Residents of Uri area rue lack of basic amenities

Srinagar, Nov 23: Inhabitants of Gawalta village close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district complained of lack of basic facilities in their area.
Locals told Greater Kashmir that they have been left unattended by the administration as no basic facilities are being provided to the residents.

“The road connecting our village was washed away by landslides in 2014 but no new road has been constructed till date despite knocking on the doors of every government office,” said Shakeel Ahmad, a local villager.
He said that the new generation is being deprived of education due to the non-availability of the road. “In fact, the under construction high school building and other
schools have been left incomplete for the last many years. Students are forced to study in tin sheds,” Ahmad said.

Barkat Ali, another local, said that no doctor is available in their Primary Health Centre (PHC) due to want of road connectivity.
“We have been carrying our sick and pregnant patients on our shoulders for about 8-10 km to reach the roadside. About ten pregnant ladies have died so far in the last 10 years due to the lack of immediate medical attention,” he said.

“A ration depot which used to be in the main centre of the village has been shifted to some 10 km away. People have to trek the route to get their ration,” he added.
Nadeem Akbar Abbasi, ex-sarpanch of Gawalta village said that he has been raising the various issues of the village in the Back to Village (B2V) programme, but to no avail.

“I had taken up all the grievances of my village in all the B2V programs but this time we boycotted the programme as none of our demands have been addressed till date,” he said.

“We have already approached every concerned office for the redressal of our grievances but now we request that DC Baramulla should personally visit our area and see the condition here,” he said.

The villagers have demanded that the SDM Uri and DC Baramulla to personally look into the matter.
However, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Uri Jatin Kishore told Greater Kashmir that he has taken up the issue of road connectivity with the higher ups. “I will also look into the other issues now,” he assured.