From lack of transport to lack of electricity and internet, the difficulties that students face in Kashmir are legion

In Kashmir there is always one issue or the other to face, be it unscheduled power cuts, unavailability of transport, or a hartal, which affects people’s day-to-day life. Every section of our society is affected, whether old or young, men or women, but one section is especially affected – the students, the future of every nation. Hartals leave schools, colleges and coaching centers shut. Studies get disrupted and the syllabus remains incomplete. The frequent suspension of the internet becomes another problem. During the Covid pandemic students’ classes were held through Zoom app but in Kashmir we had only 2G speed, which made it difficult to follow the lectures. Another issue is the unscheduled power cuts. Most of the exams were held from November when power cuts began to be all too frequent. The students could not study once it grew dark.
A major issue that does not get so much attention is the unavailability of transport. Nobody gets transport facility on time. What we see nowadays are only vehicles like cabs and auto rickshaws; hardly any bus or matador is seen on the roads. The students have faced a lot of problems due to this, like wastage of time as the cabs have capacity for only 9 passengers and run only when all the passengers are on board. Students have to sit and wait in the cabs for a long time and it also is expensive for them. The fees for a coaching center are not as much as what has to be spent on the fare for the cabs. Buses or matadors are cheaper and affordable for all and also save precious time.
As a resident of district Kulgam and as a student I have faced all these problems and l know that all other students also face the same. I hope the administration looks into the matter and provides us at least buses for transport. Also, keep to the schedule of electricity supply so that the students can study comfortably and without stress over unscheduled power cuts.

The writer has done PG in Political Science from Central University of Kashmir. [email protected]

Muzamil Hassan