Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Mar 22: While the authorities in Kashmir have carried disinfection drives in Srinagar and other major towns to prevent the spread of Caronavirus, the rural areas have been left out of the process.
Authorities launched disinfection drives by spraying chemicals at different places in Srinagar. The trucks spraying disinfectant at various public places and offices were also witnessed in some of the major towns. However, the rural areas where the majority of populations live are yet to get sterilized.
Such programs have been restricted to some municipalities while the areas beyond these municipal limits, which are already low on sanitation, are yet to witness such Government initiatives. “Don’t they know we have more rural population than the urban? Why haven’t they carried any such drives in rural areas? Are not we humans?” Ashiq Ahmad, a resident of Awantipora told Excelsior.
Echoing similar concerns, the residents of several other South Kashmir areas accused the Government of adopting double standards in dealing with the epidemic. “Will they react after the virus enters into communities? If God forbid, that happens it will engulf us all. Until every nook and corner will not be treated the same way by the government, the exercise is futile,” another local from Anantnag said.
The concerned municipalities, in South Kashmir, have in the past few days carried out cleanliness drives and used disinfecting sprays in many public places.
“Even though what they have been doing is not at all sufficient given that the garbage still gets dumped along the roadsides,” the residents of towns like Anantnag, Kulgam, and Pulwama feel.
The story of the North Kashmir is not different as several rural areas have also voiced concerns regarding the sanitation of their area. “I do not know why are they delaying the process. The delay would only spread the infection. The Government should immediately sanitize the villages,” Ghulam Rasool, a resident of North Kashmir’s Dooru area, said.
Some of the residents feel that the Government is undermining the importance of sanitizing the rural areas. “Why can’t the Government act proactively? Once the virus enters the communities it is hard to get rid of it. They should understand it,” Muzamail, a resident of Fatehgarh in North Kashmir’s Baramulla said.
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