Residents of Wahibugh in Pulwama without potable water for last 2 years

Shopian, Apr 13: Several households in Wahibugh village, 4 kms for south Kashmir’s Pulwama town, have been reeling under severe shortage of potable water for the last two years. According to the residents, the water supply line to the households was damaged while the authorities laid a communication cable along the road two years ago.

Ghulam Nabi, a resident, said that the authorities dug the road to lay the cable that led to the damage of the waterline.  “Initially, it affected the flow of water, but later the supply was completely disrupted, leaving us without water”, said the resident.

He said that they brought the matter to the notice of the authority’s umpteen times, but their requests met with indifference. Due to the non-availability of piped water, the residents have to walk long distances to fetch it. “Every day we walk nearly a kilometer to collect water”, said the residents.

According to the residents, fetching water is now a regular household chore. “Some households have borewells, but the water isn’t safe for drinking, so we only use it for laundry and washing dishes. For drinking water, we have to walk a long distance,” said the residents. According to the residents, they had to pay water bills even though there was no supply. The residents appealed to the Jal Shakti Department to restore the supply forthwith to avoid further hardships to them.  An official said that a team from the Jal Shakti Department visited the spot and assured the residents that the matter would be resolved soon.