Scores of residents including women of Bagh-e-Islam of Sopore area in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday staged a protest against Jal Shakti department for ‘failing’ to provide them regular water supply, reported a local news agency, Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
The protesters assembled at Iqbal Market and blocked the Sopore Byepass road, affecting the traffic movement for several hours. They told the agency that the residents are facing water shortage for the past two months, adding that the department was forcing them to consume filthy water.
They said that their area in the entire town is worst affected due to non- availability of adequate water supply.
Shakeela Begum, one of the protesters, said that they approached the concerned officials many times but nothing has been done in this regard. “We are being forced to consume contaminated water, which has affected our health,” she said.
Meanwhile, officials from the Jal Shakti department said that the pipeline was damaged by R&B department during construction of drains, which led to the shortage of water in the area.
He further said that the grievances of the people will be resolved soon as the department will come up with a separate water supply line towards the locality shortly. (KNO)
