Poor connectivity by road and communication has been a bane for any hilly state and Jammu and Kashmir is no exception. Development has not touched some of the far-off areas and road connectivity has remained a distant dream. To reach Sukhnai–the village which was razed in Saturday night fire — is situated ‘near’ to Kishtwar by 81.5 km and takes one-day’s journey to reach there. The nearest village, Inshan, is five to six hours’ walk from Sukhnai with winter nearing rehabilitation of the villagers would be the biggest hurdle for the administration. Though government has announced relief but the villagers wanted to be accommodated farther away, for fear of disease from the stench of burnt carcasses. It looks village like Sukhnai has been devoid of its share of development and progress the subsequent governments had been promising during election season. No doubt administration officials reached by air to the village but were only to provide blankets and some relief and to see the remnants of the damage caused by the fire. Had there been a motorable road at least fire-tenders could have rushed from Kishtwar and damage could have been checked. Even if relief material is provided the villagers do not have utensils to cook. Every day we see news reports of development being talked by ministers and MLAs promising people with heaven and what remains in reality is the tragedy of Sukhnai. Surprisingly the State and district administration does not have any contingency measures to tackle such tragedies. As the winters are fast approaching it would be difficult for the people to reconstruct their houses or stay in the tents. No doubt the government has decided to pay rent for their rented accommodation during the winter. How far these villagers, who have lost everything would be able to manage the much promised money from the Govt has to be seen.
