Srinagar, Oct 15, KDC: Amidst growing public demands for an investigation surrounding the laying of water pipes at the source of Ningli Nallah, the top officials of the NITI Aayog will visit Wagoora town of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district today.

The residents of Wagoora have been demanding an investigation by a central agency into the laying of water pipes at the source of Ningli Nallah and the construction of filtration plants by officials merely on political considerations.

It has devastated agriculture and thereby livelihood of thousands of people in the area.

“We have very high hopes with Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Dr Sehrish Asgar and believe she will take action and heads will roll,” a local resident Tanveer Ahmad told Kashmir Dot Com.

The haphazard laying of water pipes for votes has led to a scarcity of safe drinking water for the people living along the Ningli Nallah, a major tributary of the Jhelum river.

As part of the central government’s outreach program, Mission Director Aspirational District NITI Aayog, Mr Rakesh Ranjan (IPS) along with Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Sehrish Asgar will visit Wagoora to inaugurate the tehsil complex.

Ningli provides safe drinking water to Sopore town and the hundreds of villages in the area but filtered water has been denied to Wagoora.

More than a decade ago a water filtration plant for Wagoora was constructed on soil-erosion-prone land and has remained incomplete.

“We demand an independent investigation into the former legislators and officials of the PHE for creating the devastation in our area. Who allowed this filtration plant on the land of a relative of the PHE official?,” asked Ghulam Hassan, another local resident.

“We are facing a grave situation and hope there will be a resolution now,” Hassan said.

They also demand the construction of impediments in the Ningli Nallah which would break the speed of the water during the recurring floods.

“The Ningli devastates property worth thousands of crores of rupees in recurring floods. We request the government to construct impediments in the Ningli Nallah which would break the speed of the water during the floods,” he said.

The other demands of the people are the creation of posts for the Public Health Centre at Wagoora.

The Lumpy Skin Disease has killed dozens of cows in the area and the Block Veterinary Office, Wagoora is not fully functional. At least four veterinary surgeons should be posted at the BVO Wagoora, locals said.

In 2019, the government announced a Government Degree College for Wagoora and identified land for it but the construction has not started yet.

The construction of link roads and extending them to nearby villages would resolve the housing problems of Wagoora and also bring down the land rates.

The Swach Bharat Abhiyan is on papers and there is nothing happening on the ground and the drainage system is defunct, they said.

At least 45 years before, Wagoora donated orchard land for Block Development Office. “Since then millions of rupees from the selling of apples of that orchard is with the BDO Wagoora,” the locals said, demanding the money be spent on the installation of the street lighting at Wagoora.

Drug abuse is on a rise in the area and only J&K Police could contain it. We demand the Wagoora Police Post be upgraded to a police station. (KDC)

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Originally Appeared Here