Over 5,000 population of north Kashmir’s main town Uri on Saturday accused the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department of failing to provide the town safe drinking water.
Locals in the town said that they are facing numerous hardships for the last twenty days. “A local contractor has restored to sand mining in a nallah supplying water to us in Nambla area of Uri. The freshwater has now converted to muddy due to mining and we are being forced to drink it,” a resident, Rafiq Ahmad told a local news agency, Global News Service (GNS).
He said the taps in the washing room and geysers were also blocked due to this muddy water.
Bashir Ahmad, a local said government had constructed a filter plant costing Rs 1.28 crores in Uri town which was inaugurated in 2015 by then CAPD minister Taj Mohiudin with a purpose to provide pure water to people which is also defunct for a long time.
A delegation led by Mohammad Iqbal of Uri town narrated the same story; they said the PHE department bedded a water scheme in their area from local Nallah but water is totally muddy which is not in a position to drink and especially in rainy days the situation worsens.
They said the water scheme was lying damaged and polluted water enters in the pipeline.
They further alleged that despite the locals had many times approached the higher authorities but every time they pay deaf ear towards their plea.
AEE PHE Uri Nasir Ahmad Wani told GNS that PMGSY department was doing a road construction work in Nambla village which was causing the supply of polluted water to residents. “Later we took the help from the local police and stopped their work,” he said.
He added that a letter has been also sent to flood department asking them not to allow mining of sands at head sites of PHE.
Regarding the defunct filter plant, the AEE said, “There is some technical snag in it and we have approached the mechanical wing of the department. Hopefully it will be repaired in a couple of days. ”
However, he added that rains play spoilsport many times leading to the contaminated water supply.(GNS)
