06/07/2019
“PEOPLE OF RAJOURI-POONCH DOOMED WITH WATER CRISIS WITH EACH PASSING DAY. GOVT MUM: JAVED RANA”
Jammu. July 06: “Expressing a grave concern over the reports of water crisis in Rajouri and Poonch districts”, Mr Javed Ahmed Rana, Central Secretary JKNC, former Deputy Chairman Legislative Council and former MLA lambasted on the concerned authorities for “their dilly-dallying approach and constant neglect to deal with the said problem on priority basis, which has unleashed lot of misery and disenchantment among the people residing in these districts”. “As per official reports more than 14 villages in Rajouri alone and many more in Poonch are under acute water shortage”, informed Mr Rana. Mr Rana also alleged that “it is very unfortunate that these two regions have always received a step-motherly treatment compared to other districts of the state”.
In a surprising manner, Mr Rana said that “despite several protests, complaints and repeated requests of the people the concerned officials are behaving as if nothing serious has happened when in reality almost more than 50% of these districts are grappling with drought-like conditions”. “Due to low snowfall and sudden rise in climatic temperature, the situation has been particularly grim this year”, Mr Rana said lamently. “Looking at the current situation, there seems to be no end to the drinking water crisis and problem is becoming worse with every passing day”, Mr Rana warned.
Pointing towards concerned officials, Mr Rana said that “Ill-management of water resources has also aggravated the crisis and the department doesn’t work on treatment of catchment areas to maintain and protect the source”. “In absence of proper conservation measures most rainwater goes as runoff without percolating through the subterranean aquifers”, he further added. Taking a jibe, Mr Rana said that “the department’s inefficiency can be gauged from the fact that it runs more than 4000 schemes for rural areas but has not been able to fulfill basic water needs”. “I salute Indian army who sensed the gravity of situation and allocated water tankers for providing safe drinking water to people and concerned officials should take lessons from them”, Mr Rana expressed.
“We can’t ignore the fact that a major part of the rural population in these districts resides in hills and the people are dependent on aquifers which are fed by springs and mountain streams. However, according to estimates almost 60% of all water sources have dried up in the hills”, Mr Rana informed in a concerned way. “As per the locals, people particularly women have to trudge long distances to fetch drinking water and in this struggle people can be seen jostling for whatever water is available”, said Mr Rana. “Sometimes, the people are forced to consume contaminated water from natural sources which makes them susceptible to various water borne diseases”, he added further. Highlighting the importance of this commodity (i.e., water), Mr Rana emphasized that “lack of water or quality water will have negative ramifications like sanitation issues (at places like clinics, local restaurants, public places of convenience etc.), intra or inter-state conflicts, food shortage, social unrest, political turmoil, energy shortages, massive unemployment and last but not the least economic slowdown”.
Mr Rana urged the Hon’able Governor to “consider the issue on humanitarian grounds and direct the concerned department to fulfill their duties and responsibilities”. He further said that “the water scarcity is majorly due to the failure of institutions to ensure a regular supply or due to a lack of adequate infrastructure”. “There is a need for paradigm shift and promote a decentralised approach to improve water use efficiency, source sustainability, recharging and restoring local waterbodies”, Mr Rana advised.
