Kashmir’s main river shirking at alarming rate

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

Lifeline for people living across the divided line in Jammu and Kashmir -- the River Jhelum is shirking at an alarming rate due to heavy siltation, unabated pollution, and encroachments, say experts.

The river known as Vyeth in the local Kashmiri language is the main waterway of the Kashmir region that originates from a spring in the southern town of Verinag and navigates through the capital city of Srinagar and North Kashmir, before crossing the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistani administered territory.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Ajaz Rasool, a hydraulic engineer, said that due to the large-scale cutting down of the trees and with no afforestation in place, massive soil erosion has taken place in the catchment area of the river.

"When you decrease the catchment area and cut down the trees at a large scale, the siltation level in the river is going to increase as you are minimizing the water retention capacity of the river,” he said.

Not only for Kashmir Valley, but the river is also a lifeline for the farmers in Pakistan’s Punjab province. The river travels 725 kilometers (450 miles) from its source in South Kashmir to the Jhang district of Pakistan, where it merges with River Chenab, another tributary of River Indus.

The river also feeds the seventh-largest earth-filled water reservoir in the world, Mangla Dam near Mirpur in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which provides irrigation and electricity to large parts of Pakistan.

Tracing deterioration back to the 1960s, when authorities leased forest land in the Pir Panchal region for developmental activities, Rasool said the green cover was acting as a catchment area for the River Jhelum.

He warned that the region could again witness the massive flood like in 2014, which left massive devastation and over 200 deaths if proper steps are not taken to safeguard the river.

Health of river

An official of the State Pollution Control Board, on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to talk to the media, told Anadolu Agency that successive governments did not act to improve the health of the river.

"We have done its deterioration with our hands and many successive governments slept on this issue. Though many projects were approved for its restoration, it has remained just on paper," said the official.

He said that in 1997, the Indian government had approved a plan to install interceptors to prevent the flowing of sewage into the river. But it was never implemented.

About 100 cusecs (2,831 liters) of untreated waste flows into the river every day through 80 small and large de-watering stations in the capital city of Srinagar alone, which houses 1.4 million people.

"The Jhelum is witnessing heavy pollution with liquid and solid waste from home toilets and hotels in districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Srinagar, and Baramulla draining into the river without any treatment, said Ajaz Rasool, an engineer who has worked on many river projects.

"There is a need for a treatment plant that can help to treat this sewerage, otherwise it will be hard to restore this river. The siltation and pollution will choke it," he added.

Region’s civilization linked to river

After Kashmir witnessed a high magnitude of flood in 2014, the High Court of the region had directed district authorities to furnish details of the original width of the River Jhelum, according to revenue records.

Historians say that the river has been an important component of the region’s civilization.

Abdul Ahad, a leading historian, said that the river was the main transportation corridor and thus a vehicle for flourishing trade and culture.

"Every trade was through this river, that is why rich people during these times tried to reside near the river embankments so that they could easily have the facilities. It was the lifeline of Kashmir which was also vibrant with cultural traditions and politics,” he said.