Kupwara village crawls while world races towards progress

Kupwara, Jan 16: In the heart of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, Moori Kalaroose epitomises the paradoxes of progress.

Despite the global march towards modernity, this remote village grapples with a lack of electricity, water and road connectivity, subjecting its 800 households to enduring hardships.

Successive dispensations have faltered in providing these necessities, leaving the village frozen in time amidst a world hurtling towards advancement.

Its inhabitants are compelled to embrace conventional living, mirroring the ways of their forefathers.

“The plight of Moori Kalaroose underscores the stark reality that, despite global modernisation, certain remote areas continue to endure fundamental challenges. The absence of electricity, water, and road connectivity in the village reflects a pressing need for comprehensive solutions to improve living conditions for its residents,” said a local social activist Shahid-ul-Islam.

“We still draw on conventional means to light our houses after sunset. It tells upon us while seeing the nearby villages glittering with electricity,” Ghulam Hassan, a local, told Greater Kashmir.

“The people here are suffering due to lack of electricity, water, and better road connectivity but nothing has been done so far in this regard. It seems as if we are living in ancient times,” he said.

“The Centre has assured electricity, water, and road connectivity to each village in India and the administration is taking every possible step in this regard but unknowingly Moori has been left at Allah’s mercy. We don’t know when our hardships will end,” Tariq Ahmad, another local, said.

The residents said that due to the lack of road, they are forced to deboard from vehicles at Nagasari and then proceed to Moori on foot.

“Since there isn’t a ration depot at Moori, we have to carry ration bags from Nagsari. Similarly, at the time of any medical emergency we have to shoulder patients to reach Nagsari from where we board public transport to reach a nearby health facility,” they said.

The residents said that although water is being supplied under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme to even the remotest villages, people in the village were suffering due to lack of water.

District Development Council (DDC) Kalaroose member Chowdhary Mustafa Rahie said that concrete steps regarding providing electricity, water, and road to Moori had been taken and people would have all the facilities by the end of winter.