Rains expose cracks in Bandipora PHE's drinking water supply schemes
Bandipora, Jul 11: The recent spell of rainfall in Bandipora, rather than bringing relief, has triggered a fresh drinking water crisis in the main town of this north Kashmir district and its surrounding areas.
The rains have once again exposed persisting issues with the region’s water infrastructure, particularly the long-defunct Pre-Settling Tank (PST) at Bilal Colony in hilly Panar. Commissioned in 2018 after construction started on the PST in 2014, at a cost of over six crores, the PST's central wall collapsed in 2018 during the testing phase and remained non-functional for years up until recently. Even as prolonged repairs were carried out, the tank was recently recharged, but the scheme has now stalled again.
Considered an important unit, it is used to settle sediments and other hard impurities as part of a pre-purification process, and was constructed to supplement a source promotion scheme.
Executive Engineer Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) of the erstwhile PHE department Bandipora, Mutayib Bashir Shah, told Greater Kashmir that the scheme has run into a compensation issue. “One person, on whose land the PST has been constructed, is demanding his compensation and has not allowed us to operate the tank," he said.
He also pointed out that since the PST has already borne one jolt, "it requires some retrofitting as well."
He added, “Usually when the water is turbid, the supply is cut temporarily. Although the PST plays an effective role in managing turbidity, when turbidity levels rise excessively, even the PST supply has to be cut off to prevent unsafe water from reaching consumers.” The issue plunges the town area and other localities into a water crisis during rains, which the district has lately been witnessing for a few days after a severe heatwave left residents gasping.
Farooq Ahmad Ahanger, a local resident, on Thursday said that they were unable to store water as the supply remained low or near zero. The issue, even during hot days, forces residents to use water pumps, inviting official wrath and seizure of the assets.
Notably, the region boasts immense natural water resources in the form of glacial streams besides a freshwater lake, Wular, yet the department has been unable to harness its water potential to provide a consistent supply to its inhabitants. Besides that, the service reservoirs seem to be running at low capacity, needing immediate expansion.
“On Wednesday, murky water flowed from our taps, which we could not consume. With limited supply hours and no proper water availability, thousands of residents in the town and adjoining areas are bearing the brunt of this crisis,” Ahanger said, adding that after waiting for a day to let the issue settle, the crisis continued.
Residents are demanding the authorities for immediate redressal of the issue and are questioning the administration over the delay in resolving the long-pending PST dispute and ensuring uninterrupted clean water supply, especially during the rains and hot weather.
Shah, however, said that they consistently monitor the turbidity and once the water is safe for drinking, the Service Reservoirs (SRs) are recharged and supply is restored to its true potential, which he assured to do on July 10 as well.
