Suhail Bhat
Home Shalibug: The Home Shalibug constituency in South Kashmir lacked amenities like portable water, proper healthcare and education facilities due to non-implementation of various developmental schemes over the years.
The constituency shares its borders with Shopian and Anantnag in South Kashmir and comprises over hundred villages. Around 95,000 voters are registered in the constituency. A major portion of the population is concentrated in rural areas while as a small percentage is dwelling in urban areas. The people living below the poverty line account for nearly 20% of the total population.
People’s Democratic Party candidate, Abdul Gafar Sofi, was successful in winning the elections in 2002 and 2008 but, in 2014 elections, he was defeated by National Conference’s Abdul Majid Larmi by a majority of 1,269 votes. Larmi got 11406 votes, while 10137 of votes were polled by Sofi.
The constituency is facing multiple problems including untreated drinking water, shabby or missing sewerage, an absence of adequate health and educational facilities. Several localities also complained about poor connectivity to their areas.
The healthcare is in crisis with all the health centers grappling with the shortage of staff. At times, pharmacist or a single nurse is available to treat patients and that increases the referral of the patients to district hospitals or Srinagar.
The construction of Sub District hospital Qoimoh, which is the nodal centre for treatment, is incomplete for last 15 years. The construction work on the 50-bedded Sub-District hospital in Qoimoh area has not been completed even after 15 years of approval and authorities blamed meager funding for the delay.
In 2003, the Government planned to increase the capacity of existing Primary Health Centre (PHC) and build a 50 bedded sub-district hospital at Qoimoh with an estimated cost of Rs 19.32 crores. The PHC besides being insufficient to cater to the rush of patients lacked space and was in dilapidated condition. Construction work started in 2008, but in 2016 work was suspended as funds fell short.
The locals said that due to poor healthcare services in Government sector they are forced to turn to local private healthcare which was expensive and unregulated. “The private clinics are unaffordable to low-income groups and health services are also not uniform,” Rafiq Ahmad, a local said.
They said that the various projects in health sector are incomplete. They added that with the coming up of the hospital they were hoping an end to their healthcare woes but non-completion of the project has plunged them into despair. “The building was meant to provide better healthcare facilities to residents but we have fooled people with the announcement. The existing PHC is understaffed and lacks diagnostic facilities,” Bashir Ahmad, a local said.
The constituency also has very few Primary Health Centers (PHCs) despite is over 75000 population and remoteness of the hilly areas. “We continue to suffer on health front as none of the hospitals have been completed. Patients, young, old, pregnant women have to bear the brunt as no health facilities exist in our area,” said Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, a resident in Bhan.
The residents said that they raised the issue of poor health sector in the constituency and lack of staff in majority of the health centres with the former MLA but nothing changed in these years.
Despite having a number of freshwater springs, the constituency is marred by unfiltered drinking water. The residents said that the Public Health and Engineering department lifts water from the springs and distributes it without any treatment. “The authorities supply the water without any filtration which has resulted in the spread of several waterborne diseases in the area,” Abdul Rashid, a resident told Excelsior.
“We raised the issue of portable water with the former MLA but to no avail”, said residents of the area.
Majority of the people here are dependent on Agriculture and Apple business is the mainstay of the economy. However, residents said that there is no improvement in quality and the yield of the crop.
Besides these problems, lack of awareness and guidance on the use of pesticides or insecticides is also a major issue in the constituency. Several orchardists complained that nonstop use of pesticides has deteriorated the quality of the crop. “The officials never visit the orchards nor do they carry any inspection. They only recommend the pesticides and encourage its use. As the time is near when there will be no takers for our crop,” Manzoor Ahmad, said, adding the concept of organic farming has not been introduced in the area.
The orchardists said that they raised the issues relating to agriculture and horticulture with the former MLA and he gave assurance but nothing changed.
The residents lamented that after dusk several areas plunge into darkness as erratic power cuts have made their life miserable. They said that the area has the worst infrastructure for electricity with low tension lines are tied to trees and damaged wooden poles. The villagers said they didn’t see electricity for weeks together. “The electric lines can prove fatal anytime. The PDD is not serious about the safety of residents,” Bashir Ahmad, a local said. He said that the issue was raised with the local MLA but the problem still persists.
The residents said that the constituency is backward on the educational front as the area lacks a Degree College forcing students to either travel to Kulgam of Anantnag. The schools building in the villages across the constituency are in bad shape. “The facilities like pure drinking water, toilets, first aid are missing in schools,” the residents said, adding that they raised the issue of infrastructure with the former MLA but it didn’t change for good.
The main road that runs through the town from Bijbehara and links most of the villages in the constituency has been macadamized and is in better condition. But, the inner roads are shabby and have not been macadamized for long. Besides, the narrowness of certain key roads like Redwani Kulgam, Redwani-Babpora and Kulgam- Wanpoh cause traffic snarls during peak hours.
Former Member of Legislative Assembly, Abdul Majid Larmi lists a series of projects that, he said, were only possible due to his personal efforts. “The approval of Degree colleges at Frisal, the creation of new tehsil at Qoimoh and new blocks at Frisal and Yaripora were the major achievements”, he said.
Regarding the SDH Qoimoh, he said the hospital had a shortage of fund and to tackle that problem it has been put under the PMDP. “Rs 19 crores will be sanctioned. Retendering is going on and the tenders will be allocated soon,” he said. Besides, 8 new PHCs has been upgraded in the constituency.
He said: “We have done work in all sectors such as PMGSY, R&B, and Agriculture and were even applauded for our commendable job. Ninety percent of the roads have been macadamized including Arwani- Frisal-Qader road, Nunmay-Zaban-Palno road, Khudwani-Nowpaora- Kharppora road, and Kwaki -bazaar- Wanpora road etc.” he said.
To improve electricity, the former MLA said new poles and conductors were installed in the constituency. “I have allotted about 200 transformers in the constituency. In addition, two receiving stations have been upgraded”, he added.
On the issue of Degree College, Larmi said that a Degree College has already been allocated and land has also been identified. “We have identified the land at Frisal and the construction work will start from March,” he said
He agreed the constituency is facing a dearth of clean drinking water and held defunct filtration plants responsible for it. “Filtration plants like Hager, Yaripora and Frisal are lying defunct,” he said. However, to meet the water deficiency, the new supply schemes have been initiated in different areas including Tashlo, Jablipora, Qoimoh and Redwani.
On the issue of unabated use of pesticides, he said: “I have repeatedly taken these issues in different board meetings. There are no regulations. I have asked the departments concerned to put a check on it but they have failed so far.”
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