Electricity never reached Kupwara’s Wandaji-500 souls still light their homes with pine wood

Kupwara, Apr 26: In an era of smartphones and satellite internet, over 500 residents of Wandaji — a remote hamlet hugging the Line of Control in Kupwara’s Budnamal area — have never once flipped a light switch. They still burn oily pine wood, known locally as Leish, to see after sunset.

When neighbouring villages in Budnamal were electrified under a centrally sponsored scheme years ago, Wandaji residents celebrated alongside them, certain their turn was next. It never came. More than a hundred households across wards 4, 5, and 6 were quietly dropped from the project, with no explanation offered to the people left behind.

“Budnamal area used to suffer a lot due to lack of electricity, but a few years ago our joy knew no bounds after our nearby villages got electricity for the first time,” said Ghulam Nabi Lone, a resident.

“We were told the whole Budnamal area would be covered under the scheme, but later, Wandaji hamlet was left out for reasons best known to the authorities.”

The cost of that neglect is being counted in hospital visits and damaged lungs. An octogenarian from the village said decades of breathing the heavy smoke produced by burning *Leish* had given him a serious chest condition. He now makes a fortnightly trip to the Associated District Hospital at GMC Handwara for treatment, each visit costing him upwards of Rs 3,000. “I want to ask the authorities why our village has been left un-electrified,” he said. He is not alone. Residents say the elderly and students suffer the most, with children forced to study in smoky, flickering light long after the rest of Kashmir has moved on.

Wandaji’s people have not sat quietly. They say they have moved from pillar to post seeking a resolution, approaching every level of the power department’s hierarchy. “From a low-rung official to the Chief Engineer, we have knocked on every door,” they said. “Every time, we were sent back with false promises.”

The matter has now reached the assembly floor.

Local MLA Javid Ahmad Mirchal recently raised the issue during the assembly session, following which he was assured the village would be electrified soon.

Speaking to Greater Kashmir, Mirchal said the crisis in Wandaji goes beyond electricity — residents are also grappling with an acute shortage of drinking water and proper road connectivity. He noted that material for the electrification work has already been delivered to the village, but stressed the work needs to be expedited so residents are not left waiting any longer.

Executive Engineer, KPDCL Kupwara, Mohammad Shafi, confirmed that electric poles and all required material have been dumped in Wandaji. “I have directed the concerned officials to complete the project at the earliest,” he told this correspondent.

For the people of Wandaji, the poles are standing, and the promises are fresh. They have seen both before. What they are still waiting for is the light.