Srinagar : Four days of downpour, and right on cue, the Jhelum River is back to its favorite high-stakes pastime: driving Valley heart rates through the roof at Pampore and Munshi Bagh.
In response, officials unleashed their ultimate weapon—an urgent advisory warning citizens to “avoid riverbanks.” Genius. Because nothing says strategic crisis management like assuming Kashmiris were prepping for a cozy riverside picnic in a surging torrent.
Ten years and millions of rupees after the devastating 2014 floods, “comprehensive flood mitigation” apparently means purchasing shinier flashlights and staring intensely at gauge sticks. Promised riverbed dredging and widened spill channels remain grand illusions, leaving the administration to rely on their primary defense strategy: praying for a sudden shift in wind patterns.
Until flood management moves past photo-ops and flashlight upgrades, Valley residents will keep their rain boots by the door and eyes glued to water gauges. Kashmiris deserve actual drainage capacity, not an annual subscription to government anxiety.
