Sir,
These days a tug of war is seen taking place between Basohli and Billawer tehsils of district Kathua regarding the formation of a long awaited hilly district for Bani, Basohli and Billawer tehsils. It is beyond doubt that the creation of the hilly district is the only key which can ensure the speedy and desired development of these backward, remote and inaccessible tehsils. During the last upgradation of some tehsils to district it has been observed how the influence of some powerful and influential politicians, having a direct access to the higher echelons of power, managed the creation of some of the districts which were considered well developed and fell at a hand shaking distance at the cost of those tehsils which are located 250 to 300 kilometers away from their present district headquarters.
We understand that the creation of smaller units of administration is the need of the hour for the equitable and harmonious development of the whole State but at the same time it becomes the duty of the Government to safeguard the interests of those tehsils which do not have their representatives in the council of Ministers or those whose words carry little or no meanings in the political or bureaucratic circle.
Before the creation of new hilly district, either at Basohli or at Billawer, the consent of the people of Bani tehsils must be sought because it is they who have to decide as to where their interests can be watched better or where they feel more comfortable in comparison to the options before them. Geographically, Bani tehsil is situated in the north at a distance of 90 kilometers from Basohli, 180 kilometers from Kathua and 270 kilometers from Jammu. There are some remote areas of Bani which are still far away from the present district headquarter Kathua. For them reaching Kathua is not only costly but time consuming also.
Whole Bani tehsil is economically socially, and educationally backward because majority of the population belongs either to scheduled castes or scheduled tribes, for them performing to and fro journey to the district head quarter Kathua for even petty jobs will be like taxing them deliberately. Moreover both the Bani and Basohli tehsils are joined together by the Basohli, Bani, Bhaderwah road which is the life line for both the adjacent tehsils because both of the tehsils have scattered and inaccessible habitats, hilly terrains, common problems, traditions and culture. In the coming days Basohli, being a confluence of three states, is going to emerge as a hub of trade and tourism which will help boost tourism of Bani area also.
The distance between Bani and Basohli is less than half the distance between Bani Kathua and Bani Billawer. District hood for Basohli will be beneficial for the people of Bani in every respect therefore the entire Bani tehsil favors district hood for Basohli in future.
Yours etc…
Thakur Dass and
Pawan Chohan
Bani
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