South Kashmir Diary

School building in Bijbehara village in dilapidated condition

The students of Government High School Waghama in Bijbehara area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district  have to face tremendous difficulties during their academic session due to the run-down condition of a single-storied school building.

The class rooms of the school are lying in dilapidated condition with broken doors and window panes causing distractions to the students.

Raising his concern over the poor condition of the school buildings, a local resident from the area told Greater Kashmir over the phone that the students had to face tremendous inconveniences particularly during the inclement weather conditions.

“With broken doors and windows, the students get easily distracted during class work”, he said, adding that it becomes difficult for them to sit in the classrooms during the bad weather conditions as rain water enters the rooms through broken windows

The resident said  that the school is  also used as a safe haven for drug addiction by the  local substance abusers.   “Two adjacent school buildings form a fence on one side of the school and there is a narrow gap between the buildings, which is used by the drug abusers as entry point to access the school premises ” said the concerned  resident.

Mohamad Sikander, Lumberdar  of the village said that the school building had fallen into disrepair and needed to be  repaired forthwith.

He also demanded  construction of a new school building.

Chatterpora Shopian residents demand macadamisation of road

The residents of Chaterpora village in south Kashmir's Shopian district have demanded the macadamisation of a road passing through the village.  The residents said that the Chaterpora - Kachdora Check road was constructed by the Rural Development Department (RDD) with the funds released by a DDC member last year. However, the road, they said, has not been macadamised.

“We approached the R & B department umpteen times but to no avail", said Adul Ghani, a local resident.  He said that the road is a crucial link, connecting a dozen odd villages in the apple-rich area.

“In the absence of a macadamised road, we have to face many difficulties during the harvesting season”, said another resident.

He said that they have to  rely on manual transportation of their  produce, which increases the labour costs.  The residents appealed to the authorities for the early macadamisation of the road.

Tral residents fear water shortage

The dry-spell has fuelled fears of a water crisis in south Kashmir's Tral area. According to the residents, the ongoing spell has dried up Aripal spring, which  supplies water to at least 19 villages including the main town, raising fears of a water crisis in the area. Many villages like Kanihal Nagbal, Dharamgund, Lalpora located in Karewas have already begun facing the water shortage. Abdul Ahad Bhat, an engineer from Jal Shakti Department told Greater Kashmir that the department has pressed water tankers into service to supply water to the affected villages.

He, however, said that if the dry-weather conditions continued for a few more days, there would be a significant shortage of water in the area.  The official said that the people must use the water judiciously.