Incessant rains witnessed in last two months have exposed the tall claims of urban governance of Mehbooba led coalition PDP-BJP coalition government as both Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) have failed to overhaul the messy draining system even after devastating floods damage the drainage system in Srinagar which is now about to become the largest slum of South Asia. Unfortunate it is that politicians of the state showing ever increasing tendencies to blame each other just for pelf and power try to settle scores in the election time by resorting to the politics of urban-rural divide in the state. Knowing that is no perceptible external hand – which the politicians of Kashmir would blame for all ills of governance including the urban affairs of Srinagar city the National Conference as the main opposition in the assembly is trying to exploit the situation to their advantage without any logic or reason. National Conference leadership can’t deny the fact that filling of Nallahmar done during the earlier National Conference regimes proved disastrous for drainage and has by and large contributed towards its present mess. Like all other major decisions, filling of this waterway had political motives behind it. Conversion of the Ma’ar into a road involved displacement of a good chunk of population subscribing to a particular outlook and supporting a particular political party. This displacement suited a particular political party not only for improving its election prospects but, by dislocating the people of the area to different parts it also believed that it would help them in keeping the “habitual agitators” out of the precincts of the summer capital. Fact remain that the very developmental decision loaded with political expediency has proved disastrous for Srinagar city. Today when the incumbent Government is claiming to be the saviour of the urban face of the summer capital it seems that the old city of Srinagar cannot be salvaged and is destined to sink any time. Knowing that the old Srinagar is not just like any other towns of Kashmir, but this is a place of importance for the reasons that several structures of Kashmir heritage are still attracting the lovers of art and culture.
The incumbent government should try to come out of political expediency and chalk out a pilot project for saving the old city from sinking . One can understand the financial state of the government but such projects can be funded by International Organisations like the World Bank. Raising requisite money from international financial institutions is not difficult provided the government takes the initiative.
By all standards of understandabilities old Srinagar city is in fact a crucible of our cultural and religious heritage. By and large all major shrines of the sufi saints are situated in the parts of old Srinagar city. As regards recent political history of Kashmir, “martyrs graveyards” which are milestone of great significance are also situated in the old parts of Srinagar city. It is not the only culture and religion that makes the old city of Srinagar important . Nature lovers acknowledge the fact that once Srinagar city was known for some good water bodies and wet lands. Anchar and Khushhalsar were biggest bird sanctuaries within the city. Today, these lakes have turned into cesspools and its only matter of time when they will vanish as land mafias are filling the lakes with open connivance of concerned authorities. What hurts the nature lovers in Kashmir that these water bodies are at the verge of extinction and they opine that times does not seem to be far away when our future generations will read about these lakes in books only. The incumbent government should try to come out of political expediency and chalk out a pilot project for saving the old city from sinking . One can understand the financial state of the government but such projects can be funded by International Organisations like the World Bank. Raising requisite money from international financial institutions is not difficult provided the government takes the initiative.