Pampore, September 23: Scores of local residents of Munpora village in Pampore Tehsil area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district staged a protest against the non-availability of drinking water.
The protest was led by local Congress leader Advocate Zameer Farooq Joo.
The demonstrators said that the existing water supply scheme in the area has become defunct, while the new scheme has not been made operational for the public. This has resulted in a severe shortage of drinking water.
The protesters demanded that the concerned department take immediate action to resolve the issue and ensure uninterrupted water supply for the residents.
Speaking to Morning Kashmir, Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, a resident of Munpora, said that the area has been facing a problem for the last one month as there has been no supply of drinking water. He explained that the old well in the locality has become defunct and is no longer functional. Although a new well has been established, it has not yet been made operational.
He added that the residents had requested the concerned department to make the new well functional at least temporarily until some other permanent arrangement is made. “If the water from this well is not fit for drinking, then the authorities should conduct a test after one month. If the results prove it unfit, then alternative arrangements must be made. Until then, we will manage with this water because it is a necessity,” he said.
He further pointed out that due to the water shortage, school students have not been able to wash their uniforms and are missing classes, and even basic requirements like water for offering prayers are unavailable. “Some households do have borewells, but they cannot meet the needs of the entire area,” he added.
Our message is that the ongoing water crisis in our area should be resolved at the earliest. The well here should be restored and its water supply made functional so that the problems of our village can be addressed.
Through the media, we also want to convey this appeal to the concerned MLA Pampore, Retired Justice Hasnain Masoodi. We ask: why have you not visited the area despite the people suffering without drinking water for the last one month? Water is a basic necessity for survival, yet no attention has been given to our plight.
We request you to resolve this issue immediately, before the situation goes out of control. Until now, we have tried to keep the local population calm, but if the problem continues, we cannot guarantee that there will not be protests in Pampore, road blockades, or traffic jams. If that happens, the responsibility will no longer lie with us or the local residents.
We want to send a clear message to the concerned officers as well: please take urgent action to address this issue, restore the water supply, and provide relief to the people of this area.
Speaking to Morning Kashmir, Advocate Zameer Joo, a local Congress leader, said that around two months ago, the old water supply scheme of Munpora collapsed when its well gave way. “I immediately rushed to the spot and saw that the water coming from the well was not fit for drinking, and the entire well had collapsed. The department was unable to raise water from it,” he said.
He added that soon after the incident, he communicated with the concerned departments, including the Executive Engineer, Assistant Executive Engineer, both officials from the civil and mechanical departments. “We highlighted this issue two months ago, and the officials made certain commitments to resolve the matter within a short time. However, even after two months, the situation remains unchanged. The people of Munpora are still without drinking water,” he said.
He further pointed out that the problem has worsened due to the ongoing harvesting season, during which water is needed even more urgently.
He said that if this issue is not resolved, the people of Munpora will be forced to take their grievances to Pampore and hold a peaceful protest so that the government also realizes that the residents of Munpora are human beings too, and they also need water to survive.
He added that some temporary relief has been received through the Tangnar Water Supply Scheme, but that scheme provides water only for about one hour, with just 2–3 feet of storage, which is insufficient for the entire village. “I want to question the concerned MLA Pampore on this: the Tangnar Water Supply Scheme is repeatedly mentioned as the solution, but what has really been achieved through it? Till now, the people here have not benefited from it at all. Supplying water for just 1–2 hours is not enough to serve the whole village,” he said.
He stressed that the only practical solution is to make the recently established well in Munpora functional by pumping water from it. “If tests later prove that this water is not fit for drinking, then the department should make alternative arrangements in consultation with the local residents,” he added.
