Where the road ends, struggle begins in Tral’s Aripal

Tral, Jan 11: Beneath the steep, forested Zaranwun hills, three hamlets in Tral’s Aripal area cling to the mountainside, connected only by narrow footpaths winding through rugged terrain.

Cut off from motorable roads, the villages of Peth Gam Gadipora, Gujar Basti and Naginard remain without basic amenities – road connectivity, drinking water and schools.

Nearly 200 households live in these villages, located about three Kilometres from the nearest road.

For residents, accessing healthcare, education or even water requires long daily walks. During medical emergencies, patients are carried downhill on charpoys.

“We have been completely neglected. There is no road connectivity,” said Muneer Ahmad, a resident of Peth Gam Gadipora. “When someone falls sick, the patient has to be carried on a cot to reach help.”

Ahmad said officials had conducted a survey under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) years ago, but construction work never followed.

“Recently, a woman, Hakima Jan, who had undergone surgery in Srinagar, was brought back to the village on a charpoy,” he said.

The absence of potable water has added to daily hardships.

Residents fetch water from distant sources, navigating steep slopes that become treacherous during winter and heavy rainfall.

“There is no drinking water facility here. In extreme weather, it becomes unbearable,” said Manzoor Bajad, another resident. “Sometimes we bring water in buckets on horseback.”

Despite the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission, or Har Ghar Jal, in 2019 to provide tap water to rural households, villagers said the scheme has not reached these remote settlements.

Women and children are particularly vulnerable due to poor connectivity.

“Without roads, pregnant women face serious complications because they cannot reach hospitals on time,” said Nida, a resident of Peth Gam Gadipora. “In some cases, lives have been lost due to lack of timely treatment.”

Education has also suffered.

The area has no primary school, forcing children to walk several miles to nearby villages.

Attendance drops sharply during rain and snowfall.

“Our children walk long distances to reach school. When it rains, they cannot go,” said Shabir Ahmad Reeshi of Gujar Basti “Everyone here is ready to give land for road construction under PMGSY.”

Reeshi said all three villages lie along the same route and could be connected to the main road through Wagad, which links to Aripal, about 11 Kilometres away.

Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Naginard, said the lack of infrastructure has isolated the most vulnerable.

“After rainfall, children miss school, and the elderly remain confined to their homes,” he said.

Officials acknowledged the gaps but said the villages are on the administration’s agenda.

“Over the past decade, almost every village in Tral has been connected under PMGSY,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner Tral, Sajad Yahya Naqash. “Roads are prioritised based on population. These villages remain unconnected, but they are on our priority list.”

Naqash added that potable water supply for the area is also “in the pipeline.”

Until then, life beneath the Zaranwun hills continues much as it has for years, defined by long walks, patients carried by hand and waiting for development that residents say has been promised but never delivered.