Senior officials of the Union Territory (UT) of J&K have been asked to crack down on people who have encroached upon water bodies. These instructions were passed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on September 29 evening at a public function in Jammu. During last week of August and the first two weeks of September, rains wrecked havoc all over J&K, more severely in all 10 districts of the Jammu region. It has now become clear that encroachments on nallahs, rivulets, rivers and lakes were contributory factors in the severity of damage.
One major reason for damage to at least 70 bridges all over the UT was unscientific and rapacious manner of mining, often dangerously close to these bridges. On paper, mining for sand and stones within 500 meters of a bridge is prohibited. But this rule is not followed anywhere by the mining contractors. This often happens as powerful politicians of various parties are involved in the establishment of stone crushers on river beds. The mining officials do not jeopardise their careers, preferring to look the other way when rules are violated, instead of confronting the violators and penalising them.
LG Sinha said that 4,000 houses, 3,237 km roads, both in urban and rural areas, as also 70 bridges were badly damaged in flash floods. Several of these bridges were on the Kathua-Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, disrupting vehicular traffic for weeks on end. Even now, neither all roads have been restored nor railway services. Heavy rains also inflicted damage to power, water, health, schools and other government-owned infrastructure.
Addressing ‘Swachhata Vijayotsav’ organised by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj under ‘Sewa Parv’, LG Sinha asked officials to crack down on encroachers along the water bodies. He also urged the people to report such encroachments in their respective areas.
Since encroachments on water bodies narrowed their discharge areas, flash floods happened resulting in damage to houses and structures raised on their banks were washed away, or were badly damaged. These encroachments also obstructed flow of rain water causing further damage.
“In the natural calamity which was first of its kind in the Jammu region, at least 4,000 houses, 3,237 km roads and 70 bridges were very badly damaged,” LG Sinha said. Such encroachments may provide benefit to some people but caused massive losses to people located elsewhere. He added that the people must take responsibility to stop rampant encroachments on natural resources and ecologically fragile places.
“For this, we must build an environment and a movement,” LG Sinha said. He pointed out that when the administration tries to remove encroachments, many people take to the streets.
However, the recent devastation caused by these encroachments gives us an opportunity to evict the encroachers. LG Sinha said a private organisation from Kerala has assured construction of 1,500 houses for the flood-affected people. “Every house will have three rooms and will be constructed at the cost of Rs 9 lakh each. The body is expected to start its work soon,” he added.
He impressed upon the people of J&K to look into two major issues confronting the UT and their responsibilities towards them. “The first responsibility is to restore the lives of those whose lives have been disrupted due to floods and human-induced causes. At the same time, people must be made to fully understand the reality of climate change, as the scale of damage is continuously increasing. This message must be conveyed at the rural and Panchayat levels,” he said.
“I extend my deepest condolences to the families who have suffered losses. I want to tell them that the Home Minister of India himself visited and assessed the situation with his own eyes.
“A Central team also toured J&K, together with local authorities and prepared a damage assessment. The Centre will support rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts,” he said. The LG highlighted the significance of cleanliness drives to promote public health and well-being and to foster community participation for happier and healthier villages.
“Initiatives under education, social welfare, rural development, urban development and healthcare are integral to building a just and inclusive society. We must push through challenges to achieve the goals of a prosperous rural J&K,” he said.
LG Sinha directed a dedicated environmental protection awareness campaign for rural areas of the UT. `Sewa Parv’ should not be viewed in isolation. “It must be integrated into life. We must work towards creating a unified national identity to ensure the welfare and prosperity of all,” he said.
