Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 28: Expressing serious concern over the rising risks of sinking and subsidence in different parts of J&K due to massive spurt of cuttings and excavations in mountainous terrains, in particular for Railways, Highways, Expressways and the PMGSY projects, the Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC), J&K have drawn the attention of the Chief Secretary J&K UT towards this urgent issue.
‘Group of Concerned Citizens’, through its chairman and former Chief Secretary, Mohd Shafi Pandit in an urgent letter flashed to the J&K UT Chief Secretary, Dr AK Mehta, has expressed apprehensions about the possible disasters like Joshimath and Kedarnath (UK), in the Jammu and Kashmir too, if some preventive measures are not taken in this regard by the authorities at the helm of affairs.
GCC, J&K, a non-political civil society initiative, said that the reports of soil erosion, subsidence, denudation, land slides and avalanches periodically coming from different districts like Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Rajouri, Poonch, Ganderbal, Bandipur, Baramulla, Kupwara and Budgam would point to potential fault lines and the underlying factors that need to be tackled in right earnest. Frequency of land falls, sliding and subsidence along the National Highway in Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts has increased, taking a heavy toll of life and property. On the other hand Kreva and Kandi belts continue to be festering flash points, like Khudpur, Kawhar in Baramulla, besides Nagam, Nowhar and Charar-e- Sharief in Budgam.
The urgency of dealing with all these issues is too obvious to be over emphasized, if only to rule out the likes of disasters in Joshimath and Kedarnath in Utterakhand. There are danger signals emanating from neighbouring states, besides eco-fragile zones of other regions, which bring up the necessity of working comprehensive preventive, mitigation and management strategies, the GCC cautioned.
It suggested for creating a strong data base of scientific investigation and analysis, availing the experience and expertise of ISRO, GSI, DST (GOI), Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology besides Universities, IITs/NITs and other research centres. Moreover, all the projects should have a rigorous and reliable ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’, as a pre-qualification for clearance; there should be increased focus on protection of ecologically sensitive / fragile tourist destinations, trekking routes, pilgrimage sites and there should be strict enforcement of the ban on construction of roads through forests and on conversion of demarcated forest areas to non-forest use.
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