Zero connectivity at the zero line

Villages along the LoC suffer from cross-border shelling but also poor infrastructure. Mobile phone towers do not exist in these remote areas, writes RAMEEZ RAJA

That entire night, ear-deafening sounds of firing and shelling across the border dominated the sky. All of Shayeen's family stayed together in one room, as they were not too sure if they will wake up alive the following morning. In that tense hour, they were equally worried about the livestock tied outside the house — with no shelter. Shayeen kept thinking about her father who was posted in Doda and unaware of the situation.

“I wish I could have called my father and listened to his voice, as we waited for our deaths”, said this 18-year old girl from Bharooti, a nondescript village tucked away in the border land of Poonch District in Jammu & Kashmir. Shayeen could not call her father, not because she didn’t have a mobile phone but because there were no mobile phone towers in the village. The ‘waiting for death’ moment is not new to those who hail from villages like Bharooti, located merely five to six kilometres from the Line of Control.

It started with the killing of two Indian soldiers at the LoC in January 2013, which was followed by the killing of five others in August last year. In the aftermath of such killings, a total of 150 incidents of ceasefire violations have transpired, the highest in the past eight years. For those residing away from the border, ceasefire violation is just news but for the ones living there, it is a nightmare.

To compound the problem, villagers have to face development challenges all alone. One of the major challenges faced by those inhabiting near zero line is connectivity. This is not talked about much but it is a challenge that affects their life quite severely.

Sixty-two year old Rasham Bi, a resident of village Ghani, shared her experience. She said: “Last month, I had to go to the sub-district hospital in Mendhar as I was feeling unwell. I was alone as my only son lives in Saudi Arabia working as a labourer there. Doctors, post checkup, suggested that I get admitted to hospital for a minimum of two days.” It left the old lady in distress as, although she had a mobile phone, she couldn't contact her daughter back home as there is no tower in her village. Later that night, her daughter had to come searching for her mother spending Rs 900 on a hired cab. Availability of a single mobile phone tower could have avoided the chaos.

Rabina Kousar of Ucchad village narrates the story of her mother-in-law who had to travel 21kms to reach an STD booth in Mendhar tehsil to talk to her son, currently residing in Saudi Arabia. “Network connectivity is a major issue in our village. Hapless, we have to travel long distances and spend huge amounts to make just one call. We feel cursed to spend our lives in isolation”, rues Kousar.

One would assume difficult geography and inaccessibility of these border villages is the reason behind the situation but, not very far from Poonch town lies another village, Salotri, which is confronted by a similar problem. Located on the zero line, this village, despite its sensitive location, is deprived of network facility. “Our mobile phones at times catch the network of Pakistani service providers but our own network facility is pathetic”, expressed Suresh Kumar, thesarpanch of the village. The people of Poonch have it particularly rough. On one hand, extreme weather conditions, be it rain or snowfall, disrupt normal life and on the other, the worrying ceasefire violations along the border does not allow them mental peace. Amid all this, mobile phones, they had thought, would be the means of staying connected with their loved ones but poor services rendered them hopeless. The handsets that they bought saving every single penny lie useless today.

In July last year, Mr Madan Lal Sharma, Member of Parliament from Poonch, called upon Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to improve its mobile connectivity service in the area, and reach out to uncovered areas as well. Mr Sharma stressed upon the need of installing towers in border villages so that people there can also avail the benefit of mobile and internet services. He also noted that private telecom players were offering better mobile connectivity despite BSNL having the largest infrastructure and Government support.

“People of Poonch have been living in such false hopes for a long time now. No one understands the pain we undergo in difficult times”, said Mr Nazam Din Mir, a social activist from the border village Keerni suggesting that there is an urgent need for roping in other service providers. Hopefully this message will reach the concerned authorities via this ‘network’.

स्वास्थ्य विभाग की बेतज्जोही से बीमार सरहद पुंछ से चरखा के ग्रामीण लेखक सैयद बशारत हुसैन शाह बुखारी

पुंछ से चरखा के ग्रामीण लेखक सैयद बशारत हुसैन शाह बुखारी

Crumbling state of health centre in Goran

Dr. Varun Suthra



Obscured by wild shrubbery, a land of two Kanals houses a dilapidated structure surrounded by a crumbling compound wall. This ramshackle building presents a daunting access: open gutters, thorny bushes that can tear a passer-by's clothes and an occasional encounter with a snake or scorpion in the compound.

This building is the Health sub-centre in the densely populated village of Goran, barely twenty two kilometres from Samba in Jammu and Kashmir.

Popularly known as "Bhoot Bangla" (Haunted house), this four-room sub-centre, though meant to offer health services, has become a threat to their hygiene and sanitation - foul smell constantly emanating from human and animal excreta scattered everywhere, wooden doors and racks eaten by termites and broken chairs.

According to the local residents, this sub-centre was shut eight years ago. Previously, the staff was operating from the same building but for reasons unknown to the villagers, the services stopped. For many years, a parallel sub-centre is being run on makeshift arrangements in rented accommodation on the first floor of a shop owned by a local, Rattan Chand, who said that the prime reason behind the closure was water - logging during rains that made it difficult to keep the centre functional.

As per the guidelines issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a Health sub-centre is the first point of contact between the primary health care system and the community. A sub-centre provides interface with the community at the grass-root level, providing all the primary health care services. It is the lowest rung of a referral pyramid of health facilities consisting of the sub-centres, Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres, Sub-Divisional/Sub-District Hospitals and District Hospitals.

Socially active Dr Bias Dev, Lecturer in Orthopaedics, Government Medical College, Jammu, who serves the rural population by offering free health services, believes that erecting structures in the name of health centres is sheer mockery of the intent behind these centres.

On the one hand people like Dr Dev are trying their best to serve their state and on the other, there is Union Minister of Health, Ghulam Nabi Azad, who despite hailing from the State, is evidently unaware of the ground reality. In June this year, he had sanctioned over 600 new Sub Centres to the State. Even in his recent announcements, Azad declared 22 Sub Centres only for the Banihal region.

The story does not end here, for State Minister of Health, Shabir Khan, has also made similar announcements. When the condition and efficiency of the existing centres cannot be maintained, what is the point of erecting structures only?

As per population norms, there shall be one Sub-Centre established for every 5000 population in plain areas and for every 3000 population in hilly/tribal/desert areas. As the population density in the country is not uniform, application of the same norm across the country is not advisable. So in Jammu and Kashmir, which has considerably tough geographic terrain and extreme weather conditions, a Sub- Centre is required for a smaller population.

Moreover, Goran is a popular spot known for its famous religious temple of Baba Goran where every week, thousands of devotees visit from far off places. This makes it even more essential to have an active Sub- Centre in the village that would cater not only to the villagers but also to the medical needs of the devotees.

Goran, unfortunately, is not a case in isolation. The adjoining villages of Samutha and Lodath are victims of similar neglect.

The Goran Sub- Centre clearly depicts a typical example of huge losses incurred by the government exchequer. It appears that the concerned authorities are more keen on issuing contracts for raising physical structures with a focus on spending the funds and not on making the services effective.

The new guidelines of monitoring and evaluation in the health care systems in India permits no space for such practice as it involves the complete hierarchy, including the Sarpanch, MLA, Block Level and District Level Medical Officer, Health Directors, Health Secretary, District Development Commissioner and Health Minister, among others.

Despite this extensive hierarchy of monitoring and evaluation of State-run programmes, such acutely visible lacunae continue to undermine the intent of the State to provide healthcare to all citizens and their families.

The ruined structure at the Sub- Centre, Goran, loudly conveys the plight of residents of the rural belt in Jammu region. The Government's claims about achieving excellence in providing health care facilities sound hollow due to the poor execution of the health schemes on the ground.

Residents of Jammu region are seeking an answer from those at the helm of affairs as to how they intend to provide proper delivery of health care system at its most basic unit