J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

School in the shadow of guns
Suchetgarh Village (RS Pura, Jammu), February 24
What could be unusual about schoolchildren holding the Republic Day celebrations out in the open in their compound without security arrangements? Nothing unusual for most but for the 74 children of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan middle school situated close to the firing line on the Indo-Pak border it was a rare festivity because the children had got used to holding functions indoors and that too with the security given by the Army or the Border Security Force.

Two jawans among 20 hurt in blast
Srinagar, February 24
Twenty persons, including two Border Security Force personnel, were injured in a grenade blast at Sopore, about 55 km from here, in Baramula district today.

Lifestyle change led to shortage of goods
Jammu, February 24
When the Jammu-Srinagar highway got blocked by snow, avalanches and landslides on February 6 the reserves of green vegetables, milk, mutton, chicken, cooking gas, kerosene oil and other essential commodities in the Kashmir valley stood exhausted within three days.

Cops waded through snow to give help
Qazigund, February 24
What made the police first to reach the Kund area to rescue villagers hit by heavy snow, about 15 km away, was a telephone call from an unknown person to the police station here late on Saturday night. It was a call from a mobile phone from a remote corner in the foothills of the Kund area, covering over 13 villages, which has no police post, but an odd Army post of 49 RR at Kanchloo.

School in the shadow of guns
Sanjay Sharma
Tribune News Service

Bullet marks are visible on the walls of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan Middle School.

Suchetgarh Village
(RS Pura, Jammu), February 24
What could be unusual about schoolchildren holding the Republic Day celebrations out in the open in their compound without security arrangements? Nothing unusual for most but for the 74 children of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan middle school situated close to the firing line on the Indo-Pak border it was a rare festivity because the children had got used to holding functions indoors and that too with the security given by the Army or the Border Security Force.

Not just the Republic Day celebrations last month, a farewell party was also organised on February 17 out in the open. These celebrations speak of the bravery of these young hearts who wish to live a school life different from the one they had experienced in the past.

Young Nitin (10) has still not forgotten the celebrations of the Republic Day in his school two years ago. The memories are not happy ones because on this day the school was shelled. A piece pierced the school wall and while other children escaped unhurt, Nitin had received a grievous injury on his right arm. However, this did not deter him from leaving the school and he was back in the classroom when his wound healed.

And this year the village middle school, which has functioned somehow in the shadow of the guns, held its Republic Day celebrations out in the open without any protection. Earlier, all functions of this school were held indoors or under the protection of the Indian Army or the Border Security Force.

Headmaster Baldev Raj points to the bullet marks on the school walls and says: “The children and teachers have been functioning under very difficult conditions here as it is the first building in the village facing the Pakistani border post just a few metres away. Children have got used to living and learning with bullets flying around.” He adds that if the school bags were to be checked besides the pens, pencils and notebooks there would be souvenirs of bullet cartridges.

In fact, the constant firing on the border during the Kargil conflict brought down the number of students from 94 to 74 between 1999 and 2005. Yet the school in spite of the clouds of fear has maintained a result ranging between 60 and 75 per cent. In 2004 they broke all previous records with a 100 per cent result. “This year we hope that the children will show their resistance by securing all first divisions,” says the headmaster.

The children would be in danger if they went out to answer the call of nature or drink water from the hand-pump. Baldev Raj reveals the tactics they evolved over the years to survive, “They would sit and study under the roof protruding outside so that they would not be hit directly by the bullets. In fact we asked the Army to erect a five-foot tall mud wall by the school so that the children could use the area for drinking water or relieving themselves.”

Two jawans among 20 hurt in blast

Srinagar, February 24
Twenty persons, including two Border Security Force personnel, were injured in a grenade blast at Sopore, about 55 km from here, in Baramula district today.

Official sources said militants hurled a hand grenade towards the security forces in the Shah Faisal market at Sopore at around 1 p.m.

The grenade exploded on the roadside causing injuries to 20 persons, including two BSF personnel. The injured have been admitted to different hospitals.

A Pakistani militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment (HMPPR) was killed by the security forces in a night-long encounter at Rakiban, near Darhal in Rajouri district.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Rajouri) M.A. Mujataba said acting on a tip-off, the security forces cordoned a house at Rakiban where the militant was hiding.

When the militant was challenged, he opened fire, Mr Mujataba said and added the firing continued the whole night.

He said the ultra identified as Owais Karmi, alias Saifullah Pariswal, was killed this morning.

Two militants of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed by the security forces in a fierce encounter in north Kashmir last night, official sources said. Sources said that an encounter ensued after a security force search party was attacked by the militants at Naidhal Bandipora village.

They said the security forces also retaliated and in the firing two LeT militants, residents of Pakistan , were killed. Two AK rifles and arms and ammunition were seized from the slain militants. — UNI

Lifestyle change led to shortage of goods
M.L. Kak

Jammu, February 24
When the Jammu-Srinagar highway got blocked by snow, avalanches and landslides on February 6 the reserves of green vegetables, milk, mutton, chicken, cooking gas, kerosene oil and other essential commodities in the Kashmir valley stood exhausted within three days.

The situation should not have been as grim as it has been during the past three weeks even when the highway used to remain closed for two to three months. The problem, according to experts and elders, was the result of drastic change in their lifestyle.

About 40 years ago people used to store green vegetables, including turnip, carrots, radish and knol-khol besides haak saag, in three feet deep pits called “khaev”. These pits were dug within the lawns of the houses located not only in the villages, or towns but also in the city of Srinagar.

Whenever the valley was covered under snow, people used to open the mouth of the ‘khaevs’ and take out a portion of the stored vegetables for their daily use. Hence not many people faced the shortage of green vegetables. Besides this, people used to dry finely chopped pumpkins, tomatoes and brinjals considered to be winter delicacy.

Since lakes and rivers would freeze for a longer duration preventing fishermen from catching fish, people would make up for it by drying fish in the late autumn. And many would relish eating cooked dried fish called “Hogaarh.” People not only of the rural areas but also of towns used to have poultry farms and rear sheep and cows. This would help them in relishing mutton and milk during the snow.

Right from November people used to store charcoal for the ‘kangris’ (an earthen pot in which charcoals are burnt to keep the body warm) and fuel for the earthen hearths. Hence no shortage of such life saving items was felt during the winter.

The scene has totally changed. Nowadays fresh green vegetables from Jammu and Punjab are transported to Kashmir in bulk during the winter. The construction of a two-tube Jawahar Tunnel at Banihal and the maintenance of the 300-km-long highway having been given to the Beacons the road remains open during the winter thus allowing the trucks to carry vegetables, mutton, chickens, milk, LPGs and kerosene to the valley.

Hence there was no need for digging “khaevs” and for storing vegetables, pulses, charcoal and fuel. Since people have started banking on cooking gas, kerosene and electricity. In many houses “Hamaas” have replaced room heaters. Thus when the electricity supply got snapped owing to damage to transmission lines and roads got blocked problem assumed the shape of a misfortune.

The people used to store pulses, beans Rajmah for the winter. Since these items continued to flow from the plains during the winter there was no need for storing such items.

Over the years a large number of people residing urban areas have started using diesel and petrol generators for lighting and heating their houses. But when the valley witnessed acute shortage of diesel and petrol the generators became useless.

This further aggravated peoples’ woes. Vegetable gardens in Srinagar have shrunk after many areas under its cultivation witnessed rapid growth of housing colonies.

A stage has come when steps are needed for changing Kashmir from a consumer region to a producing belt.

Cops waded through snow to give help
Tribune News Service

Qazigund, February 24
What made the police first to reach the Kund area to rescue villagers hit by heavy snow, about 15 km away, was a telephone call from an unknown person to the police station here late on Saturday night. It was a call from a mobile phone from a remote corner in the foothills of the Kund area, covering over 13 villages, which has no police post, but an odd Army post of 49 RR at Kanchloo.

“The damage was not caused because of avalanches, but snowstorm”, said police officials. “It was caused by winds that lifted the snow mounds rolling down the slopes and burying people and houses,” said a doctor, who visited the area as part of a team of medical officers.

According to doctors at the sub-district and emergency hospital in Qazigund, 154 bodies had been recovered and 176 persons were rescued. Fifty six of them were treated at Qazigund and seven shifted to District Hospital Anantnag. The deaths had been caused by the collapse of houses, leading to compression injuries, said a doctor. At least 19 others had been rescued after three days, who survived on the oxygen content in snow and its porous nature, said Dr Akash at Qazigund hospital.

“I was the first to reach the spot after more than six hours of walking through deep snow”, said Nazir Ahmad, ASI of the police station, Qazigund, who had been accompanied by three other constables. “Our police station building was under deep snow and there had been no movement of any kind around, as the police party moved for more than six long hours to reach the spot. That followed other senior police officials, various government departments, para-military forces and the Army.

Back to his office complex, Nazir Ahmad cannot believe himself that he has “returned alive” from the snow-hit area. The return journey after a couple of days through over 7 to 10 ft snow was even worse as continued downpour made things worse.

Nazir had been moved by the scenes at the site of tragedy, where men, women and children cried for help, having been without food and shelter for over 48 hours. A 14-year-old boy, according to Nazir, was the only survivor of his family. “I have seen three children who lost all their family members”, said a doctor at the hospital. “Even now people are buried”, Nazir Ahmad said adding that all houses, some of them kothars, are buried under the snow down to Watlengoo village.

Meanwhile, Hoshiar Singh, a mini-bus driver, has so far spent 18 days of this month only stranded on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway since he left Jammu on February 5. All that has remained with him now is a meagre cash of Rs 20, with the mini-bus to give shelter to him and six of his Jammu-bound passengers.

All of them huddled inside the bus, eagerly wait for the re-opening of the road to start for Jammu. “I spent my cash on the diesel to reach Jammu,” said Hoshiar Singh, who stopped here on Thursday morning. He blames the traffic Police for the problems caused on the highway, as there was no clear message given to those moving on the highway.

There is no word or assistance from any government agency, he laments adding that despite improvement in weather, for over three days, nothing was being done to clear the road.