Sanjeev K. Sharma
ARNIA/BISHNAH, Dec 13: Though the border residents claim election promises made with them so far were never kept, yet, they enthusiastically participate today in sixth phase of the ongoing District Development Council (DDC) elections with a new hope that may be this time something good happen to their hamlets.
During an interaction, the residents of Indo-Pak International Border in Arnia sector of the newly formed Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir said their hamlets suffer from acute development crisis with dilapidated roads, drainage system totally absent, least transport facilities, facilities of higher education nowhere in sight, and above all, the safety bunkers, meant for saving precious human lives during the senseless shelling and firing from the other side of the dividing line, totally made in unplanned manner.
Vandana, 22, from Jabowal—the last hamlet near International Border said she was pursuing BA at a degree college in R.S Pura—a town very far away from her village.
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She said that there are no facilities of transport in her village so it becomes very difficult for her and other students of the village to reach the college in time and there is no nearby college to her village.
Similarly, one Rattan Lal, 52, farmer by profession in the same village decried collapsed drainage system in his village and bunkers not properly constructed to cope with the needs of the people in the time of shelling and firing from Pakistan side.
He informed that locals of his village have filled up a pond where dirty water of the village was drained out earlier and in absence of that lanes of the village have turned into pool of dirty water making it tough to move through.
Another farmer, Gareeb Dass, 60 in same hamlet rued poor power supply in the village and said, this badly affects irrigation system in the village as the canal water is rarely released by the concerned authorities.
Vijay Kumar, 52, retired BSF personnel also from Jabowal said more safety bunkers are required in the village to accommodate maximum people in the time of firing from the belligerent guns from the other side of dividing line.
Hoping development in his hamlet Gori Chak, Parshotam Singh, 39, a soldier in Indian Army accompanied his 70 years old mother to a polling station established in Government Girls Primary School (GGPS) Camp Treva where the mother-son duo voted to the candidate of their choice in the historic polls to elect a member to the maiden rural local body.
“My village is facing big problem of drinking water as the water we get from hand pumps is having a bad taste,” Singh said counting the problems of lanes and drains in his village.
He also said that safety bunkers constructed in his village were unplanned with no system of draining out the rain water accumulated in them during rainy season.
Eighty years old tea stall owner Sardari Lal of Treva said, safety bunkers were made with political considerations and somewhere these places of safety are located at such a far distance that one may not reach there during constant firing.
He also claimed that people spread litter in these bunkers and the Sarpanches and Panches have never paid any heed towards this vital issue.
However, the polling remained massive with participation of both males and females in good number in this border belt.
“Right from 7:00 am the voters had started visiting the polling station in good numbers and the same enthusiasm remained there throughout the polling hours,” S. Jasbir Singh, Presiding Officer at the polling station established in GGPS Camp Treva said.
Meanwhile, barring the issue of bunkers, the problems were almost of similar nature in the rural areas of Bishnah where too these elections were held today.
After casting his vote at the building of Irrigation Department in Karyal Khurd, where polling station was made, S. Hardev Singh, 48, farmer claimed that his village Karyal Khurd faces the problem of lanes and drains.
He also said that electric poles are not fixed in the agricultural fields in the village due to which they face problems in irrigating their fields using ground water.
Another local of the same village Som Nath, 51 said that bridge over Eik nallah is a big demand of the area as this bridge will connect about 30 villages benefitting thousands of people.
At yet another village Chak Hasal in Bishnah area one Tarsem Lal, 49, farmer after casting his vote at a polling station established in Panchayat Ghar of the village said that cremation ground in his village has no proper road and it also needs a boundary wall.
He also talked about electricity problem in the village and claimed that wiring on village poles is about 60 years old which urgently needs replacement in order to avoid any mishap.
Similar was the concern of Surinder and many others in the village.
Surprisingly, the mass awareness regarding safety norms for COVID-19 pandemic appeared to have no effect in these areas as social distancing was seen almost nowhere at the polling stations while those on duty also not bothering to instruct the public in this regard and the face masks were also rare on the faces participating in the polling process.
Interestingly, for solution to their problems, most of these people pinned hopes on the upcoming maiden rural local bodies, for which they voted today.
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