Jal Shakti Dept Sounds Alarm as Kashmir’s Water Our bodies Attain Historic Low

SRINAGAR: The Jal Shakti division has raised an alarm within the face of a chronic dry spell affecting Kashmir, leading to a major discount in water ranges throughout the valley.

Chief Engineer of Kashmir Jal Shakti, Sanjeev Malhotra, emphasised the pressing want for a moist spell to replenish water sources.

Malhotra urged individuals to make use of water judiciously, noting the partial drying of water our bodies has led to a decline in common transportable water provide. “As a precautionary measure, all transportable water provide tankers are in alert mode and a state of readiness,” he mentioned.

The scenario is below shut monitoring, significantly in some North and central Kashmir areas the place complaints of water shortages are growing. Notably, traditionally considerable water sources, together with lakes and rivers, are going through unprecedented challenges, sparking fears of an imminent water shortage disaster.

An impartial climate forecaster in Kashmir reported that the Jhelum River’s water degree has hit an all-time low because of the extended dry spell. The rivers at Sangam and Asham are flowing on the lowest recorded ranges, highlighting the severity of the scenario.

“The gauge studying of Sangam at 9 AM was -0.75 ft, and at 7 AM was -0.77 ft,” said the forecaster, noting that the water ranges at Sangam and Asham are at their all-time lowest.

The persistent lack of rainfall and snowfall has led to dwindling water ranges in main water our bodies like Dal Lake, Wular Lake, and the Jhelum River, posing a major menace to agriculture as farmers closely depend on constant water sources for irrigation.

Environmentalists and consultants attribute the extended dry spells to local weather change, advocating for pressing short-term water conservation measures and long-term local weather resilience planning.

Environmental lawyer Advocate Nadeem Qadri referred to as for fast implementation of a local weather coverage, underscoring the area’s extreme environmental disaster.

“The local weather disaster rising at the moment requires fast authorities consideration. A lacking local weather coverage on the bottom ought to be urgently addressed,” mentioned Qadri. (KNO)