MIR ARIF
Sopore, September 20( KSNN): Despite being the economic Centre of North Kashmir and one of the biggest towns of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Sopore town has been neglected by the government leaving the business community and the general populace of the district fuming over the abject lack of governance. The agitated locals are now threatening protests in case government does not improve the developmental scene in the town.
Bus stand Sopore is completely in shambles and small downpour makes it muddy. The Bus Stand which caters to thousands of commuters daily and has about fifty thousand footfalls in a day has developed potholes at every yard with the result commuters and pedestrians are put to discomfort.
Despite tall claims basic need of providing clean water to local residents and providing tap water connection to hotels and shops is yet to be addressed because till date apple town is devoid of all basic facilities.
The supplied drinking water is not fit for human consumption because according to locals many impurities like dead rats, dead fishes, dead frogs and many other dirty impurities have been found in tap water.
“The water is not filtered properly and no disinfectants are added to it. The water smells awfully bad. At times we have seen dead rats come out of taps,” said an agitated shopkeeper.
Many areas are without drinking water connections and many business units and shopkeepers in the main town have to share a common tap. Since 1990 these shopkeepers have been demanding water supply but have been denied the same by the authorities forcing many to consume polluted water from streams and brooks.
“The Hotel and shop owners from Iqbal market to Bus stand Sopore don’t even have one tap point and from 1991 these Dhaba waalas and hotel owners buy water from some local boys at the rate of seven rupees per bucket on daily basis and these boys collect water from various wells to sell it in the morning,” said Nisar Ah Resident of Shalpora Sopore who is also president of Hotel owners association Sopore.
“If these boys will not bring water in morning for us we will be unable to run our shops,” he added.
“Every official in Sopore is corrupt this is why we face hard ships,”said Ali Mohd Radoo President Traders Association Sopore.
Radoo also added that SDM Sopore promised to solve these problems but they proved to be mere announcements.
“SDM Mr Balki announced Rs 1 lakh for repairing of toilet points at bus stand but still these toilet points are defunct,” Radoo added.
The shopkeepers warned the civil authorities to solve their problems within stipulated time otherwise they will hit the roads in protests against government failure.
“We want our needs and problems to be addressed peacefully by government authorities and if is not done then we will start an agitation to press for our demands,” said a shopkeeper.
The shopkeepers threaten to block the highway in case their demands are not met.
“The MLA Sopore only works only for his political gains, “added an adamant Ali Mohamad Radoo.
Sopore, also known as Suyyapur in the past, is a prosperous town in the Baramulla district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Situated 35 Kilometres north-west of Srinagar Sopore is a trading centre and is surrounded by a large number of hamlets. It is also a large fruit trade centre.