Amid the water crisis due to freezing temperatures in the valley, Minister for Jal Shakti Department, Javed Ahmed Rana, today convened a detailed meeting of the Department to ensure that people are provided adequate drinking water without facing any difficulties.

Bedsides the MLAs from Anantnag (West), Devsar, Kokernag and Sopore constituencies the meeting was attended by ACS, Jal Shakti Department, MD, JJM, Chief Engineers and other Engineers of the Department.

The Minister, exhorted upon the Department to evolve a robust mechanism ensuring swift response to public grievances so that these ate addressed within the shortest possible time. He also asked for doubling the number of water tankers for providing drinking water to areas facing deficit in supply. He asked them to furnish the district wise requirements so that same is authorised after ascertaining their genuineness.

On the occasion, the Minister took stock of issues raised by the MLAs concerning welfare and development of their respective areas. They brought up the concerns related to augmentation of certain water supply schemes besides improvement in daily water supply to the people of these areas. The legislators also raised the matters related to completion of some water supply schemes under JJM besides inclusion of works under AMRUT 2.0 for their areas.

The Minister directed the concerned officers for taking necessary steps to ensure early resolution of the same.

ACS, Jal Shakti Department, Shaleen Kabra, presented an overview of the current water supply scenario prevalent all over the valley. He also enumerated different steps being taken by the department to tide over the water crisis faced due to drastic reduction in discharge of water from the sources. He informed that out of 2050 schemes, 40 schemes had got affected due to recent snowfall at higher reaches or depletion of sources. He revealed that 26 of these affected schemes had been restored by the Department and 14 more are currently being looked after for restoration.

He further informed that 78 government owned and 13 private water tankers had been put into service to supply portable water to the areas where there is scarcity of the same.

Moreover, it was added that steps like embedding and insulation of exposed pipes, provisioning of 328 DG sets to overcome the eventual power cuts, diversion of raw water by making stone bunds besides establishing district and divisional level control rooms for public for resolving their water related problems in a time-bound manner are being taken up.