SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) leader Jagmohan Singh Raina has expressed concern that the people at helm of affairs in the Jal Shakti department have not gone deep into the problems of water being faced by the people of Kashmir especially Srinagar city.
Raina criticized the department officers for their laid-back attitude towards this glaring problem.
In a statement issued here, Raina who is also Chairman of All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) said that since thousands of people have shifted to Srinagar from rural areas the existing water supply schemes are not able to cater to demands of masses. He urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to intervene in the matter and provide relief to the people.
“It is quite natural that once you put pressure on natural resources they would be exhausted at some point of time. Same has happened to water supply in Srinagar and others districts of Kashmir. The existing water supply schemes need to be augmented and upgraded so that there is some relief for the people who are suffering for want of clean and potable drinking water,” said Apni Party leader.
Raina said that most of the water supply schemes supplying water to the areas of Srinagar district and other districts have been commissioned more than 50 years back and no augmentation has taken place since then. He demanded that Jal Shakti department should tap more water resources and augment the present system of drinking water across Kashmir.
“The Sukhnag water supply scheme can easily be extended to many more areas in Srinagar and Budgam districts, but the concerned department is showing reluctance. A probe needs to be carried out as where have the funds allocated for augmentation of water supply schemes gone. Responsibility needs to be fixed so that punitive action is taken against the concerned officers and officials,” said Raina.
Raina said that the Jal Shakti department should be exhorted to tap all the possible water sources and commission new filtration and treatment plants that could last for centuries together. He said that water supply can also be augmented by the construction of bore wells in the different parts of Kashmir valley especially in areas that face water scarcity on a regular basis.
