Fayaz Bukhari
Budgam constituency on the eastern side of Srinagar city is the most backward constituencies of Kashmir valley despite its large portion being under Srinagar Municipal Corporation limits.
The constituency is represented by Aga Syed Ruhullah of National Conference who defeated People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Mohammad Kamal Malik by a margin of 10, 000 votes in 2008 Assembly elections. Aga polled 19, 652 votes and Malik 9, 692. Aga is representing the constituency for the second time.
Almost 90 percent of the area is underdeveloped with people even having no access to tape water despite being 10-15 kilometers from Srinagar city centre of Lal Chowk.
The most underdeveloped areas, which the residents say have been deliberately neglected since 1947, are Hajibagh, Soibugh, Dharmuna, Gutpora, Wadwan, Arath, Chattabugh, Naidgam, Shahpora, Wahabpora, Garend, Sangam, Paimus, Nasarullahpora, Galwanpora, Putlibagh, Chandpora, Labartal, Dadna, Waterani, Sholipora, Paris, Abadpora. In these areas road connectivity is very poor with road network in shambles and public transport almost defunct. There is also drinking water and power crisis in these areas.
The major problems the residents of the constituency are facing are mushrooming of brick kilns which is causing pollution. There are around 250 brick kilns with majority of them spread over 40, 000 kanals of land in villages of Nasrallulah Pora, Chandpora, Pransh Gund, Bunhama, Sagam, Pimus, Razwain, Bundgam, Gud Suthu, Sholipora, Labartal, Waterwani, Choon, Parnewa, Gondipora and Wahpora area of district Budgam. These kilns are near school, hospitals, residential areas, agriculture land, orchards and water resources in gross violations of the Jammu and Kashmir Brick Kilns (regulations) Act 2010.
Residents said lakhs of apple, almond, walnut, peach, pear, apricot and cherry trees were felled in the karewas of Budgam district to pave way for the brick kilns in gross violations of the Brick Kilns Act.
Residents of the constituency say that pollution, drying of natural water resources, tipper terror and damage to the roads is the problems they are facing is due to the mushrooming of brick kilns. They allege that Government and administration are hand in glove with the brick kiln mafia and have made life miserable for the locals here.
The constituency’s main areas are Peerbagh, Humhama, Seikhpora, Omapora, Narkara, Bathar, Budgam town, Yacchigam, Choon, Jehama, Mirgund, Sepdan, Dooru, Bemina, Galwanpora, Haran, Soibugh, Hajibagh, Paimus, Sangham, Dharmuna, Gotpora, Wadwan, Arath, Naidgam, Chatbugh, Sahpora, Garind, Nasaraullahpora, Putlibagh, Chandpora, Labartal, Dadna, Waterani, Sholipora, Paris, Abadpora and Wahabpora. Majority of these areas have complaints about drinking water, potholed roads, power crisis and poor health facilities.
Soibugh is one of the biggest centrally located villages of the constituency and people were demanding Teshil status for it. Nazir Ahmad, a local resident said that the village has a huge catchment area but Government granted two Tehsils to Beerwah constituency at Narbal and Magam, just few kilometers away from each other, but left out deserving Soibugh village. “The irony is that our MLA supported Magam for Tehsil status and opposed Soibugh that was deserving the Tehsil”, said Ahmad.
Mushtaq Ahmad of Soibugh said that they have no proper access to drinking water. “We were drinking water from tube wells and streams for ages but for past few years we have limited access to tape water. They mostly remain dry and water is supplied for an hour in the morning and two hours in the evening”, he added.
Says Abdul Rashid Malik: “The main road that connects the village with Budgam has been recently macadamized but 4 kilometer road that connects it with Parimpora, Srinagar is in complete shambles. It has big craters and the private transporters refuse to ply on this road which takes hardly half an hour to reach Lal Chowk. Similarly, 4 km road that connects the area with National highway at Narbal via Gutpora is completely in shambles. On this road as well the private transporters refuse to ply.”
Farooq Ahmad Wani, a local, said that they have problem of frequent breakdown of power transformer. “We have to repair them from our own pockets as department never bothers to repair them. In some areas there are no proper electric wires and poles. We have tied the damaged wires with the trees as there are on poles. We went to MLA but he has shown no concern”, he said.
Residents said that the lanes and by-lanes of the village are full of pot holes and village has been neglected by the Government. They say that since the village is big and caters to large number of villages there is immediate need of a Girls Higher Secondary School. They also said that the schools in the village need to be upgraded.
The residents said that there is PHC at Soibugh for past six decades and it has never been upgraded. “The building is in dilapidated condition and hospital is under staffed. The Dental Surgeon comes twice a week and rest of the week he runs his clinic. There no surgeon and gynecologist. The radiologist is not also well trained and she has few months diploma in radiology. The two ambulances provided few decades ago are out of order”, they said.
The residents of village Dharmuna, an adjacent village to Soibugh, say that the 90 percent of the villagers have no access to tape water. “In the modern era, we are drinking water from streams. There is no tape water. A few tapes in the village are having water and women have to wait for hours in queues to fetch few litres of water for drinking purpose. Sometimes they have to return empty handed. The water pipes were laid several times but we have never seen tape water”, they said.
Mohammad Ashraf, a local, said that the main road of the village is full of pot holes. “The R&B had made an estimate of Rs 54 lakhs for macadamization of the road but it was not approved by the Minister as the area has no proper representative. He only sanctioned Rs 20 lakh which is not sufficient”, he said.
The village is also lacking transport facility. “We have to foot the distance from Soibugh as there is no transport facility for the village. We have no dispensary and people have to go to Soibugh where the facilities are also lacking. We wanted up-gradation of the Middle School Dharmuna to High Schools as our children have to travel to Haran, 4 kms distance on foot, after 8th standard”, said Ashraf.
The villagers said that power supply is erratic and they have to purchase the poles, wires and repair transformers of their own if there is any snag. “We approached our MLA for providing us transformer as it was overloaded, he didn’t but he has supplied to his ‘own’ areas”, said the villagers of Syed Mohalla.
The major grievance of the people is that several lakh kanals of paddy land of Dharmuna and adjacent villages are water logged as the flood channel directly enters into the Hokersar wetland. “The level of wetland has risen due to siltation and our paddy land in the villages of Bemina, Soibugh, Hakermolla, Dharmuna, Gutpora and Arath remains water logged. Rice was grown here and now people are suffering huge losses. We had time and again asked the IFC Department that there should be a flood channel from Hajibagh to Narbal so that the flood channel does not open into the wetland but nothing has been done so far with the result wetland is dying and farmers are suffering”, said the residents.
The areas like Wadwan, Gutpora, Arath, Chattabugh, Naidgam, Wahabpora, Shahpora, Haran, Garend have similar problems on water scarcity, erratic power supply, pot holed roads and lack of proper health care facilities and poor transport facility.
Residents of Garend said that 1500 kanals of orchard land at Bacchi Wudur land has been taken over by brick kiln mafia. Hundreds of trees have been felled and several brick kilns have been constructed. The villagers fought tooth and nail but the administration and the Government supported them in violation of the Brick Kilns Act.
Residents in Nasarullahpora village which is hardly four kilometers from Budgam, the district headquarter, said that it is the neglected village of the constituency. They said that they are being harassed by the Agas of Budgam who have hegemony in the constituency. Police and administration is being used against us every time there is any sectarian tension. “We are deliberately being targeted on developmental front. Our lanes, by-lanes are dilapidated. We have frequent power cuts, we are not provided transformers and they are overloaded. We are being provided ration on the basis of 1991 census. The Government never listens to us as they are bothered about vote bank”, they said.
Gulzar Ahmad of Sholipora village said that road connectivity to the area is poor and majority of the roads are full of potholes. He said that the villages is one of the biggest in the constituency and lacks drainage. The power supply is erratic and LT lines are damaged and there are no poles and the wires are tied to the trees.
Gulzar Ahmad said that the village is deserving a Block status but MLA didn’t support the demand. He said that the various village level developmental schemes are being used by the Panchs and Sarpanchs at their own will.
Abdul Gani of Narkara village near the Budgam Railway Station said that the bigger issue that the village and its adjoining areas like Narkara, Bathar, Ompora and Gangbugh are facing is filling of wetland by the land mafia. State land and Rakhs and farms land is being filled. He said that this has led to collapse of irrigation system in the area and once the vegetable bowl has turn hundred of kanals of land as non-productive. He said the best paddy of the Kashmir valley was grown in the area and that land also suffers due to lack of water.
Gani said that there is an alternative road from Srinagar to Budgam and Budgam Railway Station from Tengpora via Gangbugh which will shorten the distance by half but it is in dilapidated condition. He said that Tengpora-Gangbugh foot bridge on the road was constructed twice, it was first wooden and later steel. If the same bridge could have been made concrete and widened it could have relieved the airport road of traffic.
Another resident of the village, Abdul Hamid said that Receiving was constructed in Narkara but LT lines were not changed. He said that the villagers pooled their money and shifted the LT line on their own.
Hamid said that 5-years ago, playground was sanctioned on State land but work was not started yet.
Another resident said that for laying of pipes of Sukhnag Water Supply Scheme, roads were dug in the area but so far they were not repaired and nor their black topping was done.
The roads have also been encroached and large numbers of service stations have come up on the main road in the village illegally. They wash cars and water gets accumulated on the road leading to pot holes. The village gets one hour water supply in a day which is insufficient. The work on the PHC is going on for last two years and pace is very slow.
Residents in Budgam town where the MLA reside said that there is no proper drainage and the Municipality doesn’t clean the lanes and by-lanes in the town.
They said that Hospital is not clean and there is no child specialist and no gynecologist stays in the hospital for the night and the hospital mostly refers patients to Srinagar after 4 p.m.
They said that an under-construction drain was left half way near the new colony Degree College, Budgam and during rains, the road gets water logged in the area.
The Traders union of the town said that there is no passenger shed, public toilets, parking space. “There was natural spring and we approached the PHE and MLA to get it cleaned but they never bothered”, they said.
Residents of Ichgam said that the roads in the village including main road are shrinking. Javed Ahmad, a resident said that the bus stand was spread on over 4 kanals of land and hardly half a kanal is left now as it has been encroached. He said that the area is also facing dog menace as dogs are being brought here in load carriers during the night. He also said that PHC in the village is lacking facilities and patients are being shifted to Budgam for minor ailments.
The village also faces problem of drinking water and it is being supplied for only two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening.
The locals alleged that Panchs and Sarpanch make personal use of NAREGA funds and don’t spend it for the welfare of the village. They said that locals made personal contributions to construct a drain in the village.
They said that in three kilometers area between Ichegam-Gudsathu there are around 40 brick kilns. “It has led to respiratory diseases in the area besides affecting fruit and vegetable production. Large numbers of Tippers are operating in the area that has led to tipper terror”, they added.
The MLA Budgam, Aga Ruhullah said that he has sanctioned two power receiving stations to Yachhigam and Wadwan village and then Wadwan station was also upgraded and he also got a Grid Station at Budgam installed. “Ompora has been put on SIDCO Receiving Station. There were frequent power cuts and load shedding in the area and that is now over. There is 24 hours power supply in Budgam and adjacent areas”, he added.
Aga said that Rs 3 crore was spent on improvement of HT and LT lines and purchase of transformers in the constituency; however, there is need for further improvement.
The MLA said that large numbers of primary schools have been established and 90 per cent of uncovered areas where there were no schools have been covered. “Eight High Schools were created. There were two Higher Secondary Schools before and now we have 4 Higher Secondary schools at Sholipora, Ycchigam and Soibugh and a Degree College at Budgam. Land for Moulana Azad University at Budgam has been identified and foundation stone was laid”, he added.
Aga said that OPD of the District hospital was constructed and it is functional now. He said that 3-4 dispensaries were created in the constituency and two PHCs were created at Wadwan and Sholipora and village Yachigam PHC was upgraded.
The MLA said that Soibugh village that was without drinking water has been covered now under Water Supply Scheme Soibugh at the cost of Rs 15 crore. He said that Sholipora-Bemina Sukhnag Water Supply Scheme will be functional by the end of this year and it will cover large areas of the constituency. He said that extension line will be also provided to Gutpora, Churpora and Arath who are not presently covered under it.
Aga said that Water Supply Scheme for Old Bemina is functional now and Budgam town and Yacchigam were without filtered water and now they have 24 hours supply filtered water supply.
The MLA admitted that the roads in his constituency are in bad shape but he put the blame on Tipper menace. “There is too much tipper traffic on these roads and they get damaged quickly due to overload”, he added.
Aga said that Bemina road was macadamized thrice and Nasaralpora twice in past 5 years but the condition is still bad. He said Budgam-Soibugh Road was macadamized last year at the cost of Rs 3 crore. “Soibugh-Wadawan road, Yecchigam-Gudsathu road, Thokar –Choon road, Sholipora-Nasaralluahpora were macadamized. Yacchikote-Palpora road was upgraded and macadamization is under process. Garend-Wawdan road has been upgraded and will be macadamized soon. We have also taken up Budgam-Beerwah road project with the Government”, he said.
The MLA said that he has constructed Bemina bridge, Goripora bridge, two bridges of Budgam-Humahama road, Wahabpora bridge, Waterwani bridge, Lakharpora bridge, Zoorigund bridge and several interior bridges in various villages.
Aga said that various irrigation schemes were also upgraded. These include Zabar Khul from village Mamath and it irrigates Budgam several villages upto Bemina area.
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