Vacant key posts hampering irrigation management, but ground staff active: Officials

MLA Pulwama blames govt for Kashmir’s ‘worst irrigation crisis’, seeks immediate action

- JAHANGEER GANAIE

Amid what is being termed the region’s worst irrigation crisis in a century, senior officials from the Irrigation and Flood Control Department have acknowledged the challenges but asserted that ground-level staff are working tirelessly to manage operations despite the vacancies in top engineering posts.

Speaking to the news agency, a senior official of the department said, “There are challenges, no doubt, but our teams are working relentlessly. The absence of a Chief Engineer (CE) does not mean everything has collapsed.” He clarified that although many key positions, including the CE, remain vacant, operations are being managed by Junior Engineers (JEs), Assistant Executive Engineers (AEEs), and Executive Engineers (XENs).