Dogra Front and Shiv Sena  Stage Protest Over Acute Drinking Water Shortage

Jammu 11 September :- Workers of the Dogra Front and Shiv Sena, led by their president  Ashok Gupta, staged a vehement protest demonstration today, expressing intense resentment against the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department for the acute scarcity of drinking water plaguing Jammu city. The protestors highlighted an alarming situation where, after a three-day wait, water supply was restored for a mere ten minutes, exacerbating a massive shortage that has left numerous areas without a reliable power supply as well.

The agitators cited a severe lack of potable water, forcing households to struggle to meet their most basic daily needs. A growing concern over potential health risks has emerged, with residents fearing the consequences of being forced to consume contaminated water from unsafe sources. The protest saw participation from residents across a wide swathe of the city, including the localities of Durga Nagar; Ustad Mohalla, Panjtirthi, and Kacchi Chawni; Old Rehari and New Plot; and Pakka Talab, Janipur, Sarwal, Subash Nagar, and Talab.

 Ashok Gupta directly challenged the administration’s claims, stating that official assertions of restoring water supply to 80% of Jammu district and deploying approximately 600 government and private tankers were completely false. “Neither water supply has been restored in 80% of areas, nor are tankers reaching all the affected localities,” he asserted. He accused the administration of misleading the public with false assurances regarding the restoration of essential services.

Further intensifying his criticism, Gupta blamed the NC-Congress Government for sheer mismanagement, alleging a complete failure to make any alternate arrangements to alleviate the public’s suffering. He pointed to defunct government toll-free numbers meant to request tankers and a lack of cooperation from PHE officials. Highlighting the impracticality of the current response, he noted that 600 tankers are insufficient for a population of nearly 20 lakh and impossible to deploy in narrow lanes, criticizing the government for having no “Plan B.”

Gupta concluded by demanding that the water supply be restored at the earliest to provide relief to the distressed residents. The protest was attended by numerous party workers including Raju, Ganesh, Kalu, Prem, Bablu, Bantu, Vikram, Rampal, Suresh, and others.