Potable water scarcity sparks outrage in Sopore areas

Sopore, Jul 25: Scores of residents of Aadipora area of Sopore and Rashidabad Rafiabad in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday staged a protest against Jal Shakti department for lack of potable water facility in their area since years.

Residents of Aadipora held a protest outside Jal Shakti department Sopore. The protesters said that they are facing immense hardships due to an acute shortage of drinking water for last 20 years and nobody from concerned authorities have paid heed. “We took to the streets a number of times to press for our demands but the authorities remain unmoved and they don’t take any concrete step to mitigate our suffering or resolve this genuine problem,” residents said.

A local said, “We have been running from pillar to post from last two decades and the concerned Department is in deep slumber and they didn’t pay any heed towards our plea.” Similarly, residents of Rashid Abad in the Rafiabad constituency held protests gainst Jal Shakti Department over severe water shortage in their locality since last four months. Meanwhile, officials from the Jal Shakti department Sopore said that they have already setup 80 percent pipeline to the tail end areas of Aadipora Sopore and rest remaining one km will be fullfilled soon. They said that the grievances of the people would be resolved on priority. Volume of water typically decreases in summer, exacerbating the problem in some areas as well. They should cooperate with the department, the officials added.