Langate (Qaziabad): In Tangwara village, the electricity wires hang down on poplars while a potholed road welcomes you with its shabby and muddy looks.
The village is located at a distance of around 10 kilometers from Baramulla – Kupwara Highway. The village in Qaziabad Tehsil of Kupwara district has remained the victim of official apathy in terms of development. The situation depicts the tale of the underdevelopment of the village and how the village has remained out of sight of the administration.
During the past years, the district administration conducted three phases of the Back to Village programme in which the local residents of the village demanded repair of the link road.
However, till date no attention has been paid to the public demand much to the disappointment of the residents of this village. “During all the three phases of back to village programmes, we projected the repair of this road which is the only link road connecting our village with the highway. But unfortunately, we did not see any change on ground till date,” said a local resident, while pointing towards the pathetic condition of the link road.
“We have kept our small motor vehicles at home as the condition of this road has worsened over these years,” he said.
A single visit to the village depicts the indifferent attitude of the administration towards the village which has no road connectivity and lacks proper drainage as well.
“It seems our village has been removed from the developmental map,” the residents said. Surprisingly, during the ongoing 4th phase of the Back to Village programme, no official has visited the village to take first hand account of the ground situation. The residents approached the concerned DDC Chairman a number of times only to return disappointed as the repeated verbal assurances proved a hoax on ground. “The DDC chairman ensured macadamisation of all major and minor links of this belt but only our link road was left out for unknown reasons,” the residents said.
The DDC Chairman, according to locals, assured them of upgrading the road but the work was never executed on the grounds. “He dodged us saying that the upgrade of this link road was merged with the plan of a nearby village and the work will be started very soon. Despite the passage of two years, we did not see any development in this regard,” the residents said. The residents had pinned hopes that the demand will be projected before the visiting officers during the recent Back to village programme. “But, surprisingly, no officer visited the spot,” the residents said.
Deputy Commissioner Kupwara did not respond to calls from this newspaper despite repeated attempts. Meanwhile, the Chairman of DDC Kupwara, Irfan Pandithpori when contacted said the Tangwara link road has been included in the Nabard project and the work will be started within this month. “Upgradation of this link road is a top priority for me. I have prepared a project worth Rs 2.75 crores under which work on this link road will be done,” he said.