Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 10: With 95 per cent of the work completed after a slow pace over nearly seven years, the Water Supply Scheme in Urpash area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district is still awaiting operationalisation.
Locals told ‘Excelsior’ that work on the scheme began in 2017 after they informed the Government that the drinking water being supplied to them was insufficient and contaminated.
“Following that demand, the Water Supply Scheme was sanctioned, but the pace has been slow,” said Muhammad Afzal Shah, a resident of Urpash.
“The work has been going on since 2017, and now we are in 2025, yet it is still not completed or dedicated to the public.”
Residents said the scheme, once operational, will cater to the drinking water needs of several areas, covering over 2,000 households, which are currently facing hardships due to the lack of a proper water supply.
“The work has been dragging on endlessly; they are not ensuring its completion once and for all. Whenever we inquire, we are told it will be completed next month or next year, but nothing actually happens on the ground. They cite a lack of funds as the reason,” said another local.
With a total cost of Rs 5 crore, the scheme was earlier included in the list of languishing projects, but was later brought under the Capex budget.
Despite that, completion of the project still seems elusive.
The scheme will cater to areas including Urpash, Gujjar Basti, Kawbagh, Shajnag, and Nadderbagh. At present, residents rely on old arrangements that, they say, do not meet their needs.
Notably, recently, the apparent consumption of contaminated water in Urpash led to several cases of gastroenteritis, with a few also testing positive for hepatitis.
A resident of Malang Muhalla, Muhammad Younis, alleged that as the locals are “not well-versed” and do not “know how to speak up”, officials take them for granted and ignore their concerns.
“We have been waiting for its completion for years. Now that it is almost complete, I do not understand why they are not making it functional or what logic there is in making people suffer,” he said.
The residents urged the authorities, especially the Chief Minister-who represents Ganderbal as an MLA-to intervene and ensure the scheme is made operational without delay.
Officials, meanwhile, acknowledged that the scheme is 95 per cent complete, with only finishing touches and the setting up of an electricity sub-station pending.
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