Srinagar: This village in Kupwara completely boycotted the polls after getting broken promises from politicians for setting up a drinking water facility.
The villagers for the last 25 years tried every politician who promised them drinking water facility in the village. But two and a half decades later, they voted for different parties from time to time but never got what was repeatedly promised to them.
“Today we completely boycotted as a mark of protest against these greedy politicians,” said the locals. For the locals of Hampora Langate, ministers and babus are all same.
The village in Langate constituency in north Kashmir’s frontier district Kupwara doesn’t have access to clean drinking water for last 25 years. Both ministers of the popular governments and babus during the periods of Governor’s rule have been coming to the village.
The villagers said that these ministers and government functionaries have been promising heaven but the dream of the villagers to get portable water is yet to come true. “This village doesn’t have access to the clean drinking water and however the authorities are still unmoved,” villagers said.
Last time Mehbooba Mufti as Chief Minister during Awami Darbar at Kupwara announced a water supply scheme but now after the imposition of Governor’s rule in the state the authorities of PHE department are refusing to take up the work on the water supply scheme citing lack of funds a reason to refuse the take up the work on this water supply scheme.
The villagers while narrating the tale of pain and agony said “despite knowing the hardships of the population are facing in this village, the officials are turning a deaf ear to our cries. We have to walk about one kilometer to collect water from a nallah (stream).”
“PHE (department) has never bothered to let the dream of portable water coming true in this village and is now refusing to take up the work on water supply scheme announced by Mehbooba Mufti as Chief Minister during her visit to the area last year. Our pleas fall to deaf ears. Even before the announcement of the water supply scheme for the village our village, along with seven other villages in this area, was supposed to get piped water supply in 1990 under a scheme called Zag Sundree, but portable water did not reaching this village under that scheme also.”
Few months back the residents of Hampora village blocked Kralgund-Langate road and after about two hours authorities persuaded to call of the protest by officials of the district administration with an assurance from Deputy Commissioner Kupwara, Khalid Jahangir who directed the concerned authorities to ensure water supply to the affected village but again the Deputy Commissioner too has failed to keep his promise.
