Water Shortage: Protesters block traffic on Srinagar-Baramulla highway
KASHMIR NEWS TRUST #KNT
Locals from different villages in Pattan town of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district Thursday morning staged a protest and blocked the highway near Hariath village against acute water shortage.
The protesters mostly females expressed concern about the lack of access to clean water. “For the last two years, we have been consuming water from a flood channel which is unfit for drinking. Now that flood channel has been blocked and there is no water,” the protesters told the news agency Kashmir News Trust adding that it is the responsibility of the government to resolve the issue promptly.
Due to traffic blockade, commuters, school-going students, employees faced a lot of inconvenience.
The protesters said that successive regimes never installed taps in Pattan villages. “There are a couple of taps in villages like Harinara, Mattipora and Daslipora but they are all dry. They have been installed by private individuals, not by any government,” they said.
“A couple of water schemes have been launched by the present LG administration but their completion will take years together. We have been suffering due to acute water scarcity,” the agitated protesters said adding that even water tankers are not pressed into the service.
Tehsildar Singhpora Saqib Murtazh rushed to the spot and propitiated the protesters. He assured them that their grievance would be addressed without any delay. The protesters after being assured by the Tehsildar dispersed peacefully. [KNT]
