Sanjeev K. Sharma
NAGROTA/DANSAL, Dec 7: Struggling daily with different problems with dominance of water shortage and poor roads, the people of Dansal and Nagrota today cast their votes in favour of the candidate of their choice with a hope that after the formation of maiden District Development Councils (DDCs) in the newly formed Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir they may heave a sigh of relief from all such problems.
However, there was resentment among a tribal community whose members claimed that none, including those who always claimed to be custodians of tribal communities, visited them during election campaigning to know their problems while the residents of Ban area near popular Toll Plaza of Nagrota rued lack of transport facilities.
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“Water supply is a big problem in Domail-Suketar area as almost every next week the motor at supply station gets damaged leaving the areas fed by it to face a lot of problems,” Ram Nath, 85, a farmer of the area said adding that the area even has no spring or any other source of drinking water.
Calling Suketar as ‘Sukka-Khetar’ (dry field), he said that agriculture in the area is entirely rain-fed.
After casting her vote at Government High School Domail, Bharti Mehra, 25, housewife too voiced similar problem and she also said that the road connecting National Highway with Domail-Suketar hamlet is in worst shape.
However, Niaz Ahmed, 35, a tribal Bakarwal man from Nandni Majra Koli area decried harassment from the forest security guards and revealed that none of the candidates contesting the ongoing DDC elections ever visited them to listen their problems but still they have voted to a candidate whom their conscience endorsed.
“We are not less than 50 voters here and rearing sheep and goats is our traditional source of livelihood which we cannot leave,” Ahmed told this reporter adding that they are frequently asked by the forest guards to leave the place whenever they fix their tents for shelter near a pasture.
He also said that they even have no ration card and were deprived of free ration during the recent lockdown period.
Anamika, 25, a PG student of Microbiology, who was in queue to cast her vote at a polling station established in Government Higher Secondary School Dansal informed that apart from poor roads, poor water and power supply, the Dansal area also lacks modern health facilities and proper job avenues for the youth which forces youngsters to leave the place for jobs.
Nonagenarian Ram Lal from hamlet Garin in Dansal also visited the polling station to cast his vote.
Twenty-three years old Zeenat Chowdhary, a girl from tribal community of Gujjars after casting her vote at a polling station established in Government High School Panjgrain near Nagrota said though the area is having a large population of Gujjars whose main profession is cattle rearing yet there is no proper veterinary hospital in the area.
She also talked about the problems of water shortage, poor roads and poor power supply.
At yet another polling station established near Ban Toll Plaza in Government Primary School Sarmoi, Balwant Singh, 64, a social activist said there is no public transport facility from Nagrota to Upper Ban.
He was joined by other locals Joginder Lal, Rajinder Singh and Vinod Kumar who claimed that even no bus going to Katra or Udhampur stops for them when they signal for that as transporters avoid mid-way passengers.
They demanded some transport facility from Road Transport Department of J&K Government so that the locals there may heave a sigh of relief.
However, all these voters were hopeful that the problems they have talked about may remain no more after the formation of third tyre rural local bodies for which they casted their votes in the fourth Phase of first ever elections for DDCs in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370 giving special status to the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State.
It is pertinent to mention here that since India got its independence on August 15, 1947, DDC elections were never held in J&K due to the presence of Article 370 here.
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