With onset of summer, Jammu faces acute water shortage

With onset of summer, Jammu faces acute water shortage
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 19
With the onset of summer, the Jammu region is facing an acute water shortage, as various drinking water supply schemes of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department have failed miserably to meet the requirement of the region.

The water shortage is so severe in some areas that the supply is either very poor or there is no supply at all. The PHE Department is planning to supply water through tankers.

People of the region are everyday protesting against the state government’s failure to supply water to them. Not only the villages of Kandi areas, but also cities, including the winter capital, are facing a severe scarcity of potable water, particularly when the temperature is hovering around 43°C.

There are also reports that with a sharp increase in the mercury, many areas are being supplied piped water after every four days. Faced with such a situation, the residents of the cities and the adjoining areas are dependant on the water mafia, private water tanker operators, who are charging a hefty amount for one tanker of water.

However, Irrigation and PHE Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din said the demand of water had nearly doubled these days and they would come up with some schemes to overcome the scarcity. “Water shortage is all due to power cuts, as all major schemes in the region are based upon water lifting projects, which requires electricity. If the Power Department assures us of adequate power supply, there will be no water shortage and the public will get adequate water supply,” said the minister.

He added that, “I am getting a minute-to-minute report from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions, as water is the basic necessity in summer. We are also planning to supply water through tankers in the areas where water scarcity has reached an alarming stage”.

Taj said he had talked to the Minister of State for Power for help. “The Power Department has assured us of full cooperation,” he added.

Meanwhile, the city residents have started using mineral water to quench their thirst. Rani Sharma, a housewife, said, “We face water shortage every summer, and the successive governments have failed to address the problem. When the government knows that the demand for water increases drastically in summer, why does not it make adequate arrangements before the onset of season?”