Sir,
The most significant thing which is coming out from these flash floods is that in both divisions nature mainly attacked the main capital cities. Both Jammu and Sirinagar are located on the banks of river Tawi (Surya Putri) and Jehlum ( Vitasta, form of Goddess Parvati) respectively. Both these are considered holy rivers. Both these rivers carry human waste since years which need to be cleaned up and nature has its own line of action which is unpredictable. There is great illegal construction on the banks of these rivers. Even an inch of land is not available. Sewage of cities is drained into it without any treatment. River bed of Tawi has been destroyed because of heavy digging. Water flows with high speed without any seepage. A little rainfall is sufficient to bring devastation. Fourth bridge flooded away because there was little passage for the water to pass as compared to other bridges.
Magnitude and destruction caused by floods during previous time and now has changed a lot. Earlier our rivers and khuds were so wide. There was no encroachment on their banks. Concrete work was so less. There were more jungle and more seepage. Crushers were not there. But now all rivers and Khuds having width in meters have turned into feets. Very small nallahs are passing through the cities and that too concrete. Solid waste of municipalities is dumped in khuds without any proper disposal.
Solid waste management treatment plants are not there. Huge dumps of garbage also change the course of water. Nomads settle on the banks of the rivers and these innocents become the prey of these floods. In Sirinagar city the water is not receding with speed as it should be. The reason is that now very little left soil has become saturated with water and the floor on rest of city is cemented. Moreover the drainage system of the city is so poor.
The lesson we draw out from these natural destructions is that we should develop healthy relations with nature, otherwise get ready for future havocs.
Yours etc…..
Lukhinder Singh
Ward No. 4 Hiranagar
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel