New water supply schemes

The work on the new 47 water supply schemes, which were recently given administrative approval, should be started at the earliest and completed in time. According to officials the schemes are for the major towns of Jammu and Kashmir.

The objective is to make the towns water secure and provide functional tap water to all the households of the towns. The step has been taken amid the growing water crisis. Water crisis keep on emerging every year. But according to reports, this year the scenario was worse compared to previous years and more areas were hit by the crisis. The heat wave further complicated the problem.

Not only was the drinking water crisis there but acute shortage of irrigation water affected the agricultural fields and orchards. The water shortage led to protests in several areas. People in the affected areas have been demanding adequate water supply. The problem is still persisting in several areas. The supply of water through tankers is not an adequate response. In the past serious attention was not paid for establishing more water supply schemes in view of the growing population and increase in residential areas. Even a number of existing water schemes do not function properly.

Now that administrative approval has been given for the 47 new schemes, the necessary process should be initiated at the earliest. The work on the projects too have to be started in time and completed in time. Timely completion of these projects can help in achieving the desired results. Any delay can hit the objective. Besides, more such schemes must be set up so that the people in villages get benefitted. People in several villages are facing the water shortage. Their problem too needs to be settled.

The concerned authorities must pay attention towards this problem as well. For the time being adequate number of water tankers must be sent to these areas on regular basis till a solution is found out. The people should not be made to walk long distances to fetch the water. At the same time the people too must use the water judiciously. Wastage of water is not in anybody's interests.