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Wednesday,
August 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Red alert fails to quell fear
Land prices in Jammu, Srinagar soar |
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| Saxena pleads for communal harmony Srinagar, August 14 The Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Mr Girish Chander Saxena, has called upon the people of the state to “come out more openly to make their voice for peace heard” and “work for eliminating the scourge of militancy to take the state forward on path of peace, progress and prosperity. Shiv Sena men
burn Pak flag
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Red alert fails to quell fear Jammu, August 14 He said that under the red alert sounded, security forces have been carrying out regular checking of vehicles and frisking of people in various sensitive areas. As police barriers have been set up at various places in the state to monitor the movement of militants, several families have temporarily migrated from areas around Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar to escape any “harassment” from the security forces. These families have fled to safer areas as word has gone round that Fidayeen may carry out armed attack which could provoke the security forces to “rough up” civilians. However, senior police officers dismissed it as a gimmick from the separatists. They said all possible measures had been taken to check any militant strike. But people had reason to be scared when they saw two youths, equipped with assault rifles, and on a scooter, fixing a Pakistani flag at a traffic beat in Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Their scare was genuine because this was done despite heavy deployment of security forces. And in various areas Pakistan flags were spotted flutter on housetops in connection with Pakistan’s Independence Day today. Back in Jammu, activists of the Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal staged separate demonstrations where anti-Pakistan slogans were raised. The activists set ablaze effigies of Gen Pervez Musharraf. The authorities have diverted traffic to keep the mini stadium in Jammu and the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar safe from militants’ strikes who could have otherwise gone nearer the venue of the functions in a vehicle. In the border areas of the Jammu sector, people continued to be gripped by fear following repeated Pakistan firing on the border outposts on this side of the International Border. One civilian was wounded in the Kanachak area in the firing. Though the BSF retaliated, the roar of the Pakistan guns was heard in several border villages through the night. According to a senior police officer, additional forces have been deployed on this side of the IB to foil any mischief. The state government has made arrangements for celebrating the I-Day at all district and tehsil headquarters and ministers have been allotted the areas where they would hoist the Tricolour and take salute at a march past presented by the contingents of security forces, students and the NCC. In an atmosphere of scare and suspense, people await the developments during the next two days with bated breath. During the past three days one missed crowds at shopping centres. The rush of incoming and outgoing passengers on bus stands and railway stations has thinned. |
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Land prices in Jammu, Srinagar soar Jammu, August 14 The winter and the summer capitals of the state both have seen fast expansion. Take the case of the winter capital of Jammu. It has expanded in the south up to
R.S. Pora, in the west up to Muthi village, in the east up to Jajjar Kotli and in the north up to
Bantalab. The city of Srinagar has expanded up to Pampore in the east, Ganderbal in the north, Magam in the west and Budgam in the south. Leaving aside the plush colonies in Srinagar and Jammu cities where a kanal of land is priced at Rs 25 lakh -Rs 30 lakh, several areas in the outskirts of the two capitals, which are yet to be brought under the municipal limits, the per kanal land price ranges between Rs 10 lakh-Rs 15 lakh. Even official reports confirm that in areas which used to be waterlogged a decade ago, between Hyderpora to
Budgam, between Bemina and Magam and between Lasjan and Pampore, the per kanal price has shot up to anything between Rs 10 lakh-Rs 15 lakh. A similar rise has been witnessed from Soura to Ganderbal in north of Srinagar. In areas which are 10 to 20 km away from the Jammu city, land prices have shot up to Rs 5-Rs 14
lakh per
kanal. As a result of rise in militancy, over four lakh people in the Kashmir valley migrated to Jammu. Most of them purchased land in remote areas of the city, leading to a rise in prices. As the strife increased in Poonch, Rajouri and Doda district, large groups of people belonging to both communities migrated to Jammu and purchased land and houses. In case of Srinagar city, villagers rushed to the summer capital where they purchased land for houses. A large number of Kashmiri Muslims have taken a fancy for a second home in Jammu. This has led to a rapid growth in new colonies in areas which are between 5 km to 15 km from the winter capital. This has also allowed Sidhra township to grow rapidly. A TNS snap survey reveals while in Srinagar more than 20,000 new houses have come up during the past 10 years, more than 50,000 small and big buildings have been constructed within a radius of 15 km of Jammu during the same period. The survey reveals that despite a collapse in the valley’s economy, politicians, legislators, ministers, bureaucrats, businessmen, separatist leaders and militants have invested in 50-400 kanals of land in various areas of the two capitals. As the affluent section in Kashmir realised that their money in the banks was not safe owing to the threat of extortion from militants, they spent their money on purchasing land which they found yielded better dividends than bank interest. Prior to the rise of insurgency, the backbone of the economy in Kashmir rested on fruit production, tourism, handicraft and
charas, besides saffron cultivation. After the fall in tourist traffic (it has come down from over seven lakh a year to several thousand a year during the past 11 years) and fruit production, charas cultivation trade flourished on account of heavy purchases by security personnel. In addition, the flow of foreign money increased considerably and those connected directly or indirectly with militancy extracted a pound of flesh from both Indian and Pakistani agencies. In Jammu, the rapid increase in pilgrim traffic to Mata Vaishno Devi (the figures having touched 52 lakh a year against 18 lakh in early nineties), the flow of over Rs 15 crore a month from Kashmiri migrants to traders, transporters and house owners and allied trade activities has given an opportunity to the people to earn fortunes. According to leaders of the Jammu Commerce and Industries, a day’s bandh or curfew restrictions cause a loss to the tune of Rs 22 crore a day to transporters, traders, hoteliers and others. A majority of affluent Kashmiri families have built their second homes in Jammu and most villagers in the Kashmir valley have constructed second homes in Srinagar city and its neighbouring areas. During the first seven years of militancy, wedding ceremonies used to be a symbol of austerity. Instead of the famous
“wazwaan”, the guests were served with tea and biscuits or cake. However, during the past three years, more than two quintals of mutton is cooked, on an average, during the wedding ceremonies. A social scientist working in Jammu University said in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir a situation was fast emerging in which one would find only two classes, the rich and the poor. He said either the middle class had become poor or had joined the club of the rich. According to him, the rich continue to get richer and the poor more poor which could have a fallout on the security scenario in the state, when Pakistani agencies were trying to use the power of money to lure unemployed youth to militancy. He said a section among the poor Hindus living in border villages in Jammu Sector were being lured to act as gun smugglers in lieu of fat sums of money. |
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Saxena pleads for communal harmony Srinagar, August 14 In his Independence Day message the Governor asked the people to draw strength from their cherished traditions of communal harmony and composite culture and the tested value of democracy and secularism to take the state forward. He said that the people of the state are peace-loving and yearn for restoration of order and normalcy so that they can again get on with the task of economic development which will generate more employment opportunities for the youth. Without naming Hurriyat leaders, the Governor said that “it is also time for some leaders who claim to be the only true representatives of the people, to better understand the ground realities and follow a pro-people agenda rather than serve another country’s agenda for their own ends. Referring to the Centre’s
series of peace initiatives, the Governor said that although the summit meeting at Agra remained inconclusive, India’s efforts for peace will continue. All these initiatives were inspired by the commitment to peace and reconciliation and a sincere desire to move on without remaining a prisoner of the past. It will be a serious mistake on the part of our adversaries to interpret these initiatives otherwise. He said that “nobody should doubt India’s resolve, strength or stamina to continue resisting violence until it is decisively crushed”. Mr Saxena said that militants were committing most horrendous and barbaric crimes against humanity in the name of so-called “Jehad” and thus bringing a bad name to a great religion. It is preposterous that some in the neighbouring country who claim to be giving them only moral, diplomatic and political support, explain away these large-scale killings of innocent civilians as unavoidable in a, what they call, “freedom struggle”. |
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Shiv Sena men
burn Pak flag
Jammu, August 14 The Sena activists on motorbikes and cars went through the city raising slogans denouncing Pakistan’s support to cross-border terrorism, official sources said. A Pakistani flag and an effigy of General Musharraf was burnt by the activists at City Chowk here. The protesters tried to proceed towards Srinagar but were stopped by the police at Udhampur, the sources said.
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