Uri residents face acute water shortage for two weeks

‘PHE blames damaged pipeline’ Srinagar, July 2: Residents of Uri town in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district have been grappling with an acute drinking water shortage for the past two weeks, forcing many families to fetch water from nearby streams and nallahs as taps continue to run dry. The residents alleged that the erratic water supply has severely affected their daily lives, with the supply remaining disrupted for most parts of the day. “We have been facing this crisis for the last two weeks. Sometimes water is supplied for barely two hours, while on other days there is no supply at all. It has become extremely difficult to manage household chores,” said Shafiq Ahmad, a local resident of ward no.12 Another resident said the prolonged shortage has left people with no option but to collect water from nearby natural sources. “We are bringing water from local nallahs and streams because there is hardly any water in our taps. The authorities should resolve the issue at the earliest,” he said. Officials, however, attributed the disruption to damage caused to the water supply infrastructure during road construction works. Executive Engineer, Public Health Engineering (PHE) Sub-Division Uri, Mohammad Amin Mir said a pipeline was damaged during road construction by the PMGSY Department in the Nambla area, affecting the regular water supply to the town. “The PMGSY Department, while carrying out road construction works in Nambla area, damaged the main water pipeline. We have already provided an alternate water supply connection to consumers while restoration of the original pipeline is underway,” Mir told Rising Kashmir. He said the department is working to restore the damaged pipeline on a priority basis and expected normal water supply to resume within the next three to four days. “Complete restoration may take another three to four days. Moreover, the shortage of water is due to the prevailing hot weather,” he added.