Bandipora village without electricity
Vewan villagers burn firewood to illuminate houses
Mir TariqBandipora, July 6: Even in this scientific age the residents of Vewan in Bandipora burn the “dilli lash” (torch wood) to illuminate their homes. The village, which is few kilometers away from the district headquarters has not been provided electricity yet by the Power Development Department (PDD)The villagers said that electricity has not reached to their village yet. “We are still living in the dark age. More than 60 years have passed since India became independent but we haven't been provided electricity by the government," said Wali Muhammad. He said, "Leaders come here and make false promises. Nobody is bothered to provide us with basic facilities like electricity. We are living in the dark age." Around 200 families inhabit the Vewa village, situated amidst thick forest in Athwatoo division. “Though the village is not far from the district headquarters, people continue to suffer due to the callous attitude of the respective regimes,” said the villagers.An elderly person, Mohammad Ismail said, “During my life, I have never seen electricity and I think I won't be able to see it in my lifetime”.The residents said that they have not fitted wires in their houses. “We know that electricity won't reach to this village so we haven't undertaken wire fittings. We burn wood to illuminate our houses,” said another villager. Children are the worst sufferers as they cannot study in the evening and during night hours. "Most of the children fail in the exams because they don't have electricity to study during night hours,” said Fayaz Ahmad, headmaster Middle School Vewan.He said that most of the students have to travel 10 to 15 km daily to reach the school. “By the time they reach home in the evening, it is already dark and hence they cannot complete their homework,” he said.Meanwhile, various villages in Athwatoo division like Labkachaal, Tangtari, Herpora, which are situated few kilometers from the district headquarters, lack basic facilities like potable water, electricity, healthcare facilities and road connectivity. People in most of the villages in Athwatoo division have to walk for hours together to fetch a bucker of water from a Tresangam stream. “The water in the stream flows fast and so far it has claimed more than 50 lives. We don’t have any option but to fetch water from the fast flowing stream. We are putting our lives to risk,” said the villagers. The situation is worst at Vewan village, where the authorities have not even installed a water pump. The government is compelling people to rely on natural resources. “The state government never bothered to provide clean and hygienic water to us. We rely totally on natural resources. Despite fully knowing that water is not worth drinking, we use it for drinking purposes,” said Mohammad Amin The villagers said that the successive regimes in the State have totally ignored them. “They have not carried out any developmental activities,” said the residents. However, officials refuse to share the blame and instead accuse the residents of the villages for causing unnecessary delay in the developmental works. Talking to Rising Kashmir, Executive Engineer PDD Bashir Ahmed Wani said "Vewan is a remotest village of the district and we are going to connect it with 11000 KV transmission line under the centrally sponsored Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) scheme”.He expressed the hope that all Vewan would be having electricity soon.