Hajin: The Madwan village in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district is witnessing the dawn of development in Panchayat Raj.

Talking to Kashmir Reader, the village head said that since the implementation of the three-tier system in J&K, the village has seen massive development in the construction of roads, footpaths, culverts and drains. He said that Sarpanchs and Panchs with the support of the Rural Development Department worked tirelessly to develop the village.

“Look at our roads, almost every link road is macadamized, not only that but footpaths, culverts, and drains have been constructed by our sarpanchs,” the village head Ghulam Nabi said.

The locals said their representatives used all their PRI grants for the development of this village.

“This Panchayat Raj is a blessing in disguise for this village as we used to wait in long queues to meet concern MLA to raise our issues pertaining to the development,” a local said.

Abdul Ahad, a local, said that implementing of the three-tier system turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Madwan village as it is witnessing massive development work like ongoing repairing of roads, construction of public buildings, PHC hospital, drainage system, and inner link-roads which are being repaired.

He said since the year 2000, this area had been totally neglected by successive regimes like NC, PDP and Congress and was given step-motherly treatment in terms of development.

“Despite hue and cry, our roads remained unattended for two decades,” Ahad added.

He further said that the roads were in the worst condition for nearly a decade and were full of muddy patches and potholes putting the lives of the locals at great risk. But after the implementation of the Panchayat Raj system in Kashmir this village has seen massive development and work on many projects is going on, he said.

Another local said that now they have MLAs in every Mohallahs to whom they can raise their day-to-day problems and also take developmental issues with them for their quick redressal.

“This area was ignored by the successive governments but since Panchayat members took over the charge in 2019, the village has seen massive development,” he said.

The locals said they are happy and satisfied with the work done by our representatives in the area. “The best thing is that we don’t need to roam around the offices of MLAs or other offices but the Panchs and Sarpanchs come to our doorsteps to listen to our grievances on the ground and see the problems themselves. Soon after they identify the problems in the village they are redress them on a priority basis,” they said.

GOWHAR MAQBOOL