Amid heat wave, drinking water shortage hits Batamaloo

Srinagar, June 2: Shortage of drinking water supply at Batamaloo and its adjoining areas is taking a toll on residents there.

The aggrieved residents said that they are facing a lot of inconvenience on a daily basis when carrying out their routine home chores amid lack of proper water supply.

A delegation from Mohalla Behbood Committee Deyarwani Batamaloo and other welfare committees in the area told Greater Kashmir that despite raising the issue with the concerned authorities, nothing is being done. They said the areas facing acute water shortage issues include Batamaloo areas like Salfia Colony, PCR area, Khan Colony, Firdousabad, Deyarwani, Dandarkha, SD Colony, Mominabad. They said that in addition to that, Solina and Aalochibagh areas are also facing issues.

“We are facing an acute water shortage and have to fetch water using private vehicles. Amid scorching heat, we are unable to get the basic facility of water, which is really unfortunate. The water pressure is low, and being the tail-end area, we are suffering immensely. We appeal to authorities to fix our issue once and for all so that we don’t suffer,” said Abdul Qayoom, a local.

Recently, residents in many areas of Batamaloo held a protest against water scarcity. They said they faced water shortages for weeks amid scorching heat. The aggrieved said that in summer, the issue is continuous, and the tail-end areas are having immense problems.

“We have had this issue for weeks as we are suffering silently. There are patients and children at home who face the severe brunt. Despite being in the heart of the city, we are craving for basic facilities, including drinking water,” said an aggrieved from Banpora Batamaloo.

The locals also said that they are facing the issue of contaminated water. They said whenever they get some water supply it is also contaminated. They said many are facing health issue due to it.

Abdul Rahim Dar, a member of the local Mohalla committee in Deyarwani, said that many people in the locality had health issues due to contaminated water.

“This week, we held a meeting to address the issue. We are going to take water samples and test them on our own so that authorities will wake up to the issue. We believe that there is leakage in water supply pipes and dirty, hazardous water is getting added to the supply, which is dangerous. In addition to a scarcity of water, we are facing this major issue,” Dar said. Ambreena Anjum, Executive Engineer PHE said that they have taken cognisance of the issue and they will look into it.

"There is misuse of water as well from some consumers due to which tail-end households suffer. As far as contaminated water is concerned, we ensure to supply safe drinking water. If we found any grievance in this regard we will make sure to address that accordingly," she added.