Water scarcity evokes protest in Sopore

Sopore, Sep 24: Scores of inhabitants including women of Check Roday Khan area of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district hit the streets on Tuesday morning to protest against administration and Jal Shakti department for failing to provide adequate drinking water in the area. The protesters said they were facing scarcity of drinking water in the area for the last ten years.

The protesters said that they are facing tremendous hardships even as, “our area is barely 2 kilometers away from the main town Sopore, but the authorities have failed to provide us adequate water supply for the last ten years.”

“We were being forced to fetch water from dirty streams and the nearby river which cause water-borne diseases among our children, “ said Saleema Begum, one of the protesters. She said that “we had approached the department many times but to no avail.”

Another protesting woman said, “We bought water from private tankers from our own pockets, however the Jal Shakti department has done nothing to gave some sort of relief to our sufferings.”

Residents appealed to the district administration and the higher authorities of Jal Shakti department to provide regular water supply, otherwise “we will continuously hit the roads.”