Sumbal's Nowgam residents fuming over non-completion of water tank

The Nowgam residents in Sumbal subdivision of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district are anguished over the non-completion of an Overhead Tank (OHT) for two years. The residents said they were deprived of drinking water and the under-construction project, which includes several components including the OHT, is taking “forever to complete,” with reasons best known to the authorities.

The residents alleged that the administration was in a deep slumber and not taking any measures to complete the important project. Mukhtar Ahmad Hussain, a local, said there was an initial delay with the material being brought from outside the UT. “

The material was taken to Zalpora village ground to work on the OHT's internal structure due to its height, away from the construction site,” he said.

The villagers said with months of religious significance approaching, there seems to be no headway the project will be completed. “We continue to reel under a water crisis and with the holy months arriving soon, people should at least get water to drink,” he added. The villagers made a heartfelt appeal to the administration to gather pace in completing the project and also finish the pipe networks to pending households. “We appreciate whatever work the Jal Jeevan Department has done, but our request to the department as well as the government is to complete the construction before Muharram,” villagers said. Villagers hit out at the administration, saying: “We have our reasons to raise our voice a month ahead — in case the administration is sleeping over the issue, it’s time to wake up and work towards providing us with a water supply.”