Shehnaz visits LoC village, takes stock of people’s grievances

Excelsior Correspondent

POONCH, Dec 29: In order to access the problems faced the LoC residents, the Ex MLC Dr Shehnaz Ganai visited village Pothi of Noorkote Panchayat, situated at extreme LoC in Degwar Sector of Poonch district.
She was the first political leader to visit this place after Noorkote was declared as new Panchayat earlier this year. She was told that the public of this area face severe scarcity of drinking water and most of the times they don’t have any water facility even to perform the last rites of their dead. Though a bore well was dug in 2011 at the base of Degwar village, it has not been made functional till yet, villagers said.
They told her that the only developmental work during the last two decades is Degwar to Pothi link road which was constructed out of the MLC CDF grant. They further told her that the fencing before the two kilometers of actual border is another issue for them as they have to go through many formalities and travel far off to cross the gate to reach their homes and the village ladies feel shy in absence of a lady police at the gates. They were of the view that the studies of their children also get effected during ceasefire violations.
The villagers expressed their grave concern over the non construction of bunkers at this extreme LOC area as no bunker has been constructed in Noorkote Panchayat where it is direly needed. They told her that the most of the people of the area are labour class and engaged in army as porters. They further said that no developmental work under TSP or BADP programme has been implemented in this area so far. They said once upon a time they constructed toilets under SBM programme, but they get only one installment of rupees 5000/- by the Panchayat Department and till today they are waiting for the second installment.
After listening to the public issues patiently and carefully, the MLC on the spot talked to the Distt Development Commissioner Poonch and appealed him to resolve all these issues at an earliest for which he gave a positive response. She also talked to BDO Poonch to pay the second installment to the beneficiaries of village Pothi under SBM programme.