Tauseef Ahmad
Bandipora, Dec 2: Residents of Kanbathi village in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district blocked the Sopore-Bandipora road to register their protest against the lack of water supply in their area.
Speaking to Kashmir Despatch, the protestors expressed their frustration over the long-standing issue of inadequate access to clean water, which has remained unresolved as per them for several years despite numerous requests to the concerned authorities.
They alleged that a water supply scheme for Kanbathi was sanctioned in 2008, but the relevant department has failed to provide drinking water to the area.
Accusing officials from the Jal Shakti Department of ignoring their pleas, the residents demanded that their issues be addressed promptly. “The department has shifted our water supply scheme to another area,” claimed Farooq Ahmad Kawa, a local resident. “They are forcing us to fetch dirty water from local streams. We have to walk one kilometer on foot just to bring water for our families. The authorities have yet to provide us with potable water,” he added.
A local woman stated, “We suffer every five to six months. The department assures us that the issue will be resolved within two or three months, but nothing ever happens afterwards.” She noted that women in the community travel long distances to secure water for their households, lamenting that “nobody cares about the poor.”
As of the time of this report, the protest was ongoing, with hundreds of local residents, both men and women, raising slogans against the relevant departments for their failure to address the water scarcity issue.
