I&FC Deptt refutes claim of GOC, Sub Area regarding Kandizal breach SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 17: The Department of Irrigation and Flood Control has sharply reacted to the news reports published in various news papers regarding the measures initiated by the Government to deal with the recent floods. While refuting the news report published in a local news paper in its issue of 17th October regarding breach at Kandizal and other issues, the spokesman of the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control, Kashmir has clarified the real picture. The version of the spokesman reads as under:- “The official records suggest that there is no such evidence of having intentionally done any breaches on the embankments of the river Jhelum at particular place in the past. However, breaches have been occurring on their own at areas where the river takes a bend, due to the thrust on the external embankment and which has also been happening at Kandizal where four breaches occurred on 4th September. The Army authorities were taken into confidence on the issue through Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir on 3rd September and the matter was discussed with the concerned Brigadier/Colonel thoroughly. Thus the statement made by the General Officer in Command, Sub Area Major General Ajay Das that the army authorities were not intimated in time is not based on facts. Whereas the GOC has claimed that the army was bracing up for this purpose on September, 4, the Kandizal breach had already occurred by that time on 4th September at 11:00 a.m. and army authorities were accordingly informed about it at Police Control Room set up in the office of I.G.P. Kashmir, as the confirmation regarding the same had come from the Executive Engineer, Flood Control Division, Kakapora, who was present very much in the Kandizal area on 4th September, and was monitoring the flood protection works being taken by Flood Zonal Committee Kakapora. The same daily news paper also published the statement of Chief Engineer, Kashmir, Irrigation and Flood Control Department regarding the breach having occurred on 4th September at Kandizal on 5th September. The spokesman has further maintained that the breach of the embankment did not occur at Kandizal only, but similar breaches on the external embankments of the river Jhelum occurred at numerous places right from Sangam upto Wullar namely; Dogripora, Shivpora, Rajbagh, Sonawar etc. Besides, other State Government departments, I&FC Department had also set up Joint Control Rooms at Divisional Level, District Level and constituted the Zonal Level Flood Committees under concerned Executive Engineers to monitor flood situation regularly and taking requisite flood protection measures from September, 3rd. The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir and the Chief Engineer, Irrigation & Flood Control had been regularly issuing press releases regarding the flood situation and warning the people to move to safer areas through FM Radio, Print and Audio-Visual Media. Further, the statement made by the Head of Department, Earth Sciences, Kashmir University, published in local daily in its issue of September 22nd, mentioning three breaches of 250, 150 and 50 fts having occurred in the area has missed to mention about the main breach with length of about 400 ft, with depth of over 30 ft which had occurred on 4th September at 11:00 a.m. at Kandizal, when the Sangam gauge was 29 feet, while as in the past, even at a gauge level of 31 feet at Sangam, flooding of downstream areas had not occurred. The department was fully alive to the evolving situation with the divisional/district level administrative machinery and the Government issued flood alerts repeatedly since 3rd September through all the available media like DD Kendra, Srinagar, Radio Kashmir, Big FM 92.70 Social networking site like face book and print media, the spokesman added.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 14:20:58 +0000
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