthening stormwater infrastructure and putting in place both immediate and long-term measures to improve the city’s drainage resilience.
Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Fazlul Haseeb gave a detailed presentation on the drainage profile of Srinagar and outlined a comprehensive five-year integrated roadmap to address the key infrastructural and environmental challenges affecting stormwater management in the city.
The presentation highlighted that Srinagar currently has around 680 km of stormwater deep drainage network, while the city faces a deficit of nearly 2,500 km of drain length in view of future development envisaged under Master Plan 2035. Around 15 per cent of the existing stormwater network is presently not functioning at optimum hydraulic capacity due to inadequate drain dimensions, ageing infrastructure, silt deposition and solid-waste ingress. The review also highlighted the impact of rapid urbanisation on the city’s natural drainage system and stressed the need for conservation and restoration of remaining natural drainage corridors.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that, to the best extent possible, the drainage system must be strengthened so that the city does not face inundation after few hours of rainfall.
He directed SMC to adopt the proposed short-term measures as its Standard Operating Procedure and ensure its timely implementation. He further directed that whenever an alert regarding high precipitation is received, SMC should immediately activate these measures to minimise waterlogging and mitigate its impact.
“While these measures will help address some of the immediate problems, the major challenge is infrastructure,” the Chief Minister said, directing the SMC to proceed with the proposed long-term interventions, engage a competent agency and prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR).
He stressed that the DPR and proposed interventions should form part of the overall drainage plan rather than becoming a standalone emergency measure. He directed SMC to take all concerned departments on board and, once the DPR and financial requirements are finalised, work out the funding mechanism, including resources available with the departments.
The Chief Minister also emphasised the need for a sustained citizen awareness campaign, particularly regarding disposal of solid waste, plastic bottles and polythene bags. He observed that polythene bags are a major cause of choking in the drainage system and called for greater public participation in keeping drains free from waste.
The proposed immediate measures include cleaning and de-silting of existing drains, clearing blockages, daily lifting of solid waste, prioritising missing links, installation of mechanical screens in large open drains and ensuring backup power for dewatering stations. Long-term interventions include construction of additional dewatering stations, segregation of sewerage and stormwater networks, upgradation of old and natural drains, prevention of encroachments and conservation and rejuvenation of lakes.
The proposed integrated programme is to be implemented in two phases over five years, with priority accorded to commercial and densely populated areas followed by low-lying areas.
The meeting was attended by Srinagar district MLAs, including MLA Khanyar Ali Mohammad Sagar, MLA Eidgah Mubarak Gul, MLA Habba Kadal Shamim Firdous, MLA Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq, MLA Hazratbal Salman Sagar, MLA Chanapora Mushtaq Guroo and MLA Lal Chowk Sheikh Ahsan Ahmed, who provided their feedback and inputs on the drainage system of Srinagar city.
Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary Jal Shakti Shaleen Kabra, ACS to the Chief Minister Dheeraj Gupta, ACS PDD Ashwini Kumar, ACS PWD Anil Kumar, ACS Finance Shailendra Kumar, Commissioner Secretary Housing & Urban Development Mandeep Kaur, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, heads of various departments, Chief Engineers, senior engineers and other concerned officers also attended the meeting.