Rains bring respite amidst cause trouble to Srinagarites

Rainy season after the tiring summer season offers the much needed respite from the scorching summer heat. It is welcomed with joy and happiness by all . The cool rain showers are a perfect way to rejuvenate after a long summer season.

Srinagar and its  areas witnessed  early morning torrential  rains on Thursday that brought respite from hot summer however, added  to its citizens woes, facing major issues including power outages and water clogged streets. The schools which opened after a 10 day long summer break confined many children to their homes,because of the water clogging in many areas of the city.

“The city life comes to a standstill every time there is a downpour,’’ said Ghulam Muhammed resident of E  xchange road Srinagar .He further said  that whenever there is small amount of downpour,the area especially around Kothibagh-Mir ki Gali and Exchange road gets submerged in knee-to-waist –deep water ,making it difficult for the people to commute.

While most parts of  Lalchowk  area remained submerged in water till late afternoon due to early morning downpour. The district administration had pressed dewatering pumps into service to clear the roads and unblock choked drains from adjoining areas of Lalchowk  including Rajbagh,Jawahar Nagar areas of the city as well as low-lying areas such as Bemina and Mehjoor Nagar.

“Better sewerage systems would have helped with reducing the waterlogging, thereby alleviating the pain of several hours of commuting.Due to the poor drainage systems, the citizens face numerous problems including commuting.. The small amount of  rainfall leads to chaotic traffic, which disrupts all kinds of activities within the capital.our authorities need to come up with permanent  solutions rather than rely on men and machinery at the eleventh hour”,said an Ex-Engineer from  public works department .

Meanwhile,The  Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said that response mechanism to deal with the water-logging situation has been fully activated and that all concerned line departments are on the ground in efforts towards quickest possible dewatering of all affected areas.

The DC who visited to various areas  including the downtown area of the city to assess the water-logging situation and inspect dewatering efforts following heavy rainfall in Srinagar this morning said concerned departments are ensuring swift dewatering of all roads and lanes especially those leading to important installations like hospitals and receiving stations apart from city roads. He said all line departments, including PWD, PHE, SMC, PDD, UEED and Traffic have established control rooms for the convenience of the general public and all of them are under strict instructions to deploy adequate men and machinery on the ground and work in close coordination amongst themselves to prevent further hassles. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir meteorological department has predicted more rains till July 28.

The heavy rainfall in the Kashmir valley from past many hours created panic among the people in Srinagar area and other areas about the possibility of fresh floods, the spokesman of the local MeT said, adding that there are chances of heavy downpour in Jammu as well.