Handwara village grapples with acute water crisis

Kupwara, Jun 29: The residents of Pahaldaji village in Magam area of Handwara Sub District have been reeling under a severe drinking water crisis for the past one month, causing enduring hardships for the locals. They said that the ongoing water shortage has disrupted their daily life badly, forcing them to use contaminated water from local streams. “The situation has particularly affected women, who are forced to walk long distances to manage household water needs.

They spend hours every day fetching water which is exhausting and unfair for them,” Shanawaz Ahmad, a local, told Greater Kashmir.

“We get water from a spring located in the forest area but every summer it dries up and stops oozing water causing water shortage for the whole village of over two hundred households. We have numerous times requested the concerned department to come up with a new water supply scheme for our village so that the hardships being faced by us in summers may end but the officials seem to be watching our miseries as mute spectators,” he added. The residents said that the concerned authorities must wake up to our suffering, “Otherwise we will be forced to hit streets,” warned a group of residents.

The residents have appealed Peoples Conference Chairman and Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) Handwara Sajad Gani Lone to intervene in this matter so that a permanent solution can be carried. Meanwhile, Executive Engineer Jal Shakti Department Division Handwara, Bilal Ahmad Malik told Greater Kashmir that due to the prevailing dry season, most of the water sources have dried which has caused water scarcity in many areas. Regarding Pahaldaji, Executive Engineer said that he will chart out some temporary solution to adress water shortage in the said village.