BILLAWAR, Sep 13: Senior Congress leader and former Minister Dr Manohar Lal Sharma conducted an extensive three-day tour of different areas of the Billawar Assembly constituency, visiting a number of villages and interacting with local residents, party workers and community representatives to take stock of the problems being faced by people in the hilly and far-flung areas.
During his tour, Dr Sharma visited Kishanpur, Dungara, Fly, Phinter, Surara-Malti, Mandli, Kumbla, Nalit-Dharmani, Drung-Pargan, Barota, Thrakalyal, Chown, Amuwala, Jasyal-Ramkote and Upper Rajwalta, besides interacting with villagers and Congress leaders and workers from various parts of the Ramkote and Billawar tehsils.
The former Minister listened to the grievances of people and took detailed feedback regarding the status of basic infrastructure and essential public services. The villagers apprised him of several longstanding issues which, they said, continue to affect their daily lives and hamper development in the constituency, particularly in remote and hilly areas.
A major concern highlighted during the tour was the poor condition of roads. Dr Sharma was informed that several important roads require urgent repairs and upgradation, including the Billawar-Katli road, Billawar-Sukrala Mata-Machhedi road, Kough-Lahri-Kadhitra road, Kough-Dogani via Dhanoparole road, Dharamani-Kumbla road, Sailna-Aglidhar road, Galak-Upper Rajwalta road and Amuwala road.The villagers pointed out that damaged and poorly maintained roads have made commuting difficult, particularly for students, patients, farmers and people living in remote habitations. They also expressed concern over the impact of poor road connectivity on transportation of agricultural produce and access to markets, educational institutions and healthcare facilities.
Dr Sharma stressed the need for timely repairs and proper maintenance of these roads, stating that reliable connectivity is essential for the socio-economic development of hilly and remote communities.Dr Sharma also took up the issue of failure and inadequacy of water supply systems in several habitations. Residents complained that many areas continue to face disruption in the supply of drinking water despite the availability of schemes and infrastructure.
Among the areas where water-related problems were brought to his notice were Sather-Roadla in Baggan, SC Mohalla Barota, Tharakalwal and Gharmalti. The residents sought immediate intervention to restore and strengthen water supply systems so that people are not forced to face recurring shortages.The former Minister emphasised that access to safe and reliable drinking water is a basic necessity and called for effective monitoring of water supply schemes and prompt resolution of technical and infrastructure-related problems.
The issue of frequent and unscheduled power cuts was another major grievance raised by residents during the tour. People complained of prolonged and unscheduled interruptions in electricity supply across different parts of the Billawar constituency.Besides power cuts, villagers also highlighted the problem of low voltage, which they said adversely affects households, students and small businesses and creates difficulties for the proper functioning of electrical appliances and other essential services.Dr Sharma stressed that reliable electricity supply is particularly important for people living in hilly and remote areas, where alternatives are limited. He called for strengthening the power distribution infrastructure and ensuring regular maintenance to address recurring power-related problems.
The former Minister also received complaints regarding the shortage of teachers in government schools, especially in hilly and far-flung areas of the constituency.Villagers said that inadequate teaching staff is affecting the quality of education available to children in remote communities. They urged the authorities to ensure adequate deployment of teachers in government schools so that students from rural and hilly areas are not compelled to travel long distances or suffer academically due to staff shortages.Dr Sharma emphasised the need to strengthen government educational institutions in remote areas and ensure that children living in difficult geographical conditions receive the same educational opportunities as those living in better-connected areas.
Healthcare was also discussed extensively during the interactions. Residents expressed concern over the condition of healthcare services at SDH Billawar and various PHCs, including Ramkote, alleging shortages of doctors and paramedical staff.According to the grievances conveyed to Dr Sharma, several government healthcare institutions and centres are functioning with inadequate manpower, affecting the availability of timely medical services, particularly for people from remote and hilly areas.The former Minister stressed that healthcare cannot be treated as a secondary priority, particularly in geographically difficult areas where patients often have to travel considerable distances to access specialised treatment.
He called for strengthening SDH Billawar, PHCs and other government health centres through adequate deployment of doctors, paramedics and other essential staff.During the three-day tour, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma maintained that development must reach every habitation and that residents of remote areas should not be deprived of basic facilities because of difficult terrain.He said the grievances raised by villagers reflected the need for greater attention towards road connectivity, drinking water, electricity, education and healthcare, which form the basic foundation of a dignified life and sustainable development.
He also interacted with Congress leaders and workers at various locations and sought their feedback regarding local issues and public concerns. He urged party workers to remain connected with people at the grassroots level and continue highlighting genuine public issues before the concerned authorities.Dr Sharma said that the concerns raised during his three-day tour would be taken up at the appropriate forums and stressed the need for time-bound action on issues affecting the common people.
Prominent among those present on different occasions during the tour included Dayal Singh, Charan Dass Sharma, Gian Chand Sharma, Dr Tara Chand Verma, Raj Kumar Kumbla, Badrinath, Mohan Lal, Naresh Kumar, Budhi Singh, Balbir Singh, Shore Lal, Hans Raj Raju, Rahul Sharma, Block President Nagrota, Krishna Singh, Karnail Singh, Babu Ram, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Narinder Gupta, Shore Lal Sharma, Mahboob Hussain and Surinder Tripathi, Block President Mandli, besides other Congress leaders, workers and local residents.The tour provided Dr Sharma with an opportunity to directly assess the problems confronting people in several villages of the Billawar and Ramkote areas, with residents seeking concrete intervention for improvement of basic infrastructure and essential public services.