Residents of Kupwara area rue lack of basic amenities

Kupwara, Mar 16: The residents of Yemlar, Rajwar area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district have expressed strong voice against authorities for failing to ensure basic amenities to them, thus putting them into a lot of inconvenience.

The residents said that the 3 km road of their village which takes off from Zachaldara was dotted with potholes on multiple spots due to which commuters were suffering badly. The residents said that the condition of the road was severely pathetic but the concerned department was watching miseries of locals as mute spectators.

“We have brought this issue into the notice of the concerned department numerous times but every time we are being told that macadamisation of our road has been kept in plan but at the end of the year, a different tale emerges at the hands of concerned officials,” a local said.

The residents are also anguished against the Power Development Department for resorting to unusual and erratic power cuts. The residents said that even after paying their electricity bills regularly, they were not being provided electricity as per set schedule.

Despite the inconsistent power supply, the residents claimed, the increase in power tariff was unabated. “Most of the people here belong to the labour class and the power tariff hike which has been extended to Rs 780 per month happens to be beyond the competence of locals to pay,” said a local, Abdul Hadi.

Lack of potable water was also giving a tough time to the residents. The residents said that most of the households in their village were not getting tap water because the water pipe line laid decades ago was damaged with the result only half of households were getting water. The residents said that they were unable to figure out why the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme has not been extended to their village when every village is supposed to get tap water under Jal Jeevan Mission.

The residents have appealed to the concerned authorities to intervene and address the issue forthwith.