A Village in South Kashmir Left to Fend for Itself

Lack of transport, water and other basic facilities like electricity, and access to the road, have killed many people in Kanjnad, a village in South Kashmir’s Kokernag district.

Living in a mud-brick house on the banks of Mawar creek, a visibly shaken 51-year old Ghulam Ali Dar, recalls the horrific events of how his two sons and a daughter died.

In 2001, Ali’s seven-year old son, Parvaiz was playing in the courtyard when he caught fire due to mishandling a matchbox. Parvaiz screamed for help and Ali rushed to help his son. Soon all the villagers too came to his rescue.

“When we reached the spot, he was half burnt,” said a villager. They trekked two kilometres from the road less Kanjnad to reach another village from where they could access transport. Taking lift from a private car, Ali reached the hospital where his son was declared brought dead. His another daughter Mehboob and son Irshad had also died due to the lack of medical assistance in the area.

Abdul Aziz, Ali’s father had died on October 27, 2014. His burial is remembered by the entire village as it was the same year when the floods in September had washed away the only culvert which connected Kanjnad to the neighbouring village of Fataan and the rest of the world. There were no shops from where the villagers could get a shroud for Aziz. Finally, they waved to the villagers in Fataan and cried for help. After that, they wrote on paper that they need a shroud and tying it to a pebble, threw it to the other side. Their call was answered by the villagers, who sent the shroud in a bag tied on a rope.

Dar’s family members are not the only ones to die due to the lack of facilities. Amina Jan died at the age of 40, when she was in labour pain and couldn’t reach the hospital.

The two villages of Kanjnad and Fataan produce a rich quantity of corn and walnuts but that is dependent on the climatic conditions. Both villages are prone to frequent cloudbursts, which affect the economy of the villages. As a result most of the village adults are involved in different labour activities, despite having big orchard.

Education too affected by lack of transport

Abdul Wahid Mir, a 47 year-old villager from Kanjnad said that children in the village can’t continue their education after primary school. To go for further studies, children have to walk 5 kilometres every day. “We lack transport facilities. Not just that we don’t even have a road to walk, then how can we expect children to walk for such long distances,” says Wahid.

Both the villages lose contact with rest of the world whenever the Mawar swells and washes away the culvert, snowfall adding to the crisis.

Villagers have paid multiple visits to the government authorities and requested for the basic facilities but they have had to return with nothing, always.

“Elders of the village, joined by many other people who have lost near and dear ones, went to the DC office many times for resolution of our queries but they have always pushed us away with different excuses,” said Wahid.

Speaking with Newsclick about the conditions prevailing in the village, the concerned officials vaguely said that they already have other issues pending with them and the development of the village will be started soon.