Poor road conditions root cause of backwardness
Nishikant Khajuria
CHENANI: Despite bestowed with natural beauty, lush green forests and places of religious importance, which make the area significant and attractive, the Chenani-Ghordi Assembly constituency in Udhampur district continues to remain deprived of required attention and development in all respects-thanks to the local representatives, who failed to get the issues addressed.
Health services as well as educational infrastructure in the constituency are virtually in shambles owing to inadequate staff and a number of developmental projects are either stalled or facing delayed execution of work while extremely poor condition of road network seems to be the root cause of backwardness of this constituency, which spreads from Patnitop to Dudu and Ghordi to Roundomail in Udhampur.
Because of the lackluster attitude of the State Government authorities and the local representative, not even ten percent work has been done on much needed widening and blacktopping of the 45 km Mantalai-Dudu road, for which Rs 52 crores were sanctioned under CRF in 2017. Then Minister for Roads and Buildings, Naeem Akhter had inaugurated this road widening work on September 6, 2017 and Rs 9.90 crores were also released for the job on first five kilometers of the stretch. However, till date, work has been completed only on less than half a kilometer road for the reasons best known to the executing agency and the contractor.
In October 2018, PMGSY Department took over the work for widening and blacktopping of this road for the 25 kms upto Sira. Tender was also allotted but no work had been started while fate of the onward road was still unknown, said K L Gupta, Sarpanch of Panchayat Latti and a prominent social worker of the area.
Similarly, the extremely poor condition of road network has kept almost entire Ghordi area virtually cut off from Tehsil headquarters and District headquarters thus subjecting the locals to a lot of problems, including no medical treatment during emergency hours, “Due to non availability of adequate medical facilities and doctors particularly Gynecologist and extremely poor road conditions, a number of pregnant women die in these remote villages,” said Chet Ram of Ghordi. The area comprised 17 Panchayats with more than 25 thousand population.
Sudhmahadev, a prominent religious place being visited by hundreds of devotees every day, lacks even basic facilities for the visiting pilgrims. There is no bus stand, no ATM and no tourist hut. There is no MBBS doctor at PHC Sudhmahadev, which caters to a population of around 30 thousand in the radius of 15 kms. HSS Sudhmahadev has around thousand students but no adequate staff.
Inadequate infrastructure and shortage of teachers in Government schools is a common phenomenon in the entire constituency. In Dudu and Latti areas, there is no Government Girls High School with the result that a number of girls are forced to discontinue further studies after class 8th as some parents hesitate to send their wards in co-education institutions. Even as the issue was repeatedly taken up by the locals at higher level and with the MLA also, nothing was done in this regard.
Scarcity of drinking water is major issue in Panchayat Bupp and adjoining areas. People have to walk around two kilometers for fetching water from a natural Bowli at Marha Kanal Su. According to Shanker Singh, there is no health centre in the area and people have to go Sarar or Mantalai Sub-Centre for even minor ailments.
At village Marothi, PHE supply line was found damaged. High School Marothi has around 400 students but only four teachers. Health Sub-Centre Marothi was opened two years back but there are no medicines and only a Female Multi-Purpose Health Worker is running this centre, said Ashok Kumar. Similar is the situation at Health Sub-Centre Parla Chappar.
What to say of far off and remotes areas of the constituency, even the Tehsil headquarter and main centre Chenani lacks basic facilities notwithstanding more than 40 thousand population of the town and around ten thousand floating population from the adjoining areas, said Rajesh Rinku, a social activist. At the Sub-District Hospital Chenani, doctors attend the duties on rotational basis for their own convenience resulting into inconvenience to patients, particularly in emergency.
Lackluster approach of the Government authorities and local representative is allegedly delaying the vital road network projects, which include an alternative road from Sira to Chenani via Clok and Chajj. Similarly, work on 13 km long Bhanal to Pattangarh road under PMGSY is stuck because of no Forest clearance.
In tehsil Latti, an area of around 13-15 kms, comprising Pattangarh to Challad and Sandh Badyal to Chounthal upto Shiv Gali is virtually without electricity, water supply and road connectivity. In the area, there is hundred percent Gaddi population, which is deprived of even basic facilities of life.
At Dudu, the water filteration plant was virtually defunct and people prefer to fetch water for drinking purpose from natural Bowlies, which are also far away. The MLA contributed only two water tanks but that too for own workers, locals alleged. According to the Ex Sarpanch Dudu, Hans Raj, New Type PHC at Dudu-Seri, opened in 2010, has no Doctor or even Medical Assistant but only a FMPHW while the ambulance was not in a working condition. In case of emergency, people have no option other than to hire some private vehicle for shifting the patient, he added.
The educational scenario can be gauged from the fact that Higher Secondary School Parla Dudu was upgraded in 2010 but no additional post of teaching staff was created till date. Because of no upgradation of Government Girls Middle School Ghar Ktya, parents were reluctant for further education to their daughters, who have to walk more than five kilometers for reaching Dudu High School after crossing jungle area and nallahs.
Despite the influx of hundreds of pilgrims and tourists to Sudhmahadev, there is no facility in the area by the Government authorities while for night stay of visiting tourist, the only accommodation is a temple Sarai, which remains overcrowded during the summer days, said Pritam Singh. He also rued that there was no LPG agency in the area, right from Kud because of which around 50 thousand population was suffering. The vehicle carrying LPG cylinder comes to the area after 20 days and despite repeated pleas to the concerned authorities and MLA, nothing has been done in this regard, he added.
Mantalai, situated a few kilometers away from Sudhmahadev, is famous for ancient Shiv-Parvati temple besides the grand complex created by Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari, which included a tree shaped house, an air strip, a hostel, a zoo and a number of other unfinished projects spread over more than one thousand kanals of land surrounded by Deodar trees. However, what to say of creating additional facilities for the visitors, even the existing infrastructure is not being take care of. The grand complex created by Swami. Dhirendra Brahmachari at Mantalai is turning into ruins day by day with little efforts to save the precious property.
Contrary to tall claims of the Government, a number of villages and hamlets in Chenani constituency are yet to be electrified even as work in this regard is still going on. These include Barnek near Mantalai under Sarad Panchayat, Chaiyan in Panchayat Kosar, Ghorha Nallah, Kothi Bai, Talpad, Sandha, Chappad etc.
However, according to Dina Nath Bhagat, who was representing this constituency since 2014 Assembly polls, developmental projects worth hundreds of crores of rupees were got sanctioned by him. “Rs 52 crore project under CRF, each for Sudhmahadev-Latti and Udhampur-Ghordi roads was sanctioned and the work is under progress while two bridges were completed on Tawi at Banak and Sarmoli,” he said adding that work was also under progress on 30 roads under PMGSY.
Besides, he said, Rs 26 crores were got sanctioned for upgradation of Chenani to Sudhmahadev road and work on the same has been started while work on Kenth-Gali to Landar Malti road has also been started with sanctioning of Rs 37 crore project for the same.
Mr Bhagat claimed that Government Degree College for Chenani was sanctioned because of his efforts.
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