Jammu, June 26 -- Peoples Democratic Party leader, Iltija Mufti on Thursday criticized the government for failing to maintain lift irrigation schemes in the region, especially during a time when rice saplings is underway across the Kashmir Valley.

Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS), She said all the irrigation schemes in the area, which were started by her late father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, are now defunct. "The pumps and motors are not working, and the farmers are suffering," she said.

She said that the farming and horticulture are the backbone of J&K's economy, and the government failed to prepare for the drought. Even though water is available in the Jhelum River, farmers can't use it because the irrigation systems have broken do...