Kupwara, Sep 18: The residents of Teli Mohallah Lalpora in Lolab area of Kupwara Thursday staged a protest against lack of drinking water, causing immense hardships for the inhabitants. The protesters blocked Kupwara-Lalpora road, disrupting traffic movement. “We are facing an acute shortage of drinking water for last several months and despite repeated requests to the concerned department, no action was taken, forcing us to register protest,” said a protestor.

“Our women folk suffer the most as they are forced to fetch water from distant water sources. The authorities and the concerned MLA must address our issue before winter so that the hardships being faced may end,” said another protestor.

The protesters said that if the concerned authorities failed to mitigate their problem, they will intensify their agitation and will take their protest to the district headquarters.

Later a Police party reached the spot and convinced the protestors of getting their grievance resolved, following which they dispersed peacefully.

Meanwhile Assistant Executive Engineer Jal Shakti Department Division Lolab, Towseef Ahmad Zargar told Greater Kashmir that a new water supply scheme has already been approved for the affected village. He said that due to funding issue, the work on the water scheme was going with slow pace but hopefully it will be completed soon. He said that a water tanker will be provided to the village regularly until their issue is resolved permanently.

Gurez, Sep 18: The April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, mostly tourists, led to a sharp decline in tourist inflow to Kashmir’s frontier areas, including Gurez, Karnah, and Uri. However, arrivals picked up in July and August, bringing much-needed relief to the local population.

According to the details available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) official figures are yet to be released as the season is nearing its end, but locals said tourist arrivals in the areas near Line of Control (LoC) remained low until the summer months brought a boost.

Notably, Gurez, Karnah, and Uri in recent years have been promoted as destinations for offbeat tourism, with May to September considered the peak season. “In May and June this year, there were fewer visitors compared to the same period in previous years. However, the numbers improved in July and August,” said a local.

“In May we hardly saw any visitors. Hotels and homestays remained mostly empty. It was only after June that groups began arriving,” said Bashir Ahmad, who runs a homestay.

Local traders in Karnah gave a similar account. “The season started late. By July, we began to see more families and trekkers. Before that, the area was quiet,” said Abdul Rashid, who owns a shop in Tangdhar.

Tour operators said border tension increased after the Pahalgam terror attack, which led tourists. “When people hear of such incidents, they avoid travel for a while. Once things settle, they come. That is what we saw this year,” said a Srinagar-based operator who organizes trips to border areas.

Despite the late start, residents said that July and August witnessed steady arrivals. “This was the time when tents were booked and local guides were in demand,” said Ghulam Nabi. “It helped many of us recover losses from the early season,” he added.

Officials from the Tourism Department said the flow of visitors to border areas is increasing overall, even if arrivals fluctuate due to security operations or weather. “The department has been promoting destinations like Gurez and Karnah, and we are seeing consistent growth in tourist interest. Border tourism is part of the larger plan to diversify destinations in Kashmir,” an official said.

For locals, the late but eventual arrival of tourists brought some relief. “We depend on these few months,” said Fayaz Ahmad from Gurez. “Even if the season started late, it ended better than we had expected in the beginning.”—(KNO)

Tangmarg, Sep 18: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday inaugurated and dedicated to the public five major water supply schemes of the Jal Shakti Department in Tangmarg, promising that these schemes mark only the beginning of a broad transformation of the Gulmarg-Tangmarg Assembly constituency.

Constructed at a cost of Rs 35.67 crore, the schemes will provide clean drinking water through modern Rapid Sand Filtration Plants to 40 habitations, covering 5,473 households and over 10,000 families with a population of 32,838. The projects inaugurated today include Lalpora, Chichilora, Kralpora, Ferozpora Shrai and Kashipora water supply schemes, executed under the Jal Jeevan Mission by the PHE (Kashmir FBI Division Tangmarg).

Addressing a large gathering after the inauguration, the Chief Minister said ensuring access to safe drinking water was not a favour but the government’s responsibility.

“We are only repaying the trust you have placed in us. These schemes will ensure that families no longer have to depend on unfiltered water from rivers and wells, but will now get clean, filtered water right at their doorstep. But with this facility comes a responsibility—to use water judiciously and conserve it for the future,” the Chief Minister said.

Highlighting the hardships caused by erratic weather patterns, Omar Abdullah said Kashmir had witnessed both drought-like situations and devastating floods within a year. He underlined the need for rainwater harvesting and better water management to safeguard resources for coming generations.

Referring to the massive damage caused by recent floods, including the loss of 330 bridges, 1,500 km of roads, homes, agricultural land and public infrastructure, the Chief Minister praised the engineers and staff of the Jal Shakti Department for completing the schemes despite such difficult challenges. He felicitated the officials for their dedication.

The Chief Minister also assured the people that his government would not stop at water supply projects but was committed to improving roads, healthcare, education, and employment opportunities in the region.

“This investment of Rs 35 crore is just the beginning. In the next four years, we will change the map of the Gulmarg-Tangmarg constituency. There will be no village where development does not reach, no household where progress does not knock at the door,” Omar Abdullah said, reaffirming his promise of inclusive development.

Expressing his deep personal connect with the area, Omar Abdullah recalled his family’s roots in Tangmarg and Gulmarg. He said it was his grandmother’s family that first put Gulmarg on the global tourism map, and vowed to ensure that the region’s tourism potential was revived after setbacks caused by floods and restrictions.

Minister for Jal Shakti Javed Ahmed Rana, Advisor to CM Nasir Aslam Wani and MLA Gulmarg Pirzada Farooq Ahmad Shah also addressed the gathering. Senior officers including Mission Director Jal Jeevan Mission, Chief Engineer Jal Shakti Kashmir, Superintending Engineer, AEE Tangmarg, engineers, staff and a large number of locals were present on the occasion.