Anantnag: Amid COVID-19 pandemic, residents in Kulgam fear that they will be hit by water borne diseases in the face of most filtration plants in district being defunct.
The south Kashmir district has more than 55 water filtration plants and if the sources are to be believed, less than half are functional as of now leaving more than half of the population without proper, potable drinking water.
Many of the filtration plants, sources told Kashmir Reader, have been inaugurated more than a decade ago and are not operational yet.
“Such water filtration plants include the Sudru-Tantraypora, Suppar-Danew, Yaripora-Mattibugh and some other schemes. They were inaugurated and then nothing happened as if they did not exist,” sources in the district administration said.
Thousands of residents of these areas are forced to consume contaminated water and they are extremely anxious about getting ill amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are used to regular outbreaks of water borne diseases, including jaundice. The question however is, can we afford an outbreak in the times of this pandemic when hospital has become a dreadful place,” Muhammad Adil Hajam, a resident of Mirhama area in the district said.
Many people from areas like Yaripora and Srandoo echoed similar concerns.
“Earlier we managed somehow but getting sick this time around might lead to a COVID-19 infection,” Shabir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Ashmuji area told Kashmir Reader “Now we can only pray that we don’t get sick because of the water,”
The worst affected areas, locals said, were Zazripora, Tensargam, Ashmuji, Gudder, Mirahama, Liravm, Czawalgam, Srandoo, Kolpora, Qaimoh, Gofbal and some other areas.
The situation, people say, is so bad that a local senior official in the district administration recently carried a bottle of mud filled water from his home to his office.
Doctors at the district hospital also express concern saying that an outbreak would be the last thing that the health care system needs now. “We are already overburdened as of now and at this time an outbreak can spell doom, not to speak of the risk it will put the people through,”
Executive Engineer, Muhammad Haneef, told Kashmir Reader that he has joined the place recently and has not got much time to review the situation in a proper manner.
“I have visited some water filtration plants, however, and I have been pleased to see the quality and quantity of water these plants are able to pump out to areas dependent,” he said.
Haneef added that he will take all necessary measures to see that the water supply in the district was further improved.

Suhail A Shah