The death of eleven residents of Karnah, including an official of the border roads organization, in the tragic snow avalanches incidents at the Sadhna Top on Kupwara-Tanghdar Road have once again reminded us the imperative of better road communication for such isolated enclaves in Jammu & Kashmir. For decades now, people of Karnah, like those living in the enclaves of Kargil, Gurez, and other sub-valleys in Chenab and Pirpanjal valley have been suffering because of lack of proper road communication. The people of Karnah, Kargil, Gurez and sub-valleys like Wadwan suffer immensely during winter season when snows block their roads and hundreds and thousands of people are left at the mercy of the Almighty. The latest snow avalanches on the Sandhna Top underline the need for two things – one a proper road communication with the mainland valley and a workable early warning system that could warn people about potential natural hazards that could risk life of the people using that road. For many years now, the people of Karnah and other sub-valleys and enclaves of Jammu & Kashmir have been demanding tunnels with the mainland for round-the-year reliable road connectivity. Their winter woes exasperate when the sickness ridden people are unable to travel and access secondary and tertiary healthcare. Last year corpse of a deceased person had to be transported on people’s shoulders in 4-feet snow at the Sadhna Pass when the road got closed for many days due to heavy snow. There are innumerable and untold stories of many other people that seldom reach us. Governments in Srinagar and Delhi must prioritise development of roads and tunnels across Jammu & Kashmir to ease people’s suffering.
The Himalayan tragedy
