This Sri Lanka awaits bridge to Kathua for 6 decades
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service
Keerian (Kathua), May 10
Sri Lanka, a name given to a cluster of villages situated across the Ravi, awaits a bridge to connect to the mainland even after over six decades. Politically situated in Jammu and Kashmir, the villagers do not know where they actually exist. Most of their phone connections are of the Punjab telecom circle. Their children study in schools in Punjab and they too go to hospitals in Punjab.
Since Independence villagers were being promised that their villages would be connected with the district headquarters Kathua via a bridge over the Ravi. The bridge would have ended their misery, shortened journey to Kathua and brought development to the villages. But all they got were promises from politicians during every elections.
What to talk of fulfilling promises, no Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir had ever visited this “Sri Lanka”, villagers claimed. The five villages are covered under two panchayats - Keeriyan and Gangyal. The panchayat elections here are scheduled later this week.
The villagers have to travel 40-45 km for all revenue, police, judicial work at the district headquarters Kathua while the bridge will shorten the journey to just 5 to 7 km. With 15,000 population spread over five villages, people here do not have much hope from the panchayat elections.
Bishambhar, a septuagenarian farmer, said their destiny had been cruel to them. “We are Jammu and Kashmir residents. Most of us have got the state subject certificates. These villages were historically part of the Kashmir kingdom even though they were situated across the Ravi”.
“But we are Jammu and Kashmir residents for the revenue purposes only. The road connectivity, power supply and phone network, all are mostly of Punjab. Most of our children are married in Punjab villages,” he said.
Tony Sharma, a youth, who runs a dhaba near the prospective site for the bridge, said he hoped traffic would increase after the bridge comes up. “But the promises have proved to be hollow. Without the bridge we are cut off from the state’s mainland”.
“We have to travel 40-45 km via Pathankot and pay a hefty toll tax at the Lakhanpur barrier were tax is collected from people entering the state. Irony is that we live in the state, but we have to go outside to enter the state,” he said.
He added that, “The mobile phone connectivity of the Jammu and Kashmir circle is poor. We rely mainly on the Punjab telecom circle. Interestingly, many houses have landline connections of Punjab as well as Jammu and Kashmir”.
Rashid Ahmed, another farmer, said the campaigning for the panchayat elections was on but it won’t make any difference here. “When the Assembly and General elections have not changed our fate, what will the panchayat elections do,” he asks politicians.
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