Suhail Bhat
NOORABAD: Noorabad Assembly constituency in South Kashmir has seen less development over the years, which has led to lack of potable water, poor healthcare, dismal irrigation facilities and dilapidated road network.
Noorabad belongs to Anantnag Parliamentary constituency and in 2014 Assembly polls, Abdul Majeed Padru of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had defeated Sakina Itoo of National Conference by a margin of over 3000 votes. Majeed polled 28698 votes, while Sakina got 24990.
With a voter population of little over 90,000, the whole constituency is plagued by ailing Healthcare and poor drinking water facilities. The trading and irrigation facilities for apple crop, which is the mainstay of the economy, has disappointed people.
The residents said although the area has abundance of fresh water springs, the lack of proper irrigation facilities, affect both the quality and yield of the crop. “Majority of the people are associated with the apple trade, but lack of facilities have marred their business,” Mohammad Amin, an apple grower said.
Lack of awareness and guidance on high yielding apple varieties and the use of appropriate pesticides or insecticides is also a major issue in the constituency. The residents said they have to rely on the advice of shopkeepers who recommend different chemicals required for the health of the crop. “The officials never visit the orchids nor do they carry any inspection of the shopkeepers selling chemicals. They sell whatever they want. There is no regulation in the trade,” locals said. “We have raised the issue of lack of irrigation and trading facilities with the former MLA but to no avail”, the locals said.
Besides these problems, the orchardists said that they have not received compensation for the damage their orchards suffered in the November snowfall last year. “No one from the Horticulture department came to assess the damages. We were asked to assess the loss ourselves and hand over the report to the village headman. Instead of doing that nothing has been paid yet,” Muzaffar Ahmad said.
The healthcare is suffering with all the health centers grappling with the shortage of staff. At times, the dentists, pharmacist or a single nurse is available to treat patients. The residents lamented that the healthcare facilities in many areas are almost nil, and the people have to travel miles for treatment and funds sanctioned under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes have either been embezzled or not utilized properly.
The residents alleged that projects initiated few years back are still incomplete and it has led to ailing healthcare of the constituency. One such project is the construction of Modern Sub-district hospital in Damhaal Hanjipora area. The work on the building has been left half way after it was said that it is not approachable for people but the former MLA Sakina Itoo said that the decision to stop work is politically motivated.
Locals said that major roads leading to this constituency are in dilapidated condition as the MLA has focused on some selected roads and left the others in dilapidated conditions.
The inhabitants told Excelsior that all the roads leading to Pahloo tehsil are in dilapidated condition. Besides, the main road has not been repaired at Manzgam, Chogalpora and Khur Batpora for last few years due to which locals, as well as tourists, have to face tremendous hardships in commuting.
Majority of the roads connecting important villages with main town Damhal Hanjipora including Chemar, Nandimarg, Ahmadabad, Khasbe Khul, D K Marg, Khurbatpora, Mirwani, Khudhanjipora and dozens of other link roads are in bad conditions.”The roads in our area are in complete shambles and even a small downpour inundates roads and these turn muddy during incessant rains thereby making the movement of vehicles and pedestrians difficult,” the residents of Ahmadabad told Excelsior.
The residents said that they raised the issue of bad conditions of roads with the former MLA but there was no improvement.
The residents complained that the tourist spots of constituency including Kousarnag, Zagimarg, Pachen Pathery and Pratabpora were not brought under the tourist map.
One of the main attractions of the area is Aharbal waterfall that attracts thousands of tourists every year. But continued negligence has pushed it on the verge of collapse. The height of the Aharbal waterfall has receded with the passage of time and measures have not been initiated for its protection. Besides, the relentless dumping of waste has also damaged the pristine environs of the place. The authorities have failed to promote Kounsarnag, a well-known tourist trekking route.
Residents said despite the Tourism Ministry was with the PDP, the former MLA failed to get projects about upgrading the infrastructure of these places through. “We approached him to get these places on tourism map for upliftment of the people of the constituency but nothing moved forward”, they said.
Residents of Asthal and adjoining villages are facing hardships as a bridge across the Vaishaw Nallah is incomplete for the past several years, causing problems of commuting for thousands of people living in the area. “It has been eight years that the vital bridge remains incomplete. We are facing grave difficulties due to the incomplete bridge and urge the authorities to complete its construction in a stipulated time,” said Mohammad Sultan Bhat, a local. He said that they approached the former MLA several times but to no avail.
Despite having a number of fresh water springs the whole constituency is facing a dearth of potable water. People complained of receiving untreated water from the springs, spreading water borne diseases among locals. “Despite having several freshwater springs we have no water to drink. We are forced to drink unfiltered water which is causing diseases among people here,” Muzaffar Mir, a local said. The residents of several areas complained that the existing water supply schemes lack filtration and cleaning mechanism. “The reservoirs are filled with dirt and muck. The water distribution pipes get blocked several times due to mud that is carried from the reservoir,” Mohammad Shafi, a local said, adding a majority of the water reservoirs haven’t been cleaning for years.
The locals said that the issue of portable water was raised with the former MLA several times but no filtration of water is being done.
The locals also alleged that they smell a rat in the allocation of MGNREGA works and accused of diverting the works to areas of influential people, leaving the needy areas. “The lapses in the development would have been plugged if the MGNREGA works were implemented with transparency,” the residents said. “Places were works such as the construction of drains and streets or even roads were conducted substandard material was used”, they alleged.
The electric supply in the area, residents complained, is erratic and people are fed up with unscheduled power cuts. “There is no proper schedule for electricity supply and at the most we get only few hours of electricity a day while at times the villages reel under darkness for days altogether”, the inhabitants said.
They further said that the electric wires are fraught with danger and can lead to a mishap. These wires are passing through windows and rooftops of the houses as no electric poles exist in many villages. They also complained that some areas remain plunged into darkness for months after any minor damage to the transformer. “Voltage remains so low that at times only a filament of a bulb is visible,” they said.
The residents said that they raised the issue of poles and improving power infrastructure in the area but to no avail.
Former MLA, Abdul Majeed Padru, listed a series of projects that he said were only possible with his efforts. “The construction of two major roads like Batpora- Chenar and Kounsarbal – Nadimarg road, that people have been demanding for a long time. Besides, construction work on two major bridges namely Adejan Bridge and Ashthal bridge are underway due to my efforts”, he said.
He said what had not happened for 30 thirty years, that has been done in last three years. “We have done work in all sectors such as PMGSY, R&B, and Agriculture and were even applauded for our commendable job,” he said.
Regarding the Sub District Hospital Damhaal Hanjipora, he said: “The building was constructed on a mountain. We have used the site of the old police station for the construction of a new hospital and 25% work is complete, ” he said, adding the unused hospital would be given to social welfare for the construction of an orphanage.
On the issue of compensation, he said: “The assessment has been done and the proposal sent to the government. All the affected orchardists will receive the compensation once the process is complete,” he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
