Handwara, Dec 26 (KNO): Amid the harsh winter conditions, the residents of Magam area in north Kashmir’s Handwara are grappling with the severe water crisis, adding to the challenges posed by the cold weather.
Speaking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the inhabitants of Magam (A) while expressing their concerns, highlighted the difficulties being faced by them due to the acute scarcity of drinking water.
It has been a month around that they have been left with no water, they said.
“Despite bringing into the knowledge of the concerned department, the officials didn’t pay any heed to their miseries. The department has miserably failed to redress our genuine grievance and left us with no option to raise our voices,” residents said.
“The village with around 1500 households was having a bore-well as the source of water, which developed a snag, however, a new one was constructed to mitigate the crises, but unfortunately that too failed leaving us high and dry”, Sheikh Jamsheed, a local resident said.
Fetching water has become time consuming, as the villagers had to travel longer distances to fetch the water. From cooking meals to caring for our livestock, the scarcity of water has made everything difficult amidst the chilly weather conditions, he said.
Calling for the early redressal to end the crises, the residents appealed to the authorities to act in this regard.
Executive Engineer, Jal Shakti Department, Handwara, Bilal Ahmed, however, said that they are aware about the issue and are mobilizing efforts to alleviate the water scarcity.
“Keeping in view the challenges, for a temporary basis, the department would be distributing water through tankers to the affected areas,” the official said.
“Magam and Kandi areas are lacking the surface water and are wholly and solely dependent on ground water. We already have 15-16 bore-wells there, but few are not feasible for drinking. Within a week’s time the issue is expected to get resolved,” the official said—(KNO)