Despite being in the backyard of the 330 MW Kishangangahydel power project, Pethkoot and its adjoining villages in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district are bereft of basic amenities including proper power supply.
Talking to the Greater Kashmir, several villagers here said that they were being denied basic facilities like proper healthcare, potable water and roads for decades, subjecting them to numerous hassles.
The residents said that they had made several representations to the administration but the outcome had only made them feel helpless.
“Despite the power project being located here, we haven’t seen any benefits in terms of daily needs. Our village hardly sees uninterrupted power supply for an hour even as the Power Development Department has been collecting huge bills,” said GhulamRasool Malik, a middle-aged villager. “It was better for the department to remove power supply altogether so that the poor among us aren’t forced to pay the bill when there is no electricity.”
The villagers said there was no potable water supply in the village and surrounding hamlets including Nowgam, Badibethi, Yale, Golpathri, and Tangath having a population of 4000, forcing womenfolk to travel long distances to collect water.
“There is no water source for this village and many adjoining hamlets. The water from a small spring which mostly runs dry is used for cooking and drinking purpose while womenfolk have to walk to the spring and collect the water in buckets and pots,” said Siraj udin Wani, another villager.
The Heath department’s sub-centre in the village is located in a dilapidated room.
According to the villagers, it has “no staff” and mostly remains “shut”, forcing the villagers to take medications on their own from the local pharma stores.
“The dispensary is giving us a tough time as it has no staff. The situation was same before COVID19,” Malik said.
He alleged that at the sub-centre “a casual employee” responsible for its maintenance had been running the centre before COVID19 and “treating” patients too.
“He too has not been seen since COVID19 except for a single day,” Malik said.
According to the villagers, the link road to the village which also connects to the nearby hamlets was not being constructed despite repeated assurances from the authorities for years.
“Besides the inner link to the village, Nowgam-Braripora link road too isn’t being constructed. It has been over a decade long wait but no one seems to bother. We have walk over rocks and boulders to foot the distance,” said Shabir Ahmad, another resident of the village.
The villagers said that they had not benefitted from the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) despite a huge power project in the area.
“We didn’t get any benefits of the Kishanganga power project which located at a distance of 1 km from our village,” they said.
The villagers requested the administration to address their genuine demands.