Dachigam Nallah goes dry and Administration sees no immediate respite
Dry spell hits city’s oldest water supply plant
Abdul Mohamin (Rising Kashmir)
Srinagar: Owing to poor rainfalls this season, the capacity of city’s oldest water supply plant at Nishat has exhausted forcing administration to throttle the supply fed to areas from the plant.
Officials of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) believe that the water supply will remain affected seriously until Dachigam Nallah, which is one of the major sources of water, remains dried.
“We didn’t have good rainfall this year. And it is telling upon the main watercourse that fetches us water for Nishat water plant,” Executive Engineer Water Works Division Srinagar, Rafiq Ahmad Malik told Rising Kashmir.
Malik said that the department has chalked out a two-hour curtailment programme in the areas being fed from this plant “as the water accumulation in the service reservoir has been affected after one of its went dry.”
“The only hope,” Malik said, “is rains and careful usage of potable water by consumers.”
To mention the city has been fed treated water from Nishat Water Treatment Plant since 1939 with a designed supply network for the city being started in the year 1906.
Retired Chief Engineer with PHED, GM Kanth, explained that the water sources were clean and the supply through a system of pipes was initiated in 1906 when the tapped water in Harwan fed by Dachigam Nallah which has its source in Tarsar and Marsar lakes above was worked upon.
“And the first 2.2MGD treatment plant at Nishat was made operational in 1939 that was also fed by the source from Dachigam Nallah. Potable water was sourced to city from this plant and it was sufficient to meet the demands then,” he said.
He also said that despite the plant been boosted with supply lifted from Dal Lake, any dearth of water in Dachigam Nallah affect the total output.
Meanwhile, Malik said that an additional raw water conductor from Rangil has been proposed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) which would help in case of any shortfalls from the Dachigam source.
“The proposal was earlier being handled by the Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency (JKERA), but their proposed line was didn’t had much carrying capacity, so we have initiated the project under JNNURM where we propose to bring sufficient water to the plant.
Malik also said that the dry spell has not hit the areas which are being fed with the water from Rangil water supply plant.
The present curtailment programme has hit areas in Khanyar, Rainawari in the old city while the posh areas like Jawhar Nagar, Kursoo Rajbagh, markets Sariabala, Amira Kadal and Gonikhan.
There is, however, no good news from the Metrological department whose officials say that the dry spell will continue.
“There is least possibility of any continual showers in the next week as no system is approaching or developing over the area,” Director Met Centre, Srinagar Sonam Lotus said.
He said that overall seasonal precipitation received by Kashmir has been low and there is less possibility of any system bringing in rains in the next week.
“But there may be the local system which can bring down a short-lived spell of rains,” he added.
“We didn’t have good rainfall this year. And it is telling upon the main watercourse that fetches us water for Nishat water plant,” Executive Engineer Water Works Division Srinagar, Rafiq Ahmad Malik told Rising Kashmir.
Malik said that the department has chalked out a two-hour curtailment programme in the areas being fed from this plant “as the water accumulation in the service reservoir has been affected after one of its went dry.”
“The only hope,” Malik said, “is rains and careful usage of potable water by consumers.”
To mention the city has been fed treated water from Nishat Water Treatment Plant since 1939 with a designed supply network for the city being started in the year 1906.
Retired Chief Engineer with PHED, GM Kanth, explained that the water sources were clean and the supply through a system of pipes was initiated in 1906 when the tapped water in Harwan fed by Dachigam Nallah which has its source in Tarsar and Marsar lakes above was worked upon.
“And the first 2.2MGD treatment plant at Nishat was made operational in 1939 that was also fed by the source from Dachigam Nallah. Potable water was sourced to city from this plant and it was sufficient to meet the demands then,” he said.
He also said that despite the plant been boosted with supply lifted from Dal Lake, any dearth of water in Dachigam Nallah affect the total output.
Meanwhile, Malik said that an additional raw water conductor from Rangil has been proposed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) which would help in case of any shortfalls from the Dachigam source.
“The proposal was earlier being handled by the Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency (JKERA), but their proposed line was didn’t had much carrying capacity, so we have initiated the project under JNNURM where we propose to bring sufficient water to the plant.
Malik also said that the dry spell has not hit the areas which are being fed with the water from Rangil water supply plant.
The present curtailment programme has hit areas in Khanyar, Rainawari in the old city while the posh areas like Jawhar Nagar, Kursoo Rajbagh, markets Sariabala, Amira Kadal and Gonikhan.
There is, however, no good news from the Metrological department whose officials say that the dry spell will continue.
“There is least possibility of any continual showers in the next week as no system is approaching or developing over the area,” Director Met Centre, Srinagar Sonam Lotus said.
He said that overall seasonal precipitation received by Kashmir has been low and there is less possibility of any system bringing in rains in the next week.
“But there may be the local system which can bring down a short-lived spell of rains,” he added.
“We didn’t have good rainfall this year. And it is telling upon the main watercourse that fetches us water for Nishat water plant,” Executive Engineer Water Works Division Srinagar, Rafiq Ahmad Malik told Rising Kashmir.
Malik said that the department has chalked out a two-hour curtailment programme in the areas being fed from this plant “as the water accumulation in the service reservoir has been affected after one of its went dry.”
“The only hope,” Malik said, “is rains and careful usage of potable water by consumers.”
To mention the city has been fed treated water from Nishat Water Treatment Plant since 1939 with a designed supply network for the city being started in the year 1906.
Retired Chief Engineer with PHED, GM Kanth, explained that the water sources were clean and the supply through a system of pipes was initiated in 1906 when the tapped water in Harwan fed by Dachigam Nallah which has its source in Tarsar and Marsar lakes above was worked upon.
“And the first 2.2MGD treatment plant at Nishat was made operational in 1939 that was also fed by the source from Dachigam Nallah. Potable water was sourced to city from this plant and it was sufficient to meet the demands then,” he said.
He also said that despite the plant been boosted with supply lifted from Dal Lake, any dearth of water in Dachigam Nallah affect the total output.
Meanwhile, Malik said that an additional raw water conductor from Rangil has been proposed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) which would help in case of any shortfalls from the Dachigam source.
“The proposal was earlier being handled by the Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency (JKERA), but their proposed line was didn’t had much carrying capacity, so we have initiated the project under JNNURM where we propose to bring sufficient water to the plant.
Malik also said that the dry spell has not hit the areas which are being fed with the water from Rangil water supply plant.
The present curtailment programme has hit areas in Khanyar, Rainawari in the old city while the posh areas like Jawhar Nagar, Kursoo Rajbagh, markets Sariabala, Amira Kadal and Gonikhan.
There is, however, no good news from the Metrological department whose officials say that the dry spell will continue.
“There is least possibility of any continual showers in the next week as no system is approaching or developing over the area,” Director Met Centre, Srinagar Sonam Lotus said.
He said that overall seasonal precipitation received by Kashmir has been low and there is less possibility of any system bringing in rains in the next week.
“But there may be the local system which can bring down a short-lived spell of rains,” he added.