CONTRARY TO the claims of authorities that model towns in the valley have been set up to ensure all basic facilities to the people but the model town Sopore popularly known as Chota London presents a grim picture. The so-called model town is devoid of basic facilities including water supply, proper sanitation and the disarrayed electricity system in the town is posing dangers to human lives.
The dismayed locals alleged that the authorities least bother to provide the facilities to the locals. “We are suffering immensely due to very poor drainage system and lack of water supply. We hardly see pure water and if at all we receive water it is once in a week. Also the water supplied is dirty and unhygienic, which can led to the outbreak of water borne diseases,” said Haneefa Begum, a house wife. The problems for the Sopore model town residents does not end here. The locals said that loosely tied electric lines on the electric poles pose dangers of electric shock especially when trucks or buses ply on local roads.
The locals said that the entire drainage system is stinking so much that they find it very difficult to move out in the streets. They alleged that the drains which have been cleaned months before remain blocked most of the times.
They feared that if the drains were not cleared these will stink even more in hot summers (in June and July) which may lead to the outbreak of diseases.
“The drains are stinking so much as these have not been cleared for past many months by the concerned department. We wonder how this is called the model town when it is devoid of basic facilities like water supply, proper electricity system and sanitation. Many a times we even approached DC Baramulla requesting him to intervene but nothing happened,” a group of residents said.
Even the model town has not been provided with dustbins and the ration depot here most of times witnesses shortage of food grains.
“Most of times there is no ration in the depot and the locals are forced to purchase the same in black. Time and again authorities have made promises to fulfill our demands but have done nothing in this regard,” said a local resident of Qadria Mohalla model town A.
The dismayed residents said that during last elections the politicians made tall promises of the development of the town but people have been even deprived of some basic facilities.
“What is the fun of having model town when it is deprived of basic facilities. It is really unfortunate that the concerned authorities least bother to address our problems. Are not our demands for basic facilities including water, electricity, roads and drainage genuine”, asked lecturer Ghulam Mohi-u-din.
When contacted Lateef Ahmad, the Municipal Officer Sopore said that the Model town ‘A’ is basically an unplanned colony and it will be covered under Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme of Small Towns (UIDSSMT). He said that Rs three crores would be spent on developmental works in the town and its drainage system would be set right.
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