Bandipora’s Konan villagers irked over polythene filled canals
The Konan-Babagund villagers in north Kashmir's Bandipora are irked over polluted water canals for irrigation purposes.
The villagers said the lack of garbage collection has taken a toll on water bodies in the village as many people ignorant of the impact dump garbage directly into the streams.
"With the result a large quantity of polythene and polythene wrappers have choked the canals amid low water levels," Ishfaq Ahmad a local said.
The locals demanded the rural development department to devise appropriate plans of garbage collection and cleansing measures. They said water bodies in the area hold importance for fresh for wide domestic consumption, irrigation purposes and also serve a habitat for trout fishes.
Embankment caved-in
Meanwhile, the road near Jehlum river embankment in Hajin area of north Kashmir's Bandipora district is giving nightmares to the residents. The portion of the embankment had caved in years ago near the bridge, raising apprehensions of a larger tragedy.
Although authorities had done some "cosmetic measures" to protect further cave-ins, they have not found any permanent solution, according to locals, despite "soil testing" and use of machinery. The occasional cave-ins, they said, still continue.
On Saturday, the road near the river developed cracks forcing authorities to divert the traffic while in the meantime infuriating scores of residents and shopkeepers on the roadside.
The locals are demanding a permanent solution to address the issue to protect any huge tragedy.
'Make water supply functional'
The villagers living around the Water Supply Scheme in Konan have demanded all the components of the scheme be made functional. The locals said the scheme constructed for huge cost is not serving its true purpose as components like pre-settling and filtration were not being conducted. The villagers said the scheme, now functional from few years, has various components but the concerned authorities are not making any progress to make all of those functional. "It was an asset for the villages which receive water from it, had the department made all components functional, scores of villagers will get pure drinking water," Shafat Ahmad, a local resident said.