Islamabad, (Anantnag), Mar 16: The residents of Kandipora village of this South Kashmir district, situated merely three kilometers away from Bijbehara town, are up in arms against the government for failing to provide basic amenities to them. According to the inhabitants, their area is facing acute shortage of drinking water and lacks irrigation facility. They said the erratic power supply has become order of the day, adding the commuters were facing immense hardships due to the dilapidated road condition.
 “Most of the time our taps run dry as the Wubzan Water Supply Scheme, which provides water to our village, remains dysfunctional due to non-availability of the electricity,” the residents told Greater Kashmir adding that the women of the area had to tread miles to fetch water from the adjoining villages during that period. The women, the residents said, face hardships to fetch water particularly during the winter when snow gets accumulated on the roads and also during summer in scorching heat. 
 They said that as the power supply is available during morning hours only, the employees posted at the Water Supply Scheme don’t bother to fill the tank then and later even don’t make use of the generator as a result of which the villagers crave for even a single drop of water.
 The inhabitants said that they made repeated pleas to the Power Development Department to supply uninterrupted power to the WSS. “However, our pleas have fallen to deaf ears and the WSS has failed to provide continuous water to the households,” the residents added.
 The electric supply in the area, villagers complained, is very much erratic. “There is no proper schedule for electricity and at the most we get only four hours of electricity a day while at times the village reels under darkness for days together,” the villagers said. They said the PDD was even unable to provide the electricity according to the prescribed schedule. 
 They further said the electric supply lines are fraught with danger and can lead to a mishap as they are touching the windows and roof tops of the houses. “The Power Development Department has not even erected the electric poles in the area.”
 The irrigation scheme, which was commissioned at a cost of whooping Rs 1.20 crore, villagers say has failed to serve any purpose.  “The work on the irrigation canal which was supposed to irrigate Kandipora and two other adjoining villages was started way back in 2007, but the scheme has proved a total failure as it is unable to irrigate the orchard land,” said a villager, Jahangir Ahmad.
 The roads in the area, villagers say are in complete dilapidated condition. “Even a small down pour inundates the road and makes it muddy while the vehicles also incur extensive damage,” said another villager, Jan Muhammad. 
 He said that though the village is barely three kilometers away from Bijbehara town, but its condition is pathetic and worst than a remote corner of the Valley.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 IST