ALTAF BABA
Baramulla, Jan 20: Many villages in upper reaches of this north Kashmir district are still cut off from the towns as authorities have not yet cleared the snow from Kandi belt and the Uri area.
 Reports reveal that residents of several villages in Uri town, especially the upper reaches have been facing severe hardships and have lost link with the tehsil headquarter.
 “Six days have passed since the snow fell but till date the link roads connecting villages with the tehsil headquarter have not been cleared. We are facing shortage of essential commodities like ration, vegetables and kerosene oil. Scores of children and the old age people have fallen ill after the heavy snowfall, but there is no way to shift them to the hospital” Shams-u-Din of Gowalta Uri told Greater Kashmir over phone.  
 The entire Uri region witnessed a heavy snowfall nearly after two decades. Above two feet of snow was recorded in the plains while around five feet of snow was recorded in the upper reaches of the area. The upper reaches like Garkote, Nambla, Silikote, Churanda, Badgra, Gohalan, Gowalta and Nawarunda, Zamboor Pattan and Tullawari are still not accessible and all the roads are still covered with the thick layer of snow.
 Residents of Kandi belt alleged that authorities were not putting enough efforts to clear the roads in the area. “Snow was cleared up to Chandoosa only while several roads leading to different villages like Nilsar, Dudebugh, Sultanpora, Nowgam, Murran Tangawari were not even touched,” said Mushtaq Ahmad of Dudebugh.
 Shortage of LPG in north Kashmir has added to the woes of people. Residents of the Baramulla town said that their life has become miserable in the absence of cooking gas. “I have been struggling to get one cylinder of gas from the past several days,” said Abdul Aziz of Khawja Bagh Baramulla.
 Residents of Rafiabad, Kandi belt, Uri and Tangmarg too have complained the severe shortage of LPG.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 IST