Shopian, Nov 7: The residents of Chotipora Imamsahab village in south Kashmir’s Shopian district are facing an acute shortage of potable water for the past five years due to the damaged water pipeline in the area.
According to the residents, the village comprising around 100 households has been reeling under an acute shortage of drinking water due to the leakage in water pipes.
The residents said that the pipeline was laid two decades ago and had not been replaced or repaired since. They said that the water to the area was being supplied from Malik Gund Water Reservoir, 3 km away and the rusty pipeline carrying the water was damaged at several places.
“The water has been leaking from the pipeline at many places resulting in the wastage of a large amount of water,” said Javed Ahmad, a local. Ahmad said that they brought the issue to the notice of the authorities umpteen times but to no avail.
The residents said that they take water in turns.
“We take water on alternate days. Fifty percent of the households take it on one day while the rest take it the next day,” they said.
The residents said that sometimes they use the contaminated water from the nearby streams. Executive Engineer of Jal Shakti department, Irfan-ul-Islam told Greater Kashmir that the pipeline would be replaced soon. He said that the process of procurement of new pipes had already been started.
“The work is being carried out under the Jal Jeevan Mission component,” he said.