The pace of urbanisation looks has negated the efforts to revive water source and wet land in and around Jammu. The launching of Rs 1,500 cr Central project to revive the ambitious Namami Gange has kindled hope that such a move would help saving the dying Tawi. Today the river has turned into a big Nallah carrying the discharge from the city along with garbage all along the banks of it resultantly the water remains blackish grey in appearance except after rains when all the garbage gets washed away. Today it has lost its place as a river of some eminence and reverence for all its purposes which used to be in yesteryears. Jammu has a limited network of irrigation canals, but the depletion of its rivers is causing the most distant canals to dry up every summer, posing a threat to agriculture, shortage of drinking water during the past few summers. Though State Government has been campaigning against the open dumping of garbage and the construction material waste there is hardly any public response. Even the drinking water quality too has depleted despite the fact administration has a water treatment plant and some new are in the pipeline. Today the depleting ground water source is a matter of concern not only to agriculture sector but for the human survival. Some time back High Court had taken suo moto cognisance of the depleting Tawi due to the surplus dumping of household and municipal wastes and directed the administration to take strict action against those who violated the Jammu and Kashmir Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act-2010, but still nothing could be substantiated. According to the J and K Water Resources and Management Act, 2010, whoever disposes of house sewage or other household waste into any water source is liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with a fine which may extend to Rs 10,000, or with both. See the amount of domestic waste washed into it along with polythene which questions the efficacy of the Water Resource Management Act in Jammu District.
