Potable water scarcity triggers protest in Sopore
Sopore: Residents of Ningli area of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday staged a protest against Jal shakti department alleging lack of potable water facility in their area since the last one month.
Reports said that the residents blocked the Sopore-Hajin road affecting vehicular movement for some time. The protesters said that they are facing immense hardships due to an acute shortage of drinking water in their locality.
“We had taken up our demands many times with the authorities earlier, but they remained unmoved and they don’t take any step to mitigate our suffering or resolve our genuine problems,” the residents said.
However, after police intervention the protesters called off the blockade and let the traffic run.
The protestors said that authorities are ignoring the local populace on all fronts. “Despite repeated assurances and promises, the Jal Shakti department has failed to provide adequate drinking water facility to us,” Rafeeqa Begum, one of the protester said.
She said that due to the non-availability of drinking water, they are forced to consume contaminated water from streams and wells which may causes different water borne diseases among the residents especially the children and the elderly.
The protesters criticised the government’s promise like ‘Har Ghar Nal Se Jal’, saying “these claims have fallen flat on ground as the villages have been suffering due to the scarcity of drinking water facilities.
They said that various politicians during Assembly election visit our area and make hallow promises to the residents but once the elections are over, the promises also vanish in thin air.
The protestors later appealed 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, an official from the Jal Shaki department said that they will look into the matter and added that the issue will be resolved soon.
