Protest in Achabal against ‘contaminated’ water supply

Anantnag, Sep 1: Residents of Achabal Anantnag on Thursday staged a protest demonstration against Jal Shakti Department against supply of contaminated water to the area.
The protesters, mainly women, blocked traffic and shouted slogans in favour of their “sole” demand for potable water from Achbal and not from the present means.
“Our issue is about the supply of drinking water on which life depends. We are being provided contaminated water as a result of which our children fall ill on a regular basis,” a woman protester said. Later police reached the spot and restored the traffic.
Meanwhile, an officer of the Jal Shakti Department in a statement said that Achabal Town is provided water supply from Brengi Nallah after filtration through existing SSFP and augmented with a lift scheme with source as Achabal Spring.
“During the night hours, flash floods had occurred in the upper reaches resulting in choking of SSFP owing to high turbidity. The supplies from Brengi Nallah (Gravity Part) were shut and only the lift part was operational.”
The existing SSFP, the officer said, is proving “insufficient” to meet up the required parameters and to sort out the issue a Rapid Sand Filtration Plant of 0.41 MGD capacity is under execution under JKIDFC. “The work stands completed upto 80% and is expected to be completed by the end of current financial year,” he said, adding, “It is worth to mention that with high turbidity in Brengi Nallah, the discharge from Achabal Spring also gets turbid, besides the discharge from Achabal Spring during winters reduces marginally and proves insufficient to meet up the demand of PHE and Fisheries Department and as such cannot prove a sustainable source as demanded by the public.” The issue will get sorted out once and for all as soon as the RSFP is completed, he added. (GNS)