Work on overhead water tank left abandoned in Bandipora village

Bandipora, Nov 25: The much-awaited project which includes the construction of a 30000-gallon overhead water tank, anticipated to resolve the water crisis of Madwan village in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, has been left abandoned without completion, locals say.

The locals claim that over 300 households with a population of around 3000 souls desperately needed potable water supply and their long-pending demand was finally met when the administration approved a project to construct the water supply scheme which included a filtration plant and water tanks.

However, the Jal Jeevan Mission or the erstwhile PHE department, locals said, has failed to hold the contractor accountable as the work on the project has been halted for over a year before executing some works.

“We have been struggling to have even a drop of potable water run through our taps, but the dream seems far-fetched now as the work on the much-anticipated project isn’t moving ahead,” Ghulam Nabi, a local who is also a PRI member, said.

Nabi said that they had been getting water from nearby Prang village, but it’s often a “struggle” and people are considered lucky if they manage to fetch a full bucket or two.

However, the authorities claim the delay was due to legal wrangling as someone residing near the project had claimed apprehensions of risk to his life in case of any catastrophe. The assistant engineer of PHE Sumbal, Fayaz Ahmad, said the issue has been resolved.

“He had even brought an objection about the height and distance, but after all the parameters were verified, it came to the fore that legalities were maintained, so we had a go-ahead for the project.”

However, when the man physically tried to hinder the construction work, “We used force and with the help from police, resolved the issue,” Ahmad said.

He said the components, which include the filtration plant and two OHTs, were almost 70 to 80 percent complete and the project has a deadline of 2024. The official hoped that with a resolution the project would take off soon and would be completed in the stipulated time but might still take four or five more months.