Water, power, drainage infrastructure being augmented in Srinagar

SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 05: In order to bridge shortfalls, infrastructure across all basic facilities including water, power, drainage and road networks are being augmented in Srinagar.

To augment water supply network, hosts of measures ranging from coverage of households in uncovered areas under tap water network to upgrading to and installing advanced infrastructure are being taken to strengthen the potable tap water network.

The aim is to ensure round-the-clock provision to all of around 2.5 lac households in the district. The district administration has fixed 1 March 2020 as deadline before which all households across the district will be connected under the network and provided potable tap water.

In addition to upgrading infrastructure which includes replacing old with new supply lines and enhancing storage capabilities, the plan includes covering all so-far uncovered households in rural areas of the district under the potable tap water network.

The plan also includes installation of smart water meters, the aim being to discourage misuse of potable water. The measure is aimed at the larger goals of water conservation and efficient response to issues of disruption.

The installation of smart water meters, which is an approved component under the Srinagar Smart City project, is to enable an efficient and reliable potable water provision mechanism.

Relevant processes like census of covered and uncovered and registered and unregistered households and commercial establishments and their geo-tagging and linkage are being taken up as part of the process.

Meanwhile the district administration has released 3 crore rupees to the PHE department for completing – before the end of March 2020 – several important works including replacement of worn-out water distribution system in Bemina area, augmentation through installation of 100 mm dia DI main line from Zakura to Habbak, realignment of supply line and construction of sluice chamber at Alamgari Bazar, and installation of 100 mm dia main supply for augmenting WSS Gasoo supplies.

To improve power scenario in the district, the power distribution network and relevant infrastructure is being augmented in keeping with modern demands and needs.

Last month the administration released over 4 crore rupees under SADP to the power department for strengthening power distribution network in various populous areas of the district.

The funding was released for creation of 30 new sub-stations and augmentation of existing ones in various areas. These new sub-stations being set up at an aggregate cost of over 2 crore rupees include setting up of HT and LT networks.

In addition to creation of new sub-stations, the existing infrastructure of divisional workshops of electric divisions 1st and 4th are also being upgraded, at a cost of 1.5 crore rupees, which includes installation of modern electro-mechanical facilities aimed at enabling faster repair of damaged transformers.

These divisions have also been provided an additional 30 lac rupees for enhancing buffer stock of transformers utilised during times of damages to existing sub-stations.

The funding also provides for augmentation of existing sub-stations and reclamation of damaged transformers in the electric division 4th which caters to old city areas of the district.

Further funding is being provided to meet deficits and requirements of upgradations and strengthen power infrastructure across the district.

To bridge shortfalls surrounding city drainage, around 13.5 crore rupees has been released under SADP to complete major drainage projects and further 25 crore rupees under Smart City have been earmarked for augmentation of drainage network in Srinagar.

The former covers projects in various areas across Srinagar and benefit a large population put together. Most of these projects either revamp the old existing infrastructure or fill infrastructural gaps in order to augment vital facilities of drainage.

These include 26 works, covering a total of some 9 kilometres of road length in areas across Srinagar including various low-lying areas and various areas in the old city. These include main roads as well as lanes — at Lal Chowk, Abi Guzar, Raj Bagh, IG Road, Mehjoor Nagar, Nowgam, Chanapora, Mominabad Batamaloo, Malroo Shalteng, Hamdaniya Colony Bemina, Zainakote, Kaluna Colony and Rose Avenue HMT, Bishamber Nagar, Mandibal Nowshera, Jamia Masjid to Zawoora, Shahanshah and Umer Colony Lal Bazar, Firdous Colony Buchpora among others.

This also includes construction of a dewatering station and sluice chamber at Nowgam at a cost of 85 lac rupees.

Strengthening of stormwater drainage network is going to be a major developmental focus of district administration in the coming fiscal. To start with the district administration in association with the Srinagar Smart City Limited or SSCL is spending 25 crore rupees to strengthen the drainage network in identified areas of the city.

The concerned department has been asked to submit a detailed project report for construction or upgradation of drainage which will address shortfalls and help redress concerns in this regard.

It should be noted that the amount and the proposed project is in addition to 14 crore rupees released in this current fiscal to the Srinagar Municipal Corporation for strengthening drainage in the city.

The administration is also installing SCADA system for 80 new dewatering stations constructed by ERA in Srinagar. This along with new drainage projects being taken up in coming fiscal will significantly address shortfalls and improve the drainage scenario in Srinagar city.

Meanwhile, 42 out of the total 92 languishing projects in Srinagar district are being completed before the end of the current fiscal whilst another 45 projects are targeted for completuion before the end of 2020.

These JKIDFC-funded languishing projects – worth an aggregate of over 880 crore rupees including around 400 crore rupees as languishing funding – are under fast-paced execution for their earliest completion with periodic reviews, which include concurrent evaluation and third-party monitoring, being held to take stock of their progress.

It is notable that these projects include among others 17 sports, 16 water, 8 bridge, 5 power, 5 technical education, 3 school education, 2 higher education and 1 health projects.

In over 30 of these projects the district administration has resolved long-pending issues of land acquisition and compensation thereby enabling their resumption and completion at the earliest.

Projects across all these sectors are being fast-paced for their earliest possible completion. Fortnightly reviews of progress of work on these projects are being conducted at the district level in order to ensure immediate resolution of associated issues and their completion within their stipulated timeframes.

Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said adherence to completion timelines is an important part of relevant efforts adding that relevant responsibilities of concerned officers have been fixed in order to ensure adherence.

Dr Shahid who is also the CEO Srinagar Smart City Limited said development of drainage as well as power and water in Srinagar city is also amongst the main areas of focus of the SSCL adding that efforts are afoot to bring all these under a smart mechanism which will help identify areas of concern aimed at timely interventions as and when required.