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| Is Basohli Constituency destined to suffer? | | | Shiv Kumar Padha Basohli
Comparing the Basohli constituency with its counterparts in the state of Jammu and Kashmir we find Basohli at the lowest ebb in the matter of its development, sincere and whole hearted representation in the Legislative Assembly. More than six decades on after independence, Basohli constituency has not got even a bit of what has been proclaimed from time to time by our representatives and the government. It was by dint of the passion for hard work, sincerity, honesty and the pluck of the natives they could prove their worth and could carve out a prestigious place in the state and ultimately have been acknowledged second to none in the state. The native have earned a high profile in every field of administration, art and culture in the state. Perhaps the Discrimination of the Basohli constituency, has remained a permanent policy of every state government irrespective of the party it belonged to. It is the bountiful nature which has gifted the whole constituency with natural beauty and wealth which the state governments have proved total failure in exploiting these gifts for the welfare of the people and the state.
Basohli constituency has continuously remained under the yoke of the politicians belonging to Kathua tehsil of the Jammu province for more than 40 years. They considered the Basohli constituency their property as inherited by their ancestors. In order to ensure their victory in the future elections these politicians spared no efforts to pave their way for permanent occupation of the Basohli Constituency lock stock and barrel. They succeeded in their villainous plans of managing detachment of 12 Patwars, 28 polling stations and 25 highly populated villages from the Kandi belt of the tehsil Kathua and successfully got them attached with the Basohli constituency making it a soft and permanent seat for the outsider influential politicians. Instead of planning for the development of the constituency they used it as their colony and reached the higher echelons of power.
Talking, for instance, about the formation of new districts in the state as a result of implementation of the Wazir Commission many new districts were formed merely joining one or two Niabats or in many cases with one tehsil in Kashmir and Jammu divisions which were represented by the powerful and influential MLAs. Whereas Basohli, the oldest tehsil of the state and mother of six tehsils and four sub divisions was not either touched or discussed while the tehsils of the stated were being granted district hood. Had the case of Basohli constituency been advocated and represented honestly, Basohli would have attained district hood much earlier. The tehsils which were either in their stage of infancy or did not exist at all when undivided Basohli tehsil was in its full glory and prime.
On the formation of the first time BJP, PDP coalition government in the state the people of jammu region heaved a sigh of relief with the hope their own government would definitely listen to their grievances and address them immediately. But the hopes of the people soon ended in smoke when the newly elected MLAs boycotted their links with the masses, started indulging in personal rivalries and preferred the company of their counterparts in PDP and feathered their own nests. In this political wrestling Basohli emerged as the greatest loser among the constituencies of the state. The rivalry among the three MLAs of the adjoining constituencies of Basohli converted the constituency in to the political arena which stalled the overall development of the area. While the local MLA neither did anything for the constituency nor did he allow others to do anything for the development of the constituency. The total account of the development of the Basohli during the coalition government in the state can be laid down as under;
l Scared of the unwelcoming behaviour of the local MLA No minister of any department did ever dare to visit Basohli as such no public durbar was organized till the promulgation of the Guv. Rule in the state.
l The much hyped pre election promises like water sports, water tourism, sports training college, international stadium, ESSAL world, heritage town, FM radio station, NCERT Resource center for Basohli and of the like have proved not more than verbosity .
l The SDH and the so called Model hospital Basohli is functioning without the sanctioned strength of the doctors, medicines and the allied staff. There is no provision for the potable water in the hospital.
l The entire stretch of five hundered KMTS. Do not have any blood bank, blood transfusion facility nor fire fighting system anywhere. The people are totally dependent on the mercy of god. The local population has been reeling under the water sacristy problem for the last four decades. The whole constituency is deprived of the benefits of the multipurpose schemes initiated by the Prime Minister.
l There is no interstate vehicular movement of traffic via Atal Setu as such it is not being put to the use it was meant for.
l The 40 year old JKSRTC bus services between Basohli and Pathankot, Haridwar and Kullu have been withdrawn from the routes since the coalition came into power. Lacs of population living in Basohli Bani, Bhaderwah and Bani face difficulty in performing their interstate journey in one go.
l One Kendriya Vidyalay sanctioned for Basohli during mid 80's is now named as KV Lakhan pur. In spite of regular demands the same has not been restored to its legitimate claimant Basohli.
l Basohli constituency as whole is gifted with natural wealth and has enormous quantity of the raw material for running the industries is missing from the map of the Industrial Estate in the state. It seems as if the industries department has closed its eyes towards the Basohli constituency.
l There is no institute in the constituency where the local youth can get professional training because the institutes sanctioned for Basohli have always been hijacked by the powerful and awakened MLAs of other constituencies always.
It is pertinent to mention here that Basohli is perhaps the only constituency in the state where the local MLA has seized to perform his constitutional duty for the lost one year as a result Basohli constituency has become a rudderless vassal which is being drifted away by the vagabond winds. The development of tourism of the Basohli is flourishing with the co operation of the local population. There is no facility or amenities for the tourists. If the negative and inert attitude of the state government is not checked the number of the tourists will start receding gradually and will come to halt.. The motor boats purchased by the forest department for the tourists worth crores of rupees have become exhibits with out putting them into operation from the date these were purchased. The tourists merely visit Basohli face the scorching heat of the summer and the chill of winter and return to their homes disappointed.
The state government should treat basohli constituency at par with others in the state and should not leave them on the mercy of the warring MLAs and MPs. |
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