Peerzada Waseem
Sopore: About 25 kilometers away from main town Sopore of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the Marbal village lacks road connectivity, mobile communication, electricity and other basic life amenities. The village, housing nearly 150 families, is disconnected from the rest of the world.
The residents blame the district administration, MLAs and MPs for lackadaisical approach towards the village. “The district administration and state government have failed us on every front,” they said, adding, “It is because of this step-motherly approach that we are yet to see any development in our village.”
“We are facing immense hardships since years and have brought the matter before authorities but nothing has happened so far,” Mohammad Arif, a resident, told INS.
Locals said they have to walk kilometers to reach hospital located in Sopore town as the area lacks road connectivity. “During emergencies, we have to carry patients on shoulders for hours on a Charpai (a four-legged bed) to take him to hospital that too in a bumpy and meandering hill track,” said Mohammad Ahsan, a shopkeeper.
“Many a times, pregnant ladies have delivered midway. How long shall this step-motherly approach continue,” he rued.
The villagers said despite voting in the last election, authorities have failed to deliver on a single front.
Insha, a class 12th student, said with the onset of winter, the problems get manifold and the village gets almost cut off from the rest of the world. “We are living a life of misery as we lack almost all basic amenities. We live in dark ages. We don’t have any information about what is happening around the world,” she said.
In this digital era, Insha added, the Marbal village has no communication facilities except radio. “Newspapers don’t reach here; radio is the only means through which we get news updates. We don’t have even access to mobile services,” Insha who travels 8 kilometers by foot daily to reach Shiva, a village in Sopore where she studies.
When contacted, MLA Sopore Abdul Rashid admitted the problems the village faces. He told INS that funds have been released for the construction of road in the village from other route Yambalzer.
“The work for the road has been started and this long awaited genuine demand will be redressed very soon,” Rashid said, adding that other problems will also be resolved soon.
