Srinagar, Nov 29, KNT: Locals in Padshahi Bagh locality in Srinagar outskirts Saturday morning claimed that they discovered dead birds and insects inside the main public water tank supplying drinking water to the area.
Locals told the news agency Kashmir News Trust that the condition of the tank is alarming and poses a serious threat to health. “We are getting poison instead of water. There is no filtration. Dead birds and insects are lying inside the tank,” they said.
They said contaminated water is only being supplied to Padshahi Bagh, while the areas including Raj Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, Railway Colony, and Nowgam are getting filtered water.
“Our children are falling sick repeatedly. We approached officials again and again, but nothing changed,” locals said, demanding immediate action by the Public Health Engineering department.
Muhammad Anwar Bhat, one of the aggrieved locals, said the water supply scheme was launched in 1985 and has since fallen into complete neglect. He added that no cleaning, repair, or technical inspection of the tank has been carried out for years.
The locals who staged a peaceful protest said the complete absence of filtration and maintenance has turned the drinking water system into a source of infection rather than protection. The continued supply of contaminated water has triggered fear of outbreaks of disease, especially among children and elderly people. [KNT]
