Frislan Village in Pahalgam lacks Basic amenities

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag 09,March: Pahalgam, a well-known constituency famous for being a tourist place, but, even after that, there are some rural villages located at stone’s throw from this place which lack basic facilities like transport.

Frislan , the village is located about 8 km from Pahalgam, positioned in the midst of hillocks where more than 250 households reside for many generations.

The basic amenities like ration, electricity,  water facilities might be available here, but lack of transport affects the livelihood of its inhabitants. Pertinently, their only source of income is roped with tourism from generations here. Most of the inhabitants of this village are engaged in tourism-related occupations like Ponywala, tourist guide etc.

”Due to the non-availability of alternative jobs, some villagers are forced to move to the plains for several months to make earnings, said Gulzar Ahmad. We have to walk 8 km to reach Pahalgam to catch the bus. During emergencies, transporting a patient to the hospital in Frislan is a herculean task. Even for collecting our ration or daily grocery, we have to walk several miles, therefore the introduction of bus service will improve our chances of earning a livelihood, he said”.

Though villagers have been demanding bus service in this area for quite sometime, however, nothing has materialized till date. Gulzar said that if a bus facility is availed in the area the villagers will find avenues of working outside the district as well.

”According to villagers their school-going children have to walk 8 km from the Frislan village to Pahalgam to attend the school. Moreover, the village is situated near the Betaab Valley of Pahalgam, which falls in the middle of the forest area posing threat to their children from wild animals, he added.”.