Water crisis irks women in Shopian villages

Shopian: Scores of a village in south Kashmir’s Shopian district have been facing an acute drinking water crisis for the last many years, causing hardships to women.

The residents of many villages including Wathoo, Kral Chek, Chaigund, Adoora, Nasaprpora, and Tuckroo are facing hardships due to the lack of potable water.

   

According to the women of the village, they have to walk long distances to fetch water.

“During the winters, we brave the chill to fetch water from streams,” said a woman from the Kral Check area.

She said that fetching water had become an inseparable part of their daily chores.

“We spend most of our time bringing water,” she said.

Another woman from Chaygund village said that the village had been facing an acute water crisis for the past eight to 10 years.

“Stepping out of our homes in the early morning puts us at higher risk of vulnerability,” she said.

The residents of other villages too echoed the same views.

Feroz Ahmad from Adoora village said that the shortage of water causes huge suffering to women as bringing water was primarily considered the responsibility of women, particularly in the far-off rural areas.

Ahmad said that his area had been witnessing the worst water crisis for the last many years.

Raja Waheed, District Development Council (DDC) member representing Shopian II constituency, told Greater Kashmir that the water supply schemes in the area had not been revived for decades.

“Due to the heavy load on the existing schemes, the flow of water remains very low, resulting in a shortage of water in many areas,” he said.

Waheed said that he brought the issue to the notice of the concerned authorities umpteen times but to no avail.

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