Lone Sulaiman

Kudara Bandipora, 22 July: Residents of Kudara Bandipora staged a severe protest against the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department, citing that they have been without water for several days. According to the residents, they are forced to fetch water from a stream several kilometers away, which has caused significant hardships.

Local residents expressed their frustration, stating, “Large water pipes pass through our area to supply the lower settlements, but we have no water ourselves. When the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) started, we hoped our difficulties would be resolved. However, they removed the old pipes without installing new ones first, leaving us without water. Shouldn’t they have laid the new pipeline before removing the old one?”

The residents accused the district administration of injustice, claiming that because they belong to a backward area, their grievances are ignored. They alleged that they have raised this issue multiple times with the relevant department and the Deputy Commissioner (DC), but the problem remains unresolved.

Recently, during a visit under the Back to Village program, DC Bandipora was informed about these issues. He assured the residents that he would initiate an inquiry within a week and resolve the issue. However, despite a month passing, nothing has been done. The residents now request the LG administration to address and alleviate their hardships promptly.

When we approached for a comment, the concerned PHE department stated, “We will look into the matter and will resolve the issue to restore water supply as soon as possible.”