People of Handwara town Wednesday expressed resentment against the Jal Shakti department for failing to provide drinking water to a large chunk of population, resulting in the sufferings of people.
The residents said that they were facing acute shortage of drinking water for several days now due to lack of water supply and alleged that the department was watching as a “mute spectator”.
They said that every now and then they face water crisis while the department does not come up with tangible and concrete solutions to fix the problem.
“Hundreds of households are suffering due to the callous approach of the concerned department that has taken us for a ride,” said Ajaz Ahmad Tantry of Umerabad Handwara.
Another resident said that with the holy month of Ramadhan setting in, people were suffering without portable water.
“Most of the Masjids in Handwara are reeling under shortage of water. Resultantly, people today faced severe problems in performing ablution,” said another local.
The residents said that earlier they used to get water twice a day but due to reasons unknown that was confined to only once a day that too in morning which according to locals was not enough.
The residents said that for the storage of water, electricity is a must but since Handwara has been bifurcated into ‘A’ and ‘B’ zones by the Power Development Department (PDD) both the areas get electricity only on three days in the morning due to which they were able to store water for only three days a week.
Locals said that they many a time brought this issue into the notice of the concerned department but to no avail.
They have sought immediate intervention of Deputy Commissioner Kupwara Imam Din for timely redress of their grievances.
Meanwhile, Executive Engineer Jal Shakti Division Handwara Zubair Ahmad said that the problem had been caused due to blockade in the service line.
“We have deputed men and machinery to fix the problem. Water will be restored by tomorrow,” he said.