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| Fragmented locality suffers badly on developmental front in Baramulla district | | | Jehangir Rashid | 2/6/2014 7:55:31 PM |
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Fragmentation
of more than three
dozen families in the Pattan block of North Kashmir's Baramulla district has led to a situation where the members of these families are quite unsure about their future with development taking a serious hit and right to work is a farce. Forty families of Riddi Mohalla of Trikolbal village are quite frustrated since they have been clubbed with three Panchayat Halqas. While 22 families have been clubbed with the Kripalpora-Payeen Panchayat Halqa, 12 families have been clubbed with Hanjiweera-Payeen Panchayat Halqa and the rest six families have been shown to be a part of Gund-I-Ibrahim Panchayat Halqa.
"It seems the state government more so the district administration has been lost in oblivion. Without applying any mind, the people at helm have clubbed us with three different Panchayat Halqas. Generations have suffered in the past and many more generations would suffer if the corrective action is not taken at the earliest," said Ghulam Ahmad Sofi, a senior resident of Riddi Mohalla.
Terming the clubbing of the people of his locality with three different Panchayat Halqas as absurd, Sofi says that any developmental work would not yield positive change due to the practical difficulties involved. He said that there have been clash of interests in the past and as such the locals in these areas have suffered.
"Hanjiweera Payeen is five and half kilometers away from our locality while as the distance to Kripalpora Payeen is five kilometers. Gund-I-Ibrahim is the nearest Panchayat Halqa among the three as it falls three kilometers away from our locality. The decision-makers should have applied their mind at the time of delimitation but Alas! That is not the case," said Sofi.
Sofi has a simple logic when asked how the clubbing affects the overall development of Riddi Mohalla. He says, "If all the 40 families are clubbed with one Panchayat Halqa then any developmental work taken up would be fruitful. At present taking up such a work is impractical and imprudent since a Panchayat Halqa for example would not develop a road for handful of families as the same would be objected by other families as they too would want share in the same. This is a simple case of wrong delimitation and needs to be corrected."
Mohammad Qasim Malla, a resident of the locality said that Riddi Mohalla should be recognized as municipal ward given the number of families living there. Malla said that their genuine demands and concerns have never been looked into by the government adding the 'apathy' has pushed them to the wall.
"There are three Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in our locality and they could have easily projected our case since they are well aware about the difficulties that we are facing. These officials too have ditched us. They have never taken our suggestions or views seriously and as such we continue to suffer," said Malla.
Malla further says that the job carried out by three BLOs could have easily been done by one BLO if the correct clubbing of Riddi Mohalla was done. He said majority of the residents of the locality don't know about their ward members adding that same has led to under development of the locality.
"Since Gund-I-Ibrahim is the nearest Panchayat Halqa among the three Panchayat Halqas ideally we would all like to be clubbed with that Panchayat Halqa. If that is not the case then the state government should club us with the Zadi Mohalla since that too falls near to us. We cannot travel to Panchayat Halqas like Hanjiweera Payeen or Kripalpora Payeen since they are farthest from us," said a group of residents while sharing their views.
The residents are quite upset with the role played by the Panchayat representatives saying that these people too have failed to deliver the goods. They say that Sarpanches and Panches of the three Panchayat Halqas are well aware of their problems but still then they have failed to convince the people at helm about the corrective action.
"Most of the Panchayat representatives are semi-literate and they can't understand the nuances. Those who could have made the difference have preferred to remain aloof since they are not at loss. Given this situation, we have been left high and dry with no development taking place in the Riddi Mohalla," said the residents.
The people of the locality are also disturbed by the fact that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has failed since no jobs have been provided to the idle youth. They said that only the job cards have been issued with no job whatsoever being provided to the youth.
"Twenty job cards have been given to the youth of our locality but as far as job is concerned we are yet to see light at the end of the tunnel. With no jobs being provided there is no case for development with the people continuing to suffer. In other words we can say that MGNREGA is a big flop in Riddi Mohalla with the scheme limited to mere issuance of job cards and nothing more," said the residents.
Problems for the residents of the area do not end here. Yet another glaring problem being faced by them is non-issuance of ration cards. Ration cards are yet to be issued to around one dozen families of the locality. These people are forced to buy the ration from open market despite the fact that Jammu & Kashmir is a welfare state.
"Most of the times the storekeeper at the ration depot usually distributes ration among 40 families. This means that the ration card holders get inadequate quantity of ration. There are occasions when the families who don't possess the ration cards don't get ration from ration depot. They are then forced to purchase the same from open market," said the residents.
The residents said that despite them belonging to lower strata of society, Above Poverty Line (APL) ration cards have been issued in their favour. They said despite repeated reminders and pleas the concerned department has not taken the corrective measures in this regard. They add on by saying that those who have been issued Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards are provided ration on normal rates and not subsidized rates as prescribed by the guidelines.
(This article is part of Indo Global Social Service Society's (IGSSS) third Media Traineeship Programme in Jammu and Kashmir under its project "Empowering the Vulnerable: Strengthening grassroots governance and empowering civil society action in conflict affected areas of Kashmir". The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect views of Indo Global Social Service Society (IGSSS). Feedback is welcome at [email protected].)
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