Quenching the thirst

Come the summers, the water sources dry up and thus the people face insurmountable problems. The people of Plannu, Kathua are in a similar predicament and relief is not forthcoming!

• This is a perennial summer time problem and the reason is that the natural resources dry up and people in far flung areas run into water problems.
• Since this is a problem that surfaces every year it is rather surprising and at times little more than that as to why the PHE Department does not do some pre planning? This should have been in vogue by now but that is not the case.
• Thus it is the people who suffer every year and the seasons are similar. In winters it is still manageable but in summers it simply is not.
• The people glance at the sky, but there are no clouds. There are never clouds. In summers if they arrive they bring immense relief and a hope that some water will gather but in the scorching heat they have no hope.
• Kathua has advanced by the methodology of hop, skip and jump. The development has been terrific and the young kids off the blocks want to move on wheels towards their desired destinations.
• The city part is great but the interiors and far flung areas have still not taken off in a way they should have. Anyway that is not part of the topic at hand but what is, I will just tell you. It is the problem of the basic need of life and that is water.
• For example Plannu Block, Mahanpur.District Kathua, every year faces this problem as the place becomes dry and there is scarcity of drinking water. The people complain year after year but the problem remains the same.
• In the times that have gone by this was not a problem because the water sources were the same but the people were less. Now more people are dependent on the same water resources. Obviously they run dry.
• These people do not waste water. They know its values. Seeing them struggling at the moment easily reminds any one of the fact that for every drop of water we waste, we must know that somewhere on earth someone is desperately looking for a drop of water! At the moment one of the places is easily Plannu Block.
• If the PHE Department District Kathua would check into this the most relieved would be the people because things are difficult here and the people need water!

By: M S Nazki

Kathua:

These people are from villages who work hard to make a living. Some have moved on to do very well but those who are staying back confront this water problem every year. Summers are really bad in dry belts and the same conditions persist here. These people are the ones who would remind anyone of the follies which we commit everyday like wasting water, letting our storage tanks overflow, using bucketful where a mug can do the trick thus the conclusion is, the person who despises a drop of water is an utter ignorant who doesn’t know that billions of tiny creatures in this world can live with one water drop for days!

The people of Block Plannu know what water means when they don’t have the facility available on a regular basis especially in summers. Sometimes the situation is that a single drop of water is so valuable for the very thirsty that he may hesitate to drink it immediately! So it has to be the PHE Department that has to act and that too on the fast tracks because water is a necessity here. The story which we received goes something like this:

• The natural resources of village Plannu Block Mahanpur district Kathua become dry and there is scarcity of drinking.
• They are vehement and unanimous that the condition is really bad but the administration is doing nothing about it which instead should be their priority especially in summers.

*The people have requested XEN District Kathua to make his presence felt and get the matters sorted out.

• They also said that there are water tanks on wheels available with the PHE Department and they should be made available to the people at least twice a week so that things work out in a proper way. At the moment, needless to mention things are despairing
• I did mention in the very beginning that the things are not well poised at the moment because of the heat of the summers therefore such eventuality comes into effect every year. The PHE should have best plans laid for this situation but the sad thing is that they are not.

I will sum up the predicament of the people here in a couple of lines, there are often many people wanting to quench their thirst while many people are running for dear life away from the rain. They have never complained when they have enough water but they approach the authorities when they need it. Now is the time they really do need it and thus it is the PHE Department that has to move in because Public Health is in their hands!