Excelsior Correspondent
Budgam, July 16: Alipora village of district Budgam lacks almost all basic amenities as the village has not seen any developmental work for the last 2 decades. The village lacks road connectivity, water supply, electricity and healthcare services.
A group of villagers told Excelsior that the road leading to the village has not been macadamized for years, with water supply being good for nothing, it is only adding to the miseries to the villagers.
The villagers said that they remember once when the water ran throughout the day. It was when the officers reached the village as a part of ‘Back to Village Program’, after that everything returned back to the normal of having dry taps.
“This village of the district has been ignored by everyone and we have not seen any work that was taken up by the Government here,” said Muhammad Akbar Malik.
The road, connecting the village with other areas is in a bad condition, with situation turning worse during rainy seasons. The road full of potholes filled with water makes it difficult for the commuters to pass through.
“It seems that we are living in stone age, things really get difficult when it rains or during winters, nobody is taking cognizance of the issue,” said another resident Muhammad Jabbar Parra.
The story does not end there. The village is lacking full-fledged water supply and the villagers are all dependent on the tube well water for drinking, washing and other purposes. “There is no set timing for the water to come so that we could wait, it can come anytime; there is no set schedule for it,” said an elderly lady, Hafeeza.
The problem of scarcity of water is also affecting another adjacent village of the area known as Patlipora, which falls at the end of the water supply chain and is affected the most.
Same is the case with electricity in the area. There again is no schedule for the electricity as the residents are saying that they are not used to electricity that much due to the faulty schedule of the department.
Healthcare services in the area are good for the nothing as the residents are forced to travel 3-4 kilometers to avail the services of a sub-center situated at Labartal village. If the situation aggravates, the patient is to be referred to SDH Budgam which is also a cumbersome job due to the non-availability of transport.
Regarding the scarcity of water, AEE PHE Sub-Division Budgam Bashir Ahmad told Excelsior that they are aware of the situation and that the condition is worst in Patlipora. He said that they are getting things done and the issue will be resolved in week’s time.
Asgar Ali Watali, Executive Engineer, R&B Division Budgam said that they have not received any formal authorization to macadamize Patlipora-Dedina road, however, “the department will take up the issue with the concerned for the macadamization of the road,” he said.
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