Handwara, Jul 2,: Amid an ongoing heatwave, dozens of women in Kralpora village of Qaziabad Kralgund in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district staged a protest on Wednesday, decrying an acute and prolonged shortage of drinking water in the area.
Armed with empty buckets and utensils, nearly 50 women marched through the village streets, blocking internal roads and raising slogans against the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department. The protesters accused authorities of turning a blind eye to their suffering.
Speaking to Kashmir News Trust, the protesting women said they have been grappling with a crippling water crisis for the past several months, and the situation has worsened drastically over the past 10 days due to the unrelenting heat.
“We are being deprived of the basic necessity of life. There has been no proper drinking water for months, and officials are unmoved by our repeated complaints,” one of the agitating women said.
The locals alleged that despite several representations to concerned departments, no concrete steps have been taken to restore water supply. They warned of intensified protests if their demands are not addressed immediately. [KNT]
