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Water scarce in land of rivers
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 5
Jammu, the land of rivers, lakes and rivulets, has been facing a severe water crisis. There is hardly any area in Jammu division, comprising 12 districts, which can boast of 24-hour supply of potable water.

Although the state government keeps announcing measures and talks of getting schemes and funds from the Centre, nothing seems to have solved the problem.

The Ranbir canal, which is the lifeline of water supply to Jammu, was got made by Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jammu way back in 1885 to provide water to Jammu people for drinking and irrigation purposes.

Since then, no such major initiative has been taken, despite the talks of harnessing the Chenab and Ravi waters. The successive governments have promised schemes to augment water supply, but none has been fulfilled.

Other cities of Jammu i.e. Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar are also facing acute shortage of water due to high consumption. Kathua, Samba and Vijaypur towns in the Kandi area are all plagued with the shortage of water.

PHE records state the national norm for the usage of water is 158.9 litre per capita per day. The demand for water in Jammu district is 37.50 million gallons per day (MGD) where as the PHE department can supply only 29.57 MGD. Thus, there is a deficiency of around 7 to 8 million gallons per day.

The government has recently announced that it would divert water from the Ravi for use in the Kandi area, but it seems that the state has to take a cue from Rajasthan in this regard.

Over 1,000 villages in Rajasthan have benefited by reviving dried up lakes and wells. The residents have formed groups called “jal yodhas” that tell people about how to save and harvest rainwater.

Water management and remote sensing expert AS Jasrotia of Jammu University warns if sufficient measures are not taken, “we will face a crisis which will be detrimental to the very survival of the mankind”. He suggests rainwater harvesting as the main solution. “Most of the rain falling on the surface tends to flow away rapidly, leaving very little for the recharge of groundwater. The future availability of water for human use depends on how water resources are managed,” he says.

Human growth has also caused a shortage. “There has been an unprecedented wave of population growth, urbanisation, agricultural expansion and industrialisation in the state during the past two decades”.

“Due to rapid urbanisation, the infiltration of rainwater into the subsoil has decreased drastically and the recharging of groundwater has diminished. Rainwater harvesting is essential because surface water is inadequate to meet our requirements”.

Udhampur: Potable and regular water is a luxury in this town which was earlier known for its natural freshwater springs called as “bowlies” in the Dogri language. Due to climatic change and the casual approach of locals, most of these “bowlies” have dried up and the inhabitants of the Kandi belt have to face the shortage of drinking water throughout the year.

Official figures reveal that Udhampur town has been facing a shortage of 30 lakh gallons per day.

Over 10,000 residents of Sambal, Sehal and Pangyal villages, which are located just 2 km away from Udhampur, have to cover about 3 km every day to fetch a bucket of water from the nearby “bowli”, which is located in the forest area of Sehal. It takes more than 40 minutes for the villagers, especially of Sambal, to reach there. As there is no proper road in the forest area, people have to trek the distance thrice a day through the treacherous and difficult paths to fetch water for daily chores.

Shockingly, the authorities have so far failed to work out ways and means to implement the 39 water supply schemes in the area under the centrally- sponsored Swajaldhara scheme.

Rajouri: The areas where people are facing water shortage include DC Colony, Old City, Kheora and Jawahar Nagar in the town and Danidhar, Chowdhary Naad, Dhanore Ghursiyaan, Dhindiyaan villages on the outskirts of this frontier township.

“Summer is yet to reach its peak, but the government’s preparedness in supplying the water has already been exposed,” rues Ajaz Ahmed Dyderh, a resident of DC Colony.

Executive engineer, WSD, Rajouri division, SM Sethi admits that the whole town area and villages on its outskirts are facing water shortage. “As against 0.75 million gallons per day (MGD), we are just having 0.37 MGD. So, we are facing a shortage of .38 MGD. Therefore, instead of supplying water twice a day, we are supplying water once in a day and that too for an hour or so”.

(With inputs from Dinesh Manhotra and Shariq Majeed)