People protest against Jal Shakti Department in Pulwama village

PULWAMA — Residents of Drabgam Payeen village of southern Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Monday staged a protest against Jal Shakti Department (formerly PHE Department) for not supplying potable water to the villagers.

Residents said that for the past 10 years, no permanent person has been assigned to the village’s water filtration plant. The plant is managed by a single daily wage worker, and it is a demanding job for him. As a result, people claim they are experiencing a serious shortage of drinking water.

According to Abdul Rahman Khan, a local resident, they are compelled to drink polluted and contaminated water that is delivered to their home together with earthworms and other filth from the water treatment facility.

Locals claim that despite spending over 1.5 crore on the water purification facility, it was all for naught because of serious management issues.

Angry residents petitioned the Deputy Commissioner Pulwama, concerned JEE, and AEE to probe the matter so that they, too, may benefit from the clean water amid the present pandemic.

“Otherwise, we will have no choice but to come out on the roads in protest and block them,” they said.