CS reviews water supply scenario in J&K

Srinagar, July 25: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo Thursday reviewed the supply scenario of water and electricity in J&K.

The meeting was called in view of the ongoing heatwave besides assessing the response mechanism being adopted by the government to ensure an uninterrupted supply of drinking water, irrigation, and electricity to the consumers as per designated schedules.

The chief secretary enquired about the status of present water levels in the main rivers of Jhelum and Chenab.

He also asked for a comparison of the drop in levels from last year due to deficient rainfall which amounts to around 50 percent this year.

The chief secretary asked for measures to tackle the ongoing heat wave conditions in J&K, especially putting an efficient response mechanism in place to address the public complaints.

He directed the Jal Shakti and Housing and Urban Development Departments to ensure an uninterrupted water supply, especially in areas facing drinking water shortages.

The chief secretary called for an assessment of both the machinery and infrastructure given the present climatic conditions.

He advised taking both short and long-term measures to augment the supply of drinking and irrigation water as per the requirements on the ground.

The chief secretary directed the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to submit regular reports on the status of power and water supply in their respective districts, ensuring continuous monitoring and swift action whenever needed.

He asked for the establishment of control rooms at the district level for instant resolution of complaints regarding these essential supplies in their areas.

The chief secretary instructed to ascertain the need for the deployment of additional water tankers so that people do not face any inconvenience due to water scarcity.

He directed to ensure the supply of drinking water in villages right up to the tail end.

The chief secretary also took note of the power scenario prevailing in J&K.

He advised that people should be provided electricity as per the designated schedules.

The chief secretary impressed upon the department to be ready with the contingency plans to address any unforeseen circumstances.

Chairman, JKWRRA, Additional Chief Secretary, Jal Shakti Department, Principal Secretary, Power; Principal Secretary, Finance, Commissioner Secretary, H&UDD, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir and Jammu, Deputy Commissioners, Commissioner, JMC and SMC, MD JPDCL, KPDCL, and JJM; Directors of IMD and Remote Sensing and Chief Engineers of Jal Shakti Kashmir and Jammu besides senior officers from Jal Shakti and PDD departments were present in the meeting while the outstation officers participated in the meeting through video conferencing.

On the occasion, the Additional Chief Secretary, Jal Shakti Department gave a detailed overview of present water levels, supply management and future preparedness of the department to handle the heat wave conditions both in Jammu and Kashmir provinces.

He said that the department had devised a roadmap to address shortfalls in drinking water and irrigation supplies.

He revealed that the average gauge readings in both the rivers of Jhelum and Chenab have reduced substantially by several feet which had put many water and irrigation schemes in distress across J&K.

He further informed the meeting about the mitigation measures taken by the department during the past three months.

He said that the tanker services had been put in service in the water shortage areas besides constituting a task force to tackle the misuse of water.

Regarding the irrigation sector, the meeting was apprised that temporary diversion bunds, pickup weirs, muthu bunds, and channelisation were being undertaken to divert maximum flow towards head regulators.

It was further given out that the steps like Warabandi - providing water on a rotational basis to agricultural fields through Zildari wings and farmer participation and by proper regulation of gates for effective distribution of water into different distributaries being ensured to give immediate succour to the citizens here.

The Principal Secretary, PDD, informed the meeting about the current electricity scenario in J&K.

He said that till now no major crisis has been witnessed as an additional supply of 200 MWs has been added to meet our demands in the heat-prone areas of Jammu.

It was further divulged that electricity of about 21-24 hours was being provided in metered areas and 18-20 hours in non-metered areas by KPDCL.

For Jammu, the schedule has been done away with in view of the scorching heat there.

It was said that the status of the power supply there is better and satisfactory with the least number of complaints.

On the occasion, the people were appealed to abstain from any sort of misuse of these amenities and Deputy Commissioners and departments were asked to act against online boosters and other misuse of water strictly.