Still Drowning

In September, 2014, a devastating flood engulfed Kashmir, leaving people distressed. Streets were flooded, houses disappeared, and the River Jhelum became an agent of destruction.  The disaster claimed hundreds of lives, left many people homeless and hopeless. Ten years on, people question: “Has anything changed?”

Lost in Rubble

The government vowed to implement extensive infrastructural changes in response to the devastation. They devised ambitious plans for flood control, infrastructure reconstruction, and early warning systems.

Ten years later, as Kashmir’s water bodies swell due to rains, people feel the threat of another impending disaster.  People from Rajbagh, an area that was hit hard in the September 2014 floods, recount their experiences.

“The government promised us strong embankments. They promised dredging of the River Jhelum,” Mushtaq Ahmad, a shopkeeper, says. “Ten years have passed and we are still waiting, still living in fear.”

According to Ahmad and others in Rajbagh, the River Jhelum's dredging was an essential task that could have been done more efficiently or even completed sooner to prevent future flooding.

While cosmetic measures were taken, these measures became increasingly ineffective.

Experts Sound Alarm

Environmental experts are equally frustrated. Altaf Ahmad Bhat, an environmentalist who has been studying the rivers in Kashmir for many years, says that the Jhelum’s floodplain is shrinking.

The ongoing urbanisation, blocked flood channels, and deforestation in the upper catchment areas all add to this. He says that the government’s focus on environmentally sustainable flood management solutions were overshadowed by immediate political gains, which provided little relief. “The vulnerability of Kashmir lies in the evolving climate,” Bhat says. He says that if action is not taken now, history will repeat itself.

Rebuilding a Broken Life

Flood survivor, Ghulam Nabi Shah of Batamaloo stands in front of his rebuilt home, weaker than ever before. The 2014 flood left him with nothing.  Shah merely took steps to reconstruct his house.  Today, he still worries. “The system’s gaps are more pronounced than those in our homes,” Shah says, pointing to his small two-storey house.

Despite assurances of rehabilitation, many victims like Shah have had to rebuild on their own.

Why is that?

Compensation was not distributed evenly and relief packages were lost due to bureaucratic delays, leaving families to pick up the pieces without government assistance.

A Hollow Assurance

The government continues to emphasise its responsibility for flood preparation. A senior official says that there were complications with the system and unexpected expenses. “We have made progress. Relief systems, embankments, and flood warnings are in place,” he says.

The official says that the 2014 floods were of an unprecedented magnitude and recovery was taking a long time. Those who are constantly in danger find these words to be empty.  Even now, the embankments are not strong enough, and the drainage systems have become substandard, leaving many flood victims living in areas considered hazardous.

A Decade of Inaction 

The urgency of the situation is apparent.  The unpredictable weather caused by climate change has put Kashmir at a risk of another disaster unless action is taken.

Kashmir’s seven million inhabitants are at risk due to lack of ecological preservation, political incapacity, and an inadequate infrastructure. Ten years after the waters flooded Kashmir, promises made by the government prove as fragile as those embankments that failed 10 years ago.

Hope has started to fade as Kashmir waits for answers.

“We survived the flood but can we survive this negligence,” Mehtaba, a resident of Bemina says.

The author is Senior Editor, Greater Kashmir