In 2015 the Government of India launched the Smart Cities Mission that aims to promote sustainable, inclusive, and technologically advanced urban environments across 100 plus cities in the country. Srinagar was also included under this category in 2017 and since then the work is on to develop the infrastructure around the city. The key focus areas in Smart Cities include Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs), smart mobility, and sustainable water management. In this article I will be highlighting how people in Srinagar city are forced to drink unhygienic water from different water sources particularly from Dal Lake. I don’t know what is the situation with other cities vis a vis drinking water but when in Kashmir especially Srinagar this is alarming? Irony is that we have so many fresh water sources in Kashmir but in-spite of that untreated and unhygienic drinking water is supplied to us.

 Nishat & Pokhribal water treatment plants

During my visit to Nishat area of Srinagar recently I found several open drains entering the Dal Lake on Boulevard road right from Brein to Nishat garden. One drain that comes down from the old Nishat area enters Dal Lake near the water lift station also called Barge Pump Station. I couldn’t imagine that this highly contaminated water is a drinking water source for more than half a million people in Srinagar? The water is pumped up by Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) (Jal Shakti) in massive pipes towards the Water Treatment plant located at an elevated location of Nishat Brein area.  Srinagar Water Works Division supplies this water to around half million people in Brein, Nishat, Pahloo, Astanpora localities, some downtown areas as well. I am unable to understand how this impure water which contains sewerage, faecal matter and pesticides can be cleaned and treated in the Water Filtration Plant at Nishat? Almost 19 Million Gallons Per Day-MGD is said to be treated and supplied to a population of around 5 lakh people in different parts of Srinagar city. The Nishat water treatment plant gets water supply from Dachigam stream as well but that is not enough. The canal is dry in winters and at that time Water Works Division Srinagar is fully dependent on highly contaminated waters of Dal Lake? Similarly the Pokhribal Water Treatment Plant around Baghwanpora area of Srinagar supplies drinking water to more than 1 lakh population in downtown Srinagar especially Saidakadal, Kalaiandar, Makhdoom Sahib, parts of Rainawari and surrounding areas. 16 to 17 mohallas in Kalaignar Central Jail area and Rainawari are fully dependent on it ? Around 4 MGD (Million Gallons per Day) of water is supplied from this plant and the water quality is very bad like that of Nishat?

 Report by Committee of Experts

In 2019 J&K High Court constituted a Committee of Experts to look into the quality of water in Dal Lake and also find out how efficiently the Sewerage Treatment Plants-STPs installed around this lake were working? The committee came up with a report in 2020 and it was found that Sew­age Treatment Plants (STPs) were “heavily over-utilized and un­der-maintained” and their ef­fluent “far below” the required standards as laid down in the Central Pollution Control Board -CPCB norms?

These STPs were set up around 20 years back, but they hardly function as on date and with the result faecal waste, untreated wastewater and sewage enters Dal lake in different areas right from downtown Srinagar to Nishat Brein areas.  There are three STPs set up at Brein Laam— 4.5 MLD, Habak—3.5 MLD and Hazratbal—7.5 MLD, but hardly any of these STPs are fully operational.

I have myself seen Lakes Conservation Management Authority-LCMA tankers carrying sludge from these facilities to dump that around Shalimar foreshore road. This is a known fact. Had these STPs been fully operational, how could so many drains enter Dal Lake? 70% of the sewage gen­erated in Srinagar city finds its entry into the Dal lake and this was also reported by the Committee of Experts-CoE. “Their effluent is far below the required standards as laid down in the CPCB norms,” the CoE report said

 No tests conducted, no coordination

It was quite astonishing to note that Committee of Experts-CoE found that no tests were conducted at STPs with regards to the  treatment of ef­fluents, notwithstanding the fact that it is a statutory re­quirement that each STP should test the treated effluent quality before being released. When this author spoke to an Executive Engineer Water Works Division, Srinagar, he told me that controlling pollution in the lake was the work of Lakes Conservation Management Authority-LCMA who have set up Sewage Treatment Plants -STPs to treat wastewater. I then contacted another Executive Engineer who looks after Sewage Treatment Plant- STP at Brein Nishat, he told me that open drains going into Dal lake is the job of Lakes Division -II of LCMA? I finally called Executive Engineer Lakes Div -II -LCMA & he told me that he joined the duty only a few months back and was not aware of drains entering Dal Lake? How can the Govt officers be so callous and make people drink poison?

The J&K Pollution Control Committee-JKPCC has been silent on this issue and have not even imposed Environmental Compensation on J&K Lakes Conservation Management Authority-LCMA for allowing open drains to enter Dal Lake at multiple locations. Right from Rainawari, Hazratbal to Isher-Nishat and Brein including Dalgate to Nehru Park? Pesticides used in orchards and vegetable farms around and inside Dal lake also enter this water? How can we call Srinagar a smart city when we don’t have a smart water supply system in place? More than half a million population is supplied with unhygienic drinking water from Dal Lake alone & law enforcing agencies like JKPCC are not acting at all ?

70 % of the population who are supplied water from Dal Lake – Nishat and Pokhribal areas cannot afford to buy costly water purifiers or bottled water? They keep drinking polluted water. Has the Govt ever thought about them? How many of us have inquired about the source of drinking water that is supplied to us? This is not only the issue of Dal lake but our 80 % of drinking water sources are polluted in Kashmir. Irony is that even educated people are so callous and don’t question the Govt regarding this issue ? Our own loved ones – children and parents – are supplied impure water by Government authorities which leads to severe ailments  & we continue to be ignorant about this serious issue?

Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat is Chairman J&K Climate Action Group- He is also the Founder of Jammu & Kashmir RTI Movement

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