J-K: Villagers of Rayor have no choice but to drink filthy pond water

Samba: The people of Rayor, a remote village in Samba district, are drinking filthy pond water as they have no better option.

The irony is that a pipeline has been laid by the Jal Shakti Department for drinking water in this village, but the villagers have not seen a drop of water from the pipe for months.

“We have to drink water from this pond since the pipeline was removed during the road work. The water supply was stopped since then. Water tankers are sent by the administration twice a month. There are about 80 households in this village. A single tanker is insufficient, so we have to go to the pond by no choice,” village chowkidar Savarn Lal told ANI.

Another villager Anu Devi said the people are solely dependent on the pond for water.
“The first thing to do after waking up in the morning is to collect water. We use the pond water for cooking, drinking, bathing our children and for all the household chores,” she said.

Speaking to ANI, Assistant Executive Engineer Ajay Gupta, Jal Shakti Department said, “The shortage of water is not just in Rayor village, but also in the entire Samba town. We are facing difficulties after the power supply stalled due to the recent storm. When it comes to Rayor, water is supplied every third day. Being a mountainous area, this shortage of water increases every summer.”