Baramulla: The residents of Babagail in Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district have expressed their anguish over the lack of basic amenities.
The locals said that most of the roads in the area had suffered damage over a period of time while several other roads had not been macadamised with the result residents of the area face severe inconvenience of transport facilities.
“The Babagail, Badrali and Sajjan roads are in shambles,” said Farhan, a local student. “The road has not been macadamised for a long time while several road stretches that suffered damage over a period of time had not been repaired with the result the residents of the area face severe inconvenience,” added Farhan.
Muhammad Ishfaq, a local resident said that another major issue in the area is that only sumo vehicles are plying in the area. He said in the absence of other means of transport, the locals who are poor are unable to pay the expensive sumo fare.
“On a single trip from Baramulla to Baba Gail, a passenger is charged Rs 100. Had there been another mode of transportation the fare charges could have been much less. The worst affected by this discrimination are the students who can not afford such a huge fare,” added Ishfaq.
The locals also showed their strong resentment over the weak mobile network in the area.
They said in the age of information technology, the students here are unable to avail the benefits of the internet facility as a result some of the students have no choice but to migrate from the area.
“Here in our area only one particular mobile network works but its signal is too weak to connect to the internet. We are forced to shift to the lower areas where there is better network facility,”said Shaista, a girl student from the area.
Babagail is a beautiful area in the Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. The area has a famous wildlife sanctuary at limber. Besides, the area has few excellent waterfalls and is very close to the famous Vijtop. The area, if promoted as a tourist destination, could change the fortunes of the people.
“The famous waterfall like Rasgali Naigi falls in the area. The area is close to Vijtop, which is already on the tourist map of the tourism department. The excellent roads besides better civic facilities can be a game changer for the area. The authorities need to concentrate on the progress of the area so that it emerges as another tourist destination across the Baramulla district,” said Muhammad Sultan, a resident of Babagail.