Shopian’s Shadab Karewa village sans portablewater

Shadab Karewa, Nov 15:As the winters are approaching, residents of Bhat Mohalla, Khan Mohalla, TulsiMohalla and Mir Mohalla at ShadabKarewa in South Kashmir’s Shopian districtare suffering from severe water shortage.
According to locals, the Jal Shakti Department has been unable to ensure a regular supply of potable drinking water to the area since years now.
The locals of the area registered a strong protest and demanded that the water supply should be regularised as soon as possible. “Despite living in the 21st century, our women still have to walk miles to fetch water for their families. It is unclear to me why portable water isn’t provided despite all the talk of development in the area. What other benefits can we expect from the development,” said Abdul Rasheed Khan, a local resident of the village.
During the winter time, the people claim that they have to hire vehicles to bring water from adjoining areas. “The claims of Jal Shakti Department are unreal, they claim that every house hold has access to portable drinking water but the reality of our village is something else. We have to pay for the vehiclesfrom our own pocket. The access to portable water, which otherwise is our basic right, has become dearer to us,” said another local resident.
The residents also demanded that the authorities need to install deep borewells in the area so that the water woes are reduced and the people can live a dignified life. The Jal Shakti Department also needs to augment staff in the area in order to maintain proper supply and monitoring.
The residents want to be part of the development process in the Union Territory but are lagging behind as their basic survival needs are not met. They have time and again registered their protest to the Jal Shakti Department but all in vain. They have also appealed the district authorities, specifically the Deputy Commissioner of Shopian to address their problems on war footing.