Kupwara’s Jumagund cut-off for over a month, essential services hit
Kupwara, Apr 8: The residents of Jumagund, a remote village close to Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district are facing immense hardship as the area remains disconnected from district headquarters for over a month now due to heavy snowfall in the area. The prolonged isolation of people has severely impacted daily life, with essential services and supplies struggling to reach the inhabitants.
The situation has turned increasingly dire, as the locals in urgent need of assistance and support to deal with the daily life challenges are suffering immensely. The residents of the area told Greater Kashmir that from Putakhan Galli to Jumagund, the road was under snow forcing them to remain isolated and cut off from the rest of Valley. "We are unable to move around due to snow accumulated on the road, connecting Putakhan Galli to Jumagund" they added. "Following heavy snowfall in the area in the first week of March, Kupwara-Jumagund road was blocked for vehicular movement.
Over a month has passed since then but our road is yet to be cleared off from snow," said the agitated residents.
The residents alleged that the concerned department looking after Kupwara-Jumagund road has “miserably failed” to clear the accumulated snow. "Only a single snow clearing machine has been deputed here which works for merely a few hours a day, which has turned the situation grim and people are forced to remain confined," the locals said.
People of the area said that blockade of roads has led to severe challenges including shortage of ration and other essential commodities. Even people are forced to shoulder patients on makeshift cots to reach Putakhan Galli by travelling over 12 kilometers and then board a vehicle there and accomplish remaining travel to Kupwara. The locals have appealed to the administration to expedite the snow clearance operation so that traffic can be restored on Kupwara-Jumagund road with the result they will have a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) PMGSY Kupwara Imran Ali told Greater Kashmir that snow clearance operation was in full swing. He said that due to snow avalanche warning, they had to suspend the operation several times but now since the avalanche warning has been lifted, men and machinery were on job and hopefully within a few days the accumulated snow will be cleared. "If snowfall occurs in the area as per the forecast then the operation will witness a halt," he added.
