Srinagar, July 14: The residents of water shortage-hit Batamaloo have accused the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of denying entry of water tankers into the area.
 The residents said for the past few days they were facing acute shortage of potable water adding the taps were running dry most of the times.
 Coming to their rescue, the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department made some abortive bids of sending water tankers to the area. In the past three consecutive days, sources in PHE said, the tankers couldn’t reach the affected areas like Firdousabad as the drivers were thrashed midway allegedly by the CRPF troopers, a charge denied by the paramilitary.
 The sources said taking the water supply a serious issue, the Executive Engineer, PHE, Rafiq Ahmed Malik approached the district administration.
 “We cannot deprive people of water supply under any circumstances, be it curfew or stone pelting,” the Executive Engineer is learnt to have told the administration.
 In response, the PHE was assured “safe passage” to its tankers. “But despite assurances, every time the PHE staff was thrashed,” said a PHE official requesting not be named.
 On Tuesday finding another team of staff being thrashed, the SHO Batmaloo, Zahoor Ahmed is understood to have intervened and called a joint meeting with the PHE and the CRPF.
 “They (CRPF) have assured that the water supply tankers will be permitted to proceed,” said a police official.
 When contacted a PHE official said: “The supply has been resumed today to some extent.”
 Pertinently, for the past around a fortnight the Batamaloo residents have been accusing the CRPF of resorting to “Zionist tactics of troubling civilians.”
 “Last week they (CRPF) even damaged our transformers plunging the entire locality into darkness,” said a professor living in the area.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST