Srinagar, May 7: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri Tuesday convened a meeting to take a holistic review of the flood mitigation plan and SOP for the management of breach at the Kandizal segment of River Jhelum to save the city from massive deluge in future.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that addressing the meeting, the divisional commissioner directed the establishment of a sophisticated decision-making support system to ensure the flow of information through proper communication systems to stakeholders at the time of flood exigency.
While underscoring the importance of the Kandizal breach to save the inundation of urban areas, the divisional commissioner stressed framing SOPs to take the final call when required.
He said that the breach should be the ultimate attempt and the last resort to avert danger to the urban areas of Srinagar City, wherein the decision should be taken in context to the ground situations.
The divisional commissioner said the objective of the breach was to save the more vital infrastructure and areas by the inundation of less vital ones.
To tackle the flood situation, he emphasised building a mechanism for making men and material available to saturate the requirement when need arises.
The divisional commissioner also directed the establishment of an emergency helpline to respond to the crisis during floods.
Besides, he asked for an updation of resources on the India Disaster Resource Network (IDRN), identification of relief centres and usage of satellite phones.
Earlier, the Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control Department gave a detailed presentation on the Kandizal breach, the impact of the breach, parameters to monitor river gauge, previous data and changes in flood plains over the years.
He said that the location where the river generally breaches is located near the village of Kandizal in the district of Pulwama.
The meeting was informed that the area of Kandizal over the past few decades has seen significant changes in land use and land cover by way of huge urbanization and a significant reduction in the once vast and open lands.
The expansion of road networks, particularly the Srinagar Jammu Expressway and the Railway Line and the huge infrastructure which has come up along the expressway had also significantly contributed to the land change pattern.
The meeting was attended by the CEO, SSCL; Deputy Commissioners of Srinagar, Budgam and Pulwama; Directors of the School Education Department and RDD; Chief Engineers of I&FC, KPDCL, PHE, UEED and MED; MD SRTC, Director Indian Meteorological Department; Nodal Officer SEOC, Kashmir; besides Core Commander BB Cant; SSPs, Officers of NDRF, SDRF, Civil Defense, Fire and Emergency.