6 months on, Sopore village face acute water scarcity

Sopore, Sep 12: The residents of Machipura Hardshiva village of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Monday staged a protest against the Jal Shakti department for failing to supply drinking water to them for the last six months.
Reports said that inhabitants of Machipura Hardshiva of Baramulla’s Sopore are facing acute water scarcity, forcing them to consume unhygienic water, posing serious risk of getting infected with water borne diseases.
However, the concerned department is least bothered about their genuine demand, they said.
Shagufta Khursheed, who was part of the protest at Iqbal Market said that there is no drinking water in their village and they are being compelled to walk two kilometres everyday to fetch water and consume contaminated water, which can prove health hazardous to them.
“The campaign launched by the government ‘Har Ghar Nal Se Jal’ has fallen flat as we have been suffering due to the scarcity of drinking water for at least six months,” said Hamida, another resident.
She said that they have been moving from pillar to post to get this genuine demand redressed but every time their pleas fell into deaf ears.
“If the issue is not addressed in a timely manner, we will again hit the roads,” she added.
However, police reached the spot and pacified the protestors with the assurance that water supply will be supplied in the area soon.
Meanwhile, officials at Jal Shakti Department, Sopore said that the matter will be looked into and the genuine grievance will be redressed as soon as possible. (KNO)