Thirst Ends In Tragedy: Out To Fetch Water, Four Of Family Die In Kashmir Accident

In a tragic accident, a man, his son and two daughters died while they were en route to fetch water from a nearby spring amid drinking water shortage in a far off village in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. The accident belies the claims of the Jammu and Kashmir administration to provide drinking water to every single household, reports ETV Bharat's Mir Farhat.

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): A tragic car accident in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, claimed the lives of Ghulam Rasool Bhat, his son, and two daughters on Monday evening. The family was en route to fetch drinking water from a local spring when their vehicle crashed, resulting in their untimely deaths. The incident has sparked protests among the local community, highlighting ongoing issues with the region's water supply.

55-year-old Bhat, a resident of Rajpora village in Handwara tehsil, had taken his children to collect water for their dinner. Despite the Jammu and Kashmir Jal Shakti Department's claims of providing tap water to 60 percent of rural households, Rajpora, a village of over 3,000 people, lacks a reliable potable water supply.

According to police reports, the family’s vehicle, a load carrier, skidded off the road and plunged into a gorge shortly after they collected water. Bhat, his son Tahir Ahmad Bhat (22), and daughters Shabnum Aara (19) and Rifat Aara (17), died at the scene.

Villagers in Rajpora, who must trek one and half a kilometer to the spring for water, voiced their frustrations during the family's funeral. They criticized the LG administration's Jal Jeevan Mission, which claims to provide drinking water to every household in the Union Territory, as well as local politicians Choudhary Ramzan and Sajad Lone for failing to address the village's water needs.

Ramzan stated that he had allocated funds for a bore well and water reservoir for Rajpora during his tenure, but both projects failed. Sajad Lone expressed condolences on social media but did not address the water supply issue. Efforts to contact Lone and officials from the Jal Shakti Department were unsuccessful.

"It is the most distressing news that one can wake up to. I personally knew Ghulam Rasool. May Allah grant them Jannat. May the departed souls rest in peace," Lone wrote on X.

Syed Imtiyaz, a local told ETV Bharat: "The borewell and the reseviour lift scheme were not completed by Lone or Ramzan because of their internal politics."

During the funeral procession, villagers protested and demanded accountability from both politicians and officials for the persistent water crisis. Women in the community highlighted their daily struggles to fetch water, criticizing the lack of tanker services and suppression of their protests by the administration.

This morning, when the bodies were being taken for last rites, Rajpora villagers protested and raised slogans against the administration and Jal Shakti Department. Mourning women said that they have been struggling for the last decade to get water. "We daily bring water in pitchers from the stream as it is the only source of water for us. We do not get water supply by tankers. If we raise our voices or protest, we are not allowed by the administration," the women said.

Mission Director JJM J&K, Dr. G.N. Itoo, previously claimed the department was on track to provide tap water to all rural households by early 2024. However, when contacted about the accident, he deflected responsibility to the Jal Shakti Department and ended the call abruptly while giving an excuse that he was in a video conference meeting.

He had, last year, claimed, "The department is providing clean tap water to over 11.23 lakh rural households out of a total 18.67 lakh under JJM. Every household in the UT will have its tap water facility by 2023 ending or in early 2024."

Launched on August 15, 2019, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) aims to provide 100 percent Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by developing in-village piped water supply infrastructure to deliver tap water to every rural household.

However, the scheme in the Union Territory has been tainted by allegations of corruption. Senior IAS officer Ashok Kumar Parmar, who retired last month, accused former Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta and the Jal Shakti Department of irregularities, fraud, and mismanagement worth Rs 3,000 crore, including falsifying figures related to the JJM’s implementation. Parmar reported these claims to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further investigation.

These allegations were denied by Financial Commissioner of the Jal Shakti Department, Shaleen Kabra, in a press conference. Kabra dismissed Parmar's claims as incorrect and malicious, asserting that only Rs 800 crore had been spent on the JJM implementation up to August 2023.

"Following the tragedy today the administration brought pippes to connect the spring water to the village," Imtiyaz, the local added.

However, the administration's efforts came too late and cannot bring back the dead members of family which is now left with Bhat's widow and their two children.