Mismanagement worsens Jammu’s water woes

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Samba, May 2

As drought-like conditions are prevailing in a major part of the Jammu region, discontent is simmering among people as mismanagement by the authorities aggravates the problem.

In Jammu and surrounding districts, the onset of summer has exposed the extent of drinking water scarcity as people from Samba to Poonch, particularly in the kandi belt of the state, are holding frequent protests.

At many places, people are being forced to use dirty water of ponds for washing and bathing even though crores have been spent on different Central schemes for providing water.

The government has focused on meeting the drinking water needs of urban centres, particularly the two capital cities and major towns, while getting regular water is a daily struggle for populace in rural hamlets.

In several villages of Samba and Kathua, people have to travel long distances to fetch water as pumping stations dug in their villages are lying defunct due to technical snags.

According to a study conducted by the PHE Department, of the 22 major towns of the region, 14 are facing an acute water crisis while five are on the verge of facing a reduced supply of water in the coming years.

“We are heading for man-made disaster and nature is contributing to it. Worse than the drought which we have been facing for the last two years is the plight of tube wells as electro-mechanical snags keep them out of order for weeks,” said Neeraj Singh, a resident of Kathua.

Jammu and Kashmir launched a massive project in 2005 to tap water resources. In the last one decade, hundreds of pumping stations had been dug up and technical back-up created in case of the machinery developing snags.

“The overhead tank in our village is empty as the tube well has not been functional for weeks due to power cuts. The pond, which has been a means to meet our water demand, has been dry for months now,” said Sapna Devi of Mandi Kheri village in Samba.

Within Jammu city, over-exploitation of groundwater sources has been creating a long-term deficit as the Tawi has been exploited to the hilt.

Experts say a greater reliance on heavy tube wells to meet the drinking water requirement and unscientific exploitation have been slowly depleting and polluting groundwater. This can jeopardise future water supply in the city as the government has failed to develop any alternative source.

At present, 27 million gallon daily (MGD) of water is pumped out by 224 heavy lift pumps to meet the requirement of the expanding city while the rest is taken from the Tawi.

The potable water requirement of the city is 47 MGD while the supply is close to 45 MGD. The city faces a shortage of 2 MGD.

“We are making efforts to streamline the system. For this, a detailed study is being carried out to find non-revenue water loss. For summer, we are dependent on power supply as many water lifting stations remain shut due to power cuts,” said RK Gandotra, Chief Engineer, PHE Department.

A study carried out by consultants hired by the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) had attributed water scarcity to loss during the distribution process, which was creating unrest during summer.

The net groundwater availability (dynamic groundwater resources) across Jammu and Kashmir is 4.82 billion cubic metres. The state has explored and developed only 24.4 per cent of the net groundwater availability in the state.