Samba, June 19: Apni Party Provincial President, Jammu and former minister, S Manjit Singh on Wednesday expressed concern over the pathetic condition of road infrastructure in Parmandal Block of Samba district.
He sought the intervention of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to take up the developmental initiatives required to upgrade the infrastructure to improve the living standard of the people in the Kandi belt.
According to a party statement, Singh conducted an extensive tour with the J&K’s ST Wing President of the Apni Party, Choudhary Saleem Alam at various villages in Parmandal Block. During the tour of various villages, the leaders met the people of different segments of society and listened to their grievances.
“It came to the fore that the block faced deliberate negligence from the authorities, particularly the Schedule Caste (SC), and Schedule Tribe (ST) colonies,” Manjit Singh said in the statement.
He said the SC and ST colonies are among the worst affected areas, and the development is still a distant dream for the residents even as it is hardly a few kilometres from the Jammu Pathankot highway.
“It is shocking to see the level of underdevelopment in Parmandal Block. It appears that the authorities have done nothing for the people on the ground, but the claims through the press information are issued to mislead the public opinion,” he added.
The Apni Party leader said the people are angry with the authorities for not holding any public issues redressal camp and then acting upon the listed grievances.
“The situation has arisen because there is no elected government, and the bureaucratic system is not working in the public interest. It was not only the road and other basic amenities, but the water supply system has completely collapsed in Kandi belt, particularly Parmandal Block,” he said.
Manjit said that the people in Parmandal Block hire private drinking water tankers to supply them with water in the wake of the inability of the government departments to provide water as well as electricity in Kandi.
The people in Parmandal Block also suffer due to unscheduled power cuts amid the heatwave, he said.
Singh demanded that the LG should personally review the situation in the Kandi belt with the increasing heatwave in the region. “The region is facing an unprecedented heatwave with the temperature soaring above 44 degrees Celsius,” he added.
