Suhail Bhat
BANDIPORA: The Bandipora constituency is one of the most beautiful areas in North Kashmir which is situated on the banks of Wullar, the largest freshwater lake in Asia. The constituency is predominantly rural and its residents are facing multiple problems including broken roads, the dearth of potable water and inadequate health and education facilities.
Around 95, 000 voters are registered in the constituency. A major portion of the population is concentrated in rural areas with 80 percent of the total population residing in rural areas and barely 10 percent dwelling in urban areas. The schedule castes and scheduled tribes account for 15-17 percent of the total population.
Bandipora has been one of the strong bastions of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference with party winning elections from 1977 until it lost it in 2002 to Congress. The People’s Democratic candidate succeeded in securing the seat in 2008. However, in 2014 Congress candidate Usman Majid achieved victory from the constituency. He defeated People’s Democratic Party candidate Nizam Din Bhat by 3743 votes. Usman got 25084 votes, while 21341 votes were polled by Bhat.
Residents across the constituency alleged that unwillingness on part of the Government to carry developmental works in the constituency is the reason behind its backwardness. The whole constituency is facing several problems including insufficient potable water, broken roads, inadequate health services, abysmal education facilities, and poor irrigation facilities. In addition, lack of effective disposal of domestic and commercial waste is worrying the residents as the garbage threatens the Wullar lake and the pristine environs of the constituency.
The resentment against the Government is pretty obvious across the constituency as the residents felt left out on the developmental front. “For the last three years, people have been denied basic facilities here. It seems Government punished us to wall for not voting in favour of their leader,” Owaise Ahmad, a local said. He added: “we were simply ignored by the Government.”
The residents complained about the lack of healthcare facilities at District Hospital Bandipora, which is the nodal centre for treatment. The locals lamented that the authorities have been delaying the shifting of the Hospital from an old cramped building to a new multistory structure. They alleged that despite the completion of construction work of new building the hospital continues to operate from the old, cramped structure due to unknown reasons. “The old building is insufficient to cater to the huge rush of patients that visit the hospital every day,” Mohammad Hanief, a local from Aloosa area of Bandipora said, adding there are high chances of infection to patients because the staff has no time to wash their hands or clean equipment adequately.
The hospital is supposed to cater to the population of over a hundred villages of the constituency and lack of space forces patients to visit other hospitals for medical treatment. “Several patients had died while being shifted to the other centers. The Hospital is overburdened and overcrowded and it takes a lot of time to get treatment here. Most of the times the doctors simply send the patients away without even examining the patients,” Mohammad Jamal, a local said, adding people who need hospital admission end up lying on the trolleys for hours in the corridor.
Besides, there are 19 unsanctioned health centers in the constituency which is adversely affecting the territory care.
The whole constituency runs along the banks of Wullar lake which holds international importance, as per the Ramsar Convention, because of its unique biodiversity. However, the relentless dumping of garbage is posing a grave threat to its biodiversity and the overall sustainable development. The dumping of garbage has turned the pristine surroundings of the lake into a dumping site.
“The green pastures of “Zaalwan” around its peripheries look horrible. The land used to be filled with locals who would sit and enjoy the view of the lake. However, it is difficult to spend five minutes in it these days. The water surface is covered with the garbage and ambient air is filled with a stink, “Wajid Rasool, a local said.
As per the figures of the local municipality, in a catchment area of about 11.25 acres, the department dumps nearly 630 tonnes of garbage around the banks of Wullar every month. Every day the municipality dumps nearly 21 tonnes of garbage and the department has been doing it since 1968, when it came to existence, the data reveals.
In 2012, a new department was created by the Government by the name of Wullar Conservation and Management Authority but it has failed to revive the Lakes’ glory. The residents of several areas said that newly formed Wullar Conservation and Management Authority has failed miserly to save the lake. “The lake is dying a slow death and none is looking into it,” Riyaz Ahmad, a local said.
Major roads, Sumbal- Bandipora, Bandipora- Ajas, Bandipora- Athwato, that connect the region to the rest of the Valley are in deplorable condition, giving tough time to the commuters. Besides, a huge chunk of the population that lives in the upper belt of the constituency lacks proper road connectivity.
Towards the extreme of constituency lies Zurmenz, an impoverished neighborhood of 1200 people. Ninety percent of the people are fisherman or day laborers who work hard to make ends meet.
While narrating their plight, the residents said there is no road connectivity to the villages and they had to walk five kilometers or climb the ‘Baba Shakurudin’ hillock to catch a bus to the nearest district. “There is no road connectivity here and majority of us still use water transport while others climb the Baba Shakurudin hills to reach the nearest stop. The unavailability of connectivity has increased the school dropouts as the students have to walk 5-6 kilometers to reach their schools”, they said.
The road has been sanctioned by the Government to the area but it remains under water for six months and the alternate road over the banks of Zindgeer Canal has also been blocked by the department of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. “We have to walk home all the distance from the main road. Even for that, we don’t have a proper road. As the snow melts and water level in Wullar lake increases the only road connecting the place with rest of the Valley submerges”, Abdul Rehman Dar, a local said.
Begum, a woman from the area said: “During any medical emergency, it is extremely difficult as we have to carry patients on foot all the way to the main road. And at night hours, we are scared of wildlife movement.”
At least 31 water supply schemes have been categorized as “closed schemes” by the Public Health and Engineering Department as they are old and need to be upgraded. The constituency is facing a dearth of drinking water as the available water supply schemes are unable to meet the demand. Various new water supply schemes- Changullo SK payeen, Two schemes at Malangam, Pannar and Lavdoora- which could have helped in tacking the water deficiency are far from completion.
Lack of irrigation facilities to the upper belt of the Constituency has turned several swathes of land barren. A few years ago, five irrigation schemes were taken up under Accelerated Irrigation Programme (AIBP) to enhance the irrigation facilities in the area but lack of funds has marred the initiative. Out of the total Rs 5 crore, Government has released only Rs 50 lakh for these projects which suggest that the irrigation problems are not going to end in near future.
Like the rest of the Valley, the constituency reels under severe electricity crisis with erratic power cuts making the lives of residents miserable. In order to tackle the problem of load shedding the State’s Power Development Department (PDD) a 50 Mega Watts ( MVA) grid station was proposed at Putushai village on the constituency, but the project awaits completion for last one decade.
According to residents, the power grid station has not been made functional due to “lackadaisical approach” of the authorities, forcing the people to face unbridled and unscheduled power cuts. “Ten years have passed since the work on this grid station was started, but it has not been made operational to date for reasons best known to the authorities”, Mushtaq Ahmad, a local, said.
Member of Legislative Assembly, Usman Majid, said that the PDP- BJP coalition neglected the constituency and several development projects were diverted to the other areas that are represented by their leaders. “The Government adopted a step-motherly attitude towards this constituency. For last three years, the Government has not let anything to happen here,” he said.
Despite the hindrances, Usman said that he managed to get some major road projects in the constituency including Bandipora Arin via Sumlar, Vappora bridge, Sumbal to Ajas, and, Bandipora to Athwatu completed. All the projects are supported by Central Road Fund.
He said education sector was the biggest casualty due to indifferent attitude of the Government as upgadation of schools could not be carried in last three years. “During my last term I had managed to take education to the door steps of the people and improve the literacy rate”, he addded.
On the issue of Sub-district Hospital he said in 2015, the Government assured him to make the hospital functional but to no avail. “Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who was the Chief Minister, promised me that the hospital will be commissioned by November 2015 but it has still not been”, he said, adding despite the availability of funds the administration seems reluctant to put the infrastructure to use.
Regarding the dumping of waste on the banks of the Wullar, he said: “It is the biggest problem we are facing. The waste is being dumped in a hazardous way. I was assured that a treatment plant will be set up at Sumbal but nothing has happened so far,” he said.
Over the condition of the Wullar lake he blamed the Government for failing to come up with a conservation and management plan. “The conservation was by design stopped by BJP and the Government showed no interest to save the Lake,” he said.
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