Bandipora: Dozens of uphill villages in north Kashmir's Bandipora district are facing a drought-like situation due to low water levels in streams and lack of rainfall.
Even as the water pumps, which could solve the problem were allotted a year ago, those have not been installed, the distraught villagers said.
The villagers from Quil, Muqam, Malangam, Turkapora, Pahalpora, and Mangnipora assembled at the mini-secretariat Bandipora on Wednesday and asked the administration to take immediate action as they were at risk of losing the crop.
"Many villages are irrigated by Reshi Kul and with no rainfall, the water has receded from its source stream Bonar Nallah," said Peerzada Shamasuddin Shah from Quil Muqam village.
Shah said that they faced a similar situation last year and the administration was constructing a lift irrigation scheme, but the project was a long-term one.
He said that the administration had roped in National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), which had provided two lift pumps and pipes for irrigation.
“However, the Irrigation Department had failed to install the pumps after more than a year," Shah said.
The Resh Koul irrigates at least 20 villages in Bandipora, many of which fall in the Aloosa tehsil.
Abdul Rasheed Choker from Malangam village said that their crops including corn, paddy, and vegetables were getting ruined.
He said people as well as cattle were suffering without water. "It is a chaos," Choker said
He said it was "now or never" for the administration and the department to act.
“Otherwise we will be devastated,” Choker said.
He questioned if delaying the resolution of people's genuine demands was a form of corruption.
"We are celebrating corruption-free week but what about this?" he said.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Bandipora, Umar Shafi Pandit told Greater Kashmir that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) had been submitted and work would start soon. He said that to redress the immediate grievances of the people, the concerned department would act within a few days.
