The roads in Jammu and Kashmir summer capital Srinagar get flooded every time there is intense rainfall for a few hours! What raises questions is that inundation of roads is more visible in those areas where new drainage systems and footpaths were constructed under the Srinagar Smart City Project in the last few years.The water-logging problem has become chronic in Srinagar’s Downtown areas which had earlier never witnessed such inundation of roads after rains. It is clear that either the drainage system is choked or there is a flaw in its design and carrying capacity or dewatering pumps are not functioning properly. Whatever the reason in the end it’s people who have to bear the brunt of waterlogged roads after rains.

Is it an engineering failure that rainwater overwhelms the existing drainage network? We need to understand that decades ago, rainwater which accumulated on roads used to directly flow in nearby water bodies by gravity. Later when a new drainage system was constructed all these stormwater outlets were plugged and connected to the new drainage system. The entire drainage network in Srinagar is now dependent on functioning of pumping stations which are dependent on electricity and generators. During recent rains, it was revealed that many pumping stations were not functioning to full capacity due to technical snags in some of its dewatering motors and lack of fuel for generators.

After the devastating floods in September 2014, drainage network in Srinagar was silted up and was gradually cleared. However during the last over a decade, drains have not been cleaned on a regular basis subsequently resulting in choking. Given the........

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