People in this south Kashmir district are forced to consume contaminated water as most of the filtration plants are defunct, making people vulnerable to waterborne diseases.
An official said of 57 filtration plants in the districtonly 28 were functional in both the sub-divisions – Kulgam and Damhalhanjipora.
Of the five rapid sand filtration plants in the district,two plans, Wumberkul- Damhal and Matibugh-Yaripora have not been madeoperational even as the projects were inaugurated almost a decade.
The defunct plants also include Supar-Danow andSudroo-Tantarypora filtration plants which were inaugurated in 2011 underNational Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP).
The official said people in dozens of villages ofDamhal-Hanjipora and Yaripora were forced to consume contaminated water.
The local said the water supplied to their houses was notfit for consumption and has been the cause of various waterborne diseasesincluding Hepatitis B and gastro-intestinal infections.
“Only last year, there was a jaundice outbreak in ourvillage,” said Tariq Ahmad of Supar village.
The health experts too have cited non-availability ofpotable water as the cause of waterborne diseases in the villages. “We oftenreceive patients complaining of intestinal infection and those infected withHepatitis B, from these villages,” said a doctor working in District Hospital,Kulgam.
Muhammad Haneef, Executive Engineer, Public HealthEngineering (PHE), Kulgam acknowledged that many filtration plants were yet tobe made operational owing to “various bottlenecks.”
He said the Matibugh-Yaripora filtration plant was not madefunctional owing to land dispute with the owner. “We are trying to settle theissue,” Haneef said, adding WumberKul-Damhalhanjipora plant was in its finalstages of execution.
About other defunct filtration plants, Haneef said that allthe deficiencies regarding the supply of portable water to household would beaddressed through JalJeewan Mission.