Yasmeen Manzoor

Bandipora 28 July:Convener Jammu and Kashmir Unity Convention Advocate M Y Bhat today in a statement told that During their recently concluded visit to Gurez and Tulail valley they got an opportunity to interact with people there.

M Y Bhat said that Curiously nobody wears a mask for the simple reason that there has so far been no COVID case and the region being remote and almost cut off from from the buzz of towns and commercial activity of District and Block headquarters,the people are hardly cognizant of the COViD dangers.

The Tulail valley consists of approximately fifty villages and all of them live a life on subsistence labor. The army and security forces are the only and the major avenue of employment for the labor force of these villages on a daily-wage basis.

The agriculture is primitive and the yields are too meagre to sustain the livelihood. The government has not shown much interest and inclination to engage with the people.

The people complain that no high level Govt. functionaries have ever visited the area for 20 years except a “Director” years ago. The present Commissioner of Excise who visited the area few days ago drew crowds of desperate people to register their grievances against the present government. The Commissioner’s visit created high hopes in the public.

These villages don’t have telephone or Internet facilities and electricity.
Their children are not attending schools because of orders of govt neithrr is the facility for online education in place. As a result their education has badly suffered.
The road that connects Tulail with Gurez is in bad shape, dusty in summer and muddy in winter, for want of macadamization. The Engineering Unit has only two employees and the Tehsildar is usually alone with no staff,no transport facility and no means to execute the work.

The entire area has no electricity. The few- hour power supply run on generator is operated intermittently. This problem could have been easily solved by establishing a few mini- hydroelectric units along the course of Sendh river. Simpler than that, this problem could be resolved by giving this area a supply from the Kishan Ganga power project of Gurez.

People are suffering for want of electricity, education of thier children,roads and a properly functioning govt machinery. The govt must look into the demands of the people.

M Y Bhat also added that I, therefore, take it as my duty to bring the matter to your Highness’s notice in order that we can work on the said area to bring it out of the darkness and dejection. JK Unity Convention is always inclined to connect with the people at the grassroots and me, the Convener of JK Unity Convention, am deeply pained by the neglect and callousness being shown to the people of the Tulail valley.