Shopian: Badimarag village in Imamsahib Tehsil of district Shopian is probably the lone village in this hilly district which is yet to be connected with its tehsil headquarters as well as with the rest of the district, due to lack of a bridge on Narwani rivulet.

Locals from the area told Kashmir Reader that school-going children, elderly people, and patients are the worst victims of this lack of connectivity. The locals said that they remain apprehensive about the safety of their children when they go to school during rains, when there is heavy flow of water in the rivulet which the children are forced to cross on daily basis.

Ishfaq Ahmad, a local resident, said that the government is falsely claiming to have connected all villages with tehsil and district headquarters. “Only some 4×4 vehicles are able to enter the village, that too through Kulgam which takes us hours. The much-needed bridge will reduce to only five minutes the time to travel to tehsil headquarters in Imamsahib,” he said.

Ghulam Muhammad Bhat, another local, said that the people knocked on doors of all high ranking officials in the past two decades, but their repeated pleas fell on deaf ears.

“Not only bureaucrats but the politicians who had come here for votes also left this issue unattended,” he said.

Villagers said that in the last two years dozens of roads have been developed by the administration but their village, which has more than a 100 households, has been neglected.

A senior official at the Roads and Buildings Department in Shopian told Kashmir Reader that the department has sent a DPR (detailed project report) for the bridge to higher authorities but unfortunately it has not been approved yet.

Raashid Hassan