Bandipora village faces acute water crisis

Bandipora, Dec 22: The remote Vewan villagers in north Kashmir's Bandipora district have been facing an acute water crisis for over a month despite the department launching a water supply scheme with much fanfare a year ago.

The villagers said they have to traverse one hill to another in search of water under sub-zero temperatures exposing the callous approach of contractors in executing the project.

Even when the department was successful in connecting almost all the houses in the village with the water supply scheme this year, locals accuse the work of not being up to the mark, and contractors and engineers have not taken into consideration the weather challenges of the uphill village.

"The source of the water is almost five kilometers away in the mountains," Shabir Ahmad, a local, said. He added, "The pipes laid by the department are not underground, exposing them to snow and chill."

With snow in the mountains and comparatively low temperatures, the pipes, locals say, froze a month ago, creating a crisis-like situation in the village.

"Let the officers and engineers come and see for themselves how the project has been executed and the frustration it has caused to the villagers," one villager said.

The locals said they have to traverse hills in search of water from the springs in this chill while the department was "unbothered and watching like mute spectators."

Notably, the authorities announced the village as tap water connected with much fanfare over a year ago, giving new hope to the semi-tribal people,  but those hopes have been dashed now.

"Fifteen to twenty men went further uphill sometime ago to check the issue with the water supply, but they were surprised to see the pipes laid above the ground had burst open, the majority of the portions were buried under the snow," Shabir said, adding, "The contractors had lied to us as no one knew pipes were open and exposed."

The villagers said now they are collecting buckets of water from springs traversing nearby hills, "but it does not suffice."

Locals also accused the administration of not clearing the road for a vehicular moment following recent snowfall. "Vehicles are not able to move on the road, which is covered under snow. However, heavy vehicles with skid chains can move; it has affected the villagers a lot," Shabir added.

Locals requested the administration to heed to their requests and resolve their genuine problems.