The winter has sent its first signals as upper reaches of the valley received snow a couple of days before. With this snowfall a sizable population is thrown into a state of isolation. As the snow banks on roads that lead to these areas, there is no way a vehicle can drive up to these areas.
So there is no possibility that the people living there can move in or out of their areas, like others elsewhere do very normally. It might sound very strange for a person living in warmer plains that there are people in adjoining areas of Kashmir valley that remain stuck to their homes for months together during winters.
There is no air transport facility for such people so that any emergency situations can be met. Consequently these people are left to fend for themselves in winter months. The question that we have been asking for decades now is that why we don’t have dependable surface links that can connect these areas to nearby towns from where transport services are available, at least in case of an emergency.
And when we know that these people are bound to live in a state of isolation do we have any worthwhile healthcare facility for such people in case an emergency situation arises. Do we have enough food stored for these people for the winter months. As we all know no substantial steps were ever taken to end the isolation of these people. They live dangerously on margins for decades now.
What is also pertinent to mention here is that there are entire geographical areas that remain cut off from the capital cities, Jammu and Srinagar, just because the road links remain closed for most of the winter period. The people living in these areas especially, and the people of J&K generally, have been demanding building up of tunnels so that the road links to these areas are converted into all weather routes. But till date there are no tunnels and no light on either side of the long awaited tunnels.