SRINAGAR, JULY 25: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today reviewed the supply scenario of water and electricity in J&K.
The meeting was called given the ongoing heat wave besides assessing the response mechanism being adopted by the government to ensure an uninterrupted supply of drinking water, irrigation, and electricity to the consumers as per designated schedules.
Present in the meeting were the Chairman, JKWRRA, Additional Chief Secretary, Jal Shakti Department, Principal Secretary, Power; Principal Secretary, Finance, Commissioner Secretary, H&UDD, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir/Jammu, Deputy Commissioners, Commissioner, JMC/SMC, MD JPDCL/KPDCL/JJM; Directors of IMD & Remote Sensing and Chief Engineers of Jal Shakti Jammu/Kashmir besides senior officers from Jal Shakti and PDD departments.
Outstation officers participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
The Chief Secretary enquired about the status of present water levels in the main rivers of Jhelum and Chenab. He also asked for a comparison of the drop in levels from last year due to deficient rainfall which amounts to around 50% this year. He asked for measures to tackle the ongoing heat wave conditions in the UT, especially putting an efficient response mechanism in place to address the public complaints.
The Chief Secretary directed the Jal Shakti and Housing & Urban Development departments to ensure an uninterrupted water supply, especially in areas facing drinking water shortages. He called for assessing both the machinery and infrastructure given the present climatic conditions. He advised taking both short and long-term measures to augment the supply of drinking and irrigation water as per the requirements on the ground.
He directed the Deputy Commissioners to submit regular reports on the status of power and water supply in their respective districts, ensuring continuous monitoring and swift action whenever needed. He asked for the establishment of control rooms at the district level for instant resolution of complaints regarding these essential supplies in their areas.
Dulloo further instructed to ascertain the need for the deployment of additional water tankers so that people do not face any inconvenience due to water scarcity. He directed to ensure the supply of drinking water in villages right up to the tail end.
He also took note of the power scenario prevailing in the UT. He advised that people should be provided electricity as per the designated schedules. He impressed upon the Department to be ready with the contingency plans to address any unforeseen circumstances.
On the occasion, the Additional Chief Secretary, the Jal Shakti Department gave a detailed overview of present water levels, supply management, and future preparedness of the department to handle the heat wave conditions both in Jammu and Kashmir provinces.
He said that the Department has devised a roadmap to address shortfalls in drinking water and irrigation supplies. He revealed that the average gauge readings in both the rivers of Jhelum and Chenab had reduced substantially by several feet which had put many water and irrigation schemes in distress across the UT.
He further informed the meeting about the mitigation measures taken by the department during the past three months. He added that the tanker services had been put in service in the water shortage areas besides constituting a force to tackle the misuse of water.
Regarding the irrigation sector, the meeting was apprised that temporary diversion bunds/pickup weirs/Muthu bunds and channelization, etc are being undertaken to divert maximum flow towards head regulators.
It was further given out that the steps like Warabandi- providing water on a rotational basis to agricultural fields through Zildari wings and farmer participation and by proper regulation of gates for effective distribution of water into different tributaries being ensured to give immediate succor to the citizens here.
The Principal Secretary, PDD, informed the meeting about the current electricity scenario in the UT. He made out that till now no major crisis has been witnessed as an additional supply of 200 MWs has been added to meet our demands in the heat-prone areas of Jammu.
It was further divulged that electricity of about 21-24 hours is being provided in metered areas and 18-20 hours in non-metered areas by KPDCL. For Jammu, the schedule has been done away with given the scorching heat there. It was added that the status of the power supply there is better and satisfactory with the least number of complaints.
On the occasion, the general public was appealed to abstain from any sort of misuse of these amenities and Deputy Commissioners/ departments were asked to act against online boosters and other misuse of water strictly.
