Jammu today stands at the crossroads of one of its worst urban water crisis in recent memory. While the unprecedented rains and flash floods that lashed the city last week wreaked havoc on infrastructure, the crisis has laid bare not just the fragility of our water supply system but also the glaring failures of governance. What is unfolding is not a natural calamity alone but a man-made disaster, long in the making, now exposed in full view. At present, nearly half of Jammu city is reeling without a regular water supply. Three major filtration plants on the river Tawi-Sitlee, Boria and Dhounthly-have been badly damaged, with pipelines washed away, motors submerged, and silt clogging critical infrastructure. The City water supply, now under the JMC, has been struggling to restore even partial functionality. But even where tube wells are operational, erratic power supply renders them practically useless. Citizens, after more than a week, are without drinking water.
To place the blame entirely on heavy rains is convenient but dishonest. Disaster management is precisely about preparing for such eventualities. The reality is that Jammu’s fragile water and power systems collapse under even the shortest spell of rain, and authorities have known this for years. Yet no dedicated power lines for tube wells, no alternative energy sources, and no robust contingency plans have ever been explored. The Sitlee Filtration Plant, for instance, has been damaged time and again during past floods, yet no long-term fortification or redesign has been undertaken. The negligence is systemic, not circumstantial. This crisis is not born overnight-it is the result of decades of neglect. The Dhounthly Filtration Plant, dating back to the early 20th century, still supplies parts of the old city without any meaningful augmentation. What used to be a twice-daily water supply has been cut down to once a day, often skipped entirely if power fails. At present, large stretches of the city are dependent on alternate-day supply routes through the overstretched systems of Company Bagh.
The 2020 decision to shift the entire urban water supply to JMC, after persistent demands from elected Corporators, has proved to be a costly experiment. JMC lacks both the expertise and the manpower to handle such a mammoth responsibility. Even the basics are absent: with not even one tanker per municipal ward, the shortage of emergency supply options is glaring. Complaints of tanker misuse, overcharging, and irrational distribution highlight how unprepared the civic body is to handle a crisis of this scale.
The most damning example of policy paralysis is the Chenab Water Supply Scheme. Conceived in 2014, this project was initially shelved due to Indus Water Treaty concerns. Revived in 2022 under JMC, a DPR was prepared, but the Rs1,300 crore scheme remains shelved due to a lack of funds. In the meantime, Jammu’s rising population remains entirely dependent on tube wells-an inherently unreliable source, prone to mechanical failures, power shortages, and groundwater depletion. It is no surprise, then, that when the rains struck, the fragile system crumbled like a house of cards. The much-publicised water helpline is virtually defunct, with thousands of calls going unanswered. Citizens, forced to queue up with buckets for tankers that never arrive, feel abandoned by a system that is supposed to serve them.
Going forward, the Government must immediately provide every possible support-be it tankers, manpower, pumps, pipes, or additional funds-to restore supply. Other departments beyond JMC must be roped in to expedite repairs. But once the dust settles, the larger lesson must not be ignored: Jammu’s water supply system is a disaster waiting to happen again. Without a sustainable plan-including robust augmentation, diversification of sources, and completion of projects like the Chenab Water Scheme-the city will continue to lurch from one crisis to the next. Water is not a luxury; it is the very basis of life. In the 21st century, it is unacceptable that a capital city should depend on century-old plants, fragile tube wells, and an overburdened municipal body.
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