People in several areas of Srinagar and Ganderbal districts continue to face water shortage as authorities have failed to fix a breach in a canal for the past five that was developed in the first week of December last year.
Malshai Bagh canal supplies water to different watertreatment plants including Rangil, Shuhama and Alasteng.
Due to the breach, people in various areas of northernSrinagar including Zakura, Soura, Gulab Bagh, Lal Bazar, Batpora, Habak,Hazratbal have been adversely affected.
“Our taps are running dry. We are facing water shortage forthe past several months. The authorities should understand that these are notnormal times and we can’t afford to purchase bottled water on daily basis,”said Hashim Khan, a resident of Habak.
Water canals in the Ganderbal have suffered such breaches in2018 as well. With water shortage growing, people from affected areas have nowstarted consuming water from bore wells.
“It is the last option for us now,” said a resident fromZakura.
He said though they receive water supply for few hours, theflow is inadequate to meet the demand. “People having motors fill their tanksand many like us continue to suffer and are forced to consume the water frombore well,” said the resident.
Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, Shafqat Iqbal said owing tothe lockdown, the repair work has taken a hit. “It will take around one monthto complete the restoration work,” he said.
He said the material for carrying out the restoration workshas to be ferried from outside. “There is problem with traffic movement aswell. We are trying our best to restore the supply but factories that provideus with raw material are closed due to the pandemic,” the DC said.