Dewatering operations launched in flooded areas of city

Srinagar, Sep 15: Massive dewatering operations have been launched in flood-hit Rajbagh and Jawahar Nagar areas of the city, with nearly 30 water pumps, including two heavy duty pumps provided by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), put into service.

"We have deployed nearly 30 water pumps to dewater Rajbagh and surrounding areas," an official of the Ministry of Home Affairs, overseeing the dewatering operations, told PTI.

The water level in Jhelum has receded significantly over the past five days, enabling authorities to launch dewatering operations. The Fire and Emergency Services Department has pressed in nearly 20 fire tenders to flush out the water from Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Gogjibagh and Ikhrajpora areas which were the worst hit by floods in the city.

An official of the department said most of the fire tenders in the city have been pressed into dewatering operations but it would be a long drawn process.

"The area is vast and most of areas are low-lying. It would take quite some time to drain out all the water," he said. The water has receded by eight to 10 feet in most of these areas but the lower lying areas are still submerged in around 10 feet of water.

The MHA official said more heavy duty water pumps like the ones provided by the ONGC are being flown in to expedite the dewatering process.

"We shall be getting another six such pumps by tomorrow as we are trying to clear the area by the end of this week," he added.

Local residents are anxiously watching the water level in the area and are hopeful that the weather will hold up over the next few days in order to augment the efforts of the authorities.

PTI