In order to discuss suggestive measures and steps to be taken to overcome the rising drainage and sewerage problems in Srinagar, a workshop titled 'Sewerage and Drainage issues of Srinagar' was held here on Tuesday at Church Lane. The workshop was orgsed by the Institution of Engineers (India).
Sajid Yaqoob, an engineer in Srinagar, speaking to said, "In today's workshop, we discussed the difference between sewer drainage and stormwater drainage. Laymen do not know much so they dispose of even solid waste into the drains. The main aim of this workshop is to make people aware of the difference."
"They need to understand that they cannot discharge solid waste or polluted water into stormwater drainage because they are directly connected with our rivers and lakes and ultimately pollute our water bodies. This leads to fish poisoning and also pollutes the sewage treatment plant. Such waste can be disposed of in a septic tank," said Yaqoob.
He further explained that due to massive urbsation, when it rains or snows heavily, water does not get a path to travel due to paved surfaces which leads to flooding. He also emphasised on the need for a comprehensive drainage plan to tackle this problem.
"Engineering students participated in this workshop. In order to help solve this problem, it is very important for them to understand this issue of drainage and sewage," he said.
Basra Bilal, an engineering student who participated in the workshop, highlighted that Srinagar does not have a separate drainage system for sewage and stormwater.
"Such workshops help students expand their vision and learn about new ideas and techniques which can be deployed to enhance the drainage and sewage system in the future," she added.
Athar Aamir Khan, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Commissioner, said, "Drainage and sewerage are important issues for any city. Being specific about Srinagar, the issues we face, how can they be resolved and how can we plan our sewerage and drainage system in a better manner, all these things were discussed in the workshop.
"There were presentations by a lot of experts, many of whom had earlier worked in this field. Many academicians also gave their presentations on the topic and shared their views on tackling the issue.
"Such workshops are very useful for students because it gives them an insight into how things practically work outside the classroom. It was just like a hands-on training session for them. It would have given them a perspective of what are the issues in the existing system, how things are planned and implemented and what are the challenges in the execution of a plan," he added.
Amir Ali, Director, Disaster Management, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, told , "The main aim of the Institution of Engineers is to provide a platform where representatives from the administration, community and experts can come onboard and discuss pressing issues, like today we had an interaction on sewerage and drainage system. Here we discussed the issues as well as the solutions."
"Usually when government meetings are held on such issues then there is no flow of ideas there. Here we encourage an exchange of ideas and opinions where experts talk about the short-term and long-term measures. Today also, at this workshop, issues were raised, opinions were discussed and useful alternatives and solutions came to the fore," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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