The government has started work on constructing roads to remote Vewan and Chandaji in Bandipora district, following recent reports in this newspaper about no road connectivity for twin villages.
The residents of both these villages had been complainingabout official neglect and utter lack of basic amenities like road and mobilephone connectivity and supply of safe drinking water.
Villagers of Chandaji said they distributed sweets in thevillage after work on the road construction was started.
“We are very thankful to Greater Kashmir for highlightingour problems. When the work on the road started we distributed sweets in thevillage. It has been after 60 years that our demand has been fulfilled,” saidYasir Mirza, a resident of Chandaji.
Deputy Commissioner Bandipora said that work on theconstruction of two roads from Peer Buthu to Chandaji and from Athwatoo toVewan has been started to give the villagers proper road connectivity.
“There were some issues which have been sorted out and nowthe construction works are going on smoothly on both the roads. They had beenlong pending demands of these far off villages. A lot of problems being facedby these villages would get mitigated after the construction of these roads,”the DC said.
For as long as the villagers of Vewan remember, they mustwalk miles through thick forests to reach the nearest village or road head atAthwatoo either by foot or on horseback.
Similarly, Chandaji village located amid a forest is aroundsix kilometers away from the nearest habitation.
Construction of the road from Peer Buthu to Chandaji villagewas started under Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in March 2017 butit was left midway, residents say.
An official said that after Greater Kashmir reported aboutthe problems being faced by the villagers, deputy commissioner of Bandiporaasked for expediting work on these roads.