PIPE DREAM | Potable water remains elusive for Qazigund residents

Qazigund: The residents of multiple villages in Yar Kushipora halqa in south Kashmir’s Qazigund are facing immense hardships in the absence of piped water in the area.

According to the residents, at least 10 hamlets including Kushipora, Check Muswani, Peer Taqi, Nagrus, Baghpora, and Batpora are facing an acute water crisis.

Many residents said that water pipes were laid in the village a few years ago, but a seamless water supply remained a distant dream.

They said that many new residential houses had come up in the area over the past few years and they were without piped water.

“We approached the concerned authorities umpteen times but all our requests remain unheeded,” said Muhammad Ramzan, a resident.

He said that some residents had constructed tube wells, but they too faced a shortage of water during the hot summers.

“Due to the depletion of groundwater levels during the scorching summers, we have to fetch water from the nearby streams,” he said.

Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, another resident, said that a threat of waterborne diseases looms large over the area.

“The consumption of contaminated water can result in severe health issues in the area,” Bhat said.

Many women from the area said that they had to bear the brunt of the water crisis.

“We have to do dishes and laundry at streams after walking a significant distance,” they said.

They said that the frosty winters only add to their woes.

Assistant Executive Engineer, Jal Shakti Department, Rafiq Ahmad Bhat told Greater Kashmir that a new water scheme was under construction and the issue would be resolved soon.