Life has changed fast in last half a century in India. Development and expansion are the key words of modernity. Supply of necessities of life, like electricity, water, roads. Healthcare and primary education is taken for granted. That is a sign of improvement. However, amidst this thrust into modernity, we have rural areas in our State where modernity is a distant cry. People are unaware of what modernity is and what modern facilities mean. We have reports of a village named Ahgam in Shopian district. Three years ago, a Public Health Centre was sanctioned for the village but till date the Centre has remained without a doctor. As such, the people of the village and in its vicinity have had no utility of the Health Centre.
This is not the only deprivation of this far flung and neglected village. In 1998, a massive blaze gutted all the houses in the hamlet. Under its Sadhbhavna mission, the Army granted 15 crore rupees for reconstruction of houses by the villagers. It provided three community halls also. However, one community hall has been converted into a post office and another into PHC. This reflects Government’s total apathy of this far-flung village. Electricity is a far off cry and the road connectivity is dismally hopeless. This is the picture of a primate habitation far removed from even the shadow of modernity.
There could be more primitive villages like Ahgam that have not been taken note of. We fail to understand whether this village has nobody to look after. The District Commissioner of Shopian is not aware of the condition of the village and wants people to come to him and apprise him what is happening in his district. He does not consider it his duty and responsibility to know each and every village of the district over which he presides. Will the administration take cognizance of this case and do the needful to alleviate the suffering of the people and lift them up to modern life style.