Jammu flood-hit water supply restored as govt re-aligns pipelines, deploys tankers

Jammu, Sep 8 (PTI) From mobilising all its resources to bringing in skilled labourers from neighbouring states, the Jammu and Kashmir government worked overtime to ensure restoration of water supply, despite facing the gravest crisis in recent memory, an official said.

The catastrophic floods, attributed to the severest rainfall witnessed by Jammu in nearly a century, caused unprecedented damage to the water supply infrastructure. The flood level in the Tawi River reached 34 feet, surpassing even the disastrous 33 feet recorded in 2014.

The Tawi Water Treatment Plant was badly affected, while massive landslides on the road from Panjtirthi to the Sidhra bridge extensively damaged more than 500 metres of the Sitlee–Lohar and Sitlee–Manda transmission pipelines, disrupting supply to Old City, Janipur, Rehari Colony, New Plot, Subhash Nagar, Sarwal, Chinore and Roop Nagar areas, the official said.

He said a critical rising main (water pipeline) connecting five tubewells along the left bank of the Tawi between Bikram Chowk bridge and Gujjar Nagar bridge, which feeds the Boria Water Filtration Plant, was extensively damaged, along with the pump room, high-tension lines, poles, transformer and control panels.

Large amounts of debris and silt also accumulated at the Boria Intake and Dhounthly Water Treatment Plants, while the entire hilly terrain had slid into the road and beyond towards the Tawi River, leaving huge blocks of debris.

The 500 mm-diameter rising main was washed away along with heavy concrete blocks, while the 600 mm-diameter rising main also suffered major damage, with some portions left hanging in the air, the official said.

He added that the 500 mm-diameter Sitlee–Lohar rising main was washed away at RD 1350 (around 30 metres).

Once the approach road was cleared, men and machinery were deployed immediately. As restoration along the existing alignment was not feasible, both rising mains were realigned along the road using 600 mm-diameter MS casing pipes available with the department.

Considering that the entire water supply to Jammu city depends on lift schemes, the Jal Shakti Department promptly intervened to restore water production, deploying its technical staff across the province, the official said.

He said the department meticulously assessed damage at Sitlee, Lohar, Manda, Boria and Dhounthly, and arranged for materials, tools, equipment, cranes, welding sets, generators and a trained workforce.

Despite adverse weather and continuous rainfall, rehabilitation began within 24 hours. Skilled labour mobilised by Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) from neighbouring states worked tirelessly in the sliding zones to re-lay the 600 mm and 500 mm-diameter rising mains across the hilly terrain, the official said.

He said that although these pipelines suffered extensive damage during the floods of August 25 and 26, more damage was reported on August 29 and 30 due to continued heavy rains. Yet, round-the-clock efforts ensured partial restoration of water supply through Sitlee, Lohar and Dhounthly within a week.

With the restoration of power supply, 70 per cent of the tubewells in urban Jammu were operational within 48 hours, and the remaining within 72 hours, ensuring nearly half of the city’s potable water demand was met, the official said.

As part of the emergency response, he said, irrigation pumps from the Ravi Tawi system were deployed to maintain raw water supply to the Boria Filtration Plant. Between August 30 and September 6, overall water supply improved from 39 MGD to 50 MGD, against the pre-disruption level of 62 MGD.

In February 2021, the management of urban water supply infrastructure was transferred to the JMC under the 74th Constitutional Amendment, while the Jal Shakti Department continued to provide technical expertise through its manpower on deputation.

While the Jal Shakti Department focused on water production, water distribution to the public was managed by the JMC. Until full restoration was achieved, JMC maintained tanker supply across the city, the official said.

To meet the emergency, the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu inducted an additional fleet of 90 tankers and, by invoking Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), regulated all private tanker operators and borewell filling operations.

This enabled nearly 5,000 tanker trips within six days to hospitals, old age homes, police stations, community centres and affected residential areas — all free of cost, the official said. PTI TAS TAS HIG HIG