HAJIN: Inhabitants of Mir Mohalla in Hajin town of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district held a protest on Friday against the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department for failing to provide adequate drinking water.
The protesters, mostly women, held a silent sit-in to draw the authorities’ attention to their problems.
The aggrieved residents said they are not getting drinking water regularly, causing significant issues for them.
“We are not being provided safe drinking water regularly, especially on auspicious occasions, and the women in the area bear most of the brunt as they have to get water for their daily use from distant places,” Raja, a woman protester, told Kashmir Reader.
She added that they have brought the matter to the concerned department, but no attention is being paid to their grievances, which forced them to take to the streets.
The local women have to walk miles to fetch drinking water from the river. The taps have been dry for many days, and the department is not taking any measures to resolve the problem. Besides that, they have to consume polluted water from irrigation canals, raising fears of waterborne diseases as well.
Ishtiyaq Lone said, “We are suffering a lot in the absence of proper drinking water.” He added that the department has not been able to provide potable water to their homes, especially during the auspicious occasion of Eid ul Adha. He appealed for their issue to be addressed on an urgent basis.
They urged the department to lay new pipes so that water could reach their taps. They requested the Deputy Commissioner of Bandipora to look into the problem personally.
AEE Public Health Engineering Department Fayaz Ahmad told Kashmir Reader that he will look into this “genuine issue”. He assured that the matter will be resolved within a few days.