Fayaz Bukhari
Amira Kadal constituency in South of Srinagar has over the years seen improvement in road infrastructure, hospitals and drainage but residents said that the fulfillment of the promise of developing Amira Kadal as model constituency by the MLA is still a dream.
The constituency is represented by National Conference leader and Member Legislative Assembly, Nasir Aslam Wani, who defeated Perwaiz Ahmad Bhat of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) by a margin of 800 votes in 2008 Assembly elections. Wani polled 3912 and Bhat 3103. Wani is again, later this year, contesting from this constituency and is pitched against PDP candidate, Syed Altaf Bukhari.
The constituency is spread over the areas of Ranreth, Rawalpora, Parraypora, Hyderpora, Galwanpora, Nadri Gund, Gangbugh, Methan, Chanpora, Nowgam, Gulshan Nagar, Natipora, Mehjoor Nagar, Jawahir Nagar, Kursu, Gadhanzpur, Aramwari, Rajbagh, Wazir Bagh, Lal Mandi, Goni Khan, Sari Bala, Hari Singh Highstreet, Haft Chinar, Court road, Maisuma, Sathu Barbar Shah, Chinar Bagh, Peerzu, Abi Guzar, Ikrajpora, Radio Colony, Ram Bagh and Barzulla.
Residents of Natipora area are angry against the MLA for getting the name of their locality changed to Mehjooor Nagar in Revenue records. Sajjad Ahmad, a resident of the locality, said that Natipora is oldest locality of Srinagar and the name was given to it by the revered saint Sheik-ul-Alam Sheik Nooru Din Noorani (RA) about 800 years ago.
Sajjad said Mehjoor Nagar name has been given to the paddy land of the residents of Natipora by the brokers who raised illegal colonies on it. They hold the MLA responsible for name change. “We have approached the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Commissioner Secretary Revenue and even taken the matter to the court of law”, he added.
Residents of Irfan Colony, Badshah Nagar, Old Natipora, Chana Mohalla, Naik Bagh, Old Harnabmal have acute water shortage. They said that they hardly get water for few hours.
Residents said that the Natipora gets erratic power supply. “Most of the times we have no electricity between 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The PDD officials say that the transformer is overloaded”, says Mushtaq Ahmad of Khalid Bin Walid colony.
Residents of the other localities of Natipora areas said that the Low Tension wires and poles were never changed for several decades now and the wires are damaged and tied to the trees, posing danger to the human lives. They say that the meterised areas too have same problems where linemen charge Rs 100 per month and allow power thefts.
Residents said that the lanes and the by-lanes are in bad shape and need repairing. “There is no home delivery of the LPG in the area”, they said.
They said that there is only one Ration Ghat in the area for over 1000 families. “There are long queues waiting outside Ration Ghats and BPL ration are given on political considerations”, they said.
Says Bilal Ahmad: “We had a play ground in the locality spread over 100 kanals of land and now it has been reduced 40 kanals. The land grabbers have political patronage. Now a drain has been constructed in the middle of it and it has led to water logging of farm land leading to financial loss to the farmers.”
Residents said that around 30 streets lights were installed at Iram Colony where there are few households while in the rest of the area there are only few. “The area is vote bank of the MLA”, they said.
Residents of Mehjoor Nagar said that the area has seen improvement over the years. “Drainage system has improved and almost all the roads are mecadamised”, he added. He, however, said that the BSNL signal is weak and metered areas have same curtailment schedule as non-meterised.
Residents in few newly developed areas said that their roads have not been developed and they face water scarcity. They also have electricity problems as well.
Residents of Barzulla said that the MLA had promised during 2008 election campaign that he will develop Amira Kadal as model constituency. “Except macadamisation of roads and street lights nothing has changed in these years”, they said.
The residents of Old Barzulla said that the some politicians have supported land mafia and encroachers. “One of the NC workers and former corporater has encroached the bund near Barzulla bridge and illegally constructed cow shed under the bridge. This is a security threat, entire traffic to Airport passes over this bridge. The family has also grabbed irrigation canal that used to irrigate vegetable land in Danderkhah, once a vegetable bowl of Srinagar”, they said.
Residents said that temple land was grabbed by some of the relatives of politicians in Gulberg Colony Barzulla and they constructed houses on it. Residents said that they approached DC Srinagar but nothing was done to dislodge the encroachers.
Residents said that some people under political patronage have grabbed land of Darmarth Trust and constructed shops there and they have even encroached the old Barzulla road. “We can’t raise voice against them as they have political patronage”, they added.
Tariq Ahmad, a resident of the area said that the old Barzulla is facing drinking water crisis as Government has illegally given drinking water connections for car washing and other commercial purpose in the area. This has led to water crisis and residents are forced to use water boosters. “Car washing in Municipal Limits is banned but majority of the car washing stations have come up in Amira Kadal constituency in Barazulla, Rambagh, Mehjoor Nagar and Bypass areas”, he said.
Another resident of Barzulla, Javed Ahmad said that drain was sanctioned at the cost of Rs 38 lakh to the area but the contractor gave a bid of Rs 24 lakh and didn’t start the work on the drain. “Government has neither taken action against him nor was the re-tendering done”, he said.
Residents said that with slight downpour or wind the power to the locality is snapped as the PDD has not repaired or replaced the supply lines for decades now. They said that Transformer near Barzulla has developed a snag some week before but it has not been repaired and the area is groping under darkness.
They said that the Government didn’t look for alternate route before beginning construction work on flyover. “The road through flood channel was constructed after 8 months of the start of work”, they said.
Residents of Chanpora said that drainage system is functional and almost all the roads which were dug last year for the construction of drains have been macadamized. They said that the power situation over the years has improved.
However, residents of some of areas said that during rainy season the drains overflow and water enters into houses through the drainage pipes. Residents in some areas said that the power disruptions are frequent.
Residents of Ikhrajpora said that the main road of the locality is full of potholes. “Almost one year ago, the road was dug for construction of drain. The drain was completed in winters but the road has not been repaired”, they said.
They said that the community hall was constructed in the locality and it was made operational last year. “Most of the residents in the area can’t afford Rs 20, 000 per day as rent and they are not utilizing it”, they said.
Residents said that the community hall has been handed over to Tourism Department and they are running it on commercial lines. They are renting it out for marriages to other localities and half of the Mohalla faces noise pollution as parties run throughout the night. “We have not slept this summer as every day there are functions throughout the night”, said a resident.
Jawahar Nagar residents said that they are facing the problems of water logging with slight downpour. “This year in March after the snowfall the water logging was at its worst and it entered inside houses. The drainages were constructed but water logging remains.”
Residents said that the dog menace is worst in the area. “Near the DAV school the SMC is dumping waste and there are around 300 dogs and their population is increasing. We approached the authorities time and again but there is no response”, they added.
Residents said that the area has been turned into commercial area illegally. The commercial complexes and hotels have come up in Jawahar Nagar, Gogjibagh, Wazir Bagh, Rajbagh and other area in violation of Srinagar Master plan. High Court had ordered sealing but the ruling party intervened and the area has now myriad problems of traffic jam, pollution, drinking water shortage.
Zahoor Ahmad of Armwari said that main road is half macadamized while some portions have been left out. He said that the Transformer is overload and when it develops snag it takes several weeks for repairs. He said that the Ration Ghat has no kerosene. “The foot bridge lights have not been repaired nor has bridge repairing taken place. The present MLA has only developed a park on river Jhelum bank”, he added.
Residents in Goripora area of Rawalpora said that the main road of the area was macadamized last year in November but it has developed pot holes and macadam lasted for only few months. They said that during rains the road remains waterlogged.
“Drinking water supply scheme is same as it was 20 years ago. The new colony has come up and more people have built houses here and it is now extended upto Peer Bagh. This has led to water crisis in the area. The tapes mostly remain dry during days while during night, we store water”, said residents.
Residents said that the drainage was constructed but it was left half way. This has lead to water logging during freak weather. They said that with slight rains or wind the area gropes in darkness.
Residents of Hyderpora, near flyover, said that they have lost privacy due to the construction of flyover. “We were promised that fiber sheets will be used on both the sides of the flyer for the privacy but so far nothing was done”, they said.
Residents of Wazbagh, Galwanpora, Gangbugh, Majid bagh said that lanes are full of pot holes and they have drinking water crisis. “The water is supplied to our areas for few hours”, they added.
Residents of Shahanwar Colony Hyderpora said that they had severe water crisis this summer and MLA didn’t intervene. “It is after we met the Minister Sham Lal Sharma that the issue was resolved”, they said.
Residents of Peer Bagh said that the areas of Peerbagh, Hyderpora, Rawalpora are low lying and these area can submerge under water during floods as the dredging of flood channel was not done for several decades now.
Residents of Hari Singh High Street, Sarai Bala, said that they have severe problem of water logging in the area. Shopkeepers said that from Sari Bala towards Magarmal Bagh Chowk the shops remains closed during rains due to water logging. The residents of Sarai Bala also said that they have drinking water problem.
Shopkeepers in Hari Singh High Street said that they have a garbage dump which creates problems for them. They said that the footpath has been taken over by the vendors and it is creating problems for them. “Half of the road is under parking and pedestrians have to walk on main road and it leads to traffic jams”, they said.
The residents said that there are huge traffic jam near Iqbal Park due to under construction flyover. The traffic authorities were proposing to divert traffic from Bakshi Stadium via Hazuri Bagh but due to political interference it was not done. “The diversion could have affected the vendors who occupied 60 percent of Hazuri Bagh road. Since elections are round the corner, the Government doesn’t want to annoy these vendors”, said residents.
Residents of Maisuma said Bund of the locality was macadamised recently but inner lanes have developed pot holes. Residents said that there is water scarcity in the area during summers. “At the Ration Ghat of the area, rice and other commodities are sold in black market and locals suffer. Kerosene is also sold in black market by the dealer of the area”, said residents.
In Partap Park, press colony, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) dismantled the drain and re-constructed its 40 percent portion. “If the SMC had no money why did they dismantle entire drain, they should have only dismantled that part only which they had to re-construct”, said residents. The colony also faces drinking water crisis as the pipes have been laid several decades ago.
The MLA of the constituency, Nasir Aslam Wani, said that there was not a single Primary Health Centre in his constituency in 2009 and in the first 7 months, first PHC was constructed in Natipora and it was followed by PHCs at Chanpora, Ikhrajpora and Gangbugh. He said that Sub-district hospital was constructed at the cost of Rs 20 crore at Chanpora that caters to the constituency and its peripheral areas. He said sub-centres were also build at Mehjoor Nagar, Jawahar Nagar, Kursu and Barzulla.
Wani said that most parts of Amira Kadal constituency are low lying and water logging was a major issue. “Initially when there was no proper drainage, I utilized 35 pumps to drain water from various areas of his constituency. To priority was given to drainage and Rs 100 crore was spent on drains in the constituency and 70-80 percent areas are now covered under drainage. Pump sheds were constructed at Chanpora, Gangbugh, Tengpora and Hyderpora and now the water table in these areas has gone down”, he said.
The MLA said he has got 2500-3000 street lights installed across the constituency and high mast lights were installed at several places at major road junctions.
Wani said that 80 percent roads were macadamized in his constituency except the new roads and those where drains were constructed recently. He said that tiling of several lanes and by-lanes was also done.
The MLA said that beautification projects were also taken up and historic Lal Chowk was beautified and Ganta Gar was reconstructed. “Beautification of river Jhelum Bund and its illumination was also done. Bridges were also illuminated and bus stops constructed at Bagat Chowk and Hyderpora Chowk besides several other places.”
Wani said that several gutted buildings were reconstructed including Bud Shah Hotel, PIB building, TRC building, Tehzeeb Mahal, up-gradation of Peerzu, development of Chinar Bagh, Sangarmal was made operational and multi-layer parking project at KMD was taken up. He said that connectivity is also being increased with re-construction of old wooden Zero bridge and new bridge at Rajbagh.
The MLA said that indoor stadium was re-constructed and state of art sports facility in North Indian was created at Gindun, Rajbagh. “Ram Bagh Khal sports field and several other school fields were upgraded and Natipora sports field up-gradation is under process.”
Wani said that eight community halls were constructed at Ikhrajpora, Ranatpora Baghat, Goripora, Rawalpora, Chanpora, Natipora, Baghe Mehtab and Gangbugh. He said that Mehjoor Nagar filtration plant was constructed and new pipes were laid in several areas to up-gradate the drinking water facility in the constituency.
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