Incomplete for 5 years, OHT project leaves Bandipora village thirsty

Bandipora, Nov 29: Five years after work began on an Overhead Water Tank (OHT) under the Water Supply Scheme (WSS) in Sadunara village of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, the Jal Shakti Department’s Sumbal division has yet to complete the project, leaving residents struggling with an irregular and electricity-dependent water supply.

Locals said construction of the OHT started in 2020 but has moved at a sluggish pace, marked by months-long pauses by the contractor. “The water supply continues to function, but the OHT construction has been stopped,” a villager said, adding that the contractor “works for a few days and then vanishes for months.”

Residents said the incomplete project has left the entire village suffering, with the supply of drinking water directly linked to the electricity schedule. “When there is electricity, we get water. Otherwise, there is no supply,” a resident said.

Despite the passage of five years, villagers said the department has failed to complete even this crucial component of the scheme. “We want to know why the construction was halted and why people are being made to suffer every day,” they said, urging the government, the local MLA and the Deputy Commissioner Bandipora to intervene so they can “finally heave a sigh of relief.”

Assistant Executive Engineer Jal Shakti Sumbal, Qazi Saqib, told Greater Kashmir that the delay was due to funding constraints that have affected projects across Jammu and Kashmir. He said work had been progressing normally until about a year ago and most components were completed. “Once funds are released, the work will resume at the earliest,” he said.