Twin Bandipora villages face neglect, lack basic amenities

Bandipora, June 30: Remote Shamthan and Gurihajan villagers in north Kashmir's Bandipora district are living in isolation without roads and other basic facilities.

The villagers, who were dislocated due to conflict for 30 years, have gradually begun returning to their roots in recent years. However, the lack of basic amenities is making it difficult for them to live a comfortable life there and stay put throughout the year.

"It's so happy to be back to our homes where we have our property and land. We cannot define the feelings we had when we were compelled to leave the village back then," said Ashiq Ahmad, a local resident.

Notably, the Shamthan villagers, who live deep in the forest area of north Kashmir, migrated to the neighbouring village of Arin due to intense conflict in the 1990s. With the situation becoming comparatively normal over the years, the villagers have gradually begun returning home.

The twin villages of Shamthan and Gurihajan consisted of just a few dozen homes, according to the locals. However, the number of households has now grown to around 80 with around 500 souls according to locals. Despite this growth, the lack of roads, water, healthcare, and other basic facilities is making life difficult.

"Leaving the village in the 90s was to save our lives. Only us and our God knows what we went through at the time. Otherwise, we would have never left our village, despite having nothing of our own," said Mohammad Anwar, a local villager. "Now that the situation is a little better, it makes us happy."

"The government has been telling us to return to our native places, and we have no problem with that as we have ancestral properties and land here," an elderly villager said. "But the issue is that we have to face difficult situations by living here. Firstly, we don't have a road."

The villagers said they have been told for eight years that a road has been sanctioned for crores of rupees, but nothing has moved since then.

"Our knees are giving up now as we have to walk 8 kilometres uphill and downhill for work. Our lives seem to have no value, and the government too is not paying any heed."

"I am unable to understand why the government has ignored our village for 30 years," Anwar, the 55-year-old villager said. "I sometimes feel it's not God, but the government which has put us through these difficult circumstances."

Ahmad said, besides the road, "We don't have a health centre, we don't have a ration depot, nor do we have a water supply scheme."

He added, "We are willingly staying in our native village, but for the future of our children, we desperately need the government's help. Facilities such as electricity, schools, and basic life amenities are also important."

"To this day," Javid Ahmad, a neighbouring villager from Darpdora, said, "the villagers use ponies to travel due to the absence of roads." He noted that the majority of the villagers migrate to Dardpora in Arin as "winter is tough to tolerate without roads, basic facilities, and the availability of food."

The villagers largely stay in Shamthan during the summer months, mostly for agricultural activities. In Dardpora, they have now purchased land and constructed houses to stay through winter and spring.

"This is also because the children go to school there, and villagers avail themselves of labour opportunities, as there are no earning avenues in Shamthan," one villager said.

Moreover, the village falls on the way to Chota Amarnath, which is almost three kilometres away. Although the forest department has made some eco-friendly picnic spots and resting places, locals say if developed, "it has tremendous tourist potential."