Bhat Yasir
In the 21st century, the Marwah-area of district Kishtwar of UT Jammu and Kashmir lacks basic facilities like roads, electricity, and telecommunication.
Residents lifting luggage on shoulders appear like and remind one of the 80s – walking by foot to inform relatives when someone dies, which takes long hours and sometimes days because there is no telecommunication facility in the area. Walking on foot to reach destinations because there is no road facility in maximum areas.
The sub-division Marwah is approximately 200 kilometers away from district headquarters Kishtwar because there is no road facility within the district to reach Marwah. Although as per the locals’ Government can build the road through Dachan area which will minimize the road distance to 100 kilometers approximately. Currently, the residents travel through Daksum – Margan Top, of which some area falls within the jurisdiction of Anantnag district.
In the digital age, the area lacks the facility of telecommunication, which evokes the suffering of people who were living in the 80s/90s without such facilities. The need of mobile phones and the internet is rapidly growing around the globe. Evidently, mobile and the internet played a significant role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A resident of the area said that when there is no internet, it means there is no possibility of online education. He said that the students of the area have suffered a huge loss during the lockdown.
Digital India like slogan prove to be void in this area because Electricity hasn’t reached the area, yet., yet. Locals say that a few years back the government provided them solar inverters but they don’t fulfill the need of people. “We too have a desire of using refrigerators, washing machines, and rice cookers, but how? There is no Electricity,” a local resident said.
A local resident/student namely Rakesh Thakur said that corruption has become another issue of the area. He alleges that RDD has released a huge amount on the name of Drain Upgradation in Hanzal village but no measure has been taken by the department in order to get the work done.
They appealed to Lieutenant Governor J&K Manoj Sinha, Div-Com Jammu, and other high-rank officials to redress their problems so that they can take a sigh of relief.
(The Journalist couldn’t reach Marwah due to some issues. He has met with residents of Marwah in main Kishtwar and has noted down their miseries).