People of Jammu are on the edge. Incessant rainfall in Tawi river’s catchment for the past few days has led to massive floods in the region. Floodwaters have entered several residential and commercial areas in the city. All schools in the Jammu division have been shut down. Roads are destroyed. A bridge on Jammu-Pathankot highway has been damaged too.
Almost all the rivers in Jammu & Kashmir including the Chenab and Tawi, are swollen and high velocity floodwaters have inundated cities, villages, and farmlands. Cloudburst events in the past few days have added to the woes.
Amid this crisis, environmentalists and river activists are drawing attention towards the Tawi Riverfront Development Project, which they claim is one of the reasons for the present situation in the city.
“We had been warning against encroaching Tawi’s riverbed for construction purposes as envisaged under the Tawi Riverfront Development project. The project, which is divided into two phases, has already completed its phase 1 and has reclaimed and concretised parts of the riverbank between Bhagwati Nagar Barrage to Bikram Chowk Bridge,” Anmol Ohri, Founder of Climate Front India, a Jammu-based non-profit, told Kashmir Times.
“Just a couple of months ago, we had warned of such floods and destruction. This riverfront project is a real estate project and has nothing to do with protection of Tawi or its banks,” alleged the young environmentalist.
Incidentally, earlier this month, on August 4, Chief Minister (CM) Omar Abdullah visited Jammu to review the progress of the ambitious Tawi Riverfront Development Project and described it as a “transformative step in Jammu’s urban evolution.” News reports praised the project as the “nucleus of Jammu’s new identity” with “climate-resilient design”, that would balance development with ecological sensitivity.
“The project is not merely a beautification initiative; it is a multi-pronged urban intervention that merges flood protection, eco-restoration, recreation, tourism, and commerce into a single visionary model” — is how media reports described it.
The Tawi Riverfront Project in Jammu city was meant to be picture perfect. The thematic image it put forth echoed its claims. There is the Tawi river with crystal clear water. Manicured gardens, multi-storey apartments, an amusement park, a convention centre-cum-mall, a hotel, shopping complex, and a flower park, grace its banks. There is a ferris wheel too, reminiscent of the London Eye on the south bank of the River Thames.
In 2021, when the tender for the riverfront development (RFD) project was announced, Tawi Jammu Smart City Limited, a special purpose vehicle for the project, claimed that it “will change the entire look of Jammu” and “open new avenues for tourism development”.
However, the Tawi river that flows right through Jammu city, is at present angry, swollen and flowing at danger levels. The government has now issued an advisory and a warning to people to stay away from its banks.
It is important to respect the course of a river. Climate scientists are crying themselves hoarse, and issuing warnings about an increase in extreme weather events, said Ohri.
“Instead of making more space for our rivers so that they can carry away excess rainwater, riverfront projects are concertising riverbanks and turning our rivers into nullahs. The result is in front of us. Jammu is facing unprecedented floods. We need to reassess the riverfront project and if required, stop it,” he added.
Tawi Riverfront, A Multi-Avatar Project
The Tawi Riverfront Development project is divided into two phases. It has several features that include the development of multi-tiered promenades along both banks of the river and a central island. It also includes construction of flood mitigation infrastructure such as diaphragm and retaining walls, pier protection measures on existing bridges, and installation of interceptor drains to divert polluted nallahs away from the river.
During his recent visit, CM Abdullah was briefed that under phase 1, 2.70 kilometres of the embankment is being developed, with four promenades of varying widths. About 23 hectares of land was reclaimed for this. Media reports say phase 1 is expected to be completed by September 2025.
Phase 2 of the project includes construction of connecting roads, food courts, viaducts, toilet blocks, horticulture and promenade flooring.
A detailed article on Tawi Riverfront project, published in South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) in May 2024, traces the history of this project that started as a plan to create an artificial lake by building two barrages at the mouth of two channels of the river — Nikki (small) and Baddi (big) Tawi — separating Bhagwati Nagar and Belicharana.
The project was approved in 1986 by the then Governor Jagmohan with an estimated cost of around Rs 23 crore. Its main objectives were to facilitate groundwater recharge in Kandi (drought-prone) belt, to get 120 cusec (one cubic foot per second) irrigation water for Chatha, Tawi island villages, and to make Jammu an independent tourist destination.
The SANDRP article also noted that the project proposed to beautify riverbanks, implement flood control action plans and divert sewage drains polluting the Tawi river in Jammu. The project that was approved in 1986, saw some progress only in December 2009, when a foundation stone was laid by Abdullah who was the then CM of J&K.
There were multiple delays and several deadlines were missed in the execution of the project. According to the SANDRP article, its cost “increased to about Rs 130 crore…” and it is yet to be completed.
Then, in 2014-15, the central government made some design changes. But, more delays followed, the project was embroiled in a court case, and more expert advice was sought. IIT Roorkee was roped in for technical feedback, an audit team was set up, and several other official procedures followed.
Meanwhile tenders were floated for the Tawi Riverfront Development project, and it became an election manifesto promise.
Finally, in February 2022, another foundation stone was laid, this time for phase 1 of the project, which is now nearing completion.
Meanwhile, the river is in full spate and seems determined to reclaim its lost area. It is only after the floodwaters recede that assessment of losses to the city and the riverfront can be made. The Tawi also faces severe pollution challenges apart from encroachments (both legal and illegal).
Holy River, Unholy Practices
The Tawi river which flows through the city of Jammu, is one of the major left-bank tributaries of the river Chenab. From Jammu, it flows into Pakistan where it meets Chenab in Sialkot. It is a major source of drinking water for the old city of Jammu and is also considered sacred.
The Tawi river originates from the Kali Kundi glacier southwest of Bhaderwah in Doda district. The catchment area of the river up to the Indian border (Jammu) is 2,168 square kilometres and it falls in the districts of Jammu, Udhampur, and a small part of Doda.
The river is also known as Surya Putri (daughter of Sun) and has religious significance. Local inhabitants believe that Raja Pehar Devta brought this river to Jammu in order to cure his ailing father and he had the blessings of “Bawe Wali Mata”, a deity of the Tawi river. Dogri folk songs and tales abound around the challenges Raja Pehar Devta faced while bringing the river Tawi to Jammu, notes JK Arts Foundation.
While holy its antecedents may be, the river today has become a receptacle of sewage from the city. There are 17 drains in the city that flow directly into Tawi, making it one of the most polluted rivers in the area, notes an article published in Frontline.
Researchers have found that many sewage nallas from municipal units across the city also flow into river Tawi. These nallas or drains on the right bank include the cremation ground Jogi gate drain, Qasim Nagar drain, Nowabad police station Jewel drain, Jullaka Mohalla drain, the drain from the rear of the Fisheries department, Subash Nagar drain, Talab Tillo locality drain, etc.
River Tawi has the poorest quality among J&K rivers, finds a recent study. Apart from the 17 drains that empty into the river, there are additional small drains carrying domestic waste and agricultural runoff to the river’s middle and lower sections. The study also warns that Jammu adds about 100 million litres per day to the Tawi’s pollution.
Another article published March 2022 in International Advanced Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology says, “increase in anthropogenic activities on lake water systems result in high pollution loads, such as nitrates and phosphorus etc. which cause rapid deterioration in water quality”.
Ohri laments the construction of malls and concrete pathways on the River Tawi. “Tawi is the lifeline of Jammu. It is our pride and we have to save it. We need to make more space for the Surya Putri to flow because that is what climate adaptation and resilience urgently requires,” he said.
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