On the Srinagar stretch of the Srinagar-Jammu highway, cars line up flyovers and bridges. In a house some metres away from the highway, residents are hauling up possessions – from clothes, pots and pans to massive fridges and sofa sets — to the higher floors, an ever-watchful eye still on Jhelum.
“We were caught unawares in 2014 as we didn’t think the water would reach that high. But even though the threat is not as much, we’re prepared,” Sheikh Mehnaz, a resident of Nowgam, says, referring to the devastating Kashmir flood of 2014. “Even though the water is within the embankments of the river, there is always the threat of breach. If that happens, we won’t even have 15 minutes to escape.”
He isn’t the only one reminded of the 2014 flood, when a devastating flood submerged half of the Srinagar city for nearly a month.
The torrential rain in Kashmir is bringing back painful memories from that year, and although it has not rained in over 24 hours, Jhelum is still flowing above the danger mark. As a result, residents like Sheikh Mehnaz are now moving to high ground in an attempt to escape the same fate.
On Thursday morning, Jhelum waters reached its peak of 22.31 feet — 4.31 feet above the flood declaration level and 1.31 feet above the danger mark – in Srinagar. As a result, the flood spill channel that is used to divert water from Jhelum in times of the heavy discharge breached near Srinagar’s Hokersar wetland Thursday morning.
This is the most water Srinagar has seen in Jhelum since the 2014 deluge, when the river breached the flood alert level by over 10 feet.
Jhelum is still flowing above the danger mark.
Then, water flooded several villages — including Shalina, Rakh Shalina and Tengan in Budgam district. While there are no apprehensions just yet that Srinagar’s low-lying areas will be flooded this time around, the Jammu and Kashmir government announced precautionary evacuation from several neighbourhoods — including Nowgam, Natipota, Mehjoor Nagar and Padshahi Bagh.
Story continues below this ad
By the time the alert came, however, several residents had acted – lower floors were cleared and vehicles were parked on the national highway, which stands on higher ground. At Nowgam, a local car showroom was emptied and cars were parked along the highway too, along with buses and trucks from the Panthachowk bus terminus — all done to avoid the fate of the 2014 flood, when over 20,000 cars were left damaged.
As several parts of the Valley continue to remain flooded, government officials are battling on multiple fronts – including against misinformation. According to officials, several media pages posted videos with misinformed or exaggerated claims, creating panic across the Valley.
This is the most water Srinagar has seen in Jhelum since the 2014 deluge, when the river breached the flood alert level by over 10 feet.
On Thursday, for instance, people rushed to flooded outskirts of the city to make videos and reels of the submerged houses and paddy fields from causing panic and traffic jams on the highway.
The swollen Jhelum river in Srinagar on Thursday. (PTI)
“There’s a lot of misinformation on social media. In the morning, I saw a video and the man in the video said that the Hokersar (wetland) embankment was breached. He said 90 percent of the crop has already been destroyed,” Javid Ahmad, a resident of Zainakote that falls near the wetland, says. “We panicked. Only later, we came to know that it was a deliberate and controlled breach to reduce the water levels.”
Story continues below this ad
Meanwhile, with the Jhelum flowing above the danger mark, the government Wednesday evening issued an advisory that some of the river’s water might need to be diverted to Dal Lake. However, the plan was shelved after Jhelum’s waters receded, although it was still over the danger mark.
