Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, June 22: The residents of Ushkara Bala in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district have been left to fend for themselves in the absence of drinking water in the area due to the callousness of the concerned department in starting the Water Supply Scheme (WSS) which is yet to see the completion despite the passage of over 4 years.
The locals told Excelsior that they are facing hardships due to the non-availability of drinking water for the last several years now, while the concerned department has been turning a blind eye towards their plight.
“We are facing tremendous issues due to the absence of drinking water; our ladies face issues regarding the washing of clothes and utensils and despite knowing it, the concerned department is not paying any attention,” the locals said
While the PHE Department has set up a water supply scheme in the area, however, the same has not been made functional so far resulting in added misery to the locals.
The locals said the concerned department has been delaying the start of the scheme on one pretext or the other. “Last year they told us that it would be made functional within one month, but one year has passed and the status remains the same,” said Muhammad Maqbool, a local.
It is to be noted here that the pipes that are connected with the WSS have been laid while the required machinery has also been put in place, however, due to unknown reasons the starting of WSS is being delayed.
“If the WSS is has been set up for the betterment of the locals, what is stopping them from making it functional, we fail to understand,” the locals said.
The officials of the department told Excelsior that there were few minor works to be carried out in the WSS and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the labour could not be arranged which resulted in further delay in starting the WSS.
“We are on the job and we are expecting that the WSS will be started soon; there was no big issue that resulted in a delay in the start of the WSS,” Zafar Mustafa Khan, AEE PHE and T.O to the Executive Engineer, PHE Division Baramulla told Excelsior.
While stating that they are on the job, the official did not spell out any date by which the locals would expect the WSS to start its operations.
On the other side, the locals, while stating that they do not trust the department as it has been always resorting to dilly dallying tactics, demanded the higher officials of the district administration to look into the matter.
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