Jhelum continues its low run

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 20

The Jhelum is facing an acute shortage of water for the fifth consecutive month as it continues to flow below the gauge’s zero-point amid a lingering dry spell.

The water level of the river was recorded at 0.21 feet below the zero-point at Sangam in south Kashmir today, an official of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department said.

The river is flowing below the zero-point at Sangam since October 5 last year when its level dropped into negative and marked the beginning of one of the longest low runs of the river in its recent history.

The water level continued to recede further as Kashmir region struggled with dry weather conditions and lack of precipitation. The Jhelum touched a new low of -0.75 feet at Sangam from November 1 to 16.

The Irrigation and Flood Control Department, which provided the details, has been maintaining a daily record of the river’s water level since 1955 and the recent dip in the Jhelum was the lowest in six decades, an official said.

Sangam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, where Jhelum’s level has dropped below the zero-point, is one of the three locations where the department records the river’s water level on a daily basis. The flood alarm level at Sangam is 18 feet, the flood declaration level is 21 feet and the danger level is 23 feet.

Officials of the department have blamed lack of precipitation during the past months as the reason for the plunge in the water level of the river. The region has received only two spells of rain and snow leading to abysmal precipitation during the winter and continuation of the dry spell, which forced the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, which is tasked to supply water in the region, prepare a drought-action plan.