Valley suffers water shortage in Ramadan

By Mudassir Kuloo

Srinagar, Jun 05: Parts of Kashmir have been suffering an acute shortage of drinking water during the ongoing holy month of Ramadan, with the residents accusing the authorities of indifference.

“When I opened the tap to perform ablution after Sehri (predawn meals), there was not a drop of water,” said Mohammad Sharif, a resident of Nowshera here.

He said most of the inhabitants were using water motors during the night hours to get some water.

Before the beginning of the holy month, government had claimed that they would ensure proper electricity and drinking water supply.

“Things have gone from bad to the worse in Ramadan. We get tap water only for a few hours in a day,” said Ashfaq Ahmad, a resident of Buchpora.

Lal Chowk, the heart of the city, has also been facing acute shortage of tap water.

Residents and shopkeepers of Abi Guzar and Residency Road said they have been facing shortage of tap water for the last two days.

“I had to go to Polo View to perform Wadu,” a shopkeeper at the Residency Road said. “We brought water bottles from a local shopkeeper for breaking fast on Monday.”

The southern areas of Srinagar city, which get the supply from the Doodh Ganga plant, are also facing an intense shortage of tap water.

“Most of the times, the taps are running dry. We brought into the notice of concerned officials many a days but nobody is paying heed to our repeated pleas,” said Javeed Ahmad, a resident of Natipora.

“We are forced to consume the contaminated water that is being fetched from contaminated sources from other areas,” he said.

The residents of old city Srinagar also complained the scarcity of drinking water in the area.

Similar complaints are pouring in from various parts of south and north Kashmir where people said they are forced to fetch water from streams and consume contaminated water.

“We rarely get tap water for the last few days. We are not able to perform the ablution due to lack of tap water,” said Ghulam Mohammad, a resident of Palhalan, Pattan.

He said the women folk had to fetch water from the nearby areas.

An official of the Public Health Engineering Department said they have launched a drive to seize water motors.

“There is water shortage, but the situation has turned worse due to use of water motors,” he said.

Chief Engineer, PHE, Abdul Wahid, said, “People should not waste the tap water. If they use water judiciously, there will be no shortage of water.”