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| Humans, animals share water source for drinking at Hygam-Sopore | | | S Tahir-ul Haq
Early Times Report
SOPORE, Jan 23 : The state government has failed to utilize funds for the welfare of masses and as such thousands of people in rural areas suffer. People living in an adjacent area of Hygam wetland in Baramulla district of North Kashmir have been deprived of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.
Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Mohammad Muzaffar Parray told Early Times that thousands of households in Hanjipora village especially Khazirabad Mohalla are deprived of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.
The fact of the matter is that dogs, cattle and human beings are sharing the same water from streams. This has become a mental agony for the general public but the people at helm are yet to awake from the slumber.
"I took up this grave issue with the concerned authorities including chief engineer but they failed to provide safe drinking water to many areas of my district," said Parray adding government has failed to pay any heed towards these problems.
"Providing safe and sustainable portable drinking water to the people in rural areas is need of the hour and it is one of the basic requirements for leading a healthy life. But it is vice versa here in state and the funds for drinking water remain unspent," said the MLC. Residents of the area demand that Khoie Sopore water supply scheme should be started at the earliest so that they come out of this mess. They said that there is a huge bungling of funds worth crores in water supply schemes across the state and it is due to this reason that the concerned officials are not taken to task. "On Jan 2, I tried to take up various issues in a board meeting but due to some vested interests no attention was paid to my submissions due which I walked out of the review meeting after heated arguments with the former Minister of Public Health Engineering and Irrigation and Flood Control Sukhnandan Kumar, who is the chairman of District Development Board Meeting Baramulla," said Parray. The MLC said that he has promised with the residents of the area that he will put all efforts for their betterment, adding very soon he is going to provide them the solar lights which can illuminate their dark houses where as government has failed to fulfill their commitment in this regard as well. Mentioning the importance of Hygam wetland he said that the wetland is one among the famous wetlands of Asia which is in conjunction. He said the area of the wetland which was spread on 15 square kilometers has shrunken to 6 to 7 kilometers now.
"It disappoints since there is not enough water in the wetland for migratory birds due to which they flew from here to other parts of the globe. In the past there were thousands of migratory birds which used to attract national and foreign tourists towards this place," said Parray.
He said that there should have been a minimum of 10 feet embankments over this wetland adding that in absence of same it has become a safe haven for timber smugglers due to which it has lost its importance on tourism map. |
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