Negligence: Water scarcity hits Muzaffarabad

Residents irked due to lack of running water since beginning of Ramazan.

MUZAFFARABAD: The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) is under fire for failing to provide a steady water supply to the residents of Gojra, Thori Park and Tariqabad in Muzaffarabad.

The residents of these areas are facing severe shortage of water and have no choice but to walk for miles to fetch water from natural springs.

“We have been facing water shortage since the first of Ramazan, yet nobody seems to care about us, despite this hot weather,” said Rashid Nazir, a resident of the area, while talking to this correspondent on Wednesday.

Though, the residents of Showkat Lines and Eidgah are without running water for the last five days, the PHED has failed to resolve the issue despite repeated requests.

The residents have threatened to stage a protest against the PHED, if the supply is not restored in these areas within the next 24 hours.

The residents of Gojra complained that the PHED is not making any effort to solve the problem, and that the provision of water through tankers is being restricted for influential and government officers, by the same department.

The residents of Jalalabad have also been facing the same situation for the last three days. “We have to deal with this shortage at sehri and iftar, which is unacceptable,” said Noor Hussain, a resident.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2016.