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REGIONAL

Arihal Pulwama residents say water supply scheme defunct for 12 years

By News Desk

October 13, 2023

For over a decade, a critical water supply scheme in the Dangarpora Arihal area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district has remained inoperative, leaving residents grappling with a persistent water crisis.

The locals of the area told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the water supply scheme, initiated in 2009, efficiently served the community until 2011. However, the scheme’s lifeline, a well, collapsed in 2011, rendering the entire system defunct. Since then, the local population has been plagued by the unavailability of clean drinking water.

According to Mohammad Shaban, a resident of the area, although the authorities attempted to rectify the situation by constructing two additional wells, the water they produced was deemed unsuitable for consumption.

We have repeatedly appealed to the authorities, requesting the drilling of a new well near the original site. However, our pleas have seemingly fallen on deaf ears, he said.

Shaban said approximately 200 households in the Dangarpora area have been enduring a severe shortage of potable water for 12 long years despite their repeated appeals to the department.

The residents have called upon higher authorities to intervene and address this issue promptly to alleviate their suffering—(KNO)