Drabu missing from his constituency since polls

SRINAGAR: The first appearance of PDP leader and the former finance minister Haseeb Drabu took every resident of Rajpora constituency of Pulwama district by a surprise and optimism as he promised everything that the people of the area needed, but all his tall claims got punctured in the three-year term he enjoyed as the finance minister of the State as he hardly visited Rajpora let alone fulfilling the promises he had made there.

People of Drabu’s constituency have not shown any anger against the Mehbooba led government after Drabu was dropped from the Cabinet ministry, or no protest has been witnessed in his favor even by his workers anywhere, which clearly indicates growing resentment against him.

Rajpora constituency paints a dismal picture on development front. Apart from the main road connecting highway with the Rajpora village, the constituency lacks proper roads, proper educational institutions, while as its electricity infrastructure is in shambles and last but not the least, almost 95 areas of the constituency is without water, only thing has been developed in the constituency that is Rajpora hospital.

Villages after villages in his constituency are presenting bleak outlook. Arabal(Niks), is small village, just one km away from Rajpora town, having population of at-least 1200, people here  crave  for basic necessities, “During election campaigning, Drabu visited twice in our village and promised that, I will develop your village if we  voted for him, but after becoming Minister for Finance, we have not seen his face till now, not a single work  has been done yet in our village, it is same as it was for last ten years, although we had voted that time,” said Ghulam Mohammad, local resident of Arabal Village.

Another village of Rajpora Constituency is Dangerpora, having atleast 60 households, and just two Kms away from Drabu’s Residential house, are facing acute shortage of water and electricity, one tube-well has been installed on main road of Rajpora which connects shaadimarg and keller, where even in 21ist century, women carry water on their heads for daily uses.

“Whether it is summer season or harshest period of winter, we have to come five times a day to get water from this tube-well for daily uses. During election time Drabu visted several times but now ‘No one knows us except Allah’. Said Haseena Baoo, who washed her family clothes at that tube-well.

The inner roads of the Dangripora village have been macadamized 10 years ago,  added  another resident of Dangripora Village. Mohd Akbar Bhat, 70, narrates that, “Drabu Sahab promised us during election time that, he will sort out the water problem issue but nothing happened till now. Several times we have collected money in our village for hiring the Sumo, and visited District Commissioner office Pulwama, but till now no one listens our grievances, we were not going for Jobs, we were going for water and electricity. One time we went to Drabu’s sahab’s office in Srinagar, but doors were closed for us, despite the fact that our whole village had voted,” Bhat says that Dangripora has been totally neglected.

Travelling to the other villages of the constituency like Mitrigam, Shaadimarg, Nowpaora, Drubgam, Tujan, Haal, Tahab, Nayer, Newa, Keller, Tengpona residents narrate similar stories of acute shortage of water, Particularly drinking water, and major curtailment of electricity, shambles lanes and bylanes.

The irony of corrupt practices is that in Main Rajpora town, all the government offices like Jammu and Kashmir Bank, State Bank of India and Tehsildar office are functioning from the accommodations owned by the close relatives of Drabu.

Facing extreme official apathy five out of six key bridges in Pulwama’s Rajpora lie un-repaired causing massive inconvenience to the people. In 2014, when Devastating flood washed away, six major Bridges like Newa bridge, Rohmoo bridge, Payar bridge, trichal bridge, Haal bridge in Rajpora constituency, in which since 2014, work has been started on one bridge only  that is ‘Haal bridge’, rest of the major bridgres, and most importantly a bridge that connects about 14 villages including Rohmoo with Pulwama town are unrepaired.

From Pulwama town to Muran, the village was being developed as ‘Model Village’ and has been shown as ‘completed’ by the Government. The roads entering towards village are in shambles, Muran Village is one among the most populated area of Rajpora also lacks the development works.

Farooq Ahmed Bhat showed us the drains constructed few years ago and today they have crumbled, “The condition of our village is worse than any other backward village in the State and after Haseeb Drabu become Finance Minister, I have seen him only via Media,” Bhat said.

 However, the inhabitants of Rajpora town claims that only development has been done since Haseeb Darbu  became Finance Minister that is equipment like Dailosus, X-Ray Machine, Dental Chair, and USG machine have been brought to Community Health Center(CHC) Rajpora. And also now the CHC remains open 24×7 and also Gynae surgeries and minor surgeries are being done in that CHC Hospial and sixteen doctors including surgeons are doing duty now on rotational basis.

The residents of Shaadimarg said that during election campaign, late Mufti Mohammad Sayed used to say that it does not matter for PDP that whether Haseeb Drabu wins or loose, he is our next Finance

Minister, so voted for him and elected him as our MLA, but for last three years he has not visited in Rajpora constituency.

In nutshell, the Rajpora Constituency represented by Haseeb Drabu is in shambles. (KNB)