Mir Iqbal
SRINAGAR, Jan 2: Prolonged dry spell and freezing of water bodies due to sub-zero temperature have caused acute drinking water shortage in scores of villages in South Kashmir’s Shopian district.
Residents of Amshipora, Chak, Sedew and adjoining areas are facing tough time due to water scarcity which has triggered resentment against the Public Health Engineering (PHE) in these villages.
The womenfolk in this hilly district are forced to walk long distances through difficult and hilly terrain to fetch water. “Amid biting cold, I have to walk at least three kilometers to fetch potable water from a stream located in the foothills of a mountain,” Haseena Akther, a housewife said. She is among dozens of other womenfolk who have to fetch water for cooking and drinking purposes.
Locals told Excelsior that the taps in their villages are running dry, because of which the inhabitants are forced to use polluted and unhygienic water from local ponds, streams and canals which can cause health problems in the area.
Khazir Mohammad, a Panchayat member said that they brought this to the notice of the PHE Department authorities but till date nothing changed on ground. He said that dozens of people in these villages are suffering from water borne diseases like Cholera and Hepatitis-A. “Scores of girls don’t attend tuitions as they remain busy in supporting their mothers to carrying water for a long distance,” he added.
The villagers also said that the Government has failed to provide pure drinking water to several villages as many projects are incomplete due to its apathy.
Locals of Zawoora, Balapora, Shirmal, Wathoo, Nadpora, Manloo, Bathipora and other dozens of villages also alleged that these villages are supplied contaminated drinking water through taps as the water filtration plant constructed at Nagbal-Zawoora is defunct.
An official in the PHE wishing anonymity said that the water supply scheme of Pinjoora, Arhama and Reban was still incomplete and the work on these is going on at slow pace due to which dozens of villages are forced to drink contaminated water. He admitted that to meet the water requirements PHE has laid water pipes directly in the canals in the area to supply water.
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