Tragnaad, the Parched Hamlet of Pulwama

Even in the 21st century, when technological advances have changed the world, there are still some areas which have no basic facilities. The people who live there face hardships on a daily basis. For example, there are many far off areas in the country that continue to face a water crisis. Due to this, the people, particularly women, and children face hardships as they have to manually fetch water for their needs.

The Tragnaad hamlet in Lalpora area of Tral sub district in Pulwama Kashmir is one such place. Residents say they have faced a water crisis for more than a decade. Just around seven kilometres away from the sub district headquarter, this hamlet is home to 12 families. The residents said they have been living there for 14 years, and did not have any water supply to the area. Even the road leading towards the hamlet is dilapidated.

Khalifa Begum, said she and other women have to travel around two kilometres daily to fetch potable water. They are forced to leave the children alone at home, "we take risks while travelling to nearby areas to fetch water, our road is pathetic. Besides that, the fear of a bear attack is constant, and bad weather conditions add to our troubles."

Notably, Tral sub district is a wildlife prone area, where bear attacks are often reported. Several bears were trapped by wildlife teams last year in some parts of the sub district. As per the data available at Sub District Hospital, 15 bear attacks were reported in Tral sub district of South Kashmir from July 2021 to July 2022.

Another resident Zakir Ahmad said that locals have to fetch water twice a day, "all other areas have potable water facilities, but Tragnaad does not." He added that it took 30 minutes to reach the places where water is available, "and it takes 40 minutes to come back from there".

Similarly, Mohammad Qasim, another local, lamented that during winters, they melt snow to get drinking water. However there is never enough water for the children to bathe, or for the women to wash clothes. "All other areas have water facilities in this modern era, but now us. We sometimes travel late at night to fetch water. Those who go out to work also carry water on their way back home," he added. Some families use donkeys to carry the water storage containers from one place to another.

According to Additional Deputy Commissioner, Tral, Pulwama, Kashmir, Shabir Ahmad Raina, he has told the concerned engineers to seek a source of water for the area. Raina recently visited Tragnaad along with his team. Raina also assessed the pace of progress in the area, and listened to public grievances and aspirations during his visit.

The Public Health Engineering department of Tral has been directed to supply potable water to the residents within a week. The ADC had to walk for nearly four kilometres to reach the location and experienced the tough terrain, as there is no road facility available. He also directed RDD Tral to prepare a proposal on priority, in order to ensure construction of a road under the NREGA scheme.