The Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir is grappling with a severe water shortage after heavy rainfall and floods in August critically damaged the local water supply infrastructure.
The Jal Shakti Department has been working to repair pipelines and infrastructure under its schemes, but the floods affected 160 out of over 200 operational water supply schemes in the district. Of these, 24 schemes suffered severe damage, halting work on new projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
Sandeep Gupta, Executive Engineer of the Jal Shakti Department in Udhampur, said:
“We faced major problems from August to September. Roughly 160 schemes were damaged, with 24 severely affected, which have yet to be restored. About 70–80% of water supply has been restored. The new JJM scheme suffered heavy damage, and work has been completely halted.”
Residents of affected villages voiced their concerns. Vibhakar Singh of Darsoo village said:
“There are serious water problems in our village. The JJM project here was completely washed away, and the roads were also destroyed.”
Another resident, Latif, appealed to the government to restart the JJM project and provide quick compensation for flood losses:
“The heavy rains and floods from 26 August to 9 September caused severe damage to many government schemes. The JJM project here has not yet been restarted. We urge the government to prioritise this work and compensate the losses quickly. Roads have been badly damaged, and people are facing great difficulties.”
The Jal Shakti Department of Udhampur continues its efforts to restore water supply in the affected areas. (Agencies)
