Srinagar Faces Acute Waterlogging During Heavy Rain as Drainage Projects Stall | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Srinagar continues to suffer acute waterlogging during heavy precipitation despite municipal measures such as dewatering stations, mobile pumps and manual labour, the Housing and Urban Development Department told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

Officials said dewatering stations are being operated in the worst affected pockets and mobile dewatering pumps are deployed when needed, with manual labour engaged at vulnerable locations to clear drains and remove accumulated water. The reply lists recurring waterlogging spots in the city, including TRC, Gole Market, Fruit Mandi, Khan, Palpora, Gund Hassi Bhat and Umerabad, and says rapid response teams attend incidents as they arise.

However, the department warned that several storm drainage projects intended to address chronic flooding have been delayed by procedural and environmental obstacles. For works in the Umerabad and Shalteng areas, the reply states that no objections certificates are still awaited from BEACON. In another location, the municipal agency reported that the authorities of the Hokersar wetland have refused permission for disposal into the water body, describing it as an ecologically sensitive area; that refusal has prevented submission and execution of the proposed works for the Zainakote locality. The reply also noted that at least one required NOC from the public health engineering department remains pending.

The departmental note framed these obstacles as technical and statutory rather than managerial: it said some NOCs have been denied by the concerned department, others are still being processed, and the municipal agency is holding follow up meetings with field staff and stakeholders to resolve outstanding issues. Officials reiterated that where drains are blocked, short-term measures such as pumps and manual clearing are used to reduce disruption while longer term engineering works await clearances.

Lawmakers pressed the administration for faster resolution of pending permissions and for clear timelines to complete the stalled works, saying residents face repeated disruption during every heavy shower. The department responded that it is pursuing the clearance processes with the concerned agencies and carrying out emergency dewatering as an interim measure.

The Assembly reply did not provide firm completion dates for the projects whose execution is dependent on the outstanding no objection certificates or on environmentally acceptable disposal options, but emphasised that municipal teams will continue to respond to water logging and to press for statutory approvals so that permanent drainage solutions can proceed.