Rafiabad village faces drinking water scarcity for last 8 months

Sopore, Aug 3: Amidst the prevailing heat wave, the villagers at Behrampora hamlet of Rafiabad in north Kashmir has been facing an acute drinking water scarcity for the past eight months, with the residents accusing the Jal Shakti department of leaving them in a state of despair.
Aggrieved residents, who were up in arms against the Jal Shakti department said that they are facing acute water scarcity from the month of November even as the people are being forced to walk miles and use their tillers to fetch drinking water from other nearby sources.
Posha Begum, a local of Sheikhpora Behrampora accused the department of pushing them to the wall. She said that the water scarcity has disrupted their daily life; even they had to abandon their routine task to fetch water.
“We are around 50 households in this locality, and it has been several months since we last had tap water. Ironically, the department supplies water at midnight, either at 2 am or 3 am, which is quite strange and impossible for us to fetch,” she lamented.
“We have been moving from pillar to post to get our grievance redressal, but no one is bothered to address our genuine concern,” Irshad Ahmed, another local said.
“The claims of ‘Har Ghar Nal Se Jal’ are seen nowhere in ward 7 and 8. It’s only benefiting the existing consumers, who were already availing the supplies,” he said.
He accused the employees of local Jal Shakti Division, Watergam of involvement in discrepancies and favouritism and urged higher ups to take action against the involved.
The villagers urged higher authorities to intervene and address their issue to ease their miseries, and sought action in the alleged discrimination they believe is prevalent in the local Jal Shakti Department.
Meanwhile, the concerned Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), Ali Mohammed stated that he will look into the matter at the earliest and assured redressal, adding that they will also conduct an onsite inspection.