Jammu, January 1
With the winter comes an extra burden on the power distribution system of the state as people resort to ‘kundi’ connections, increasing load on the electric infrastructure.

This extra burden results into damage to transmission wires and transformers.

As per official statistics, there is an average increase of 30 per cent in damage to the electricity infrastructure during the winter in the Jammu region.

“People resort to theft of power, using ‘kundi’ connections to gadgets for warming their houses, which damages the transmission system,” said Mohammed Qasim, chief engineer, electricity maintenance and rural electrification.

“Every year the average damage rate of transformers is about 30 per cent during the winter and the main culprit most of the time are the people resorting to ‘kundi’ connections during the night,” Qasim said.

There were some technical reasons too for the damage to transformers but the main culprit is power theft, Qasim added

He said the department had been conducting raids in the region to check power pilferage and fine those caught steeling power. However, it was difficult during the night to keep a check on pilferage.

To meet any eventuality in the case of damage to a transformer, a buffer stock had been kept. On the directions of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to provide uninterrupted supply to the people ” we have kept a buffer stock to replace the damaged transformers so that the genuine consumers don’t have to face any hardships, Qasim said.

Jammu and Kashmir is the only state facing the maximum power distribution losses. Official figures put the transmission and distribution losses in the state at more than 60 per cent as compared to the national average of less than 20 per cent.

The main reason for the losses is pilferage of electricity and the old and worn out distribution network not replaced for the past three decades.

The Centre has sanctioned a huge amount under the accelerated power development reforms programme to revive the power infrastructure in the state but little work has been done in this regard and the state, with a hydel potential of 20,000 MW, continues to suffer shortage of electricity as only 10 per cent of the potential has so far been tapped.

Jammu, January 1
With militancy on its last leg, it seems that the Kashmir Valley in particular and the state in general has a new problem to grapple with - illegal cultivation of drug-oriented crops, particularly opium plants.

Called “fukki” in common parlance in the Kashmir Valley and “bhukki” across the Jammu region, illegal cultivation of opium plants and subsequent smuggling of poppy husk has already become a nagging pain in the neck of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the state police.

Statistics speak for themselves. In December 2009, a total of 571 kg of poppy husk had been confiscated by the police in Kathua, Jammu, Kud, Pantha Chowk and Nowpora. Similarly, policemen from Jhajjar Kotli police station on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway seized 158 kg of contraband and arrested 11 persons, including six females, under the NDPS Act from September 2009 to December 2009.

Going by the figures, one can easily say that the illegal cultivation of opium and other drug-oriented crops in the Kashmir Valley has assumed an alarming proportion.

Official sources in the NCB attribute the malady to prolonged militancy vis-à-vis fractured economy and rising unemployment.

“When militancy erupted in the Valley two decades ago,foreign mercenaries used to pick up Kashmiri youths on gunpoint and forced them to undergo arms training in the PoK in the name of freedom struggle,” they said.

Already faced with militancy and unemployment, their penury-ridden families back in Kashmir were ruined economically and when some of the youths, who returned from the PoK and refrained to join the “freedom struggle”, had no option than to start the illegal cultivation of opium plants to sustain their livelihoods, added the sources.

Though the illegal practice helped such families earn easy and quick money and militants too had benefited from it, realising the socio-economic degeneration in the valley the NCB and the police initiated action for destroying such cultivations, they said.

But the NCB and the police still face a tough time in checking such cultivations.

“Most of the cultivation is done on forestland and hence we could not book those who are indulging into unethical and illegal practice,” said the sources.

Police sources at Jhajjar Kotli police station said in the past four months, they arrested as many as 11 persons, including six females, and confiscated 158 kg of poppy husk from their possession.

“We know that they bring the contraband from Kashmir and at times they might have succeeded in smuggling it to neighbouring states of Punjab and Himachal, but those caught are booked under the NDPS Act,” said a senior police officer.

Jhajjar Kotli police station actively started registering FIRs from August 29, 2009 and so far we have booked 11 persons under the Act, he added.

While Jammu and Kashmir had always remained a “preferred” transit route for trans-border narcotics smugglers, NCB’s surveillance via satellite in the past had revealed the illegal cultivation of cannabis and opium in at least four districts of Kashmir.

Sources in the NCB said 8,000 kanals in the Kashmir Valley still remained under the illegal cultivation of drug-oriented crops. Satellite imaging in Pulwama, Anantnag, Shopian and Budgam districts of Kashmir confirmed illegitimate cultivation of opium and cannabis for commercial purposes, they added. 

Jammu, January 1
With local artisans taking to other jobs, craftpersons from outside the state are having a good business in the Jammu region. These days, a large number of sifters (chaaj), carpets and broom makers are in the city for selling their products with complete monopoly.

At the ever-bustling Satwari Chowk one can find such craftwomen sitting along the roadside making sifters, brooms, carpets and other goods. The female folk remains occupied with manufacturing these products, whereas the male folk remains away in nearby villages to sell off these products.

Raisho, who is from Amritsar, says it’s their traditional occupation since the centuries and her family has been visiting Jammu for the past seven years. “Here, we have a good business as people wait for us for the purchase of sifters. We come here twice a year during the harvest season and then go back,” she said.

Buoyant over good sales, these artisans are now planning to go back to their home in Amritsar only to come back in March-April. “I had come with around 1,200 pieces and have sold off more than 1,000 sifters,” said Raisho.

“It costs us Rs 30 for each piece and we sell the same at Rs 70 per piece,” she said, adding besides her as many as 15 families have come to Jammu this season.

Just adjacent to her, Preeto from Ludhiana deals in manufacturing brooms and carpets with bamboo. To earn livelihood, she says her family is into broom making through the generations.

“Our family is here for the past two years. We get material, including bamboo, from peripheral villages,” she said, and added, “At times we procure branches of date palm from Rajasthan and make brooms out of them”.

“Most of the shopkeepers procure brooms from us, but we also do door-to-door selling of brooms and carpets as it fetches good profit,” she added.

Scores of potters from outside the state throng Jammu for selling earthen pitchers during the summer season. Similarly, they do brisk business of earthen lamps every Diwali.

Srinagar, January 1
“Baand pather (folk play) is in my blood and I have to carry forward the legacy,” says Ghulam Hassan Betab, a folk artiste. He, however, rues the lack of government support for the promotion of the 
art form.

He is also president of Bomai Baand Theatre (Sopore) and has been associated with the art for the past 15 years. Betab inherits the art from former president of the group and his father, Abdul Khaliq Bhat, alias Khaliq Bacha, and wishes it to be carried forward by his 11-year-old son, Mohammad Asif.

Asif performed the role of “Gosain” in the play, “Gosain Pather”, staged on the inaugural day of a week-long folk theatre festival held in November at Tagore Hall, here.

“I enjoyed the role. I have seen my father doing it and I was also very keen to do the same,” says Asif.

Betab wishes his (two) sons to join the profession after completing their studies. About his two daughters, he says, “We don’t allow our daughters to perform. We are, in fact, against women joining this art form. Though a folk group at Moharpora, in south Kashmir’s district Anantnag, has introduced women, but we oppose that”.

He says, “The concept of bachas (men who have appealing voice play the role of women) in folk form serves that purpose”.

“Baand pather is our identity. Though we do other jobs for sustenance, we are usually associated with it. There are 200 households and four baand groups in our community,” says Betab.

He says it is difficult to rely on the art for the purpose of sustenance. “Around 20 years ago, we used to perform in marriages, but that is over now. We hardly get a chance or two (in a year) to exhibit our talent”.

Betab adds that the group annually stages its performance at Tujar Shareef, Sultan-e-Arifeen and Syed Hatullah Qazi Kashmir. The baad theatre is 27 years old and has 15 members.

Betab emphasises on training youngsters to keep the art rich and alive. “There has to be a community hall in our respective areas for rehearsal, which is an important component for keeping the art alive.”

He has trained 25 artistes so far. Earlier, he was associated with the Wular Theatre Group, Sopore.

Betab was inspired by his father, who was illiterate but well-versed with Sufi music and baand pather.

His father died when he was studying in class VIII. “I had to discontinue my studies. Besides, there was no other source of income for family, so I joined this art. My interest also drove me in”.

“We don’t have any union, but I am trying for it. Once we get united, we can press for our demands,” says Betab, adding, “There should be our representative in the legislative Assembly, Doordarshan and Academy of Art, Culture and Languages so that we get a voice”.

He also demands that aid provided by the academy should be enhanced. “We don’t have sufficient funds to purchase costumes and other things. Doordarshan and Radio should also provide us a bigger platform”

The menace of encroachment on footpaths by vendors continues unchecked within the limits of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC). Pedestrians have no alternative than to walk on the roads with footpaths remaining occupied by the vendors. It results in slow movement of vehicles leading to traffic congestions all over, with all and sundry blaming one or the other department for mismanagement.

Srinagar, January 1
The government plans to set up a women’s college each in the district headquarters that do not have such colleges.

These colleges would be part of the expansion plan with the opening of about 20 new degree colleges though the process of consolidation and setting up of 36 degree colleges opened during the previous coalition government between 2002 and 2006 is still in progress.

At present the state has 72 government degree colleges (36 new and 36 old). These apart, the state has eight universities, including two central universities of Kashmir and Jammu sanctioned last year.

Minister for Higher Education A G Malik told The Tribune that the government could think of opening at least 15 to 20 new degree colleges or institutions of higher education. Malik, however, said that priority at present was to make fully functional all colleges opened during 
the regimes of former Chief Ministers Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Most of these 36 degree colleges were functioning either from the nearest or local higher secondary institutions or middle schools without adequate and requisite infrastructure, the minister said. At least 18 new colleges would be shifted to their respective new buildings by the next academic session, Malik hoped.

These included degree colleges at Bandipore, Dooru (Anantnag) and Budgam (recently shifted to the new building). Those under completion in Jammu division included Thana Mandi, Billawar and Basohli. “We will start a fast-track process so that all colleges are shifted to the new buildings within six to eight months,” the minister said.

The non-creation of posts of principals and teachers in the newly opened up colleges also came in the way of infrastructure development.

Most of these institutions were run by the contractual staff, making the government dependent upon them.

The government had sent requisition to fill the vacancies to the Public Service Commission (PSC), which was in the process of making selections. 

The electric crematorium at Jogi Gate in Jammu. Tribune photo

Jammu, January 1
The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has started various works costing Rs 12.49 lakh at Jogi Gate, one of the oldest and main cremation grounds of the city. Under this development project, the JMC would restart electric crematorium, install high mast lights and renovate the existing sheds at the cremation ground. Sewa Samiti, a voluntary organisation, is looking after the place.

The electric crematorium was installed here in 1986 at a cost of Rs 47 lakh. “When the electric crematorium was installed, the Sewa Samiti spent Rs 10 lakh and Rs 37 lakh was provided by the government,” said Krishan Lal Gupta, vice-president of the samiti.

Earlier, people refused to get bodies cremated at the electric crematorium after due to some technical fault, many bodies remained half cremated. The half burnt bodies were later on cremated on fire wood. The crematorium was thus lying useless for the past three years.

“Experts have been called from Delhi for the rectification of this crematorium,” said Gupta. The JMC has now decided to restart the crematorium, at least for the cremation of unclaimed bodies.

Mayor Kavinder Gupta said, “Due to a shortage of firewood, we would restart the electric crematorium which will incur an annual maintenance of Rs 4 lakh”.

“Only unclaimed bodies would be cremated there”, he added.

Besides, the JMC has also decided to develop other cremation grounds of the city and to construct bathing ghats called “tuti” for ladies, particularly at cremation ground in Shaktinagar and at Jogi Gate.

Jammu, January 1
“Mini Haryana”, a cluster of more than 40 slum-dwellers from Haryana, situated on the left side of the national highway at Vijaypur, presents a good example of how to step forward in search of better life while living in a pitiable condition.

These slum-dwellers from a village in Karnal (Haryana) are residing here for the past more than 20 years. Failing to find a source of livelihood there, they came to Jammu. Here, they earn their living by selling plastic products door to door.

Even as they are living in a miserable condition, the slum-dwellers have happily accepted it as their fortune. At the same time, they are striving hard to live a better life. The biggest family living in the cluster is having nine children and the smallest has five.

Besides lending a helping hand in family’s earning, children of these families are also getting education in government schools.

“Education is very important to progress in life,” said Sarita Kaur (10), who is studying in class VI in Government Primary School, Vijaypur.

Sikander Kaur (30), a resident, said, “I send all my children to the school. They get free books and one time meal from there”.

To protect themselves from the chilly weather, these days, their women are busy in covering the walls of their kutchha houses with wild grass, which they call “kash”.

“During winter season, “kash” helps keep our houses warm from inside,” said Sikander Kaur. They are used to collect the grass from a forest which is around 5 km from Vijaypur.

The women of the locality carry around 40 kg of “kash” on their heads and tie the same around the mud walls with rope.

Faced with acute financial crisis, the slum dwellers demand ration at subsidised rates through PDS. They also appeal to the government to provide them a colony.