Were neglected even during the much-boasted about B2V initiative, allege locals
Baramulla : Dudran – a village falling some 15 kms from Boniyar Tehsil Headquarters – continues to crave for basic amenities even as authorities time and again making tall claims of progress and development in the remote areas in Jammu and Kashmir. This particular village, an abode to some two-thousand souls continues to remain without ration store, without health centre, with no mobile phone connectivity albeit a small ramshackle school building.
Ninety percent of population is living below poverty line, an aggrieved local told GNS. He said that despite the much boasted about Back to Village (B2V) initiative, the village was ‘neglected and nothing much was done to alleviate the sufferings.’
We have been left at the sheer mercy of god, with no one coming forward to address our genuine issues, he said.
Village Numberdar Abdul Razak Shiekh said that there is no ration store in the locality. We have to tread over seven kilometers from village Tarkanjan to get the ration, he said.
With no health centre even, we are forced to visit PHC Boniyar, which according to him, is at least fifteen kilometers away from here.
The roads remain closed for movement for months altogether in winters and authorities each time go with a slow pace to clear the stretches of accumulated snow, only aggravating our sufferings.
Another local Noor-ud-Din Sheikh told that Government Middle School building in the village was damaged in 2018 due to heavy snow, however the structure hasn’t been even repaired yet. The nearly one hundred twenty-five students enrolled at the educational institute are forced to take classes under open sky, he said.
There is no mobile connectivity in the village. Reliance Jio had installed a signal tower some seven months back, however it is yet be made functional by the telecom provider. “With no proper connectivity, we are literally living a life of isolation”, he said.
The RDD and PMGSY departments are mismanaging the funds and have been highly lackadaisical in their approach vis-à-vis their duties, another local said.
He alleged that the payment for toilets constructed under SBM was not released even after several years now. Alleging the Sarpanch and RDD employees of taking two-thousand each for payment of funds he further said that they took the amount on assurance of immediate disbursement of payment, however we have been kept waiting with no one to ask for.
Even the MGNREGA programme failed to bring any good to us, he lamented.
A local Mohammad Rafiq Mir said that the land belonging to locals was taken for construction of a road stretch on assurances of compensation but nothing has been paid for nearly ten years now. “So much so that my house also got damaged due to the road construction, however no compensation was paid for that even”, he said.
When contacted, Tehsildar Boniyar Peer Zahid Ahmad told, that no complaint of any such nature has been addressed to his office so far. “I ask the local public to move a memorandum before the office, citing their issues for an early redressal from authorities concerned”, the official said.
Meanwhile the inhabitants to the village have appealed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Dr Bhupinder Kumar for their kind intervention as to alleviate their decades long sufferings. (GNS)
