Persistent waterlogging leaves residents of Bandipora village miffed

Bandipora,  Feb 9: Dozens of residents in Malikpora village in Rakhe-Hajin area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district are annoyed over constant waterlogging in their area.

The residents of the area, which consists of around 30-40 houses, said that inclement weather or even light rainfall leaves inundated the only road leading to and out of the area, creating immense difficulties for pedestrians.

The most affected are school or tuition-going children. “Since this season’s snowfall, the whole area has been turned into a cesspool,” Irshad Ahmad, a local, said.

He claimed his children, like other children in the area, have been confined to their house and have not been to tuition for at least 10 days because of the condition of the road.

Another elderly local said that the dewatering pumps are of no use as they take weeks to drain water from the area and the condition of the road more or less remains the same.

“The road connects the area to other villages and even scores of farmers use it to commute. But the dilapidated condition and waterlogging of the road is a persistent issue that needs to be resolved as soon as possible,” Mushtaq Ahmad, a local, said.

The villagers claimed that they had brought the issue to the notice of the concerned officials, PRI’s and even the district magistrate’s office, but they have not had any relief in this matter yet.

“We want the concerned departments to repair the road and resolve the waterlogging problem, which has been a constant headache for all of us,” the locals said.

The villagers said they have to face constant embarrassment by trespassing the compounds of neighbours. “They have been humble enough to let us pass, but the regular practice is an embarrassment,” Ahmad added.

The villagers said the issue was a minor one and would require minimal funds, but no one was “paying any heed to our request.”

Ex Sarpanch of the area, Farooq Ahamd told Greater Kashmir that they had constructed the road and even the drainage, and that “the waterlogging issue was due to construction of concrete walls by some owners in the area.”

The locals once again appealed to Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, Shakeel Ur Rehman, to “look into the matter and help resolve the genuine concerns.”