Mir Farhat
The picturesque Lolab where residential houses are nestled along the foot of forested mountains has its inhabitants fuming against the legislator for not fulfilling their basic demands of providing drinking water, macadamised roads, lack of better infrastructure and healthcare.
The constituency is represented by Abdul Haq Khan of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who defeated Qaisar Jamshed Lone of National Conference by a margin of over 5000 votes. Khan polled 23, 337 votes and Lone 17, 990.
Residents across the constituency tell woeful tales about the hardships they face because of the lack of basic facilities.
Kandhar village, a remote area in location is remote on every front, be it road, health, education and water.
Its neighbouring villages Chungdi, Potkhah have no drinking water facilities, no health center and the school is housed in two rented rooms.
“We face immense problems. First, we have no road and no health center. When anyone among us takes ill, we carry the patient on our shoulders to the distant Kuligam on a rough road and then afterward to a doctor. This takes half a day, till then patient is half dead,” said Ghulam Nabi Khan of Kandhar. He said the village has no link road to connect it Kuligam.
Khan said they have no drinking water despite the village having few taps and a pipeline. He said the only school building in the area has been occupied by some locals and the students have been move to two rented rooms of a private house owner. “70 students are bundled in these two rooms, which have no toilet or drinking water facility for the poor students,” Khan said.
Residents of these villages sometimes take their patients to a sub-center in Kuligam, but the center has no facilities. A single medical assistant and two health workers man it. “How and what will these three health workers treat patients? Nothing is available there; no medicine, not even first aid,” said the residents in Kuligam.
Residents in Kuligam and its nearby village Naad said that it has no macadamised road connectivity, no drinking water. They said only thing that improved in the last five years is electricity. “We suffer a lot on every front. We are left at the mercy of nature,” said Ghulam Ahmad Dar, a resident.
Whole constituency has poor health infrastructure and has a single community health center at Sogam, four primary health centers at Cherkoot, Maidanpora, Lalpora, Tikipora and 23 sub health centers, most of which operate from dingy rented buildings.
In Cherkoot village which is the centrality of dozens of villages, a new type primary health centre was inaugurated in 2008. But the center has a single Unani doctor and few health workers. It is short of essential medical equipment and remains open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No doctor is available to these remote residents.
Residents said they complained about lack of facilities to the MLA several times but to no avail. Due to the closing of the centre, patients who need immediate care die. “3 months before a woman from Gundmacher was brought to the health center but she died here because the PHC was closed,” said Tariq Ahmad Mir, a young man in Cherkoot. An ambulance has also been sanctioned to the area but it lies useless.
Other villages across the constituency narrated similar stories about the lack of health care facilities in their localities. Some localities have health sub-centers where no doctors are posted, they lack medicine, first aid, drip-sets etc,.
Not only do the residents complain about health but they also tell woeful stories about the lack of drinking water. Inhabitants of Puthshai, Cheeproa, Chungdi, Pothkah, Kuligam, Kalaroos, Machil, Shathmuqam, Krosan, Gangbugh, Sogam, Doniwara and other dozens of villages said they have been protesting time and again against shortage of drinking water in their villages.
“In absence of water supply, we are forced to walk miles to fetch water from a small stream and springs,” said Fahmeeda Akhtar, a housewife.
“There is not a drop of water to drink as taps have run dry. We have repeatedly appealed to our MLA to restore supply to the villages but to no avail,” said Akhtar.
Residents of remote Kuligamand Chogal village complained about shortage of potable water in their village.
Absence of water facility has forced the residents to consume contaminated water from open water sources.
In Gangbugh village, long queue of women was waiting for their turn near a small stream that runs through the village to fetch water.
Residents have kept water tanks on the main road to collect water that Public Health Engineering Department supplies to them.
Sogam residents said they face shortage of drinking water as the reservoir that supplies water has breached, and there is no filtration plant too.
Other villages like Lassipora, Doniwara, Ganaiepora and Chuntiwadi also complained of impure drinking water.
“Our MLA has failed to deliver on development front. Healthcare, water system, electricity and roads are in dilapidated condition,” said Mohammad Iqbal, a resident of Wawoora.
Inhabitants of Wawoora said their village was discriminated by the legislator when new administrative units were sanctioned in the State. “MLA’s role is pivotal in nominating a village for a new administrative unit, but our MLA failed us,” Iqbal said.
Wawoora is the central location of more than 22 villages. It has a not health center or a high school. Residents here are very angry with the legislator.
Villagers in Aaffan said the lanes and bylanes in their area are dilapidated. They alleged that the MLA did not spend a single rupee to develop their village.
Most of the link roads in these villages are dilapidated and villagers said the roads crave for metalling and macadamization. All the villages have shabby inner roads, rough lanes and bylanes.
The main road to Kalaroos is damaged and has huge potholes along its surface.
Residents in Thayan, Paddaypor, Sarkoli, Dangerpora and Ghuhnad said they have been neglected by their legislator.
The hilly, remote Machil area, home to about 20 villages and 27000 people has no basic facilities. People live in wooden, muddy houses which are scattered along the highlands, hills and deep gorges.
It is remote in all respects. No health facility, no proper road connectivity, no drinking water or education has been provided to the residents. They have been left on the mercy of nature.
A single dispensary with one doctor and two medical assistants are available to these people. Ringpayeen, Ringbala, Chakoti have no health facility; a nearest health centre is 26 kilometers away from their village.
The whole area has a single higher secondary school which is shabby and lacks facilities. No separate school exists for girls.
The villagers’ problems are aggravated by the lack of proper roads. Women and children who need maternity medical care are left to battle for life and death.
Lolab constituency has a single entry to it. The only road that leads to its villages passes through a military garrison, and two iron gates, manned by police and Army men, act a checkpoint to it.
People said the presence and sight of the Army men haunts them all day and night when they leave or enter the Lolab valley.
PDP MLA Lolab Abdul Haq Khan told Excelsior when he became the MLA in 2008 no road in Lolab was macadamised. “My priority was macadamisation of roads.”
Khan said major roads which were macadamised in the last over five years were Kupwara-Chandigam, Lalpora-Anderbugh, Wawoora- Kainad-Warnav, Kalaroos-Machil, Kupwara-Humadar-Shathpor-Gunpora and Haihama road.
He said new roads which were built are Gunipora-Kunard, Affan-Kainard, Thayen-Sundhi, Hajamohala, Devar-Loharpati, two inner roads in Lalpora, Lalpora town roads.
Road in Sogam, Khori-Putshai, Gujarpati-Putshai, Khumriya-Kashta were black topped.
Khan accused the Government of stalling the sanctioning of money for construction of Lolab bypass road. He said other big projects like Lolab-Bandipora and Lolab-Bandipora tunnel were also blocked by the Government. “The State Government did not issue NOC for the construction of the road and tunnel as it passes though forest land,” he said.
He said five bridges were built in Khumriyal, Kanpora, Thayanmori, Lashtiyal and for Batnad no money was sanctioned by the government. Five more bridges were about to be constructed at different places.
“I am contended that 80 per cent of the roads have been completed and more is to be done,” he said.
He claimed about 90 percent population in Lolab has no drinking water. He said today 70 per cent of them have access to drinking water because of many ground water and other schemes.
Khan said that 30 per cent of the people still don’t have drinking water facilities.
The legislator said in health sector in Lolab is discriminated as few doctors and health workers are manning the health center. He said the five health sub centers are without staff. He said that no new doctor was posted in his constituency after recent recruitment of doctors in health.
He said eight middle schools were upgraded at Dorus, Krosan, Shrath, Gogal, Putshai, Machil, Payerpora. No new higher secondary has been built in the area, he said, adding a number of new schools under SSA scheme were built but they were constructed in a haphazard way.
To improve electricity, he said his biggest achievement was providing electricity to Machil, Kalaraoos and Khurhama and other areas under RGGVY scheme. “In addition, 60transformers were given to number of villages and one receiving station was built at Lassipora”, he said.
Khan said the tourism sector got a major boost in his tenure as tourism authority was created for Lolab-Bangus valleys. Many guest houses and huts were built Chandigam Andergam, Kalaroos, Haihama and other locations to boost tourism.
He said on irrigation he has spent 70-80 crore rupees on building tanks and canals; important canals like Dahgam,Cheepora, Kripai and Khumriyal canals were built.
He said the Government did not issue NOC for construction of three dams at Dorus, Chandigam and Ringward-Lalpora as these are falling in forest area.
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