Flood Mitigation Plan: Phase 1 completed, phase 2 in final stage of tendering, Says CE I&FC

Jahangeer Ganaie

Srinagar, Sep 17: The phase 1 of comprehensive flood mitigation plan announced after devastating floods, has been completed and the work on phase 2 is expected to start next month as tendering process is in final stage, officials said here on Saturday.

Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control, Naresh Kumar told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that part A of the phase 2 is in the last tendering stage and work is expected to start next month.

He said that usually all works on Jhelum starts in October when water level in the river remains low.

“The main work in the phase 2 will be flood spill channel for re-sectioning so that if there will be more water coming, then it will go through these channels,” he said, adding that part of it is to work on Hokarsar.

He added that main purpose of the work that has been started at Hokarsar is to keep wetland wet so that migratory birds coming there can live without any hindrances, but that is also part of the phase 2of flood mitigation plan.

Kumar said that as tendering is in the last stage and they expect to start the work in October as till September flood threat remains there.

“With the completion of phase 1 the capacity of river Jhelum will go to 60,000 cusecs, which has been already taken to 40,000 in the phase 1.

He said that deadline to complete the phase 2 is three years and hopefully it will be completed in three years time.

Notably, Flood Management Plan was divided into two phases, phase 1 was funded under the Prime Minister’s Development Package with a budget of Rs 399 crore, which included spot dredging as per requirement to increase the capacity of river Jhelum so as to minimize the damage if there will be floods again.

Soon after floods in 2014, government of India had constituted a committee to suggest measures to prevent such calamities in the future.

The committee in its report had recommended several long term measures including additional supplementary flood spill channel, creation of storage facilities on tributaries of Jhelum, flood plain zoning and enhancing capacity of Wular Lake—(KNO)