Sajid Raina
Bandipora, Dec 28 (KNO): The year 2020 was a productive year for north Kashmir’s Bandipora district as far as development is concerned as three major projects, which were under construction for the last more than a decade, were completed and inaugurated this year.
The year also witnessed a major political killing after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Waseem Bari was killed along with his father and younger brother outside their home in June.
Like every part of the world, Bandipora too was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with the majority of cases reported from Hajin, where almost an entire village tested positive as the pandemic broke out in Jammu and Kashmir.
Gund-Jahengeer, a village in Hajin town of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district came to be known as Wuhan of Kashmir after an elderly man died of COVID-19 in March this year, thereby becoming the super-spreader of the deadly virus.
As far as development is concerned, three major projects were completed and inaugurated in 2020 after being under construction for more than a decade which includes, district hospital Bandipora, Putushai grid station and maternity hospital at Pazalpora, which was later turned into a designated COVID hospital after a large number of COVID cases were detected in the distric.
Development
Much to the relief of residents, the new building for 100- bedded district hospital Bandipora was made functional by the administration this year after a gap of almost a decade.
The authorities shifted the hospital from an old cramped building to a new multi-story structure, providing relief to both patients and doctors. The old structure was not only insufficient to cater to the enormous rush of patients but hampering the healthcare services.
Aimed at tackling the issues of overcrowding and space constraints, a new building for the hospital was allotted and work was, subsequently, started in 2009. With an estimated cost of Rs 24.32 crores, the project was handed over to Jammu and Kashmir Housing Board but the construction company took almost a decade to complete the construction process because of alleged slow funding.
The 50 MegaWatts (MVA), 132/33 KiloWatts (KV) grid station in Putushai village of Bandipora which was aimed to provide a long-term solution to the power crisis of nearly 110 villages in Bandipora was also commissioned in Bandipora this year.
The work of this grid station was incomplete for the last ten years and this year it was also completed. The foundation of the grid station was laid in 2009 when the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved the project under PMRP but till date, the grid station was yet to be made functional.
The project was approved at a cost of Rs 18 crore with Rs 13 crore as building cost and Rs 5 crore as machinery/equipment cost.
The People of Bandipora saw the competition of another 50-bed Gynae and Maternity Hospital in Pazalpora this year, the work of which had not been completed for the last ten years.
The hospital was to be constructed under the Relief and Rehabilitation initiative of NHPC, executing agency for 330 Megawatt KishenGanga Power Project
“The construction of the hospital was carried out by the R&B department Bandipora at an estimated cost of Rs 18 crore.
Covid-19
Bandipora was once known to be the Wuhan of Kashmir, because it was one of the first and worst affected districts of Kashmir. In fact, Bandipora was also the first district to cross the 100 figure mark in the UT but soon after, it became a road map for other districts in the valley to control coronavirus cases.
The district reported 239 positive cases till 14 June. After Srinagar district, Hajin showed a sudden spike of Covid-19 cases after doctors revealed that a Tableegi Jamaat preacher from Sopore, who died on March 26 had attended a religious congregation in a local Masjid.
“Amid chaos the civil administration and civil society did a tremendous job to contain a further outbreak of the pandemic in the area and in June, the number of patients declined. We became a roadmap for other districts to tackle the virus, ” an official said.
Meanwhile, A 45-year-old National Health Mission (NHM) doctor from Sumbal also died due to Covid-19 in July this year. The deceased doctor was deputed on contact tracing of Covid-19 patients in Gurez.
Political killing
Apart from the developmental work, Bandipora also witnessed bloodshed this year.
On July 8, militants killed former district president of BJP Bandipore, Shiekh Waseem Bari along with his father and brother in the main town of Bandipora.
Police said that militants attacked Shiekh Waseem Bari at his shop at Muslimabad Bandipora during that evening. Soon after, the militants fired bullets, leading to the death of the BJP leader and his brother Syed Umer and a father Bashir Ahamad. The attack took place close to the police station where Bari had a house and a shop.
Notably, Bari, 28, was the known face of BJP in Bandipore district and had contested 2014 assembly election as an independent candidate. He was the senior-most BJP leader killed in Kashmir since the revocation of article 370 by the centre last August.
The J&K police had said they had arrested 10 of its personnel assigned to the security of Bari and his family, for failing to protect them. According to the Police, the security officers were not present with the BJP leader when the attack happened— (KNO)
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