Jhelum: Kashmir’s lifeline gasps for breath

Considered to be the lifeline of Kashmir, river Jhelum is facing a serious ecological threat due to unabated pollution triggered by flow of sewage and dumping of garbage.

Originating from Verinag in south Kashmir, Jhelum spans over 175 sq Kms, meandering in a serpentine way from south to north Kashmir. The river is propelled by four streams—Sundran, Brang, Arapath and Lidder is Anantnag district. Besides small streams like Veshara and Rambiara also fed the river with fresh lease of waters.

The river settles in Wular lake before flowing to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) from Baramulla district. Jhelum assumes tremendous importance not only for providing water for drinking and irrigation purposes, but mainly for draining the surplus waters, thus saving Kashmir from floods.

Till a few decades ago, in absence of proper roads, Jhelum acted as a prime mode of transport from north to south Kashmir. In absence of any regulation, the banks of the river have been gradually encroached upon. Unregulated and extensive sand extraction has severely disturbed the river’s flora and fauna.

Jhelum is being polluted by direct inflow of sewage from all the drains from south to north Kashmir. Ironically, instead of constructing Sewage Treatment Plants, successive regimes constructed pumping stations to empty all drains into the river.

Failure of authorities to ensure proper collection and scientific disposal of waste has turned Jhelum into a floating garbage dump. Tons of garbage including non-degradable items like polythene and plastic are dumped into the river especially in Sopore and Baramulla. Jhelum has become the last abode of dead animals. Carcasses can be seen floating even at a cursory look at any stretch of the river.

Environmentalists mince no words to declare that Jhelum has lost its carrying capacity due to vandalisation—both by the government and people. Jhelum took its revenge during the devastating floods in September 2014 causing extensive destruction in Kashmir. Following incessant rains on September 7, 2014, Jhelum had crossed record 23-feet at Ram Munshi Bagh gauge, while level went over 36 feet at Sangam submerging localities on both sides of the river from south Kashmir to Srinagar. As per estimates flood water measuring about 120,000 cusecs surpassed the carrying capacity of Jhelum by five times.

But no lessons were learnt from the deluge. Despite the passage of nine years, sustained and scientific measures are missing to increase the river’s carrying capacity. Jhelum reaches the danger mark even after a few days of rain. In absence of regulation, wanton constructions in flood plains of Jhelum have taken place in the last several decades.

Wetlands on the left and right of Jhelum acted as reservoirs of the floodwaters. However, in the last five decades, most of the wetlands have lost their carrying capacity mainly due to conversion into agriculture land or concrete landscape.

Ecologically important wetlands in the Jhelum floodplains like Hokersar, Bemina wetland, Narakara wetland, Batamaloo numbal, Rakh-e-arth, Anchar lake and Gilsar have been degraded due to rapid encroachment and urbanisation. Deterioration of wetlands has affected their capacity to absorb flood water—putting pressure on Jhelum.

20 wetlands, which were part of Jhelum’s floodplains, have been buried under urban colonies during the last five decades, particularly in the south of Srinagar. Now Jhelum has been behaving erratically. On September 16 this year, water level of Jhelum plummeted to its lowest point measuring 0.09 feet at the Sangam gauge on September 14 – the lowest in 70 years.

On an average, during this period Jhelum experienced highest flows due to melting of snow. It is the same period when Kashmir faced one of its devastating floods.
Kashmir valley is one of the most flood hazard-prone regions in the Himalayas. Surrounded by mountains, Kashmir has been witnessing frequent floods for centuries. It witnessed floods in 1903, 1929, 1948, 1950, 1957, 1959, 1992, 1996, 2002, 2006, 2010 and the last one was in 2014.

Ajaz Rasool, a hydraulic engineer who had done extensive studies on Jhelum, recommended scientific interventions to conserve the river.

“The 2014 highest floods in Jhelum brought enormous amount of silt from catchment as also debris of village houses, culverts, other structures which deposited in Jhelum and Wular Lake,” says Ajaz who was Water Management Expert with Wetlands International – South Asia for formulating the Comprehensive Management Action plan for Wular lake.

This is imperative for restoring the wetland function of Wular to absorb floods during high flows in Jhelum and release water in deficit period.

“Further the handling of Solid Waste generated at Bandipora and Sopore town are still devoid of Scientific Management as envisaged in CMAP. The liquid and solid waste of cities, towns and villages on either bank of Jhelum flows directly into the river without any treatment. This adversely affects the water quality of River and Wular lake as 80% flows to lake are contributed by Jhelum.”

Many years ago Jhelum Action Plan was co-formulated by Ajaz for four towns of Anantnag, Srinagar, Sopore and Baramulla to intercept, divert, transmit the sewage of these cities and towns and treat it in the STPs. This would have allowed only treated effluents to flow back to Jhelum.

This project was approved by the Government of India but still awaits funding and execution. CMAP of Wular recommends inclusion of other cities and towns in the Jhelum Action Plan. This exercise has also not been done as yet by the Government.

There is a need to do scientific dredging of Jhelum which faces extensive siltation from catchments.

In 1960, two mechanical dredgers named Soya-1 and Budshah-were were commissioned after being inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to dredge steep river reach from Sopore to Baramulla. This dredging continued till 1986 when the dredgers completed their designed lifetime. Thereafter no dredging was done for 26 years resulting in siltation of river regime as also of
Wular lake fed by Jhelum which resulted in the lake losing 30 percent of its volumetric.capacity.

After the floods of 2014, the Government of India sanctioned the plan for comprehensive flood management of River Jhelum and its tributaries. The project was funded under the Prime Minister’s Development Package. The flood management plan for river Jhelum was divided into two phases. Rs 399 crore was sanctioned for the first phase to increase discharge carrying capacity of Jhelum from 31,800 cusecs to 60,000 cusecs.

In 1903, British engineers provided the solution by raising river embankment and dredging the river from Sopore to Baramulla as a contingency maintenance measure to upset the effect of siltation due to erosion of topsoil from contributing catchment of Jhelum.

There are ample funds for conservation of Jhelum, only will and zeal in proper execution of the project is missing. The river has been an important part of Kashmir’s history, culture and holds immense significance for our environment. Jhelum conservation must be taken up as a mission and not as other development project. We have to understand that our existence depends on Jhelum. It is our social and religious duty to protect our lifeline before it is too late.

Author is Executive Editor, Greater Kashmir