CIVIC ISSUES

Bhalessa exposed tall claims

India is claiming to have progressed in implementing
the national flagship programmes like Food for All,
Water for All, Health for All, Electricity for All but the
rural areas in the state like of Bhalessa in Doda speaks
of the real picture of such so called claims.

The access to basic amenities including nutrition,

health, and electricity has recede further in rural area
of Bhalessa with more and more countryside leading to
human suffering.
Successive governments at the state and centre
ignored the area in all fronts. People seemed out of the
so called e-governance projects and slogans of
reaching the unreached.
The upper case hamlets clearly exhibits that they
lack access to various basic amenities such as
nutrition, health, education, housing, connectivity,
security and opportunities for overall future
improvement despite implementation of several State
as well as Central Government sponsored schemes.
The picture reveal from the very recent Eid
festive celebrated by the inhabitants of the area with a
routine food packets and local ration depots seemed
empty of the food grains.
The area of Bhalessa presents a tale of such
discrimination on the part of authorities; the depots of
ration were either without food or were not surveyed
by the authorizes to finalize the arrangements for such
grand festive.
The local people celebrated important festivals
with routine chapatti and what we call it as dry food.
The tale is that the concerned department failed to
supply Rice, sugar and other commodities. The area is
settled in rural most realty of Jammu and Kashmir. The
area is witnessing complete lack of basic amenities like
food, electricity, drinking water and health facilities
since a month.
It is very sad to say that despite landmark
achievements in interior areas of the region, the area
is still confronting the step motherly treatment. The
area is being ignored by the successive Govts in all
aspects. The people here are thriving below poverty
line and barely manager their socio-economic life.
The area is home of Union health Minister Ghulam
Nabi Azad and the area faced acute shortage of health
like non availability of Lady Gynecologists,
Pediatricians and an efficient health care. The area is
having one Sub District hospital at Gandoh which too is
lacking staff. The areas like Chilly, Bhatyas,
Khaljugasar, Gingota, Jitota, and Kahara face acute
shortage of health care facilities. It becomes very
difficult for a pregnant woment to reach Doda and
Jammu for safe delivery.
This nelson’s eye towards the so called health for all
programmes and provision of basic amenities has
created a rentment among the local masses. The
elderly of the area are also at had hit as they don’t
receive basic health care facilities in time. This
negligence on the part of the successive governments
has led the people to come on the streets to protest
against the authorities reluctant to act.
“It is quite shocking that this area lacks even basic
facilities of electricity, water and health care
facilities.” Said a local Sarpench Mohammed Alyas Batt
in response to my query regarding the basic amenities
in the area.

“What the government have done so far for deaf

& dumb children who are devoid of rehabilitation of
Dhadkai Village of Bhalessa?, Provision of basic
accommodation for a College and why the area is
witnessing the frequent power cuts?” and non supply
of food grains on the eve of very recent Eid festival, he
wanted to know.

Besides urges, appeals by locals and a protest on the

eve of Eid at Gowari by the locals, the area still witness
a complete shortage of food, water, health care
facilities and power curtailments. On the one hand
people are on the streats and government is sleeping
and not in a position to mitigate woes of the poor
populace of the area.
However, the local NGOs and Educational
organizations have threatned for shut down call if the
Basic necessities are not provided to them. about a
dozen villages in the Gandoh belt, comprising a
population of 58,000, lack all health & water facilities .
The area need to be brought under special economic
initiatives of the central and state governments so as
to achieve the slogan of reaching the unreached
otherwise the national flagship programmes can
remain illusive and futile. The United nation funding
agencies should help the local NGO for the poverty
allevation Projects.