J&K Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Health Cell co-convener Dr Varinder Sharma has alleged that August 23 brief early morning rainfall once again has exposed the hollow claims of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) regarding flood mitigation as several residential and commercial areas of the city, including the Canal Road in the vicinity of Science and Commerce College, went under water.
He recalled that the same stretch had flooded last year too, when assurances were given that adequate measures would be taken to prevent recurrence.
“All those tall claims now stand exposed,” Sharma said, pointing out that the main nullah opposite Commerce College, adjacent to the road leading to Guru Ravidas Sabha, was found blocked, with officials seen digging and clearing it only late on Monday (August 24) evening — well after the damage was done. Same scenario of digging was at Kanak Mandi Chowk.
The BJP leader said the situation was no better on Pawan Ice Cream Road and Flyover Road, where logged water entered residential houses, with Bhagwati Nagar facing similar distress.
He noted it was strange that Rajinder Nagar and Bhagwati Nagar, once rarely affected, now would flood with even the slightest rainfall. The old city areas of Lakhdatta Bazar and Kanak Mandi Chowk also witnessed unprecedented flooding of commercial establishments. Sharma alleged that shops at Peer Mitha Chowk encroached upon main drains, causing flooding downstream, while the Narwal-Kunjwani stretch — covering Panama Chowk, the green belt opposite the Fire Brigade station, Chhanni, Nanak Nagar and Sanjay Nagar — remained equally vulnerable.
Residents there, he said, were forced to build three-to-four-foot walls outside their main gates to keep flood water out. Sharma demanded a proper drainage audit along the Narwal-Kunjwani flyover stretch and an independent third-party evaluation of allegations that Tawi waters were entering Rajinder Nagar and Canal Road through back-flow in the nullahs.
He urged JMC to publicly share nullah and drain-cleaning schedules through media and its website, stressing that transparency and a proactive approach were the need of the hour, alongside deployment of Quick Response Teams to inspect vulnerable areas before, not after, flooding occurs. “People are suffering economically and mentally every monsoon,” he said, adding that instead of false promises they deserved solutions before the next rainfall.
