Water crisis: People in Handwara’s Magam shell out money to fetch potable water

Kupwara, May 28: Despite the government’s initiative Jal Jeevan Mission, according to which every household was supposed to get tap water but the residents of Shiekh Mohalla in Magam area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district are still grappling with lack of water causing enduring hardships for the locals.

The residents said that they rely on tractors to fetch water from a distant river for drinking, cooking, and other daily needs. “For every tractor we need to pay Rs 500 to fetch water and the process has been continuing for the last several years but the concerned department was doing nothing to mitigate our problem,” said Dr Shiekh Jamsheed, a social activist from this area.

“Those families which are not economically sound, their families tend to walk a considerable distance daily to fetch water from a local nallah exposing them to water borne diseases. While the government promotes the “Har Ghar Nal, Har Ghar Jal” initiative, its implementation in villages like Shiekh Mohalla remains nonexistent,” he added.

“If our issue is not resolved soon, we will have no choice but to launch protests. We are not asking for luxuries, just a basic necessity that every citizen deserves,” they added. The affected communities called upon the administration to put an end to their decades-long struggle for clean drinking water. Meanwhile, Executive Engineer PHE Handwara, Bilal Ahmad Malik told Greater Kashmir that a new scheme has been approved for the said habitation and hopefully work on that will be started soon following which their issue will get resolved.