Bandipora villagers rue lack of medical facility, phone connectivity

Bandipora, Dec 2: The residents of villages in the Vewan area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district are feeling a sense of joy after electricity was restored on Thursday, but the lack of medical facility and good phone connectivity still frustrates much of the population of 900 persons.

The villagers have been suffering due to the lack of electricity as the infrastructure had been damaged after PMGSY laid a road to the village.

The villagers received electricity for the first time in 2019 but it was soon snapped after PMGSY started excavation work for the road to the village.

The village remained without electricity till then.

According to the Power Development Department (PDD) officials, almost half of the village was electrified in 2019 after the installation of 63 KV transformers, 70 LT poles, and 129 HT poles.

Even though partially, the villagers said they were happy that electricity was restored.

“It feels good that electricity has been restored,” Shabir Ahmad, a local, said.

He said that given the power scenario in Kashmir, they remain in doubt if electricity would be available for enough hours and continue throughout the winter and snowfall.

The road that had caved in has also been restored, the villagers said, with water supply also reaching homes.

However, locals said that the lack of medical facilities was a huge burden for them.

“Often, the facilities at Athwatoo also do not meet our expectations and we are forced to travel to Bandipora,” Shabir said.

He said the problem was further compounded during snowfall, which snaps the road connectivity as vehicles are not able to ply on the road.

The villagers said that they were told that the government had sanctioned a building for the sub-centre but due to reasons unknown, it was not being constructed.

“We have to travel or walk several kilometres to Athwatoo for minor treatments. The subcentre in the village does not meet any of our requirements,” Mushtaq Ahmad, another local, said.

He said that the sub-centre, which operates in a dilapidated rented room of a house, was also without doctors and basic medical aid, forcing them to seek treatment elsewhere.

The villagers said that the phone connectivity provided by Jio was also snappy and that they were able to make limited calls.

The villagers demanded that the connectivity be made reliable so that it was easy to communicate during emergencies when snowfall cuts off the surface connectivity.