Avtar Bhat
Roads known as life line of people are hallmark of development and most important means of communication in a country. The prosperity of any area depends on a good network of roads.
An area sans basic facilities of roads can never be called a developed area as such an area is inaccessible and no development is possible there.
The Billawar Assembly Segment in Kathua district which borders Hiranagar and Samba Segments in West, Basohli and Kathua in South and East, Bani in North East and Udhampur and Jammu in North has a poor road network at present.
Except the Dhar Road which passes through some areas of this hilly terrain Constituency, most of the roads have not been developed in this Constituency and are in dilapidated condition.
It is a shame that after over 65 years of independence the area has no easy accessible road network and people face many hardships in reaching their destinations. The Dayalachak -road which is in such a dilapidated condition that a travel through it to Billawar seems one is passing through medieval India.
This road is totally in a shambles and not even a light motor vehicle can move on it at a speed of over 15 km/hr. By driving in third or fourth gear one may run into the risk of damaging his vehicle in this secluded area where no mechanic is available to help you.
Not to talk of laying the macadam on this road, even the shingle boulders have not been laid in this hilly road for about 20 kilometers.
The condition of Samba, Mansar road is also in no way better. This reveals how the successive Governments in general and coalition in particular have ignored this area. Despite the fact it is represented by Dr Manohar Lal Sharma who had been a Minister in previous coalition and is also a Minister in present Government.
The people in this area besides blaming the Government also curse their luck that they have been living in this remote area and those who are well to do find no alternative except to migrate to other towns of the region like Kathua, Hiranagar, Samba or Capital city of Jammu to avail better facilities.
The people who have been altogether neglected by the Government face host of problems in this Constituency from power and water crisis, to lack of medicare facilities, shortage of doctors and teaching staff in schools. As the area has a poor road network system, the employees posted in the Assembly segment can’t reach their duties in time also and those having approach in corridors of power manage postings of their convenience and do not prefer to work in this secluded area.
People in this hilly belt have many complaints about the public representative saying that he has failed to provide justice to them. In Kakra village which is 10 kilometers away from Dayalachak National Highway, people have a tale of woes to tell. “We face water scarcity and farmers are worried as Karma nullah every year during rainy seasons erodes their land and no one at the helm of affairs listens to the problem”, said Ram Kumar a local resident.
The people face 13 to 14 hours power cut while the power tariff has increased many fold. Earlier the people were getting the power bill for Rs 300 to Rs 400 per year and now they have to pay from Rs 2500 to Rs 3000 and still there is no electricity, said Raj Singh a farmer. When problems are taken to public representative, he gives nothing except assurances, he added.
Tirath Singh a farmer of village Maglore which is 15 kilometres from Dayalachak in Billawar Constituency said over 12 years back Shan to Mangloor bridge was constructed which connected 22 villages in the area but the condition of the road is dilapidated as work on the same has been stopped for unknown reasons.
He said the people of the villages of Dinga Amb, Balot and Garb who are being separated from each other due to Tarnah nullah were demanding Jullah bridge to reduce their distance but the same has not been conceded till date.
He said every year during rains the nullah takes one precious life but no one in the Government takes pains to accept the demand. Ashwani a shopkeeper at Dinga Amb said that Government announced block status for Dinga Amb but the work has not been started till date. No change has been visible in the area during last 12 years except the construction of a passenger shed, he added.
Ravi Abrol, Naib Sarpanch Ding Amb says that the road is the life -line of the people but it is in a dilapidated condition. The MLA gave hand pumps in those areas where they are not needed, he added.
The people in the area say that the High School which was constructed in 1964 has not been upgraded to Higher Secondary level till date while other schools established after than that of Ding Amb were upgraded to 10+2. The people face 12 hour power cut instead of routine eight hour. The village post office established in 1928 has not been upgraded though Ding Amb is a central place in the area, he added.
This small town with a population of over 20,000 people lacks basic facilities of life and there is no bank branch in the area.
The road side encroachments’ is a testimony to the prevailing nexus between officers and land grabbers in the area. The people say that there is lack of staff in schools and dispensaries and in case of any eventuality people are put to hardships.
Thain is another village in Billawar having a population of over 500 people which has no link road and people face problems in taking their luggage to the village as they have to take it on their shoulders, says Janak Singh a farmer of the village.
The people in the area are dependent on agriculture which is subservient to weather. If there is rain the crop can grow in the fields and if it is a dry spell the people can’t expect any thing from their land.
The local tube well has developed a snag and people face water scarcity for a long time. The people fetch water from a tube well which is one km away or drink the contaminated water of a local pond that can expose them to health hazards, says Naseeb Singh a local villager.
Glakh which is a Panchayat having a population of over 3000 people faces water scarcity. The road up to this area is totally in bad condition. There is only one Ayurvedic dispensary and people’s demand regarding establishing of an allopathic dispensary has not been conceded till date, says Ved Parkash Shopkeeper. People have to go to Ramkote hospital which is six kms away from the village, he added.
Criticizing the local MLA, he said he did not come to the expectations of the people. The High School boys and Middle School for Girls have no building. These are old schools and the High School established in 1971-72 has not been upgraded to Plus 2 level, he added.
Kewal Krishan a Government employee of the area while narrating the tale of woes, says people have many grievances against their representative as he failed to solve the problems which compounded during the last 12 years of coalition rule in the State.
He said the people face water and power crisis. Though there is a spring in Nand Kanth village but no efforts are being made to tap this water for supplying to the areas facing water scarcity. The Nand Kant village also does not have a link road and people have to take their luggage on back.
Model village Komla Bardhat which is 1.5 kms from Dhar Road has no link road, says Azad Ali a shopkeeper. In Mandli village which is 50 kms away from Dayalachak people face power and water scarcity. The hand pump in the area is not working for two years now says Anil Gupta a shopkeeper. The hospital in the area has been constructed two years back but has not been inaugurated till date, he adds.
At Sukhrala Mata Baridars have also grievances against the MLA saying the Shrine Board was constituted on his insistence but their interests have been ignored despite the fact that they were dependent on the shrine for centuries together. They said that they were not against the constitution of the Board but their major demands were to be considered as Government policies should be for the welfare of people and not for harming their interests.
However when contacted the MLA Billawar, Dr Manohar Lal who is also Minister of Cooperatives said that prior to his election in 2004 there was zero percent development in his Constituency. He claimed many projects of development were taken up in hand during his tenure and some were completed while on others work is going on. He said even some projects are in tendering stage. He said in Irrigation, Flood control, R&B, Power sector, Education and Health sector lot of work was done by him during his tenure.
Counting one by one, he said Juthana Irrigation scheme in Billawar was completed while all old canals in his Constituency were remodeled. He said in 2004-05 Irrigation Projects worth Rs 26 crore were constructed in his Constituency and irrigation projects worth Rs 40 crore were sent to GoI for approval.
He said Dramni Irrigation scheme was constructed during his tenure while Chak dam amounting to Rs six to seven core was constructed in Pallain village. Irrigation scheme involving of Rs three crore for Pallain Dhanarath is near completion, he added.
He said work is on Dudwala Lift Irrigation scheme and various other schemes. Besides four five ponds under PHE schemes were renovated in the Constituency and bore wells were installed to supplement water supply while 45 more villages were brought under PHE schemes. The Budo Talab has been taken under tourism plan and 18 villages in Billawar Constituency were brought under RBA.
He claimed that 90 percent work on Dayalachak to Dingh Amb road has been completed while 10 percent is to be completed.
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