Manzoor Makhdoomi
Srinagar, May 6: Residents of Rakh-e-Arth, Bemina in Srinagar who were living in Dal lake and were settled here by the Government now demand relocation to a safer place.
The residents said that majority of the houses that had withstood the last year’s floods have begun to develop cracks and are unsafe to live in.
Locals said that the damage to their structures was not caused by the 2014 floods alone but blamed Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA)’s negligent planning of settling them in a wetland.
“The area is part of wetland that was used as a flood channel. LAWDA did earth filling to certain level only”, said a resident Mohammad Amin.
The residents said that Rak-e-Arth colony was allotted to the Dal dwellers in 2009. “At that time it was no different from Dal but authorities had given written and verbal assurance that the colony would be developed as Model Posh Colony on war footing basis. Since then six years have passed but not a single project has been completed, be it drainage system, water and electricity supply or sanitation facilities”, they said.
People were relocated from the Dal to Rakh-e-Arth, Bemina by LAWDA in its campaign to vacate the land at the backwaters of the Dal Lake that had been misappropriated over decades.
“This hasty and unmindful decision to relocate them in flood channel says volumes about Government’s negligence towards sustainable planning of Srinagar city that is populated on banks of a river Jhelum”, said an official who wished anymity.
Already some households have been warned not to step in their houses in which they were living as they could collapse any time. After assessing the condition of the house of one resident Mohammad Altaf, it was declared unsafe and his family was provided a tent in which they are living since floods.
In 2014 floods many structures were severely damaged in the area. The resident said that highest compensation Government paid to affected families so far was Rs. 3800.
They said that they were now virtually living in a flood prone area and their relocation had made no difference to their lives as Rakh-e-Arth was no better than the Dal.
The residents demanded that they should be adequately compensated and relocated to a safe place.
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