People in Bijaldar Jabdi village of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district Sunday expressed resentment against the authorities for failing to clear the road to the village of landslides and snow, bringing hardships to them.
Bijaldar Jabdi village, 35 km from the Kupwara district headquarters, comprises of 100 households.
Due to landslides and snow, the residents here are forced to cover the distance upto Tangdar on foot.
“Whenever there is moderate to heavy snowfall, our village remains cutoff from the rest of the district for weeks together. I don’t know why the authorities are biased against us,” said a local, Zameer Ahmad.
In the past, several medical emergencies occurred due to the closure of road, and few days back, people here had to shoulder a female patient on a make-shift cot to reach Sub District Hospital Tangdar, covering 35 kilometers.
Besides being out of bounds, the residents of Bijaldar Jabdi village also suffer due to the absence of various basic amenities.
The residents complained that though the area has a health sub-centre, it was of no use in absence of staff here.
“The sub-centre was thrown open for the general public with one official from the Health department but post his retirement, the concerned authorities did not send his replacement,” said another local.
The residents complained about the lack of cellular network here saying that they do not have access to their near ones and dear ones and at the time of medical emergency, people face a lot of hardships.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kupwara, Imam Din told Greater Kashmir that efforts were on to clear the road.
About the lack of cellular network and staff at the health centre, the DC said that he had taken note of the issues and concrete steps would be taken in the near future in this regard.