Basohli town is about 72 Kms upstream Ravi River from Lakhanpur and situated on the right bank of the river. The town with the richest heritage and historical background, widely known world over for its miniature paintings, Pashmina shawls, Ram Leela and Ayurveda, is a victim of ignorance and negligence. The town faces many problems which include:
Basohli medical block comprises of seven primary health centers, one SDH and a few dispensaries. Out of seven, six PHC’s are without doctors and SDH Basohli has one old ambulance which is not fit for carrying patients in this remote and hilly area. The SDH building under construction has its own tale to tell. The building is under construction for the last fourteen years and needs to be completed.
The Tourist Reception Centre, Cultural Heritage centre and a small stretch of path with two view points along the sprawling lake of Ranjit Sagar Dam are not functional yet when these stand completed in 2006-07. About Rs.4 crore have been spent on these structures but of no use. Had these been functional, the VIPs and officers visiting Basohli on the eve of inauguration of cable stay bridge over river Ravi by UPA Chairperson on May 23,2011, Sonia Gandhi, they would have stayed here instead of shuttling from Basohli to Madhopur in Punjab and back. The town has virtually one PW (R&B) rest house which accommodates one and all visitors whenever they visit this place.
The granting of licenses to ferry boat holders in the sprawling lake under water-ways acts is still gathering dust whereas the same have been granted for the swollen waters of Chenab in Baghliar Hydro Electric Project. The only beneficiaries from Ranjit Sagar Dam are either fisheries departments of J&K, Punjab and Himachal or Punjab Government that too at the cost of Basholies.
The only rekindled hope is upcoming of bridge when the treacherous 72 Kms distance from Basohli to Lakhanpur will be avoided by a good and 2-lane riding surface via Dunera and Pathankot. The picturesque Dalhousie will be only 46 Kms from Basohli and tourists visiting this spot may be fascinated to row boats and catching fish in the reservoir. The attraction of miniatures and Pashmina shawls may enhance the desire to visit this town.
When we talk of road network, it can be adjudged by the bad plight of the main road from Dhar-Udhampur road to Basohli. The poor condition of internal roads has its own tale to tell.
Barring two to three prioritized wards, the water supply is deplorable. Some wards get supply only once or twice a week that too for five to ten minutes. A nearby village Batarara, hardly 2.0 Km away from Basohli has no water supply at all.
The under construction Herbal park under CM’s commitment is a wasteful expenditure. Another park as announced by the concerned minister is a non- starter.
The REW department is busy in carrying out unproductive works and plenty of money is being spent under wasteful expenditure head.
Government as well as administration should wake up from the snoring sleep and come up to the expectations of the people of this place. Er. D. K Sharma
Basohli
No scholarship to players this year!
I on behalf of all players of Jammu and Kashmir state , who played national school games 2011-12 of all disciplines at different venues on national level, bring into the kind notice of the Sports Minister of Government of J&K state and the Director Youth Services & Sports J&K that despite the submission of our scholarship forms duly filled up alongwith the attachment of participation/winning certificates in the concerned youth services and sports offices, this year till date no scholarship has been given to the players. Otherwise, earlier every year by the end of financial year i.e. March, the scholarship used to be given to players, but this year, we reached mid of July and no scholarship has been given to us by the department. As and when, we visit the youth services and sports department office Gandhinagar Jammu, the concerned officials inform that this year the government has not released the funds and that is why the office is not having any fund for giving scholarship to any player.
In this regard, Minister Sports as well as the Director Youth Services and Sports are requested to look into the matter personally so that the scholarship to players is given as early as possible like every year as the amount is just Rs.1750/- per player who simply participated and some more to the players who won gold, silver or bronze medal. I hope speedy issuance of scholarship to all players, who participated in school nationals, otherwise the players shall get discouraged and ultimately our state may not attract more players to participate in the games in future, only for this petty reason.
D. S. Shivam,
Badminton Player, Jammu.
Civic amenities missing in Jagti Township
I want to draw the attention of the authorities towards the lack of basic amenities in Jagti Township.
The people here face acute shortage of drinking water. On one occasion no water was supplied for a week continuously.
Besides, the parks created for recreation of children and old-aged people are not being maintained by the concerned agencies.
The medical centre that runs in the Township needs to be upgraded by providing infrastructure and more staff.
O. N. Razdan
Jagti Township, Nagrota.
Repair Udhampur-Barmeen-Ghordi road
Udhampur-Barmeen-Ghordi road is in wretched condition. The single lane narrow road that passes through sharp slanting terrain is in uprooted condition, without bridges, parapets safety measures, regular maintenance, proper drainage etc. The long stretched narrow road first of all needs double laning on priority basis. It may not be out of context to mention here that sufficient number of vehicles do not ply on this road to meet the needs of people here. As a result, buses, running on the roads remain over-loaded. Even roof-tops remain jam-packed. The precious human life is unsafe on this hilly route that already is notorious for being accident prone.
To avoid further accidents, it is suggested that more passenger vehicles should be run on this road and road made traffic worthy.
Swatantra Dev Kotwal
Udhampur.
Blacktop Swarn Vihar link
Time and again, it was brought into the notice of the J&K, Cooperative Housing Corporation authorities that a road link be provided to Swarn Vihar Police Colony via Durga Nagar.
At present the scooterists use a gully which connects Durga Nagar and Swarn Vihar. As this gully remains swamped during rains, it becomes very difficult to cross it. Besides, the track is paved with big stones. There is also a blind curve which can cause any untoward happening anytime. To avoid such an occurance, it is requested to the authorities to black-top this gully till an alternative road is constructed via Durga Nagar.
Sunil Sharma
Swarn Vihar.
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