Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Feb 1: Residents of Kah (Sanot) Panchayat in Nagrota Gurjroo Block of Kathua District endure a month-long struggle with contaminated water. According to the villagers, the problem lies in the repair of the existing PHE line, part of the Central Government’s Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
They said the absence of an alternative water supply has forced around 100 villagers to resort to drinking water from a nearby nullah.
Manjit, a concerned villager, highlighted the dire situation. He said, “with just one water source, a hand pump, serving the entire population, villagers often turn to the nullah when the hand pump proves insufficient for their daily water needs.”
He said, despite bringing the issue to the attention of Chief Engineer Hamesh Manchanda and SE Ram Kumar Gupta from the Jal Shakti Department, no substantial action has been taken.
“Both the officers assured to look into this matter on priority but it’s been almost one month that people are not being provided with a clean source of water,” he regretted. Efforts to contact DDC Kathua Rakesh Minhas for comments were unsuccessful. However, ADC Ranjit Singh assured that the exercise to provide individual tap water connections to every household under the JJM in Kathua District is underway. He expressed optimism that within a month, all water-related grievances would be addressed.
While unaware of the specific Panchayat case, ADC Ranjit Singh emphasized the administration’s openness to discussing challenges faced by the people and prioritizing their resolution.
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