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Tawi dying a slow death
Jammu, November 18 More than 20 trucks and loaders collect the solid waste and sewage from the city and dump it in the riverbed. Two JCB machines have been hired by the JMC to dig ditches to dump the sewage. In the absence of any treatment plant in the Jammu region, all solid waste and sewage collected from different localities of the region is being dumped in the riverbed. “As we neither have any sewage or solid waste treatment plant in Jammu nor space for the disposal of the solid waste and sewage, we dump the entire waste inside the ditches in the riverbed,” an official of the JMC said. He said on an average between 80 and 100 metric tonnes of solid waste was being dumped daily. “We have deployed two JCB machines that continuously dig big ditches in the riverbed and more than 20 vehicles empty the garbage and later the ditches are covered,” the officer said. The problem arises when the water level in the river increases, due to which the entire garbage heap starts overflowing. “When it rains heavily and the water level in the river increases the garbage starts floating and piles up on the river banks, it not only emits a foul smell but also becomes a health hazard for the families settled near the river banks,” Promila, a resident of Bhagwati Nagar, said. This was not all as the solid waste and sewage from 23 waste discharge channels in Jammu is being poured in the river, which is the major source of potable water for the entire city. An official of the JMC said, “We are in the process of constructing a solid waste and sewage treatment plant in Jammu.Till then, we don’t have any space to dump the solid waste and sewage and are compelled to dump it in the river.”
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Breaking barriers of darkness
Jammu, November 18 There are 28 visually impaired students on the rolls. They have to overcome not only their blindness but all of them also want to achieve something in
their lives. One among them is Rahul Kumar Bhagat, a resident of R.S.Pura. He has been staying in the school for the last 10 years. He took up commerce in Class XI, but did not find the subject interesting. When his teachers did not allow him to change his subject, he took admission in the Institute of Music and Fine Arts, Talab
Tillo, Jammu. "After struggling in studies, I found solace in music and now, I am in the 4th semester of my graduation," said Rahul. He had participated in many talent shows at Abhinav Theatre apart from some TV shows. Living with a dream of doing Masters and doctorate in music and fine arts, he brought laurels to the school by securing a gold medal in the all-India music competition organised by the Mata Vashno Devi Shrine Board in collaboration with the J&K tourism in 2006. During the same year, he had also participated in Jammu Idol and secured
the first position in the grand finale. In 2008, he participated in “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa”, organised by the Take One TV channel, but was eliminated in the early stages. Fond of listening to the radio, he usually listens to songs of Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi and ghazals of Ghulam Ali and Begum Akhtar. Radio had been an instrument of inspiration for him to learn singing. "Rahul is a gem of our school. He is very talented. We have made him the
head boy," said superintendent of the school Sayeeda Parveen.
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Despite odds, Kargil girl sets example
Jammu, November 18 Disket Angmo, a student from Kargil tehsil belonging to Garkon village, is the only girl from her entire clan who is doing graduation. Describing herself as a true Aryan, she says she belongs to the Brokpa community, the progenies of Greek monarch Alexander the great. According to her, the society she belongs to is solely dependent on agrarian activities for livelihood. “People are still grappling with superstitions and orthodox practices and marry off girls at an early age instead of sending them to schools,” she says. A student of BA final year in Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar, Disket says, “I did matriculation from Silmo High School, which is around 30 km from my village. Thereupon, I got enrolled in Kargil Higher Secondary School, which again is nearly 70
km from my village”. She says she used to travel 140 km daily for completing higher secondary education. Presently doing her graduation, Disket says the overall scenario of her village has not changed much except that Silmo High School has been upgraded to the level of higher secondary and the government has created some facilities. “My father is a farmer while mother a housewife. In the absence of access to market, a larger part of the profits accrue to the middlemen. So there is economic backwardness and exploitation despite rich natural resources”. However, her uncle, who is an engineer in the R&B department, motivated her to get education. “Until recently, people of our community were pursuing endogamy, but now the trend is changing. It’s a positive development. I want my society to be progressive and open to positive things,” she says. But outside influences on her culture is also a cause of concern for her. “Generally, people in the rest of the areas consider us as Ladakhis. Despite that we have a separate language and culture,” she says, adding that their unique identity must be recognised. “There is no role model for the girls to follow or anyone who could suggest people to send their girls to school. Also very few people are in government jobs. So there is a dire need for changing the mindset of people and the promotion of education among the masses,” Disket says. “After completing my studies, I would like to join the teaching profession and work in my own area besides calling the attention of government and non-government agencies for the socio-economic uplifting of my community,” she adds.
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Monkeys make life miserable
Udhampur, November 18 Besides Mubarak Mandi, many areas in the district are facing the monkey menace. Many villagers have even been forced to migrate. Bordering the newly carved Reasi district, Charai village of Udhampur was known for growing quality vegetables, but after monkeys “established their supremacy”, cultivation became impossible there. Shardhanand, a farmer, said:" We have no other option but to migrate to safer places as monkeys have made cultivation impossible in the area". Pointing towards his fields, he added: "Hundreds of acres are lying uncultivated as monkeys have captured the fields making them barren." After displacing the inhabitants of Charai, the monkeys have now moved to Jib,Majalata,Bal Nagar, Kagga, Muttal, Sundarani, Manbayal and Paranoo villages where they have let loose a reign of terror.Mohan Lal, sarpanch of Jib village,says:" We are alert and brave enough to frustrate militants’ plans but helpless to tackle guerrilla tactics of primates." He added that Jib was the safest place at some time, but since the monkeys’ reign of terror, life had become difficult here. The Headmaster of Government High School, Jib, has put teachers on duty to protect children from monkeys.They even snatch away books from the students and tear them into pieces.It is not just the case of Jib. The situation is also alarming in High School, Muttal. About 70 per cent of the population in Charai village has already migrated to safer areas and those living in the village are adopting various means to protect themselves from the monkey terror. Most of the time people get themselves locked. Says the sarpanch:" The population of monkeys has increased manifold in the past two years and they have been taking control of one village after another.Keeping in view the religious sentiments of people, some scientific measures like sterilising the simians should be taken to keep a check on their population in certain areas."
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Acute respiratory infections in Gawran valley
Srinagar, November 18 The people living in the Gawran valley, 25 km from Kokernag in the south Kashmir suffer from chest-related diseases. In a medical-cum-de-addiction camp organised by city run de-addiction centre, the doctors were surprised when they found 90 per cent of populace suffering on account of asthma and other respiratory disorders. According to chairman of the centre Syed Shabir 210 people out of 230, who visited the camp a few days back, were found to have chest diseases. “Elderly population is mostly asthmatic. Puffing and chewing tobacco is a common practice here among both genders,"
he said. Out of 230 people examined by a team of doctors, 186 were found addicts. "Eighty one of these addicts were women. Almost every individual consumes tobacco in the area,"
said Shabir. “Both men and women consume outer covering of opium, which is readily available. After boiling it, we drink it every morning and evening. Once we drink it, we lose appetite and have sound sleep. It is locally cultivated together with maize," said a local youth. A poverty-ridden area, populace here mostly lives in dhokas (mud-houses). They cook inside the houses on hearth. Due to a small opening for ventilation, the smoke does not easily goes out. This also leads to chest problems, which on aggravation together with continuous intake of tobacco causes tuberculosis. A 52-year-old woman who visited a camp said she is habitual of chewing tobacco and round-shaped small tablet form of charas from so many years. In addition, men consume ganja, charas and wine. Small percentage of male population was found taking brown sugar though they said they had left that now.
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City of temples or janjghars ?
Jammu, November 18 During the past 20 years such halls have mushroomed in the city and the adjoining areas. This phenomenal growth was witnessed soon after Kahmiri Pandits migrated from the valley to Jammu. Prior to the construction of the wedding halls, people in Jammu used to set up tents and shamianas in the lanes or by the roadsides where they held the ceremonies. Not more than six temples had spacious halls, which were given on rent. Others would organise the functions in dharamshalas in the city. Only the affluent could afford to organise such ceremonies in hotels. That era is over. One finds scores of wedding halls, guesthouses and multipurpose resorts in and around Jammu. There are over 50 such palaces where weddings are held. Some of these janjghars have spaces for holding two to three
wedding ceremonies at a time. With the demand on the rise, the rates have also gone up. An ordinary janjghar that used to charge Rs 12,000 for a function now charges over Rs 35,000 while a well-furnished hall like the one in Trikuta Nagar which could be taken on rent for Rs 40,000, now charges Rs 90,000. On an average the rates range between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh. A number of marriage halls have separate enclosures where one can throw a birthday party or organise a kitty party. With the mushrooming of janjghars, the demand for caterers have also shot up. A number of hotels here have built additional spaces where wedding ceremonies can be held. They have done so after finding the business more lucrative than running a hotel or a restaurant. A number of owners agree that they could have earned a fortune had the marriages been organised throughout the year. According to them, people have to reserve a hall between eight months and one year in advance, but since “we cannot provide space to more than one family at a time, the charges go up during the marriage season”.
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Total literacy
Udhampur, November 18 However, a small village located in a remote area of Udhampur district has set an example by achieving total literacy with community participation.Despite being in the most neglectd terrain of Udhampur district, this Kandi village of Thial in Ramnagar sub-division of Majalata tehsil has become the only one in the district with 100 per cent literacy rate. The village achieved the target without any help from any government agency. Predominantly an upper caste village comprising all castes and sub-castes, 85 per cent of the population , including males and females, has government jobs. Further, the small hamlet has produced 24 doctors and engineers and some civil servants. An eminent doctor, Yashpal Sharma, also belongs here.The elders of the village have instituted special prizes for those who excel in the fields of education and sports to encourage the younger generation. “Instead of looking towards the government to educate our children, we ourselves initiated some concrete steps in this regard”, says Brita Ram, a resident who feels proud to be an inhabitant of Thail.He says for decades the residents have been encouraging the younger generation in the field of education. Some of the prominent personalities who have excelled in their respective fields have made a habit to visit the village to encourage the students who have done well in education and sports.
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Prisoners turn learners
Jammu, November 18 The credit for it goes to Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the state prison authorities, who mooted the novel idea of setting up study centres in at least three jails in Jammu. Away from their families, nearly 50 inmates pursue certificate, graduation and postgraduation courses in sociology, arts, disaster management, food and nutrition and tourism in District Jail, Ambphalla, Kot Bhalwal Jail, on the outskirts of the city, and District Jail, Udhampur.Nearly 12 inmates at the Ambphalla prison also want to pursue law studies. At least, eight female inmates at the Ambphalla jail, including convicts and undertrials, have been studying certificate courses in food and nutrition, the bachelors’ preparatory programme and tourism studies. A senior official told The Tribune that Kulwant, an undertrial facing murder charges at Ambphalla, had been enrolled as first-year student of M.A (sociology) while Rachna and Babli, an undertrial and a convict, respectively, had been pursuing certificate courses in food
and nutrition. Nahida, a student, who was caught near Akhnoor while allegedly smuggling arms and ammunition for militants a few years ago, successfully completed courses in embroidery, food and nutrition and tailoring and even continued her law studies from the prison study centre. Citing another instance, the official said a misguided youth, Bilal, from Anantnag who was detained under the PSA made the best use of his time here and successfully completed a bachelor's degree in computer applications. Subsequently, he pursued law studies at Kashmir University and was now leading a dignified life. The study centre was set up in the Ambphalla prison in 2000 and since then over 75 inmates have not only enriched their knowledge by completing different courses, but have also become better human beings. In 2006, the jail authorities also launched a total literacy programme with the dual objective of enlightening the inmates and making them a productive part of society. To instill a sense of belongingness, even jail staffers pursue studies and appear in exams along with the inmates. IGNOU regional director K.K Bhat said, “since we reach out to all segments of society, IGNOU approached the state authorities with the idea and then things materialised”.
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Letter
It has often came to light that various government and private agencies dig up roads in residential areas for laying pipelines or cables, but they are not quick enough to repair them once their job is done. The roads in the residential areas of the city are already in a bad shape and the digging work only adds to the residents’ woes. As per the norms, it is the responsibility of the agencies carrying out the digging work to restore the roads to their original shape as soon as the work of laying pipelines or underground cables is over. However, it seems the norm is not being adhered to strictly. The authorities should take note of it and ensure that the residents don't suffer on this count.
Rajesh Gupta,
Jammu
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