The Water we drink comes from pipes laid in 1948

Srinagar Mar 29: Nearly 80 per cent of the water distribution pipelines in the Valley are more than seven decades old, and, as per the Department of Public Health Engineering (PHE), not suitable for work.
Sources within the PHE department said that majority of these pipelines in the Valley have becomes rusted, needing immediate replacement.
“In some areas the pipes have been laid even more than 100 years earlier and not replaced since. Most of these pipes have rusted completely, affecting the water quality,” the sources said.
They said these pipes often face wear and tear due to their inability to withstand the pressure of the water.
“We often see that such pipes burst. But they are always temporarily fixed with an air valve, not replaced,” they said.
Sources said that millions of gallons of drinking water was lost daily in the Valley due to the leaking pipes.
“Such is the condition that the PHE department repairs more than 30 km of damaged pipelines every year,” they said.
Sources said that in Srinagar alone, almost 70 per cent of the water distribution lines required replacement due to their frequent wear and tear.
“The system requires immediate revamp as it is very conventional. Here the line distribution system is almost 70-80 years old and at some places has no scope even for repairing defective lines,” they said.
Sources said the concerned department so far has taken up the matter with the state government multiple times, but the move couldn’t not materialise due to the unavailability of funds.
Chief Engineer PHE department, Abdul Wahid, admitted that the water distribution pipe lines need to be replaced.
He said for Srinagar district, the department has estimated Rs 90 crore as the tentative cost for replacing the old pipes with new ones.
“We just make estimates and then send it to the government. To cover the Srinagar district only we estimated Rs 90 crore in the initial stage, which the government has to decide by making budgetary provision for the same,” he said.
Wahid said they have sought assistance from the Economic Reconstruction Agency in revamping the distribution system of Srinagar city as well.