Every time a few hours of moderate rainfall hits Srinagar, the same story unfolds- roads disappear beneath murky water, hospitals become inaccessible, ambulances struggle to reach emergency patients, vehicles stall, businesses shut down, and thousands of citizens are left stranded. Social media erupts with photographs and videos. Officials promise action. The rain stops, the water slowly receeds, and public outrage evaporates—until the next shower.
Many people ask: “Why is a doctor raising concerns about road engineering, sewerage, drainage, traffic, or urban planning?”
The answer is simple. A doctor does not merely treat diseases and is trained to prevent it. Public health begins long before a patient enters an operating theatre. Flooded roads, poor drainage, broken footpaths, traffic congestion delaying ambulances, unsafe drinking water, environmental degradation, and faulty civic infrastructure all affect health, safety, and even survival.
When dedication, study, sincerity, and a desire to serve come together, the work speaks for itself. Excellence is not confined by profession. Throughout history, people have contributed far beyond their formal fields because they cared enough to understand problems and propose solutions.
My intention is neither to criticize for the sake of criticism nor to claim expertise over engineers. It is to highlight issues that affect every citizen and to encourage informed discussion and better governance. After all, quality is the best introduction, and sincerity of purpose is known best to Allah.
The recurring urban disaster can no longer be dismissed as an unavoidable act of nature. It is not. It is a failure of planning, engineering, execution, maintenance, and accountability. The question that citizens deserve to ask is simple: where does the buck stop?
Ironically, all this is happening in a city proudly branded as a “Smart City.” A smart city is expected to anticipate risks, build resilient infrastructure, and protect its citizens. Instead, Srinagar repeatedly demonstrates how vulnerable its civic infrastructure has become.
The recent rainfall once again exposed this harsh reality. Several roads across the city were submerged. Commercial areas resembled ponds. Residential localities remained waterlogged for hours. Even more disturbing was the flooding around and within healthcare institutions, where patients, attendants, senior citizens, children, and healthcare workers had to wade through filthy water. Hospitals, which must remain functional during emergencies, also end up becoming victims of poor drainage. This is not merely an inconvenience, it is a public safety issue. Every flooded hospital entrance delays treatment. Every submerged road can cost a life when an ambulance is trapped in traffic. Every stagnant pool becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and contamination.
Rain does not create disasters. Poor governance does. The primary culprit appears to be the chronic failure of Srinagar’s storm-water drainage system. Civil engineers have repeatedly pointed out that drainage is far more than digging roadside drains. It is a scientific exercise requiring accurate hydrological assessment, engineering design, construction quality, and sustained maintenance. One of the major shortcomings lies in faulty construction practices. Drainage channels must be constructed with carefully calculated gradients so that water flows naturally towards disposal points under gravity. Unfortunately, inadequate engineering supervision during construction often results in improper slopes that slow or even reverse the intended flow of water.
Equally concerning is the failure to adequately calculate the carrying capacity of drains. Kashmir has witnessed increasingly erratic and intense rainfall patterns due to climate change. Drain dimensions designed decades ago—or executed without considering projected peak precipitation—are simply incapable of handling present-day runoff. Another technical flaw frequently highlighted on social media debates is incomplete connectivity.
A drainage system functions only when every component is connected seamlessly from the point where rainwater enters to its final outfall. If portions remain disconnected, blocked, or terminate abruptly, water inevitably accumulates instead of draining away. Similarly, disposal points themselves must remain at a lower elevation than inlet points. Any mismatch in levels causes backflow, resulting in water emerging onto roads rather than flowing away from them.
Construction quality also deserves scrutiny. Contractors often leave behind temporary shuttering or construction debris inside covered drains. Over time these obstructions trap silt, plastic, weeds, and garbage, progressively choking the system until a moderate shower overwhelms it. Yet construction failures tell only half the story. Maintenance has become the forgotten pillar of urban management.
Storm-water drains require routine desilting before every monsoon season. Manholes must be inspected. Sediment removed. Encroachments eliminated. Broken slabs replaced. Blockages identified using modern inspection equipment. Unfortunately, preventive maintenance has often been replaced by crisis management after flooding occurs.
A drain ignored for months cannot suddenly become functional when heavy rain begins. Solid waste management is another critical factor.
Open manholes and damaged drain covers encourage indiscriminate dumping of plastic bags, disposable cups, bottles, food waste, construction debris, and household refuse. Citizens certainly bear responsibility for poor civic behaviour, but municipal authorities equally bear responsibility for failing to enforce regulations, maintain infrastructure, and ensure regular waste collection.
Plastic waste remains one of the greatest enemies of urban drainage systems. A single plastic bag lodged at a narrow opening can initiate blockage, allowing additional debris to accumulate rapidly until water has nowhere to go.
Road engineering presents another overlooked challenge. Many city roads have been resurfaced repeatedly without correcting their geometry. Instead of sloping gently towards roadside drains, several roads develop depressions where rainwater naturally accumulates. In other places, newly constructed footpaths stand higher than adjoining carriageways, effectively trapping water on the road surface. Without proper cross-fall and camber, even the best drainage network cannot function efficiently.
“Unregulated, non-visionary permission to build even on water bodies in the name of Urbanisation has compounded these problems,” said an Engineer friend.
Concrete has replaced open soil across much of Srinagar. Parking lots, pavements, shopping complexes, residential colonies, and widened roads have dramatically reduced natural groundwater infiltration. Rainwater that once seeped into the earth now rushes rapidly towards overloaded drains.
At the same time, wetlands that historically functioned as natural flood buffers have been progressively encroached upon or degraded. Lakes, marshes, flood channels, and water bodies that once absorbed excess rainwater have steadily disappeared under the pressure of unplanned urban expansion.
Climate change has further intensified the challenge. Short-duration, high-intensity rainfall events are becoming increasingly common. Infrastructure designed decades ago cannot cope unless upgraded using modern rainfall projections rather than historical averages.
Unfortunately, urban planning often continues to react to yesterday’s climate rather than preparing for tomorrow’s.
Technology exists to prevent much of this. Cities across the world employ Geographic Information Systems (GIS), hydraulic modelling, digital elevation mapping, remote sensors, CCTV inspection of drains, automated pumping stations, and real-time rainfall monitoring. Vulnerable zones are mapped before disasters occur rather than photographed afterwards.
If Srinagar truly aspires to remain a Smart City, accountability must become visible. Whenever roads are constructed, drains covered, or drainage projects commissioned, independent technical audits should certify whether gradients, dimensions, connectivity, and discharge capacities meet engineering specifications. Responsibility must be clearly fixed. Which department designed the drains? Who supervised construction? Were technical specifications followed? Were projects independently audited before payment? Were annual desilting schedules completed?
If not, why not?
Without accountability, failure simply becomes institutionalised. The health sector deserves special attention. Hospitals should never become islands during rainfall. Every tertiary hospital, district hospital, and major healthcare institution must undergo independent drainage vulnerability assessments. Access roads, emergency entrances, ambulance bays, electrical systems, oxygen plants, and basements should all remain protected against flooding.
Patient safety begins long before entering the operating theatre. It begins with reaching the hospital safely. Citizens, too, must become partners in the solution. Dumping waste into drains is not merely irresponsible—it directly contributes to flooding in one’s own neighbourhood. Civic education, strict penalties for illegal dumping, segregation of waste at source, and community monitoring can substantially reduce blockages.
But citizens alone cannot compensate for systemic administrative failures. Ultimately, leadership is measured not by inaugurating projects but by ensuring they perform when tested.
Every inundated street, submerged hospital, stranded ambulance, and flooded marketplace sends one unmistakable message: somewhere in the system, someone failed to do their job. This annual ritual of outrage followed by collective amnesia must end.
The administration should constitute an independent multidisciplinary task force comprising hydraulic engineers, urban planners, environmental experts, disaster management specialists, public health professionals, and citizen representatives. Every flooding hotspot must be scientifically mapped, investigated, and assigned time-bound corrective measures with periodic public reporting. Transparency builds trust. Silence breeds cynicism. Good to see Hon’ble Chief Minister Omar Abdullah ordering an inquiry into why Srinagar gets waterlogged after even a modest downpour. Der aaye, durust aaye—better late than never! The real value of this inquiry will lie not in fixing blame, but in identifying the root causes and implementing lasting solutions.
Lastly, I must say that citizens deserve a city that can withstand ordinary rainfall without grinding to a halt. May this inquiry mark the beginning of evidence-based urban planning rather than another file that gathers dust.
Srinagar deserves infrastructure worthy of a capital city, not excuses and people do not expect miracles but competent governance, scientifically designed drainage, timely maintenance, accountable execution, and responsive administration.
Rain is inevitable. Flooded streets are not. LOL The next downpour should not become another predictable civic disaster accompanied by the familiar chorus of explanations and blame. The city has endured enough.It is now time to answer the question that echoes after every flooded road and every submerged hospital:
Where does the buck stop?
Author is a healthcare quality expert who writes on public policy, healthcare, urban governance, environmental sustainability, and civic accountability. drfiazfazili@gmail.com
