Mir Farhat
Nestled in the Kulgam district, Homshali Bugh constituency shares its borders with Shopian and Anantnag in South Kashmir and comprises 106 villages. People in general in the constituency say that they have heard more promises of development from its representatives than acts.
The constituency is represented by PDP MLA Abdul Gaffar Sofi for the last 12 years. He is contesting the forthcoming Assembly elections from the same constituency.
Inhabitants of the area said that a number of projects were taken up by the authorities over the years, but all of them were left half-way and are yet to be completed.
The woes of electricity in the constituency are paramount and the administrators tired to address them by allotting a 20 Mega watt electric transformer for receiving station at village Qaimoh.
The transformer when installed at the receiving station as per its capacity will feed 30 per cent of the households in the constituency, yet it has not been commissioned by the authorities.
The residents said their days and nights of darkness continue as the clock ticks ahead.
“Our one of the biggest issue is electricity, health and drinking water. The representatives promised to solve all, but did not kept their promises,” said Ilyaas Dar, a youth in his thirties at Tengpora village.
The state of the electricity can be gauged by low tension lines that are tied or dangling from tress and damaged wooden poles. The villagers said they didn’t see electricity for weeks together.
“Is this development when you don’t have electricity in 21st century? How can we read, educate others in this modern world. We are living in stone age,” said Mubarak Ahmad, a college student.
Residents said the schools building which are insignificant in number in the villages across the constituency are in wretched conditions.
“Schools lack facilities like pure drinking water, toilets, first aid, besides teachers and infrastructure,” the residents said.
Owing to vast size of population and to address its health needs, the authorities sanctioned two sub district hospitals in Qaimoh and Yaripora. Both these hospitals are still under construction.
The constituency also has very few Primary Health Centers (PHCs) despite is over 75000 population and remoteness of the hilly areas.
“We continue to suffer on health front as none of the hospitals have been completed. Patients, young, old, pregnant women have to bear the brunt as no health facilities exist in our area,” said Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, a resident in Bhan.
With the constituency lying along the plains of Pir Panjal hill, most of the water is naturally supplied to the area through small streams that draw their water from springs in the hill, but the streams are polluted as they pass thorough villages.
The inhabitants have appealed to their representatives to supply them pure, filtered water or else their health is at risk.
Several water supply schemes were announced to provide people with pure, safe drinking water.
“But none of these schemes has been completed yet. We still consume impure, unhygienic water. If pure water is not supplied to us, we fear communicable diseases will spread in the area,” Bhat said.
Even though the main road piercing through the town from Bijbehara and which links most of the villages in the constituency has been macadamized and is easily motorable, yet the inner roads are shabby and have been macadamized and metalled long ago.
The road from Khudwani to Dhunpora Sangam, Rohpora, Tachul, Shamspora, Hassanpora, Arwni are dilapidated and crave for improvement. Similarly the link road between Jablipora and Shampora, Awani and Frisal are in shambles.
Surprisingly, National Conference’s leader from the constituency Abdul Majeed Bhat claims that ninty per cent of the roads are macadamized.
Bhat, however, admitted that health facilities are lacking in the area despite two sub hospitals being underway in Yaripora and Qaimoh.
Politics has wreaked havoc in the constituency, with the benefits of employment guaranteeing scheme, MGNREGA, being reaped by only those persons who have allegiance to either People’s Democratic Party (PDP) or ruling National Conference.
Works to be executed through MGNREGA have been allotted to Sarpanchs of either of the two parties.
The residents alleged that all the work contracts have been taken over by sarapches of PDP and NC.
“They have siphoned off the money and executed works in their own villages and vote bastions. Most of Sarpanchs even got works allotted for their individual benefits for their lawns and compounds,” said Gulzar Ahmad in Arwani village.
NC’s Bhat, who is also MLC, admitted that the MGNREGA contract works has been allotted only to Sarpanchs and Panchs of either their party of Opposition PDP.
“These Panchayat representatives have unleashed fear among officials in Roads and Buildings department, and Rural Development offices,” Bhat said, adding they harass and fight with the officials in these offices.
When asked why the Panchayat members were not being controlled by elected representatives, Bhat replied: “This is the failure of the system and our inability to stop these Panachayat members from taking unilateral advantage of the scheme.”
Sofi defeated his rival NC’s Abdul Majeed by a margin of over 4000 votes. Sofi polled 12249 votes while Majeed polled 7439 votes.
PDP MLA Abdul Gaffar Sofi told Excelsior that he has done 60 per cent of the works including minor and major projects in the constituency during his tenure as legislator.
Sofi said to overcome the drinking water shortage in the area, several water supply schemes under National Rural Water Development Programme are being constructed which include Boni-Frisal, Jablipora, Pazalpora, and the schemes are targeted schemes in this financial year. He said a number of other schemes are being constructed and some have been commissioned.
Sofi said Hassanpora-Tavella, Shamsipora, Rishipora-Khandipora, Yaripora, Wanpoh, Shool-Sarsoni, Loktipora-Hafizabad, Checkpora-Bhan water schemes are being constructed and some of them have been commissioned.
“Some areas like Semthan are problematic area and we have started gravity schemes there to supply drinking water to the people. People are right that they are drinking unfiltered water as most of these schemes have no filtration plants,” he said, adding this is because of the Government’s “poor” funding for these schemes
Sofi agreed that roads are in a dilapidated condition and put the blame on bad weather. He said five roads including Arwani-Yaripora, Bhan-Dastipora, Rakhie Hassanpora, and Redwani have been approved for construction under PMGSY scheme.
The MLA said tenders have been floated and work allotted for roads like Khudwani-Sangam, Sangam-Natipora, Hafizabad.
On providing irrigation to the farmland, Sofi said several lift and Canal Irrigation Schemes are being constructed which include Natipora-Sangam lift irrigation scheme, Semthan irrigation scheme is functional, Pazalpora-Jablipora, Loktipora, Tullan scheme is complete.
For drought prone areas like Hamzipora-Nayan, Donipora drought pumps are being built. He said Nandni and Sonaman irrigation canals have been sent to Government of India. In addition to that he said Frisal canal has been built which irrigates most of the farmland.
To improve electricity, the MLA said about 6000 poles with conductors were installed in the constituency. “I have allotted about 500 transformers in the constituency,” he said.
The PDP MLA said 80 per cent lanes of the constituency are concrete, and at some places street lighting has been completed. He said all the habitations except two have schools available, with 14 high schools and 7 higher secondary schools.
On health sector Sofi said, Sub district hospital Yaripora is near completion, primary health centers at Frisal, Qaimoh, Tulinopora, Kujar have been built, besides five sub centers.
“I agree these health centers have staff deficiency as Government is doing nothing to fill the 1150 posts vacant in Kashmir division. We are facing acute shortage of medicine as Government has failed o take any decision on it,” he said.
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