Inhabitants hopeful of tehsil status for Balakote
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Balakote (Poonch), February 14
Even as the Sudhir Singh Billowria Committee, constituted by the Azad-led coalition government, is receiving the representations from people of various parts of the state for recommending new administrative units like tehsils, the people of this Niabat that existed as tehsil before 1965 are fighting hard to get it back the status.

In fact, this border area existed as tehsil comprising the border villages of Mendhar before 1965. The tehsil included border villages of Mendhar including Jar Kandi, Darasher Khan, Fandiyat, Dehoribsi, Dehrati, Basnoti.

This erstwhile tehsil was divided as after the 1965 war most of the inhabitants of the border villages comprising it either migrated to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) or moved to safer places of the neighbouring Mendhar tehsil. Some of the villages are uninhabited at present.

But after Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad constituted Billowria committee to recommend the creation of new administrative units like sub-division, tehsil, blocks and niabats, inhabitants of this border area are now hoping that the erstwhile tehsil will get its status and have even given representations to the committee for recommending this niabat a tehsil.

“It was always a difficult for us to believe that this tehsil loses its status. But after 1965 war, thousands of villagers migrated from here-some to Mendhar while others to PoK. It was more of a shock for us that this tehsil was reduced to niabat,” said Master Muhammad Iqbal of Dehrati, here.

“However, after Azad sahib constituted Billowria committee we are hoping that this area receives its due status back,” said Iqbal, who was also part of the delegations of the inhabitants, who met the committee, further said till the tehsil status is restored to Balakote, Azad sahib has been generous enough to give full powers of the tehsildar to the niab tehsildar here.

“The people of this border area have suffered a lot during the last five decades. However, after Azad-led coalition government constituted Billowria committee, I am hopeful that our voices will be heard and the erstwhile Balakote tehsil will get its status back,” said MLC Lal Muhammad Sabir and local Congress leader.

A senior officer in the district administration said the Billowria committee will decide about the tehsil status to this area.