J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Remote village still waits for relief
Dullanja (Uri sector along the LoC)
Had it not been for nature’s fury on October 8, Dullanja would have never emerged from the shadows of obscurity. Located on the banks of the Jhelum, 115 km from Srinagar and one and a half km from the Line of Control in Uri, this nondescript village finally has an identity, though for wrong reasons.

An elderly of Dullanja village uses the trolley/ ropeway to cross over to the other side of the Jhelum. Dullanja is connected to the world only through this rickety ropeway. — Photo by writer

Jawan, 2 militants killed in J&K
Srinagar, May 10
Militants shot dead an Army jawan and injured a government teacher in separate attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said today.

PDP wants militants to declare ceasefire
Srinagar, May 10
Hoping that the Hurriyat Conference will attend the second roundtable conference here later this month, the Peoples Democratic Party has urged all militant organisations operating in Jammu and Kashmir to declare a ceasefire.

Editorial: No pullout, please

Online registration of Amarnath pilgrims
Srinagar, May 10
To attract more people to the Amarnath yatra beginning next month, the Jammu & Kashmir Government has introduced online registration of pilgrims for the first time this year.

Army switches over to solar cooking
Jammu, May 10
The Army has switched over to solar cooking to prepare food for about 500 soldiers every day at the transit camp at Leh.

Remote village still waits for relief
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Dullanja (Uri sector along the LoC)
Had it not been for nature’s fury on October 8, Dullanja would have never emerged from the shadows of obscurity. Located on the banks of the Jhelum, 115 km from Srinagar and one and a half km from the Line of Control in Uri, this nondescript village finally has an identity, though for wrong reasons.

Following the quake, it reported the heaviest loss of human life in the region – 22 deaths to be precise. Also it recorded the highest number of widows and orphans, who are still struggling to reconcile with the painfully altered reality of their lives.

Months after the tremors were felt, relief is yet to reach Dullanja’s remote corners. The reason is evident – the village is a good two-and-a-half-hour trek downward from Sarai, the last motorable point in Uri. Connected to the Muzaffarabad Highway by a manually operated trolley/ropeway, it poses a potential challenge to anyone who wishes to access it.

The rickety trolley is hardly an invitation to strangers. On top of that it operates under severe restrictions (only between 10 am and 5 pm daily) due to the village’s strategic location on the LoC. At a time only two people can use it.

No wonder only two doctors and some pharmacists have managed to visit Dullanja after the quake. They went in April to conduct a medical camp under the aegis of HelpAge India, which has some rehabilitation plans for the devastated village that has 350 inhabitants.

Inside the village, a sense of despair and hopelessness is palpable. Widows are still awaiting ration and relief, while village elders are lamenting the loss of agriculture, the mainstay of Dullanja’s fragile economy. As this Correspondent tracks down Dullanja’s devastation, which is unparalleled in the region, Ghluam Haider, a village elderly, narrates his woes: “We have always suffered due to our remoteness. So many young women have died delivering babies. There is no medical help in the village. The nearest doctor is 40 km up the hill. Do you expect people to take the trolley every time they need medical assistance?’

Surveys by HelpAge India show that most women in Dullanja suffer from severe iron deficiency. During the medical camp, the villagers rushed to get them tested. As Nusrat Fatima, who lost two children and her husband to the earthquake says, “We are out of sight and out of mind. We were given some shelters after the quake but since October no one has visited us. Our land is rich and fertile but it can no longer be irrigated as most channels have been disrupted.” Even Jhelum waters cannot be used for irrigation, as the village is located at great height from the riverbed.

Reeling under poverty (all families here are below poverty line) and illiteracy (literacy rate is only 5 per cent) Dullanja presents a formidable challenge to agencies engaged in rehabilitation of quake-affected families. As of now, the village has nil employment, its children don’t attend school, its sources of irrigation have collapsed and its land has flattened.

Faced with a no win situation, the villagers naturally depend on collective effort to tide over their crisis. HelpAge India is now considering the option of self-sustaining lift irrigation system for Dullanja. Shabnam Ara, a HelpAge volunteer in Kashmir says the NGO has discussed the plan with the locals as well as the engineers in State Department. The project will cost Rs 14 to 15 lakh.” More important than the project however is a footbridge that will connect the village to basic sources of life and livelihood. Until then, all its inhabitants can do is assess their losses, curse their future, and perhaps wait for relief to pour in.

Jawan, 2 militants killed in J&K

Srinagar, May 10
Militants shot dead an Army jawan and injured a government teacher in separate attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said today.

Mukhtar Ahmad Baba, a jawan with the territorial Army, was shot after being dragged out of his house by militants at Checkpora village in the Kulgam area of Anantnag district, they said. Baba had come home on leave a few days back.

In another incident, militants intruded into a house in the Tarabal locality of Safakadal in downtown Srinagar last evening and fired several shots at a government teacher residing there.

The teacher, Munawar Ahmad Mirr, received a bullet injury in his mouth and was admitted to hospital, the sources said.

The sources said a woman was critically injured after she stepped over a landmine while moving near the LoC at Soura village in the Uri sector yesterday.

JAMMU: Army troops shot dead two terrorists trying to cross the Line of Control (LoC), 4 km south-west of Mendhar in Poonch district on Wednesday morning, defence sources said.

The Army sources said the incident took place in the Pagwari Gali area. The terrorists were cautioned immediately after they crossed into the Indian territory but they opened fire at the troops. In the ensuing encounter, both the terrorists were killed on the spot. — PTI, UNI

PDP wants militants to declare ceasefire
Tribune news service

Online registration of Amarnath pilgrims

Army switches over to solar cooking
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 10
The Army has switched over to solar cooking to prepare food for about 500 soldiers every day at the transit camp at Leh.

The solar cooking system at the highest place in the world has been installed to save fuel and protect the environment. The system works in sub-zero temperature even when there is snow. The system runs on solar radiation that is better in winters.

A spokesman of the Army said today that before installation of the solar cooking system the Army was using LPG and diesel for cooking food.