Mir Farhat
Khan sahib constituency in Budgam district, represented by Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen for the last about 12 years has seen development of roads, hospitals, Government offices, schools but villagers said it has been lopsided and unfair.
Hakeem defeated People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Saifudin Bhat by a margin of 8,000 votes in 2008 Assembly elections. Hakeem polled 22,616 votes and Bhat 14221.
The constituency has 160 villages and the villages fall in the CD blocks of Khag, Beerwah, Budgam and Khansahib.
Inhabitants in Krimshore village, the entry point to Khansahib area, fume at their representative blaming him for carrying out “partial” development works in the constituency.
“Our MLA has been unfair and partial in sanctioning works for our area. He promised us a lot during his campaigning during 2008 elections. But he forgot his word after he was elected,” said Gulzar Ahmad, a youth of village Krimshore.
Ahmad said Krimshore is centrally located surrounded by 30 villages like Bugroo, Parnew, Wagadh, Dreigam, Bogund, Choudhrybag, Nanzbal, Khasiporm and it should have the status of either a CD block or tehsil. “Being the central point the MLA promised us to grant it a tehsil status during elections in 2008 but he neglected it.”
The villagers said all the bylanes and lanes in these villages are dilapidated. They said Krimshore has a spring which supplies water to the whole area. “It is ironic that our village is the source of water to scores of villages and we have no drinking water,” they said.
The sub district hospital lacks facilities, has shortage of doctors to take care of hundreds of patients, they said, adding that the only X-ray machine it had was shifted to sub-district hospital Khansahib, the native village of the legislator.
Krimshore is the central market for many surrounding villages and all the nearing villages visit this market. It has a makeshift bus stop from which minibuses and autos ferry passengers to other villages. It has no parking area or bus yard.
Residents blame the MLA for “choosing” all the facilities which the Government provides to the people to his own village.
“The MLA took everything, be it Degree College, sub district hospital, revenue office or bank to Khansahib. This unfair share of the development has pitched the people in the area against each other,” said Rafiq Ahmad, another youth in Krimshore.
Rafiq said the unfair development was done on political consideration and to polarize people.
Other villagers of Hayatpora, Kathward, Nuner said they have no pure drinkable water. The lanes in these villages are dilapidated.
Khansahib village has seen significant development during Hakeem Yaseen’s rule and being his hometown it has maintained dominance over the whole constituency, said residents in Shamaspora.
The residents said the whole area is under the “hegemony and control” of workers of the MLA who are “under the command of his close relatives.”
This “control and hegemony” is felt by some residents, especially youth, in Khansahib too. Said a college student: “The MLA, has control over the local Auqaf committee as he is its head, and his brother manages all the affairs of the village. Not only development even the religious affairs are decided by him and his brothers,” he said.
The student said Government was allocated for grave yard in the area but the MLA’s brother constructed his house on it. “The MLA’s brother built a palatial house on the land. We have heard that he has bought it from the Auqaf, which is also controlled by the MLA,” he said while showing me the newly constructed two-storey house on the graveyard site.
However, some residents, mostly elders, were all praise for their representative. They said that Khansahib would have been the most backward in development had it not been represented by Hakeem Yaseen.
They said it is only because of him that the village got a sub-district hospital, a revenue complex, a branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, and a Government Degree College.
In addition to it, most of the villages in the constituency have got the backward area status which benefits the educated youth as they get reservation in Government jobs and in competitive examinations.
They said seven new health sub centers announced by the Government in the Legislative Assembly in Jammu for the constituency due to the efforts of the MLA.
Inhabitants in Takiafarooq, Hariwanen, Zabkul, Dabipora, Raiyar, Arizal complained about lack of basic facilities like pure drinkable water, electricity, insufficient health facilities and dilapidated lanes.
Many villages in the constituency have shabby lanes and bylanes, lack macadamized roads, and drink impure water.
People in the constituency said their MLA’s one of the achievements is the development of Doodpathri as Tourist resort. They said once fully developed it will generate employment opportunities for local residents.
However, residents in Raithan said the road to the tourist resort should have been developed through their village, but for political consideration it was taken through Khansahib.
The residents of Hariwani, Sharoo,Arizal, Dachan, Klashipora, Hardwail and Talpora said new Health sub centers were announced for their villages but the building and infrastructure is nowhere.
Inhabitants of other villages said their villages were “ignored” by the MLA while granting backward status to some other villages of the constituency. They said only those areas were given backward status which vote for the MLA. “Villages which fall in the MLA’s own belt were given backward status. Our village was not given backward status although it deserved,” said residents in Shamsabad.
The residents across the constituency said that the MLA has over the years of his given Government jobs to his kith and kin and his close workers. “The meritorious candidates were discriminated against,” they said.
The state of education and its infrastructure does not present a rosy picture. A number of schools were upgraded and new schools were opened but lot of them lack basic facilities like washrooms and drinking water. “We have to drink impure water from the dirty streams,” the students said.
Other residents said new schools were allotted to those areas which already had schools existing nearby.
Residents in remote villages of Zagoo, Kharin, Rangizabal have no health care facilities. The residents said they have to carry the patients on their shoulders because of the bad road connectivity to the area. The said they have been neglected by the MLA.
Residents of Kandoor village which is larger than Khansahib said their area has no health facility. “A sub district hospital should have been built in our area to its large population, and centrality to number of adjacent villages. We were sidelined by the MLA,” said Mehraj-ud-Din Nabi, a young resident.
Residents are angry with the legislator for not carrying uniform development in the constituency. Villagers in Lassipora have been demanding higher secondary for the students. Residents across the constituency said they are drinking impure water.
The MLA Hakeem Yaseen rubbished the claims of being unfair or partial with respect to the development of the constituency. “Not a single village in my constituency has been ignored, every village has got equal share in development works,” he said.
Yasin claimed there was “zero” development when he became its representative in 2002. “In 2002 people compelled me to contest election after they felt they were not being represented as per their right. There was nothing in the constituency. All roads were in bad condition. Except two roads, no major road had been macadamised. A single higher secondary, a high school and three dispensaries existed in the constituency,” he said.
Today, he said, 13 primary health centers, 16 sub centers, two sub district hospitals, one each in Khansahib and Krimshore have been built.
“Four new higher secondary schools came up in my tenure. Major roads leading in the constituency have been macadamised. Humhama-Raithan, Arizal, Bugroo-Doodpathri, Sonpah-Khansahib, Parnew-Cheung have been macadamised during my tenure. Randakdhaji road is being constructed by NABARD which will connect 27 villages”, said Yasin.
The MLA said Budgam-Sudipora-Hayatpora road has been built. He said all of the interior, linking roads have been macadamised. “Now my focus is to macadamise the roads that lead to mohallas in the villages,” he said.
To improve connectivity, Yasin said 4 bridges are being built over Sokhnag, three are under construction. “More bridges like in Dreigam on Sukhnag stream, Dragal are underway, and Arizal bridge has been thrown open for public”, he said.
The legislator said not a single village has been left without drinking water supply under number of schemes. He said two big reservoirs are being built at Doodpathri and Sonpathri which will store 80 lakh gallons of water for 100 villages.
However, he lashed out at the PHE Department for failing to supply filtered water to the people. “PHE has failed to make the filtration plants function despite spending crores of funds on their construction. The PHE apathy has made people suffer for want of pure drinking water,” he said.
He said hundreds of primary schools and middle schools have been built and some among them upgraded.
On dilapidated lanes and bylanes in the villages, he said it is the work of the Panchayat members to make these lanes concrete.
“From my CDF I have spent amount on some lanes and transformers to improve electricity,” he said.
Refuting the allegation of some villagers that his brother has constructed his house on the proposed graveyard site, Yasin said people “compelled him [his brother] to take the land. He bought the land from the Auqaf,” he said.
Yasin said to electrify the constituency two new mini-hydel projects at Sohnag and Shaliganaga are being proposed. “Tenders have already been issued. Three receiving stations have been built at Watrihal, Arihal, Khansahib”, he said.
Yasin said to boost tourism Doodpathri Development Authority has been created. “Once complete the tourist destination will change fortunes of the people by giving them many employment opportunities,” he said. He said five tourism parks at Arizal, Panzoo, Khansahib, Basantwador, Kralpathri will be developed to make these villages appear on the tourism map.
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