Ranbir canal dying slow death
Tribune News Service
Jammu, July 27
While human activity and administrative apathy together is contributing to slow death of the iconic 106-year-old Ranbir canal, the lifeline of farmers in Jammu, the ruling PDP-BJP coalition government has failed to chalk out any long-term plan to save the water body.
Even the much-hyped Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and other Centrally sponsored schemes have not changed the destiny of the canal, a part of Jammu’s heritage for over a century. Under the Master Plan-2032, a grandiose plan to beautify the canal has been proposed, but keeping in view the fate of the Tawi lake project, it may never translate into action.
Mushrooming of residential colonies and illegal encroachment since 1990 has brought the canal, constructed under Dogra ruler Maharaja Pratap Singh between 1905-1911 AD, on the verge of destruction as people have turned the water body into a dumping ground to dispose of solid waste and directly pour sewage generated in houses. At many places, the banks of the canal are filled with garbage.
Rotten vegetables, debris, non-degradable waste and slaughtered poultry residue can be seen floating on the surface as shops, households and vendors use it to get rid of waste.
In the absence of any strict enforcement of the environmental laws by civic bodies such as the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and the Flood Control Department, people are leaving no stone unturned to destroy the canal system ferrying cold glacial water through the city, which during earlier days was a picnic spot for the residents during the sweltering summer heat.
“Despite increased environmental awareness, residents still use the canal as a repository for unwanted items. They are the major culprits along with the lack of coordination between various civic bodies. Moreover, during religious festivities, polythene bags and other materials are thrown into the canal, which chokes it,” said an environmentalist, Bhushan Parimoo.
Many of its branches, especially those passing through Talab Tillo-Bohri-Anand Nagar area and Nai Basti, have been reduced to drain. Thousands of kanals on both sides of the Ranbir canal and its tributaries has been encroached upon, which could have been used to add scenic beauty.
Recalling the older days, an octogenarian Cheet Ram Gupta said the canal was designed for irrigation and transport purpose. “Before 1947, it was used for transporting the local produce and ferrying passengers. The water was used to light up Jammu as a mini-hydroelectric installation was established near Bhagwati Nagar. However, not the canal is on the verge of collapse and its quite painful,” Gupta added.
