Jagti's crumbling township reflects 36 yrs of exile for Kashmiri Pandits

His story is one among many in Jagti, a satellite township about 30 km from Jammu, where several elderly Kashmiri Pandits spent their final years battling dementia and Alzheimer's disease, caught between memories of the Valley and the reality of a prolonged displacement. Many died without ever returning to their homes.

For thousands of Kashmiri Pandits who migrated from the Valley during the militancy of 1989-90, Jagti was meant to provide a safer and more dignified life. Instead, residents and community leaders say the township has become a symbol of neglect, crumbling infrastructure and unfulfilled promises.

Lawyer Vishwa Ranjan Pandita said the township, built around 2010, now reflects a long struggle against official apathy. Panun Kashmir, a prominent organisation representing displaced Kashmiri Pandits, is preparing legal action over what it describes as the failure of successive governments to maintain the housing complex.

Panun Kashmir chairman Tito Ganju said the deteriorating condition of Jagti and other migrant camps had turned rehabilitation into "a serious public safety issue", warning that the risk of a preventable disaster increases with every monsoon.

He alleged that the abolition of the Engineering Wing of the Relief Department had weakened supervision of maintenance work. The organisation has demanded restoration of the engineering wing, urgent repairs and a structural safety audit of all residential blocks, failing which it plans to approach the High Court.

The township has 4,242 two-room flats spread across 24 blocks, housing around 5,600 families. Each family occupies a 495 sq ft unit comprising a bedroom, kitchen and lobby. Despite overcrowding, around 80 flats remain vacant and more than half of the 200 commercial shops are yet to be allotted.

Residents say the buildings have deteriorated rapidly. Exterior plaster has peeled off, walls are damaged by persistent seepage and leaking roofs worsen conditions during the monsoon.

"Our situation has only worsened because none of our complaints has been addressed over the past decade," said TK Kaul (72), a retired Accountant General's office employee from Srinagar's Rainawari. "The roofs leak, buildings need urgent repairs and our block has been without drinking water for four months."

For many families, administrative delays have compounded their hardships. Tej Krishan Kaul (52), originally from Bijbehara, said officials took away his documents three years ago, citing temporary registration.

"I live with my wife, three children and elderly mother. We have no source of income. I have approached every authority, but no one has helped," he said.

Many residents accuse political parties of treating the displaced community as a vote bank while ignoring their everyday concerns. "We are remembered only during elections," said Vinod Kumar, a shopkeeper in the township. "Problems like damaged buildings, water shortages and erratic electricity remain unresolved."

Sunil Pandita, who migrated from Handwara in 1990, said the community's exile has stretched far beyond what anyone imagined.

"Lord Ram's exile lasted 14 years. We have spent 36 years away from our homes, with no end in sight," he said.

Residents also complain that government relief has failed to keep pace with rising living costs. Each registered beneficiary receives nine kilograms of rice and Rs 3,200 per month, which they say is insufficient to meet basic expenses, healthcare and education.

A petition filed before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) through advocate Vishwa Ranjan Pandita highlights structural defects in the housing blocks, persistent water seepage, poor sanitation and the neglected Nagrota-Jagti road, which residents say has remained riddled with potholes for years.

The petition seeks urgent intervention, including structural repairs to the residential blocks and resurfacing of the road. Residents allege that while roads elsewhere in Jammu have been upgraded, their township continues to be overlooked. Attempts to contact government officials for a response were unsuccessful.