Excelsior Correspondent
-Excelsior/ Younis Khaliq
Srinagar, Sept 14: People of Alam Gunj village in South Kashmir’s Shopian district have expressed their anguish over the defunct lift irrigation scheme in local apple orchards.
The locals told Excelsior that the lift irrigation scheme in the area was established in 2008 for 850 Kanals of apple orchards. They said that though the motor started to function smoothly in earlier days but later it became defunct. “In absence of the water supply, our trees have been affected,” they said, adding that despite repeated pleas the officials are not taking any notice of the problem.
“For last three and half months, the motor has been completely defunct. We met the authorities but there is no response. We want to tell the concerned authorities that it would be better if they remove this motor from this place and close this scheme,” said Mushtaq Ahmad Rather, a local.
The locals said that their sole source of income is being hit by the defunct motor. “We are around 200 households and our lone source of income is these apple orchards,” they said. The residents appealed the authorities to repair the motor or windup the scheme. “We will buy our own motors if they fail to repair the one they have installed here,” the locals said.
Meanwhile, a concerned official told Excelsior that they will look into the matter and repair the motor within two to three days.
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