 ARUN JASROTIA
EARLY TIMES REPORT
UDHAMPUR, May 3: Even after 74 years of independence, turning on a tap to get clean water remains a distant dream for the residents of Gudhar and some other adjoining villages in Panchayat Darsoo of Udhampur district.
Gudhar villagers said that they are facing a water crisis since independence as the locals have to walk several kilometres to fetch drinking water, adding that more than 200 houses in Gudhar village mostly ST population have had no access to clean, potable water for decades.
Sheen Mohammad, a local, said, “There is an acute water crisis here and due to this we fetch water from natural resources and use ponies to carry water and track several kilometers,” adding that women of the area have to make several rounds walking several kilometres with heavy buckets of water over their heads.
He demanded that the government should lay water pipe lines in their village so that they get water in their houses.
Jal Shakti Department’s Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) Udhampur, Sandeep Gupta said that the problem of the villagers will be solved soon.
“We know the problem of water in Gudhar and adjoining villages. Very soon we will cover said villages under the Jal Shakti Mission Plan already sent to the higher authorities. Their problems to get potable water will be sorted out then,” Gupta added. |
