BANDIPORA DIARY

Work on Shadipora footbridge faces delay

The residents of Shadipora village in Sumbal in north Kashmir's Bandipora district are aghast as the footbridge being constructed there is in no way near completion.

Notably, it was the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department that undertook work between 2012 and 2014 with the aim that the project once completed will provide vital connectivity to villagers living on the fringes of river Jehlum and beyond. However, despite a decade, the bridge is in no way near completion despite construction being started in 2014, leaving the villagers disappointed. The completion of the bridge would benefit the villages of Shadipora, Trigam, and Dub, besides easing the commute of the locals who use boats to cross the river to attend schools, businesses, and other daily activities.

"We are facing a lot of inconveniences as we have to avail boats to cross to the other side", an elderly Mohamad Maqbool Lone said. He added that hundreds of children go to school crossing boats daily, which keeps them worried all the time.

The locals urged authorities to expedite the work and remove all the bottlenecks to complete the bridge so that there would be some respite in their daily lives.

Bagtore villagers in Gurez demand land compensation

The Kaanzalwan villagers in block Bagtore of Gurez valley in north Kashmir's Bandipora district are demanding compensation in terms of rent for land taken by the army. The villagers said that almost 20 families were affected in the village and their source of income has taken a hit as they haven't received any rent post-2019, which they would otherwise get if not regularly but almost a gap of two or more years.

"The land from Kanzalwan villagers in block Gurez was taken by the Army after 1947. Before UT, they would receive the rent annually. However, since UT status they haven't been paid regularly," Mukhtar Ahamd Lone, the former Block Development Chairman (BDC) from Bagtore said.

He said the problem is compounded by the fact that the villagers have no land left for themselves to either cultivate potatoes or any other crops for daily survival. "Whatever little was donated to them was used to construct homes," Mukhtar said, adding that "they don't have jobs or any other source of earning."

"The land was our livelihood. Before UT status we would get rent for the whole year, now we don't get anything," Mohammad Anwar, an affected villager said while making a plea to the Lieutenant Governor, DC, and SDM to look into their matter and solve the genuine grievances.

He said, "Where should we go then, our families are starving with hunger. Suppose we had access to the land we would at least cultivate and eat potatoes. The rent was our source of income and livelihood, but now it is nothing."

Defunct streetlights on Hajin Bridge pose risk to passers-by

The defunct street lights on Hajin Bridge continue to pose a risk of an eventuality.

The residents of Hajin town said that it has been over a decade since the lights on the bridge became dysfunctional, however, no authority has bothered to repair or replace them.

The bridge, locals point out is a vital connection for Hajin with several villages in Bandipora district while noting that the nonavailability of streetlights was posing a risk to commuters traveling during night time.

The locals said that even as the streetlights were installed on stretches beyond, there was an urgent need to install streetlights on the bridge too to make the movement of vehicles and pedestrians during evening hours hassle-free.

The locals once again appealed to the Municipal Committee authorities in Hajin to look into the matter on a priority basis and resolve the genuine grievance.