The morning downpour on Thursday, August 1, exposed the tall claims of the state administration as well as Srinagar Municipal Corporation that the summer capital was moving in the direction of being a ‘Smart City’. Barely 26.4 mm of rain during the morning flooded major parts of the Srinagar city including areas of the commercial centre Lal Chowk. Painful scenes were witnessed on social media where people shared photos and videos of the problems faced by commuters in reaching their destinations. One particular video shows a purported group of salesmen at a prominent shoe store in Lal Chowk attempting to swim in the rain water that had turned their store into a mini-pool. Rain water gushed into many shops in the city centre resulting in damage to property. Schools situated in the Lal Chowk areas were ordered to close for the day and the shopkeepers whose goods were damaged were literally in tears even as some commuters walked barefoot with shoes in their hands. This is shameful to say the least. Barely a week ago, the SMC had flaunted six new dewatering pumps with half a million litre per hour capacity that were supposed to be put into action in case of exigency. But even these latest machines couldn’t help the city’s administration in preventing flooding of both commercial and residential areas. Last week when rain led to the inundation of Srinagar, the city’s mayor had said the SMC would be able to carry out the dewatering process at a faster pace. But that was not to be. The fact is that the heart of the city gets inundated whenever there is rain and this is something that should not be tolerated. Lal Chowk represents the face of Srinagar. If the face is smeared, what impression will it have on the tourists who come to Kashmir? It is pertinent to mention that the city centre has a well-built drainage system. Why it gets clogged when it rain is something that the authorities need to find out. The district commissioner of Srinagar pointed this out in a tweet when he said that the rampant use of polythene was responsible for blockades in drainage system of Lal Chowk. While the city’s residents have to share part of the blame for this mess, the city’s administration is equally responsible for allowing the use of polythene bags and other single-use plastic material despite a ban by the court as well as the government. You can’t run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.
