Bandipora villages await potable water supply for over a decade

Bandipora, Mar 3: At least 130 households in north Kashmir's Bandipora village have been awaiting potable water supply, forcing them to consume water from natural springs or streams, much to the dismay of the villagers, especially women.

The Kanibathi villagers in the district told Greater Kashmir that they would receive water supply from the village's reservoir 11 years ago and since then it has become dysfunctional.

Neither the reservoir has been made functional nor has the village been connected to other water supply schemes.

The locals from the village told Greater Kashmir they have knocked on the doors of every officer within the district, but their demands and the pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

The assurances from the department that the village would get potable water supply from the nearby Ashtengoo water supply scheme have not been fulfilled.

"To connect the village with the water supply scheme, authorities laid 250 pipes between Ashtengoo, but a large portion remains to be connected, thus depriving us of potable water supply," Zahoor Ahmad, a local from the village, said. The locals said the recommendations to the authorities to provide them with water supply have not been paid attention.

"The problem would have been solved if the Public Health Engineering department constructed bore wells here. But nothing is happening in this regard either," Irshad Ahmad, another villager, said.

He added the bore wells required no other sophisticated components and the water would have "reached our homes through taps," but "it is not the case and we have to fetch water from streams or natural springs."

The Assistant Executive Engineer PHE Bandipora, Javid Raina told Greater Kashmir that under JJM a huge project has been put out for tenders and is under execution.

The official said under the project, "thirteen borewells and fourteen lift schemes are being constructed to supply the villagers with potable water."

AEE said the problem was not that complex, as villagers were getting water via other means too.

He said it would take "two to three months" for the project to complete as present weather conditions have slightly delayed the execution.

The official said he had no information about the village being connected to the Ashtengoo Water Supply Scheme.