Another Daharmuna resident Tawseef Ahmad stated that about 234 kanal (1 kanal = 20 marla) of land in the village was submerged for 12 years owing to the negligence of the wildlife department. He alleged that the wildlife department had shut a flood channel, which led to the submerging of the land area and with the help of door-to-door collection, they raised Rs 11 lakh and used the money to pump out the water and turn the area into usable land.

Ahmad also mentioned that in the first and second phase of B2V, a large number of people had participated, but in the third phase (October 2-12), only the sarpanch of the villages and other committee members put forward their grievances in front of gazetted officers.

Ahmad added that the residents’ demand for the upliftment and maintenance of the local playground, which was once the hotspot for stone-pelters and drug addicts, is also pending. 

“Saving the ground was our first priority in the B2V programme because our mental and physical peace depends on it. We filed a grievance through B2V twice, but no work has been carried out," he asserted.

Pervez Ahmad, a resident of Dundoosa village, mentioned that about 35 kanal of his land has been illegally demarcated by the wildlife department. He said he used to do farming on the land, but now his only source of livelihood has been snatched away.

He claimed that the wildlife department has sold out the agricultural lands to land mafia and commercial businesses.

Mohsin Maqbool, visiting officer, Daharmuna, told 101Reporters that when he spoke to the locals, he came to know of their dispute with the wildlife department regarding the wetlands, as the locals had original documents from the revenue department.

Haider Ahmad Dar, member of the Block Development Council (BDC), Budgam, told 101Reporters that a majority of the work is carried out only on paper and nothing much is happening on the ground.

He mentioned that they have requested many departments for help, but it has been denied saying there’s a lack of funds. Citing an example, Dar stated that in Dundoosa village, there are no fair price shops, but no official visited them. He added that the BDC wrote to the officials saying there are no hospitals or doctors in the area amid other things, but no work has been carried out to fix it.

Despite repeated attempts, Additional Commissioner (Revenue) of Budgam Rayees Ahmad Bhat and Budgam Divisional Commissioner Shahbaz Mirza weren’t available for comments.