1.5 lakh cubic metres of silt dredged out of Jhelum

SRINAGAR: Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control Department Mir Javad Jaffar today said at least 15 lakh cubic metres of silt had been dredged out of the Jhelum

Updated At : 06:19 AM Sep 23, 2016 IST

Excavators being used to dig sand from the banks of the Jhelum in Srinagar. tribune file Photo

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 22

Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Mir Javad Jaffar today said at least 1.5 lakh cubic metres of silt had been dredged out of the Jhelum.

The government has kept five dredgers at different places in the river to remove silt from it, which got accumulated due to 2014 floods.

Jaffar said two more stretches in Srinagar and Baramulla and the floodspill channel had been allotted to a Kolkata-based Company, Reach Dredging, for dredging since March this year. He said 7 lakh cubic metres and 9.15 lakh cubic metres of bad material had been targeted for dredging out in the Srinagar and Baramulla stretches, respectively, by the end of March 2017 against which 1.5 lakh cubic metres of bad material has been dredged out so far.

The Chief Engineer said the dredging of the river was awarded under the Comprehensive Flood Management Programme in March 2016 to the Kolkata-based Company. He said the executing agency had engaged three dredgers to extract silt from the river and the work was expected to be completed within the stipulated time frame of March 2017. He said the company had also brought two more dredgers for the purpose.

He said one dredger was working in the Shivpora Sonawar area of Srinagar and hoped that it would dredge out the Rajbagh stretch soon.

The flood management programme will be completed in two phases. The cost of the Phase-I is Rs 399 crore and the Phase-II is Rs 1,178 crore.

Under the comprehensive flood management of the Jhelum Phase-I, Rs 44.33 crore has been expended up to August this year, besides an amount of Rs 8.63 crore as matching state share. The project was taken up with the assistance of the Centre on a 70:30 basis. The total cost of the project is Rs 1,577 crore. The Union Government will provide 70 per cent funds while 30 per cent funds will be arranged by the state government.

Jaffar said the dredging of the Jhelum would increase its carrying capacity and of its floodspill channels by 10,000 cusecs which would go a long way in preventing the flood threat in future in the Kashmir valley.

At present, the carrying capacity of the Jhelum and its spill channels is 27,000 cusecs and 8,000 cusecs, respectively. After dredging of the Jhelum and its spill channels, the capacity will increase to 45,000 cusecs.