Water scarcity triggers protest in north Kashmir’s Sopore areas
Sopore: Residents of the Shangergund area of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday staged a protest against Jal shakti department, alleging non-availability of potable water facility in their area since years.
Residents of the area blocked Sopore-Kupwara road affecting traffic movement for an hour. The protesters said that they are facing immense hardships due to an acute shortage of drinking water for years.
“We took to the streets a number of times to press for our demands but the authorities remain unmoved and they didn’t take any step to mitigate our suffering or resolve this genuine problem of our area,” the residents said.
Reports said that soon after police officials reached the spot and intervened following which the protesters called off the dharna and allowed the traffic to move.
The locals said that the women folk have to walk miles to fetch water.
“Authorities are ignoring us on all fronts. Despite repeated assurances and promises, the Jal Shakti department has failed to provide adequate drinking water facility to us,” Jameela Begum, one of the protester said.
She said that due to the non-availability of drinking water, we are forced to consume contaminated water from streams and wells which causes different water borne diseases among the residents especially the children and the elderly.
Another protester, Reyaz Ahmad, criticised the government for its “hollow slogans” like ‘Har Ghar Nal Se Jal’, saying “these claims have fallen flat as our locality have been suffering due to the scarcity of drinking water supply for years.
He said that various politician during Assembly election visit our area and make hallow promises to the residents that the area will get all basic facilities if they cast votes in their favour, but after elections the situation hardly changes.
Another group of the residents accused the Jal Shakti Department of showing apathy towards them.
They alleged that the they are not getting tap water properly since last one year as taps in their area remains completely dry.
Despite repeatedly raising the issue with the concerned department, the residents claim that no concrete action has been taken to resolve the issue.
The protestors later appealed to the chief minister Omer Abdullah, and district administration to intervene in the matter to address the issue and ensure the regular supply of drinking water to the area.
Meanwhile, official from Jal Shaki department said that will look into the matter.
