Too many cooks spoil the broth, is an old saying. That is what is happening with drainage system in the city of Srinagar. A number of agencies are working for drainage and sewage de-water logging in the city but the results are dismal so much so if the present state of affairs continues, it will not be a distant day when the city of Srinagar gets inundated again owing to water logging in the drains most of which are already choked and dysfunctional. The State’s Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD) is executing majority of these schemes through Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) and National Project Construction Corporation (NPCC). Then there is the Srinagar Municipal Corporation also doing something in the area. Again, in 2006, the Central Government had reportedly sanctioned Rs 300 crore under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for construction of a proper drainage and sewage system in Srinagar. All these agencies claim that they are at work. But at the end of the day what do we have in Srinagar. Out of 400 drainage schemes sanctioned way back in 2006, as many as 238 are yet to be completed despite a lapse of eight years. The HUDD claims it has spent over Rs 132 crore by March 2014 on drainage. However, there is no visible impact on the ground in the drainage system of the city. The executing body, National Project Construction Corporation (NPCC) has completed only one fourth of the total project till today.
The position today is that more than half of the drainage and sewage works that had to be completed years ago remain incomplete and pose a threat to the city of Srinagar. Choked drain water will spill over to the roads and streets and Srinagar city may be faced with yet another threat of inundation. Will the authorities wake up to the impending danger?
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