India Today Media Institute students observe poor infrastructure in border villages
India Today Media Institute students observe poor infrastructure in border villages
Need to uplift the living condition of border area residents
Ferozepur, October 9,2015 (Harish Monga) : A team of Mass Communication students from India Today Media Institute was here for four days to shoot a documentary on Ferozepur, as a part of their project and feedback to the government highlighting the pluses and minuses of this border town.
Ferozepur is an Indian border town that is situated on the banks of river Sutlej. It is one of the closest towns on the Indian side of Line of Control. In the undivided India prior to independence, Firozepur was one of the largest districts of Punjab and a major trade hub. The city was very famous for grain cultivation, agriculture related services and light manufacturing.
A group of 6 mass communication students from India Today Media Institute, Nodia- Anubhav Mishra, Anuj Shukla, Naincy Priya, Neha Samant, Ruchika Sandolkar under the tutelage of Apoorva Billore visited Ferozepur and the nearby village of Tindiwala, Hussainiwala and Gatti Rajo Ke to take a peek in the lifestyle of post 1970 Ferozepur. Their visit showcased that although more than 4 decades have passed since 1970, the ghosts of Indo-Pak rivalry still haunts this area. Although there is better electrical power supply then most parts of country, connectivity is poor and health & education infrastructure is abysmal. Being the border area, the strictness form BSF also makes the farming difficult in the areas near border fence.
The team members observed that after 1947, the communal riots during partition, the war of India and Pakistan in 1965 and then again in 1971 tore down this city and its nearby villages. Particularly in the 1970 war, when the mortar shells fired from the Pakistan side of the border fell on the city, the damage was high. The city saw a significant level of migration after 1971 war and as a result the industrial as well as agricultural growth of the town hit a major roadblock. Also the worsening conditions of diplomatic relation between India and Pakistan led to the sealing of border. As a result, the trade routes from this city were totally cut off and trade-wise, Ferozepur was isolated.
During interaction with this correspondent, Apoorva Billore leader of the team, pointed out that the political parties and lawmakers play their favourite tune of blame-game when asked about the poor infrastructure in the area and lack of basic amenities. However, all of them acknowledge the need to uplift the living condition of border area dwellers. How will they do it? Well, it remains to be seen.