Bandipora, Mar 02 (KNO): Despite falling within the municipal limits of Bandipora town, several localities of Kaloosa are facing immense hardships due to lack of basic facilities like potable drinking water, roads, and proper drainage system, the residents said.
According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Ward No. 12 and 13 of Kaloosa, which falls within the municipal limits of Bandipora, lack basic facilities like potable drinking water, proper drainage system and macadamized roads.
The residents said that they have been facing immense hardships even to the absence of these basic facilities. They said that they have apprised the concerned authorities several times but nothing has been done so far to resdress their grievances.
“We don’t have proper roads, there is no water supply scheme which can provide potable water to the area, and there is no drainage system in these two wards of Bandipora town. We are suffering badly and the concerned authorities don’t pay any heed to our sufferings,” said Ghulam Muhammad, a local resident.
He said that the links roads and main road right from Dar Mohalla to New Colony Sheikh Mohalla was macadamized in the year 2012 and till date, the roads have not been maintained nor upgraded. As per KNO, Ward No. 12 and 13 of municipal committee Bandipora, housing more than 800 households, are located only a kilometer away from district headquarters.
“The condition of the main road and other link roads is so bad that when it rains we are not able to come out of our homes as they get inundated. The link roads which were macadamized seven years ago have developed huge potholes because of lack of maintenance and when we raise the issues before the concerned authorities they turn deaf ears to our pleas,” the locals said.
They said that the area doesn’t have potable water supply for drinking and other daily chores as the pipes installed remain defunct most of the time and have gathered rust.
“The area doesn’t have a water supply scheme including filtration plant of its own despite falling within municipal limits. Most of the time pipes remain defunct and even if water flows through them it is polluted and muddy which is not fit for human consumption. Now we use water from a nearby spring for all purposes like drinking, washing clothes and utensils,” said Abdul Hamid, another local resident.
The locals said that last year they had sent a representation to PHE division Bandipora for installation of new pipes so that potable water is supplied to them but till date, not a single official has visited the area. They said that when they hold protest to press for the redressal of their genuine demands they are being harassed by the district administration.
The locals said that the area doesn’t even have proper drainage system as all the drains constructed some ten years ago have got blocked due to lack of maintenance as no official from municipal committee Bandipora bothers to visit the area. They appealed the Lt. Governor Girish Chander Murmu to personally look into the matter and help redress their grievance. A senior official in the district said that he would look into the matter and the issues they have raised will be taken care of—(KNO)