It is clear that the concerned department did not learn any lessons from the floods that hit Kashmir in 2014. While the event was colossal and destructive, there were several lessons to be learnt, however, so far, the same has remained just an event which apparently didn’t have the potential of triggering the policy changes. The drainage in the Srinagar city needs a comprehensive drainage system built on scientific calculations while there is also a dire need for identifying the factors that have led to the failure of the stormwater drainage system.
Those factors are well in front of every expert; however, the concerned department does not appear to be interested in making necessary corrections or putting a new structure in place altogether to have an efficient drainage system set in a place which is prone to floods. On the other hand, when we talk of floods, it reminds us of river embankments. Let alone tweaking and altering the drainage system for the better, the concerned departments have focused less on making the banks of the rivers as well as nallahs strong. There still are areas where there are weak embankments which can breach anytime in case of an increase in the water level: depicts the seriousness of the Government.
Coming back to the factors, responsible for the failure of the stormwater drainage system, there is a dire need for conducting an audit of the drainage system in Srinagar and ensuring that the same is as per the set norms and the scientific guidelines. The major factors behind the failure have so far turned out to be, one, the incorrect/ inefficient calculations for rainfall and surface runoff—which is the basic point which needs to be executed well.
Two, the cross-sections of the drains carrying runoff are inadequate as the capacity of drains is not as per the total runoff from the catchment area. There is great inadequacy of rainwater collecting chambers while surface drains are chocked lacking proper cleaning as well as regular maintenance.
Lastly, there are also some areas which are bowl-shaped and do not have proper drainage and storm/rainwater, like Hari Singh High Street. There is a need to ensure that such types of areas have special drainage with an automatic pump station with an adequate area of the overwater collection chamber. The time has come to deal with the problems scientifically, rather than spending huge amounts on big projects lacking the basics.
