Zaffer Iqbal
Uri, August 21: (GNS) Residents of Hajipeer sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Uri town are unhappy with local authorities for not building the underground community bunkers at the right locations.
Sarpanch of Halqa Silikote village Abdul Khaliq Bhat told GNS that six community bunkers were allotted for the village Mothal a month ago.
“The R&B department immediately started construction work of five bunkers but the location of two bunkers is not right. They wouldn’t benefit the locals when the cross-border shelling takes place as people would have to walk several meters to find a shelter,” he said.
He added that contractors were constructing the bunkers near the roadside for their personnel interest but not in the villages.
A resident of Silikote village said the R&B department had allotted four community bunkers in the village. “They are being constructed close to each other and it will not serve any benefit to the locals. If one bunker got affected in shelling naturally it will hit others as well,” he said.
However, the villagers of Sourha and Hathlanga living on LOC said that authorities were yet to start the work on the bunker there.
“No contractor is ready to construct bunkers in these two villages. If no one is ready to construct bunkers in our villages then provide us the individual bunkers and we will construct them on our own,” they said.
“These two villages are the complete target of Indo-Pak shelling, though knowing this fact then why we have been ignored by the administration,” they added.
Bhat said they approached the R&B department many times in this regard. “But nobody paid any heed to our woes”.
He said he has also given a written complaint to SDM Uri about callous approach in construing bunkers by the R&B department.
The work on the underground bunkers at LOC villages in Uri started last month and over 44 bunkers have been approved so far for twin tehsils-Uri and Boniyar.
SDM Uri Reyaz Ahmad Malik told GNS they have stopped the construction work of over six bunkers in Hajipeer sector and were changing its locations.
“We are facing problem in construction as the area is hilly. We have now decided the areas with lesser population will be given the individuals bunkers while others will continue to take shelter in community bunkers, ” he said.
“We have also recommended government for individual bunkers for Sourha and Hathlanga villages,” he said adding “While no bidder came forward to take the contract of bunker construction in these villages”. (GNS)
