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Sunday, Sep 09, 2007
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A nameless village in south Kashmir

Shujaat Bukhari

“We have been representing to governments for decades,” say residents

KAREWA MANLOO: It is unbelievable that an area spread over nine sq.km. in Shopian district of south Kashmir, with a population of nearly 10,000, does not have a name. Together with two other villages of Manloo and Zawoora, the place is called Karewa which means plateau.

Discrimination

Residents of this area feel that this state of affairs has led to discrimination. “No funds come to us. Whatever comes is used up by Manloo and Zawoora,” says Saleem Sardar Ali, a member of the Kandi Welfare Society, formed recently to fight the “injustice” meted out to the area.

He says that people have been representing to successive governments for decades and there has been no response. “We have hundreds of karewas in Kashmir, but no names to indicate a particular locality,’ adds Sardar Ali.

The Ghulam Nabi Azad government created history last year by restructuring administrative units and creating eight new districts and 12 tehsils. But this area was ignored while the geographical boundaries were being fixed. “This is sheer injustice,” said Manzoor Ahmad. “This I think will be the only place in the world without a name.”

While the absence of a name shows the government’s non-serious approach, it has also proved to be a stumbling block for the development of the area which is a big producer of apples. “We do not get our share of development, proportionate to what we contribute,” says well-known writer Zaffar Iqbal Manhas, who hails from the area.

Drinking water

The residents face a plethora of problems, the foremost being drinking water. The Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department has set up two reservoirs — one impound and another service — but people continue to get contaminated water. The impound reservoir was constructed way back in 1977 and refurbished in 1981 but does not have a proper cover. As a result, dogs, monkeys and other animals jump into it and sometimes die.

“Recently, a dead dog was recovered. We were not aware of this and had been drinking the water,” said Shabir Ahmad. “Is this Azad’s Khushahl (prosperous) Kashmir,” he asks.

A PHE employee said that a service reservoir of 36,000 gallon capacity was constructed in 1994 but never made functional.

The same is the case with irrigation supply. A middle school set up in the early 1980s has not been upgraded so far.

Shopian MLA Ghulam Hassan Khan admitted that people of the area were facing problems. “I am planning to visit the village along with the PHE Minister. To provide funds for a cover to the reservoir is top priority,” he said.

Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz is expected to visit the area soon.

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