Pulwama, Aug 10 (KNO): A mega lift irrigation scheme in Chakoora village of Litter Tehsil in South Kashmir's Pulwama district is awaiting completion even as the land donors too have been pushed to the wall for the disbursement of compensation.
Locals told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that after repeated pleas, a scheme was approved for the area and soon the work was started.
However, they said nearly a decade has elapsed, but the scheme has not been completed yet.
They said that around 80 per cent of the work was completed but unfortunately the work has been suspended for the past four years due to unknown reasons.
“We don't have any irrigation facilities available to our orchards due to which we are suffering in the summer season and have to rely on rain water only,” said Shahid Ahmad, a local resident.
He said that this year they have suffered more due to persistent dry spells and are facing immense hardships.
Locals said that due to unavailability of irrigation, the trees are drying up and production remains very low besides being less delicious and small in size.
“We provided land at a very low cost for the scheme but the compensation too was not paid so far,” they said adding that they brought the issue into the notice of the concerned authorities several times, but to no avail.
They urged the authorities to look into the matter and complete the scheme so that the farmers could heave a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, an official said that both civil and mechanical sections have submitted new estimates for the pending work that costs around Rs 70 lakhs.
“We are expecting that work on the project will resume soon,” he said—(KNO)