PAMPORE: The residents of Khrew area of Pampore in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday staged a peaceful protest demanding basic amenities.
The residents of the Khrew area told Kashmir Reader that they face shortage of portable water and frequent outages of electricity.
Syed Mohammad Ashraf, an elder resident of the area said that a water scheme was sanctioned for them at Khrew which stands already completed.
“Connections to the whole village have been laid down but the scheme has not been made functional,” he said, adding that they went to the chief engineer who told them that the land owner is demanding employment in lieu of land donated for the scheme.
“ If they promised the land owner a job they must fulfill their promise,” the residents demanded.
They appealed to authorities to operationalize the water scheme as soon as possible.
The residents told Kashmir Reader that they pay water bills on time but don’t get regular supply of potable water.
“We get water supply for less than half hour due to which we face paucity of drinking water,” Ashraf said.
General Secretary of Auqaf Islamia Khrew Shabir Ahmad told that they face electricity outages for long periods.
“ In 24 hours we get electricity for about 10 hours,” he said, adding that Khrew town has two receiving stations.
“The nearest receiving station should be operationalized and electricity to Khrew town be supplied from it,” he said.
Assistant Executive Engineer PHE Sub division Pampore Nawaz Ahmad told Kashmir Reader that 15 Marlas of land were used for the scheme at Qasim Colony Khrew.
“One individual is claiming to be owner of 5 Marlas and demanding a job,” he said, adding that they have taken up the matter with district administration and hope to resolve the issue in the next 15 days.

BILAL HABIB