Water situation alarming in Kashmir valley

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 17

An unprecedented water crisis may unfold in the Kashmir valley as a lengthy dry spell has forced a drought-like situation in the region and supply hours have been reduced to manage the deficit.

The lack of sufficient water supply is likely to impact domestic usage, agriculture, horticulture, and energy generation in the region.

Abdul Wahid, chief engineer of the public health engineering department, described the situation in the region as “not good”. “A drought situation is going on for the last many months and we did not have enough rain and snow since August last year,” he said.

A brief period of relief in April this year, which witnessed several heavy spells of snow and rainfall in the region, provided a slight surge in the water resources and gave a breather from an increasingly grim situation.

During the last three months, which includes the rainiest period of the year, the state’s 13 of the 22 districts received deficient precipitation, which has further aggravated the alarming reduction in the water supply.

The improvement in water resources, however, may be shortlived as consumption remains high. “If rains don’t happen soon, there will be a crisis,” Wahid warned.

The sources of water in the Kashmir valley include precipitation, glaciers and groundwater. While the precipitation has a non-uniform pattern in the region, the glacial coverage includes 526 glaciers spread over 29163 sq km in the state.

Besides domestic consumption, the major usage of water in the state is for agricultural purpose and its allied sectors like horticulture and sericulture.

According to official data, the irrigation potential of the state is 2.50 lakh hectares through major and medium surface water schemes and about 4 lakh hectares through surface water minor schemes. The majority of irrigation in the state – 90 percent of it - is canal fed.

The total domestic water demand is estimated to be 460 million litres per day while the drinking water availability has put a limit of 135 litres per person per day in urban areas and to 70 litres per person in rural areas.

Residents of several semi-urban neighbourhoods and villages have held protests in recent weeks over the lack of supply of water. The official defended it by saying these are mainly tail-end or new localities where proper supply network has not been laid.

The areas most affected by the alarming decrease in water in recent months include north Kashmir’s Kupwara and Bandipora districts and central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

“Our water resources are fine so far. We are not able to provide a supply for 24 hours, we are curtailing the supply, but we are providing the supply to all areas,” the chief engineer said. “Shortage is definitely there, but there is no crisis so far,” he said.

The senior government official said the supply is affected in tail-end localities as consumption has increased drastically during summer.

The alarming water situation has its genesis in the largely deficit precipitation during the past eight months which had forced the Jhelum river to run at its lowest in the past six decades. The river’s water level — which had dropped to a record low level of - 0.70 feet at Sangam in south Kashmir and remained so for several months — has now partly stabilised as glacial melt caused by the summer heat is now feeding water into the Jhelum.

The Jhelum river — which was the source of a devastating flood in September 2014 — snakes nearly 180 km south to north from its origin in the Verinag spring and is fed by at least a dozen tributaries, which source themselves from melting glaciers and rainwater.

The water level in rivers and streams has temporarily improved and is running at several feet above the zero point as snow accumulated in mountains has begun to melt providing a brief relief from a possible crisis.

Domestic demand

• 460 million litres per day is the total domestic water demand
• 135 litres of water given to per person per day in urban areas
• 70 litres per person in rural areas

Scanty rainfall

• During the last three months, which includes the rainiest period of the year, the state’s 13 of the 22 districts received deficient precipitation, which has aggravated the alarming reduction in the water supply
• The areas most affected by the alarming decrease in water in recent months include north Kashmir’s Kupwara and Bandipora districts and central Kashmir’s Budgam district