In Kashmir, winter is more than just a seasonal nuisance. In fact, frozen pipes and taps constitute a huge headache, ranked number one on the list of problems affecting the livelihood and well-being of the inhabitants. A combination of short-term remedies, such as boiling water or using space heaters, is all that is at hand, and these are not real, permanent solutions.
People living here find these extremely cold winters quite obnoxious; freezing water pipes and taps, too much of a problem now growing in age, have made it serious threats and inconveniences to public health and daily living.
The fact that the administrations are well aware of the situations does not negate the fact that these events prove that however good a step has so far arrived at, they can hardly be counted as steps toward solutions.
Most parts of Kashmir were not built to withstand such unbearable cold, and nowhere were some places like Srinagar when urbanization had rapidly outgrown the development of water pipelines more resistant to such occurrences.
The government must put in place the necessary stable infrastructure, as the inhabitants must carry out their responsibilities to save their homes and water supply systems. This applies not merely symptomatic treatment but actual problem-solving where winter really begins to cause any lack of water whatsoever.
One set of common and preferred coup-de-mains is wrapping exposed water pipes with insulating materials, such as foam or fiberglass, to reduce the probability of those particular pipes freezing.
In the long run, the region must invest in modernized water infrastructure. This could involve, among other things, a replacement of old insulated pipes with new alternatives that will withstand the effects of the weather. Such an investment is going to need a lot of resources, but it will be the only solution to ensure robust resilience for the regional water supply system.
Other options may include underground water tanks that cannot freeze in frozen areas most of the time. For these underground tanks, it is possible to include heating or any type of temperature-control device that will make sure the water does not become useless.
