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Anti-encroachment drive only for poor?
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VIP visits pain in the neck for locals Owing to staff shortage, SSP Shokat Hussain Shah personally regulates traffic on a busy intersection in Srinagar. Photo: Amin War
Thumbs down to militancy
Traffic lights need of the hour: IG
Dalai Lama’s visit raises hopes of Gulabgarh
Srinagar Diary
Slowdown a boon for Kashmir
carpet industry
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Anti-encroachment drive only for poor?
Jammu, June 11 The anti- encroachment and demolition drives jointly carried out by the police and municipal authorities present a classic case of discrimination between the haves and havenots of the city. On account of encroachments, the urban poor, including "rehariwallahs" or slum dwellers or any other person belonging to lower income groups face the ire of municipal authorities almost every second month. They either lose shelter or the means for earning livelihood and are busy putting the pieces of their shattered life together one by one. The other side of the coin presents a different picture. Big and imposing business houses and hoteliers escape the police and administrative action. Apart from placing their merchandise on footpaths and roads, the roads facing shops, hotels, restaurants and other business establishments remain encroached by the vehicles haphazardly parked by the customers. While the anti-encroachment and demolition drives of the municipality don't go beyond rehriwallas and slums, encroachments in the areas like Raghunath Bazar, Residency Road, City Chowk, Patel Bazar, Upper Panjtirthi and Apsara Road in Gandhi Nagar do not catch the attention of the administration. Just under the nose of the Jammu Municipal Corporation and behind the General Bus Stand one can witness open defiance of norms, exposing the double standards of the administration in dealing with the menace of encroachments. Hotels like Vardaan, Vivek, Samrat and a showroom of Bata have collectively encroached upon a considerable part of the road by planting iron pollards, or deploying their staff at the place. The road that serves these hotels and business houses is the main link connecting the old city other than BC Road through Ambphalla Chowk. The encroached space that eats a considerable part of the road is being used by the hotels as a parking lot. The chaotic vehicular congestion and traffic mismanagement on the remaining narrow road are a common sight. Without any parking space of their own, the hotels have been operating along the road. How they manage to procure permission and then monopolise the public place for exclusive use is a cause for concern.
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VIP visits pain in the neck for locals
Srinagar, June 11
Every time, a VIP or VVIP comes to the valley, a visit to the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), situated on the famous Dal lake, is added to the itinerary, and people living around the lake have to face hardships due to the tight security measures. The recent two-day visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here brought with it many problems for hundreds of people living in and near the lake as for two days as the entire area was sealed and the movement of locals was restricted. “We were not allowed to move out for two days which made it difficult for us to arrange for items of daily use. We could not get fresh vegetables and other items,” said Tariq Ahmed, a resident of the Nehru Park locality. People here blame that whenever a VIP visits the area, they are treated like prisoners and their movement is stopped. “Whenever there is VIP movement in the area we are not allowed to move out as if we are prisoners. This was not for the first time, but it happens quite often,” said Mushtaq Ahmed, another resident. People associated with the tourism industry say they have to suffer huge losses due to the movement of high-profile leaders in the area. “Tourists are not allowed to move and many are stopped from coming here, so we lose business. At least security guards should show some courtesy towards the tourists as this badly affects our livelihood,” said a houseboat owner. “God forbids, if there is an emergency we would not be allowed to move out. Thankfully, no such situation has arisen so far, but a VIP visit means a lot of troubles for us,” said Abdul Hammed, a local resident. Meanwhile, the police says keeping in view the security of the visiting high-profile leader, they have to take certain “hard steps”. “The area is congested and we cannot take any chance with regard to security, especially when the person is the Prime Minister of the country. But we do take care that common people don’t have to face any hardships,” said a senior police officer.
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Thumbs down to militancy
Udhampur, June 11
Though officially, the purpose of the event is to explore virgin areas as potential tourist spots in the state, the underlying idea is to show to the world that the days of militancy are over here. The militants had earlier blown up Bafliaz bridge on the road. The project to revive it was resumed in 2005. Skeptics may have their reservations but the reality check of the ground situation by means of the coming motor rally event is a heartening development. In fact, it should be a snub to those wanting to see the state forever on the boil if the participation of rallyists from far-off places like as Mumbai, Delhi, Mysore and Gurgaon is any indication. Sure of security on the approximately 1100-km rally, the first to start and are the rallyists and the organisers. To remove any doubt, a recce was done on the road in three vehicles without any security about 10 days back. “I don’t think there is any security concern. But measures will be taken,” informed Vijay Parmar, president of the Himalayan Motorsport Club, the organisation roped in by the government to conduct the event. The focus is on participation for all 40 rallyists. They have already passed through the state up to China border and back via Zozi La, Gulmarg and Srinagar as part of the Raid De Himalayan rally. They feel the state government wants to show that the situation has stabilised. “So security aspect should be left to the government to ensure that nothing untoward happens. Otherwise the very purpose the rally is being organised for would be defeated,” observed Mohali-based Sunny Sidhu, one of the top rallyists participating in Xtreme 4 wheel category. Since the image of the state government is at stake, it is taking no chances. Sources said a high-level meeting would be held next week to deliberate over all the aspects of the event.
Though named as the Mughal Road rally, its course is spread over the whole circuit with the first leg from Srinagar via Kishtwar, Bhaderwah, Mansar and Jammu from where the ralliyists will take the old Mughal Road route ending at
Srinagar.
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Traffic lights need of the hour: IG
Srinagar, June 11 To check the growing traffic and regulate its movement at intersections, the traffic police feels handicapped in the absence of electronic traffic signals. “The installation of traffic lights on intersections ensures besides the volume and speed control the saving of manpower, which ultimately leads to efficient regulation and effective safety on road intersections”, observes MA Shah, Inspector General of Police, Traffic, J&K in the second and latest issue of Trafficinfo. The IG opines that the whole world has completely switched over to electronic traffic regulation. “Even small states like Himachal Pradesh and cities have opted for the electronic system for traffic regulation,” he comments. Though various reasons like wrong driving, over-speeding, road rage and fatigue lead to road accidents, poor traffic engineering, substandard roads and poor road geometry are also major contributing factors. A systematic study of a road accident on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway on April 15, 2006, in which four persons were killed has shown that it was caused due to “road anger or fatigue of the driver”. The ill-fated truck rolled down to a depth of about 1,000 ft. “Our observations reveal that neither brake/steering failure nor over-speeding seemed to be the cause of accident. There was no tyre mark on the rough edge or elsewhere on the road. The accident, therefore, seems to have been caused due to road anger or fatigue of the driver”, the IGP points out. Citing another example of a road accident in which 54 bus passengers died in Rajouri district of Jammu region, the IG says the deaths were caused due to fall of the bus from a height of about 200 ft. “The poor geometry of the road was found one of the main causes of the accident,” the IG states. Besides, an irrational growth between roads and vehicles and the irrational transport policy are among major contributing factors for the mess on the roads. The vehicular population, according to the Trafficinfo, has been rapidly increasing over the past few years. The vehicular population increased from 4,77,889 in 2004-05 to 6,68,445 in March 2009, showing an increase of about 29 per cent. Annually at least 8 lakh vehicles enter the state from outside, apart from which there is a large number of security forces vehicles plying on the roads due to the prevailing security situation. “The overcrowding of vehicles on certain sections of roads often become cause of accidents due to scarce space on the roads for free flow of traffic,” he says.
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Dalai Lama’s visit raises hopes of Gulabgarh
Udhampur, June 11 As is the custom that whichever monastery he visits has to in all respects commensurate with his spiritual status. Centrally located on a small tableland flanked by almost vertical snow-clad mountains on all sides, the beautifully done up in a traditional colour and design, Gompa is a visual treat. The gushing Chenab by its side and lofty Deodar trees add to the idyllic surroundings. Lama Chosphizotpa, president of the All-India Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association, informed that the monastery was set up about 25 years ago, although almost every village inhabited by tribal Buddhists in the area had a monastery. Some of them are said to be 1,000 years old. There are about 12 such villages in the higher reaches of the area between Himachal Pradesh and Zanskar valley. The total population of Buddhists is estimated around 6,000. As for the Gompa design and interior details, which may vary from region to region, all follow a basic geometrical design of a central prayer hall in which an idol of Buddha is placed. This Gompa is no different although its size is smaller. Traditionally, there are spaces inside for monks to engage in prayer or meditation besides attached living accommodation, but here it is only a prayer hall.
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Srinagar Diary A vigorous campaign has been going on for the preservation and conservation of environment. Much is being said about the environmental hazards and measures to maintain ecological balance, particularly in the picturesque Kashmir valley, rich in natural resources like water and forests. Educational institutions have been playing a key role in the campaign against environmental hazards, but the government's lackluster approach after initial involvement results in least progress on this count. Many educational institutions like the University of Kashmir here declared their premises as polythene-free premises with many other colleges and schools have also followed. These institutions ban the use of polythene within their premises, and the oldest, SP College, was declared as a "no-polythene zone" only this week (see picture). These measures alone would not help preserve environment and ecology, but a complete ban on the circulation of polythene in market would serve the purpose. SKUAST convocation
The fifth convocation of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) was a colourful event. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the chief guest on the occasion, appreciated the role of academic institutions in the state. Various prominent personalities, including union ministers from the state, Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad, senior politicians, Vice Chancellors of other universities in the state and academicians, were present. As there have been reports of differences between senior Congress leaders, JKPCC chief Saifuddin Soz and union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad were not seen exchanging greetings on the occasion. They instead preferred to sit away from each other, thus fuelling the rumours of a rift between top leaders of the party in the state. Deficient transport
facility
Despite the fact that a lot of money is being pumped for various developmental activities in the valley, there are still certain pockets where the benefit fails to trickle. Poor connectivity is the biggest challenge. Either road links are in worse or there is no transport facility. Residents have to walk long distances to reach destinations. Schoolchildren are the worst sufferers. Some even drop out on account of this. On the one hand, a number of vehicles is ever-increasing and on the other many areas are suffering for want of transportation. Education, economy and the health sector are affected the most due to lack of transport facilities. There are other areas where public transport is deficient and not up to the mark, resulting in overloading and frequent accidents. (Contributed by Ehsan Fazili, Tejinder Singh Sodhi and
Afsana Rashid)
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Slowdown a boon for Kashmir
carpet industry
Srinagar, June 11 Since slowdown, Kashmir carpet has recovered around 30-40 per cent and there has been substantial demand for these carpets over the last few months, says Ehsan Mirza, leading exporter of the Valley. “Even rates have gone up by around 20 per cent. This has directly benefited weavers and that has motivated them more towards weaving carpets,” observes Mirza. He said even carpet weavers are encouraged to add more units of carpet weaving and to create more livelihood opportunities for them. “Over few months, there has been marked improvement in quality of carpets. Wages have gone up, weavers have used quality stuff and customers are satisfied,” says Mirza, adding, “There was a big lull. Demand was there, but no supply. Wages had to be increased and normal business continued”. Mirza said things have started changing. “Smaller markets like Middle East, France, Belgium and Switzerland have started liking Kashmir carpets and they are reviewing it,” he said. The exporter suggested that to achieve desired results in carpet weaving, the government should offer schemes to weavers for the installation of weaving units at subsidised rates. “Weaving units should be eco and health friendly”. He further suggested that direct international flights from here would boost the handicraft sector. “Handicraft has great export potential. Infrastructure has to be developed by the government”. Mirza stated that other parts of the country manufacture woolen carpets. “We have got an upper hand in manufacturing silken carpets. They have started some work on silk carpets, but it can’t pose a threat to Kashmir handicraft. Even if it becomes so, we have to come out with better product. We can’t shy away from the competition”. |
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Srinagar, June 11
A vigorous campaign has been going on for the preservation and conservation of environment. Much is being said about the environmental hazards and measures to maintain ecological balance, particularly in the picturesque Kashmir valley, rich in natural resources like water and forests. Educational institutions have been playing a key role in the campaign against environmental
hazards, but the government's lackluster approach after initial involvement
results in least progress on this count. Many educational institutions like the
University of Kashmir here declared their premises as polythene-free premises
with many other colleges and schools have also followed. 
Local residents, a majority of whom are Hindus, apparently look up to Gompa, which in the eyes of the locals symbolises the beginning of development of this educationally and economically backward area, especially in the wake of the visit of the Dalai Lama.
