13 years on, Adipora-Trichal WSS awaits operationalization

Pulwama, July 03 : The residents of Trichal village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district have been waiting for operationalisation of the Water Supply Scheme ( WSS) for the past 13 years.
The villagers of Tricahl informed Rising Kashmir that a scheme, Adipora- Trichal Water Supply Scheme, was sanctioned in their area around two decades ago.
The villagers said that the scheme was completed in 2010 but till date Jal Shakti (Public Health Engineering) department failed to operationalise the water supply scheme despite spending a huge amount on it.
Mohammad Afzal Shah, a resident of Adipora Trichal, said that they have been made to suffer due to non-operationalising of the water supply scheme. “We face paucity of portable water,” he said, adding that the shortage is more acute in 30 households falling under Adipora locality of Trichal.
He said that the scheme has a capacity to cater to portable water needs of around 1000 families.
He added that there is a dispute between the land donor for the scheme, Reyaz Ahmad Thoker and the Public Health Engineering department due to which it has not been operationalised.
Reyaz Ahmad Thoker told Rising Kashmir that he donated one kanal of his property land to PHE after he was promised employment by then concerned executive engineer.
He added that he was asked for mutation of the land in favour of the PHE department for processing his employment.
“The mutation has been recorded in revenue documents,” he said, adding that he is yet to get any employment order from the PHE department.
Reyaz said that he has been moving from pillar to post pleading before authorities of the PHE department for fulfilling their promise.
He said that the department failed to provide him any employment in the past 13 years which aggrieved him to resist running the water supply scheme.
Executive Engineer Jal Shakti ( PHE) Pulwama, Nisar Ahmad said that the scheme is disputed by the land donor.
“The land donor is adamant on demand of getting employment,” he said, adding that the case doesn’t fall in the category of land donors who can be considered for employment as per SRO 520.
He said that the department is ready to provide him compensation for the land acquired.