|
|
|
|
Chrar-e-Sharif to be part of tourist circuit
Suffering nightmares to realise foreign dreams
Towards prosperity |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cross-border firing victims
pray for peace
srinagar DIARY
Omar flags off mega marathon
|
|
Chrar-e-Sharif to be part of tourist circuit
Srinagar, June 24 Announcing this at an open Awami Darbar at the historic pilgrim destination Chrar-e-Sharif recently, Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs Abdul Rahim Rather said the Union Tourism Ministry had been approached to provide liberal funding for the purpose. He said both the shrines of Pakherpora and Chrar-e-Sharif had been brought under the purview of the Yusmarg Development Authority, adding that upgradation and macadamisation of the Chrar-e-Sharif-Yusmarg-Pakherpora road was being completed at a cost of Rs 23 crore during the current year. This would facilitate trouble-free journey to the pilgrims and tourists visiting the shrines of Syed Ali Aali at Pakherpora, Noor-ud-Din Wali at Chrar-e-Sharif and the world famous Yusmarg tourist spot. He said upgradation and macadamisation of the Srinagar-Chrar-e-Sharif-Srinagar road, including the construction of Wathora Bridge, would be completed by November this year. Urging the need for further research to explore hitherto unknown facets of the life and poetry of revered saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Wali, the Minister said liberal funding would be provided for the purpose, adding that Kashmir University would establish Sheikh-ul-Alam International Research Centre for exhaustive research on the life and teachings of Hazrat Sheikh Noor-ud-Din. He said literary and religious works of Hazrat Sheikh would be translated into different languages to disseminate his message across the world in a right perspective. Rather, who represents the Chrar-e-Sharif constituency, also announced that the reconstruction of historic Khankah, Chrar-e-Sharif would be completed in a time-bound manner at a cost of Rs 26 crore and directed the agency concerned to expedite the ongoing work on this prestigious project. He said the upcoming structure would be a marvellous blend of traditional Islamic and modern architecture with a capacity for about 15,000 people to offer prayers at a time. It would have a separate prayer hall for women, Rather added. The original wooden structure, along with hundreds of residential and commercial establishments, was gutted in a devastating fire incident in the event of an encounter between hiding militants and security forces in May 1995. Responding to the demands projected by a cross section of people, Rather said power supply position in Chrar-e-Sharif town would be further improved so that pilgrims do not face any difficulty. He also announced to construct a mini-secretariat at a cost of Rs 15 crore in the town to provide facilities to the people under one roof. About 8 kanals of land had been identified for the purpose, Rather said. He said the Chrar-e-Sharif was being developed as a modern town where a modern sports stadium had already been constructed at a cost of Rs 1.20 crore. He also assured to construct a modern shopping complex in the town. The Minister said all available resources were being mobilised to provide requisite amenities to the people as per their urges and aspirations. District development commissioner, Budgam, Mohammad Rafi, secretary, Waqaf Board, GM Rather, chief engineer, ERA, and other senior officers were present on the occasion.
|
|
Suffering nightmares to realise foreign dreams
Poonch, June 24 Like thousands of youths of this area, Shabir, son of Shah Mohammad wants to go abroad to earn good money. Shabir says he can drive a tractor. He wants to be a driver in Saudi Arabia some day. A fifth standard school drop out, he could not continue studying due to the poor financial condition of his family. The burning desire to go abroad coupled with financial constraints has turned him into a “slave”. Without any remuneration for the last two years, he has been working arduously for a co-villager, who promised has him a visa to his dream destination. Though he secured visa from his employer recently, the toil was agonising. The cracks and bruises all over his hands and feet tell a sordid saga about Shabir. “My father is bedridden since he broke his back while doing labour some years ago. I am the eldest among my siblings so familial responsibilities naturally came on
my shoulders,” he maintains while speaking about hardships faced by him to realise his dreams, and tears started rolling down his face. In spite of a visa under his belt, Shabir is yet to get a passport. “My visa is going to expire in the next two months. I must get my passport otherwise the hard work of several years will go waste,” he says worriedly. These days, he has been running from pillar to post with a scrap which bears a file number of his passport application: Z1603112/10. He had applied for a passport in May last year, but every time he visits the passport office in Jammu or officials of CID or police in Poonch, his worries multiply. “Officials at the passport office do not speak to me properly. They just tell me to approach the CID office in Poonch. However, the local CID officials claim that they have already forwarded my file,” he rues. Like other youths in the border area, Shabir also does not find his future very promising for the want of opportunities. “There is no work in this border area. There is always a security threat. Agriculture is also not profitable,” he says and adds determinedly, “I want to get over the poverty which has been in our family for generations”. “In the past two years, I did every kind of work my employer asked me to do without money. I even cleared rocks to level the fields,” he says. Maintaining that two sons of his employer were in Saudi Arabia, Shabir expressed hope that they would certainly help him once he reaches there. The present status of his application on the official website of passport office says: “The application has been transferred to the policy section”. Regional passport officer Ashok Mangotra said only such cases were referred to the policy section wherein an applicant had furbished wrong information. In such cases, the applicants usually hide information about the earlier passport issued to them,” the officer said, adding that he would look into the matter. |
|
Towards prosperity In arid cold desert of Ladakh, the changing season signifies a completely different lifestyle for its people. Summers are short when few vegetables can be grown in the plain areas and when cattle herds can be taken up to the mountains to graze in the green, luxuriant pastures. All this would change after October when the temperatures start plummeting; when snow starts to cover the mountains and icy wind begin to blow. Around 90 per cent of Ladakhi people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. In the rest of the country, there are two seasons of cultivation, the rabi and kharif. In Ladakh, the farmers have to cultivate land in a very compressed time frame with a limited range of cultivable crops. People are dependent on what has grown before the snow begins to fall. Airlifting vegetables from outside is simply too expensive. I vividly remember when as a child, my grandparents would take me to the fields and dig the ground (sadong) deep, down to 5-6 ft. Curious, I would scamper around and ask why the soil was dug so deep. My grandmother then told me a fact, which is a truism for all time, for all people in Ladakh. “We have a long winter ahead, so we have to store vegetables like potato, carrot, radish and turnips for survival”. Left in this kind of storage, deep underground, there were problems of ventilation. The moisture in the ground, lack of air would make the vegetables rot gradually. The lack of fresh food would invariably affect the health of the people. Malnutrition, heart diseases, indigestion, acidity and body fatigue were common. I have been amazed and delighted both to find greenhouses coming up on Ladakh’s desolate and icy landscape over the last few years. The region is blessed with plentiful sunshine in the winter months. The state government has taken a cue from this and introduced an initiative to build these structures. Now, farmers have the option of growing vegetables throughout the year, something unbelievable in grandmother’s days! I was glad to be witnessing this change, in era, in practices, in the way of life that we Ladakhis have known over the generations. It is actually a concerted effort. Government departments like horticulture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), agriculture and Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) all are involved in this initiative. Non-governmental organisations like Ladakh Environmental and Health Organisation (LEHO) also have played an important role in creating awareness amongst the farming community about the new technologies and offering support to build these structures, including providing poly film on subsidised basis. The greenhouse effect if it can be called that in Ladakh has a salutary effect, not only on food production, sustainability and diversification of crops but also on the income of Ladakh’s vast majority. The results are stupendous. Farmers are growing vegetables which for Ladakh are exotic; capsicum, cucumber, brinjal, cauliflower, onion, carrot, spinach, tomato, chilli, broccoli etc. They are also growing seeds, gradually getting into multiple cropping. Unheard of plant varieties like rose garlic, sweet potato, asparagus are now growing beautifully in the winter season and being ready for planting of their cutting again in the early spring out in the open. This is really Ladakh’s version of rabi and kharif. For my grandmother’s generation, it is nothing short of a miracle, biting frost outside and all these wonderful vegetables happily growing, cocooned in their hothouses, receiving the goodness of sunshine within and protected from the cold. This is not a miracle, but a technological marvel, a sign of the changing times. To use the scientific and technological advances for the good of the people, particularly in harsh terrains like Ladakh is what I believe to be wisdom, equal to but different from those passed down over the generations.
|
|
Cross-border firing victims
pray for peace
Gurez (Line of Control), June 24 Most of the houses here are made of wood so as to keep the occupants warm during the harsh winter months when the entire area is covered under a thick blanket of snow. However, almost every household has been provided with a concrete bunker to take shelter whenever there is shelling from across the border. “If they (Pakistani army) throw a stone, it will reach us and during the days of cross-border shelling, we were always at the receiving end. Already a large number of people have lost their lives because of shelling from across the border,” says Naseema, a resident of Tulial village. Ever since the two countries agreed on a ceasefire in 2003, the residents of this village have been living in peace. “Though things have changed for good ever since the two countries declared ceasefire, we have kept our bunkers intact as you never know when you might need them again. We hope that hostilities between the two countries end forever,” says Nisar Ahmed, a government employee. Remembering those days when there was shelling from across the border, the people here say that on one hand, they had to face the wrath of the nature as the entire area got buried under 8 to 10 ft of snow during winters and on the other, they had to brave firing from across the border. The Gurez sector is a bowl shaped valley surrounded mostly by high altitude mountains from where the LoC pass. Both the countries have a huge presence of security forces on these mountains. “At certain posts, there is an eyeball to eyeball contact between the soldiers of the two nations. They can easily watch our activities and we can also monitor theirs. Though we are always ready to reply any misadventure from the other side, there is by and large clam here ever since the ceasefire was declared,” said a senior Army officer. He said the focus of the security forces in the area was to thwart infiltration from across the border. “As they (Pakistani army) have no worry regarding infiltration they can relax, but on our side we have to remain vigilant all the time,” the officer said. |
|
Harassed scribe throws volley of questions at CM
An intrepid reporter rose up from his seat the moment after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah concluded his opening remarks at the first interaction with mediapersons this summer on the sprawling lawns of the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre recently. This was the Chief Minister’s first interaction after he addressed mediapersons at the Civil Secretariat on the opening day of the Durbar on May 9. Since then, the Chief Minister has been available for public on his weekly Awami Mulaqat at the Private Office every Wednesday. The reporter shot a few interrogative remarks….. “Is your Awami Mulaqat an eye wash… After a long wait of five hours, I had completed all formalities to reach you…but could not meet you with my submissions (earlier in the morning)…. I had come to give you something and get something from you…,” the reporter continued. Before replying to his list of queries, the Chief Minister retorted back “aap sawal pooch rahe hain ya taqreer kar rahe hain…” and he came out with his reply. “There is no move to stop anyone unnecessarily and in case somebody cannot reach within the stipulated time, he is enlisted for the next week”. He assured the reporter that he would meet him next week. The Chief Minister also made it clear that a large number of people had been coming with applications for jobs. “I cannot give them appointment letters. That is not possible for me…. But I am there for addressing other public and individual problems of the people,” Omar made it clear. Earlier in the day, 70 deputations and over 2,000 individuals (see photo) met the Chief Minister at the Awami Mulakat and presented him the memoranda of demands relating to the community development and of individual nature. Less of a river, more of a
dumping ground
While the state government spends a huge amount to beautify the banks of the Jhelum, but at many places, the efforts seem to be going waste as the banks
have been converted into a garbage dump. As if the people living near the river are contributing less filth and garbage to the river, various agencies, including the Srinagar
Municipal Corporation, are dumping huge amount of garbage into the river which gets accumulated on the banks. The ambitious project to beautify the banks of the river seems to be restricted only on paper. Had the present government been serious on its approach to beautify the banks of the river, it would have been another feather in the cap of Kashmir tourism. But with the present state of the banks, people don’t prefer coming closer to the river as it has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies which give rise to various diseases. (Contributed by
Ehsan Fazili and Tejinder Singh Sodhi)
|
|
Omar flags off mega marathon
Srinagar, June 24 The run culminated at the SKICC where Minister for Youth Services and Sports RS Chib presided over the function. Highlighting the significance of the event, Chib said the day was not only an opportunity for us to celebrate the Olympic concept, but also a festival to attract youth towards sports. He said the state had great sports potential and the need was to shape it properly. The Minister said the present government under the leadership of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was keen to provide sports opportunities to the talented youth and augmenting sports infrastructure in every nook and corner of the state were steps in that direction. He said three synthetic football stadia and one hockey Astro-turf would be developed in the state in phase-I, adding more such projects would be taken in hand for facilitating youth.
|
|
||
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Poonch, June 24
In arid cold desert of Ladakh, the changing season signifies a completely different lifestyle for its people. Summers are short when few vegetables can be grown in the plain areas and when cattle herds can be taken up to the mountains to graze in the green, luxuriant pastures. All this would change after October when the temperatures start plummeting; when snow starts to cover the mountains and icy wind begin to blow.
An intrepid reporter rose up from his seat the moment after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah concluded his opening remarks at the first interaction with mediapersons this summer on the sprawling lawns of the
Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre recently. This was the Chief Minister’s first interaction after he addressed mediapersons at the Civil Secretariat on the opening day of the Durbar on May 9. Since then, the Chief Minister has been available for public on his weekly Awami Mulaqat at the Private Office every Wednesday.
