Why Bandipora Needs National Highway Status

While expressways transform the mainland, a strategic border district in Kashmir still waits for a road wide enough to carry hope.

- Nizam ud Din Bhat

When winter hits the Himalayan north, Bandipora disappears from the map.

Tucked between the vast Wullar Lake and steep mountains, this district in north Kashmir is home to nearly 400,000 people, more than the population of Maldives or Iceland.

And yet, just two narrow roads link us to the rest of the world. One through Sumbal, the other through Sopore. Most days, they’re more broken than usable.

When it rains or snows, or when no one takes care of them, the roads stop working, and so does life here.

Ambulances don’t make it, students miss exams, goods stop moving, and teachers cancel transfers.

In a matter of hours, Bandipora turns into an island, cut off and left out.

What happens here can impact the whole country.