Jammu, August 18
In a state where the violation of human rights is a sensitive issue, a large number of mentally challenged persons roam around in torn clothes on the streets of Jammu.

The Tribune has got pictures of several such men and women, who after roaming around the whole day, spend night at a particular place. Psychiatrists claim there may be more than 1,000 such persons in the province.

A man in his late 50s and in dishevelled clothes is seen daily in Shastri Nagar. Another, carrying a blanket and sporting a beard, is seen mostly sitting outside a house behind the Dudha Dhari Temple. Three or four others, including a woman, can be seen in a pitiable condition near the posh Gole Market.

There is another such person in Old Bazaar and a woman at the railway station who talks incoherently but endlessly. Living in a miserable condition, feeding on leftovers in garbage and eating along with stray dogs, these persons are uncared for and unattended even though the Mental Health Act of the state provides for a mechanism for their care and treatment.

However, neither the Health Department nor the police or other agencies and city residents seem to bother. People pass by these individuals, look at them and move.Under the Act, the police has to register an FIR on finding such a person before he/she is admitted to hospital.

Without an FIR, hospitalisation is treated as illegal detention. The police is also supposed to provide a round-the-clock attendant. Dr Chander Mohan, head, Department of Psychiatry and Hospital, says it is the duty of the police, NGOs and citizens to bring these persons to the hospital after a police report.

“We neither have the authority nor any means to pick up such persons to bring them to the hospital”. Dr Mohan reveals his hospital has treated five such patients out of the seven brought here by some NGOs or individuals. “Once brought here, we take care of them. But we don’t have any staff or procedure to locate such persons on the streets”.

Satish Sharma, director, Social Welfare Department, says the department is largely dependent on citizens and NGOs for the purpose. “NGOs registered with us often bring such persons and we try to do our best with our limited resources,” he adds.

The police finds it cumbersome to put a 24-hour attendant with such a person, once he is hospitalised. SSP Manohar Singh says: “We had shifted a few mentally challenged persons to the hospital, but in the absence of attendants, the hospital staff found it difficult to keep them forever”.Manohar urges the public and NGOs to come forward in this endeavour. “We feel that people should also come forward and contribute their bit.”

Jammu, August 18
Given the situation that at least two swab samples of suspected swine flu patients are being rushed to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi, on a daily basis, it appears that the state is not yet prepared to tackle the spread of the disease.

In the absence of a test lab in the state, patients have to wait for five days to get the report of their blood and throat swab samples from the NICD. However, regional epidemiologist RS Charak said: “We start the treatment of suspected patients immediately and do not wait for the reports to come”.

He confirmed that it was taking five days or so in getting the reports, which was a long time, and revealed that a new test lab was coming up in Chandigarh and hopefully, the state government would tie up with it so that precious time was not wasted.

Since July 10, 39 samples have been sent to the NICD for ascertaining the disease. Of these, results of 20 have been received by Government Medical College, Jammu. Of these, five tested positive. Similarly, three positive cases have been reported from the Kashmir region. Earlier, it used to take nearly 72 hours to get the report of sample tests, but now it is taking five days on an average.

Concerns have further deepened as the district hospitals in the state are yet to be trained to collect samples of A (H1N1) influenza. While a few district hospitals have been equipped with testing kits, doctors are not trained to collect samples.

According to health officials, as of now the samples are being collected at three hospitals, Government Medical College and Hospital and district hospitals in Gandhi Nagar and Sarwal. Besides, screening centres have also been set up at Amarnath Yatri Niwas in Bhagwati Nagar that also has a 10-bedded isolation ward.

“The health department has issued an advisory to the hospital, but it seems more like paper work as nothing has been done so far. There is no information bureau at the district hospital,” said a social activist, Dev Bhau of Kathua.

Meanwhile, sources in the directorate of health services said the government was planning to submit a proposal to the Centre for financial assistance to set up a test lab in Srinagar. 

Srinagar, August 18
Dilapidated link roads with potholes causing damage to vehicles and horse carts, ponds of water after a light spell of rain, fumes of dust emanating in dry conditions and stinking garbage dumps reveal the pathetic condition of the fruit mandi in Srinagar.

Known as the second largest fruit mandi in northern India after Delhi, it was shifted on May 26, 1982, to this location then on the city outskirts. It is spread over an area of 324 kanals between Qamarwari and Parimpora. It has three blocks with 81 shops in each complex and an auction block. The mandi has a movement of over 500 trucks daily, including the arrival of fruit and vegetable stocks from outside the valley and Kashmir fruit from the valley, to the outside markets. “This has been a wholesale fruit and vegetable market, but the plight of the roads has been creating problems for every visitor and outsider,” said the members of the mandi.

The government would develop fruit mandies of Parimpora, Srinagar, and Narwal, Jammu as two hi-tech mandies under the Flagship Horticulture Technology Mission Programme. These steps would enable fruit growers and traders of the state to compete in the global market. This was stated by Horticulture Minister Sham Lal Sharma in the state Assembly recently. The minister said the control of fruit mandi, Parimpora, had been transferred to the Horticulture Planning and Marketing Department from the Srinagar Development Authority recently.

However, shopkeeper in the mandi said it had been taken over by the Horticulture Department from May 2007. During the past two years, about Rs 50 lakh had been paid to the department for necessary maintenance of the premises, but no attention was paid, laments Mohammad Yusuf Sofi, president of the New Kashmir Fruit Association. He said despite repeated pleas from the association comprising over 300 members, no attention was being paid to the maintenance. The association also made a payment of Rs 50,000 to the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) recently for clearing of garbage leftover from the fruit-laden trucks, but the garbage dump goes on piling up.

“We have been paying for maintenance since 1976, but there is no proper response,” said Ghulam Ahmad Imtiyaz, a former president of the association. It could be around 150 truckloads of garbage which is not being lifted, laments Habibullah Mir, a member of the association. “It continues to stink, giving rise to flies, mosquitoes and insects and there is always an apprehension of an epidemic,” Mir says while covering his mouth with a handkerchief like many others. Another problem is the incomplete work on drainage being developed by the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA), a centrally sponsored scheme.

There was an assurance of completing the drain within two months but the work is incomplete leading to the dilapidated condition of the link roads on one portion of the mandi even after a period of one-and-a-half years, said Sofi. “The surface of the roads and yards cannot withstand the pressure from heavy truckloads and these need to be developed with a strong and deep base. Due to the weak surface with a thin layer of tarmac the road gets easily damaged leading to potholes,” remarked Mir.

Poor labourers, shopkeepers and horse carters rue the plight of the condition of the link road from the main road which has been turned into a row of automobile workshop for repairing of trucks and load carriers. The pathetic condition tells upon their physical and economic health.

hak Chhaba (Hiranagar), August 18
A cluster of eight villages in the Hiranagar constituency and hardly 10 km from the Jammu-Pathankot national highway is literally a forbidden land.

Due to their location, coupled with official apathy, no bureaucrat or politician dares to visit the villages where about 1,500 families live at the mercy of the raingod.

The villages,Chak Chhaba, Tang Devpur, Khandwal, Ganji Gujri, Raipur, Dolian, Sutre Chak and Kot Pannu, fall in a triangular delta of two rivers which get swollen with every drop of rain to deprive the villagers even of their fertile land.

On two sides, the villagers face the fury of the Ujh river and the Bagh nullah, while on the third front, they confront the Pakistan border. The only link the villagers succeed in maintaining with the mainland is when the water level in both the rainfed rivers recedes. That is the time when they use the riverbeds to ply vehicles and take patients to the nearby dispensaries at Raj Bagh or Haria Chak. Even using the riverbed on a clear sunny day turns out to be a risky affair for them. The unexpected flash floods in the area have many a time washed away both vehicles and pedestrians.

The villagers complained that no Chief Minister or minister had ever visited them to share their grief and anguish. “The politicians are too smart to save their skin. They would never risk their lives by taking the riverbed route”, remarked Sher Ali, a local Gujjar leader.

Ali, however, said the villagers saw the politicians in their hamlets only during elections which ,coincidently, had never been held during the rainy season.“Soon after the elections, they forget us for the next six years”, he said.

The only government institution set up in the area during the past 62 years is a recently upgraded middle school which exists in a dilapidated condition at Chak Chhabba. There are 50 students, including girls, on its rolls. Some local teachers, who dare to cross the Ujh river by risking their lives, engage students in the morning assembly where they pray for their bright future.

School Headmaster Tirth Singh said not a single person was a matriculate here. “In the absence of a road link, parents do not allow their wards to cross the riverbed to get education beyond the eighth standard at Rajbagh, falling on the highway.

“We have no government employee here. We do not presently need jobs. All that we have been demanding over the years is a road link and dredging of rivers to tame them”, said Satpal Bhagat, a social worker.

Bhagat said when it rained continuously for days, the Ujh and Bagh rivers even changed their course to bring along with them snakes and other reptiles into human habitation. “Some villagers, who failed to negotiate river waters in time, died due to snake bites in the past”, recalled Bhagat.

Octogenarian Thoru Ram said every successive government deceived the poor villagers by giving them false assurances. “They have failed to even construct a simple bridge to connect us with the mainland”, he rued.

Local BJP MLA Durga Prasad admitted that the villagers were living in inhuman conditions. He, however, blamed his predecessors for their miserable condition.

Jammu, August 18
The Airport Advisory Committee (AAC) has submitted a proposal to the Central Government for funding the extension of the runway at Jammu airport from 6,700 to 9,000 sq ft. It has also sought community participation for improving the quality of services at the airport.

The government is already in talks with the AAC to upgrade the airport to an international airport.

A senior official of the AAC confirmed that the plan had been laid out for the expansion of the existing apron towards the parking way. This would increase the aircraft capacity from three aircraft to five wide-bodied aircraft.

A new parking lot will also be constructed. A land compensation proposal in this regard has been sent to the collector for early disposal.

However, the authorities have been facing numerous hurdles in taking possession of the land. The acquisition proceedings for the widening of the Peer Baba Satwari road are still pending. The possession of land is also awaited from the state aviation department.

Divisional commissioner Pawan Kotwal informed that for the expansion of the new terminal building complex of Jammu airport, 1,102 kanal was required. “The possession of land is still awaited from the Army. We have given them land near Sunjuwan, which is a forestland,” he said.

“The initial hurdle of taking consent of the forest department has been cleared, but the Army now wants it to be converted into revenue land. Again this process is going to take a lot of time,” he added.

Meanwhile, Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla is showing a keen interest in the expansion of the airport. He had recently called a meeting, which was attended by AAC officials, MP Madan Lal Sharma; station commander, 23 Wing Air Force, Jammu, Group Capt Ghar Singh; president, Airport Taxi Union, Jammu, Gurdeep Singh; and other senior officers.

He said, “I want Jammu airport to be designed and developed on modern lines. The centre and state governments are supporting the project. Therefore, there is no scarcity of funds, so we will be able to provide world-class facilities at the airport”.

Srinagar, August 18
Save our Souls (SOS),Srinagar, an NGO, is working for the welfare of special children and families headed by women.

In an interview,Naushad Raza, village director, SOS, said 79 children were putting up in eight family homes of the NGO in Srinagar. It started its operations in Srinagar on April 15, 2004, and had already set up 40 villages for special children across the country. In Jammu also, an SOS village had come up.

The homes had separate facilities for boys and girl,said the director.

The NGO started a relief programme in Uri after a devastating earthquake struck the area on October 8, 2005. Under it, assistance was provided to those women whose husbands were killed in the calamity which claimed more than 1300 lives.

“The programme started in February, 2006. Seventyone families comprising 235 children are being provided the assistance. Sixtyeight families are headed by women, two by grandparents and one by a child,” said the SOS village head.

Raza said the organisation provided financial assistance for education and other needs of the special children. He said the programme would close by December 2009 though officially it was being closed in August.

“We cover almost 30 villages. There are 28 young widows in the 18-19 age group. Their husbands who worked as casual labourers were killed in the earthquake. The women are from Asham, Nambla and other areas.”

About 200 kits were distributed among the quake-affected families by the NGO. “We started with the distribution of blankets followed by household kits.SOS provides a monetary help of Rs 400 for the first child and the amount is reduced for subsequent children.”

SOS villages came under the umbrella of SOS India, said Raza, adding, “It is an autonomous body working as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The organisation works either on donations or by sponsoring a child or helping them in the form of kind or cash.”

“We financially support village homes. Here, the inmates live as people in normal houses. The homes are headed by foster mothers who can live there till the age of 58,” says Raza.

SOS is coming up with a children’s village at Tulmulla in Ganderbal district, which would be spread over 100 kanals. Its final approval by the state government is pending for over one year.

The eight homes of SOS include Habba Khatoon, Lalladed, Pamposh, Chinar, Dedimore, Majimore, Gulposh and Yamberzal-all situated in and around the central office of SOS. Four-year-old Mysara from Pattan-Baramulla was the first child to be enrolled here on May 1, 2004.

Kishtwar, August 18
Girdhari Lal of Kabban had 10 kanals of agricultural land, but due to the non-availability of proper facilities, he used to utilise this land as a grazing field for his sheep and goats. Like other families of the Kabban area of the Paddar belt of the district, the only source of income of Girdhari was cattle rearing. Due to no other source of income, he was living from hand to mouth. But today his economic conditions have improved to a larger extent thanks to his decision of using his land for organic farming.

Five years ago, in 2004, when the Agriculture Department had decided to introduce organic farming in this belt, Girdhari was not sure of its benefits. In the first year, he spent Rs 500 only on non-seasonal peas farming. He was surprised by the return which was many times more than his investment.

From sheep rearing, he hardly earns double profit of his investment, but organic farming has increased his profit manifold. Encouraged by the success of Girdhari, a large number of sheep rearers of this belt turned towards organic farming and the department provided them all logistic support to enhance their economic conditions.

“Earlier, the farmers were hesitating to adopt the new system,” Ghulam Mustafa Malik, senior agricultural officer, Paddar, said.

“Initially, it was difficult to convince the farmers to turn towards organic farming as a majority of them were not sure of getting good profit,” he said, and informed that due to the success of the Paddar belt, farmers of other areas were also approaching the department to introduce the new system in their areas.

When organic farming was introduced in this belt, officers of the department themselves were not expecting such an encouraging outcome. In 2004, organic farming was introduced in the Kabban and Ungai areas of the Paddar belt where a majority of the inhabitants were sheep rearers. The yield was not on expected lines in the first year, but the officers of the department were not disheartened. It was only during the second year the results were encouraging and demands of their products increased manifold.

“Instead of selling peas in the local market, farmers of this belt have been straightway exporting their crop in Delhi where it has good demand,” Malik informed and disclosed that economic conditions of the farmers had improved a lot.

The sheep rearers turned up in large numbers to opt this traditional way of cultivation to improve their economic conditions. It is difficult to imagine that the Kabban and Ungai belts have been emerged as the prosperous areas of Paddar after the farmers here opted for organic farming. 120 farmers have opted the new system.

“The farmers who have opted organic cultivation are producing only two crops, peas and potatoes, in a year. Famous as ‘pahari aaloo’, the demand of potatoes of this belt is increasing in the Jammu region. The farmers even could not fulfill the demand of the Jammu market,” said another senior officer of the department.

“Presently, organic farming has been done in 108 hectares and in the days to come the same system would be introduced in the Gandhari area also. We have already completed survey in the Gandhari belt,” Malik informed.

Ill-managed and dirty cinema houses in the city are harrowing experience. With no seat numbers allocated on tickets, those who can push and jostle others get seats offering the best view.

Uncomfortable seats, poor light and sound, dirty toilets and insipid food leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Stench and dirt makes one curse himself on the decision to opt for watching a movie in the city cinema houses.