77 years of darkness: the story of Kupwara village

In the 21st century, when the world is moving forward with rapid technological advancements, there is a small mohalla namely " Wandaji "in our Village Budnumbal that still struggles with the lack of electricity. The village is a far flung area located on the actual line of control over 45 kms away from District Kupwara.

Two years back, every mohalla of the same village got electricity that brought tears of happiness on everyone's face but ironically only our mohalla "Wandaji" was left out and didn't got the same facility.

The locals here face numerous difficulties in their day to day lives due to the absence of this basic necessity. The mohalla has never seen electricity so far and has been in darkness forever.

The mohalla "Wandaji" with a population of over 400 has around 45 houses without an electric bulb. People have to travel a distance of 2 kms to nearby electrified mohallas just to charge their mobile phones, power banks and other electronic gadgets.

The children in this mohalla find it extremely difficult to study after sunset. They are not able to attend online classes.

With no electricity, they are unable to read books or complete their homework making their education a distant dream. This overall affects their education, blinds their vision leaving them comparatively behind from the students of other mohallas. The lack of light also makes it difficult for the villagers to carry out their household chores and complete their routine.

As the night falls, darkness descends on the mohalla. Life grinds to a halt, work gets paused and children stop playing. The villagers remain cut off from the rest of the world due to not having access to any form of mass media like television or internet.

Since the past decade, people have been trying to reach out to the public representations and local authorities but still no progress has been made. The residents of the mohalla have appealed umpteen times to various admisntrative heads to address the situation but fake assurances are all they got in return. Local people have been to different adminstrative offices but all they say is "We will soon resolve your problems "; till now no lights have been lit up here.

The situation in the village is dire and the people here live in despair. The absence of electricity has made their lives miserable and they are in dire need of assistance. The government and concerned authorities must take immediate steps to provide the villagers with electricity and bring happiness and light to their lives. The villagers are very innocent and deserve to live a life of dignity.

(The author has done M.Sc from KU and is the resident of the same mohalla.)