Surinsar, November 21
Thanks to the shortsightedness of successive regimes, the ambitious plan of developing Surinsar as a model tourism village remains a distant dream.

Not only this, the village, which has a fresh water lake spanning over an area of 2.5 sq km, reflects a grim picture of constant neglect.

Almost six months ago when The Tribune had reported about the dilapidated condition of the lake, things have not changed much.

The Surinsar Mansar Tourism Development Authority (SMTDA) claimed that it had been making all efforts to develop Surinsar, but restrictions imposed by the wildlife department continued to hit its plans.

It is pertinent to mention here that the erstwhile coalition government had set up the tourism development authorities in 2006 with the sole motive to properly develop places having tourism potential.

Sources in the SMTDA said though the government had framed these authorities, certain areas like Surinsar and Mansar had been declared as wildlife sanctuaries way back in 1990, thereby shackling these authorities.

The government should have de-notified Surinsar and Mansar as wildlife sanctuaries like it did in the case of Aroo in Pahalgam.

They said an amount of Rs 1 crore spent by the directorate of tourism in the past one year had also gone down the drain because of the wildlife department which had put a ban on any developmental activity.

Consequently, the fresh water lake not only continued to shrink but its aquatic life also faced extinction.

Neither the wildlife department cleared the lake of weeds and wild growth nor it allowed them, the sources added.

Despite repeated reminders by the SMTDA to the authorities concerned, a pumping station of the public health engineering (PHE) department also directly lifts water from the lake.

What gives an ugly look to the lake has been the nonchalant attitude of the villagers, who not only wash their clothes but also give a bath to their cattle there.

However, SMTDA CEO Soujanaya Sharma maintained that there had been no threat to the aquatic life and the authority had various projects that would attract tourists to the place.

Five km away from the lake, the PHE department has found ground water and they are coming up with a dug- well. Hopefully, the pumping station at the lake would be closed by the middle of the next year, said Sharma.

He said, an amount of Rs 3.19 crore was sanctioned for the development of Surinsar, Mansar, Purmandal and Uttervehni to attract pilgrim tourists and this year Rs 60 lakh was sanctioned for Surinsar.

Similarly, the SMTDA had a project worth Rs 1 crore to run a pollution-free toy train around the lake and wanted to see tourists enjoying boating, but for the wildlife department, all its plans continue to gather dust.

Jammu, November 21
With the onset of inclement weather conditions coupled with the separatists' poll boycott call, the ban on SMS service in the state has taken away a vital tool for campaign from parties in the state.

The state government had banned the SMS service in August to check rumours in view of the Amarnath land agitation that had pushed the entire state into turmoil.

Though the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had lifted the ban, the Supreme Court had stayed the HC order on August 5.

While the BSNL has recently resumed service messages to its subscribers, the ban on outgoing SMS is still on.

Former state BJP chief and party candidate from the prestigious Gandhi Nagar constituency Nirmal Singh said: "Undoubtedly, the SMS is a cost- effective medium to reach out to a cross section of people during the elections. Also, the SMS gives the political parties an opportunity to convince the intellectual voter about its policies."

He opined that though it didn't take much effort to bring the common man to the polling booth, it was not easy to persuade the educated class to exercise their franchise and SMS would have played a key role. He said the ban was understandable during the agitation days, but at present, it was against the spirit of democracy.

A.K Dewani, working president of the J&K National United Front, which is contesting the assembly elections for the first time, said:"SMS is an important mode of communication and the ban on it has not only hit the political parties but also the common man. We are putting up banners and holding corner meetings as part of our election campaign in the Jammu as well as Kashmir regions," he averred.

Congress leader Hari Om felt the ban on the SMS service should be lifted without any further delay.

"The state is back to normal and there has been an overwhelming response to the poll process. In such a scenario, the people should not be denied access to an effective mode of communication," he said.

Meanwhile, the ban has also denied the mobile operators an opportunity to cash in on the poll fever.

"The ban has already hit our revenue hard during the last over three months and now its continuation in the election season has come as a jolt to us," said an official of a private mobile service provider, pleading anonymity.

Srinagar, November 21
Though the world’s best saffron grows
here, its annual production is less than
that grown under similar climatic
conditions in Iran and Spain.

The vast karevas of saffron fields in
Pampore, 20 km from Srinagar on the
Srinagar-Jammu national highway, are
in full bloom during October and early
November every year.

Peasants, men, women, children and
the old pluck the flowers every morning
to produce the costliest spice in demand across the globe.

After the morning exercise, the vast expanse presents a fabulously purple dotted carpet-shaped stretch bathed in the setting sunlight.

The annual saffron production is at 6.86 metric tonnes with an average yield of 2.23 kg per hectare.

Over 9,000 families are associated with its production in Pulwama district alone where over 70 per cent of women are directly involved in the process.

The production this year has drastically declined to about 40 per cent as compared to the previous years mainly because of the lack of proper infrastructure, according to president of saffron growers and dealers association G M Pampori.

It is also produced in the adjoining Budgam, Srinagar and Doda districts. But, Pampore is well known for the growth of saffron.

“Saffron is the cultural symbol of Kashmir”, comments Farooq Ahmad Agha at the agronomy department of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Srinagar.

He revealed that Pampore and the adjoining Lethpora and Newa areas grew over 74 per cent of saffron every year.

Sixteen per cent was grown in the adjoining Budgam and seven per cent in other Srinagar districts.

A small quantity of about 3 per cent was also grown in Doda district of Jammu. Saffron was cultivated over 3,143 hectares in the state, while in Iran it was over 43,408 hectares, 600 hectares in Spain and 1,000 hectares in Greece and other neighbouring locales, said Agha.

Researchers have witnessed a declining trend in the area and production of saffron during the past one decade, laments Agha, who is also working on production technology and management of crops.

This was mainly because of the inavailability of irrigation facilities in the kareva areas and inadequate quality saffron corms.

The genetics and breeding department could be of some help in this direction, but its triploid nature came in the way, he added.

Thus, to provide a quality produce, the agronomy department had directed the growers to effect re-plantation of the bulbs after every four years instead of the traditional seven years.

“This increases the production and decreases the extent of damage to the corms”, Agha pointed out.

Moreover, the crop had been growing organically without fertilisers, but due to researches, some fertilisers had also been recommended.

“We have studied weed flora and devised methods of controlling the weeds effectively”, he added.

There was need to develop post-harvest technology, including plucking methods, saffron drying and packing with modern technology, to avoid contamination.

Udhampur, November 21
Kidnapping a young girl is not an offence in some remote areas of Kishtwar district in Jammu. Kidnapping a girl and then tying the nuptial knot with her is an age-old tradition in the Gandhari area of Paddar Tehsil of Kishtwar.

Commonly known as “pithchuk” in local dialect, this tradition of kidnapping a girl was earlier common in many parts of the Gandhari area, located just near the Pangi belt of Himachal Pradesh.

As per this tradition, a youth first kidnaps his would-be bride and after marrying her takes her to his house on his back.

The word “pithchuk” is considered to be a combination of the Dogri and Himachali languages. In Dogri language, "pith" means back and "chuk" means to pick up. An abductor in this belt is commonly known as “pithchuki”.

The kidnapped girl, too, has the right to reject or accept the proposal of the boy who abducts her from her village. If the boy of one village likes a girl of the other village, he is at liberty to enter the village and bring the girl to his home after carrying her on his back, says a local.

The kidnapped girl is then offered food at his house and if she accepts the food offered by her abductor, then the marriage is solemnised. Else, the kidnapper becomes an offender in village panchayat and is penalised with a "dand" (penalty).

As soon as the girl accepts food, the kidnapper has to arrange liquor and food for the villagers. On the other hand, parents of the kidnapped girl start searching for their daughter.

After tracing their girl, parents first of all inquire whether she has accepted the food or not. If they get a positive reply, then both the families hold discussions and solemnise the marriage of the kidnapper and the kidnapped.

According to some elderly people of Paddar, this tradition was earlier common in many parts of this belt, but today the "pithchuk" custom continues in some odd villages where villagers are illiterate and unaware of developments of modern world.

Jammu, November 21
With an objective to bring smiles back on the faces of differently abled children and make them feel part of the mainstream, the Prerna Institute of Rehabilitation and Research run by an NGO, Sehyog India, at RS Pura is playing an exemplary role.

As of now, the institute has 74 inmates with multiple disorders like cerebral palsy, hearing and sight impairment, deafness, dumbness and mental illness.

Suffering from cerebral palsy, six-year-old Ismail was unable to move when he was brought to the institute eight months ago.

But, now he can walk with some support after physiotherapists at the institute
helped him.

Similarly, five-year-old Simi, who is dumb, was very shy and would not socialise with fellow children.

“But, having joined the institute, she learnt the sign language and has completely changed. She remains cheerful all the time,” stated director of the institute, Dr Ashwani Jojra.

Akash and Gagan, who suffer from dumbness, recently participated in the Special Olympics at Patiala. Both of them were ragpickers before joining the institute.

“In our institute, you can find children from different social backgrounds. There are several children of labourers from outside the state also,” revealed Dr Jojra.

He said more than 300 special children from various border villages were also getting free counselling at the institute.

There were 17 volunteers imparting training to differently abled children. Special children were being trained in yoga, pranayaam, brail and other skills to make them overcome their impairments.

“There are always hidden qualities in special children, which generally get
overshadowed by one impairment.So we try to boost their hidden qualities,”
said Dr Jojra while stressing the need for society to change its perspective
towards such children.

“Though we charge a nominal fee from the children belonging to well-off families, but the children coming from poor background are entertained free of cost,” he said.

Dr Jojra wants to upgrade the institute as one of the biggest in north India with lodging facilities so that such special children could benefit to a larger extent.

“Ours is a charity-run institution and presently we don’t have finance at out disposal. So we have sent our proposal to the government and the latter has assured us to allot nearly 60 canals of land on the outskirts of the city,” he said.

“The tragedy with disabled children is that people generally undermine qualities of special children. Therefore, they lose confidence in themselves making them feel inferior,” he said.

He added that, “our primary task is to revive self-confidence in such children and encourage them to develop their faculties to the fullest.”

Jammu, November 21
The present meets the past. That kind of a feeling is generated on a visit to the Dogra Art Museum at Mubarak Mandi here.

Nearly 5,500 works of exquisite art spanning over 1,600 years have been put on display as part of World Heritage Week.

With the administration announcing free entry up to November 25, there is a tremendous response from the art lovers who throng all the major nine sections of the museum, including archaeology, paintings, manuscripts, jewellery, reference library and numismatic sections, to have a glimpse of the rich and glorious past of the region.

On normal days, the state department of archives, archaeology and museums charges an entry fee of Rs 10 per adult.

The major attractions of this heritage museum are the weaponry of the Dogra rulers, their ethnic jewellery and dresses, besides, the Basohli miniature paintings of the Rasmanjri series.

Some rare and unique terracotta heads placed elegantly in the basement attract
the visitors.

Director, archives and museums, Khursheed Ahmad Qadri says these terracotta heads of the sixth century have been traced from the famous Kushan site of Ambran in Akhnoor situated on the right banks of the Chenab, about 25 km from here.

Some stone sculptures and inscriptions in the Takri language on stones and bronze plates are the other attractions of the archeology section.

The museum has also a good collection of manuscripts written in Sharda, Devnagri and Persian scripts. Amongst the rare manuscripts is a 17th century holy book of Ramayana, written in Persian.

This section also houses some illustrated manuscripts of the Mughal Period, including Shahnama Firdosi, calligraphed by Syed Jalalu-din Bukhari.

“We are also in possession of a metallic bow that belonged to Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. His name is inscribed in gold on this bow'', says Qadri.

The museum has more to offer for the art lovers. It showcases silver and copper coins of Kushan, Hindu, Sultanate, Mughal, Afghan, Sikh, Dogra and British periods.

Jammu, November 21
He became the first resident of Jammu and Kashmir conquer Mount Everest and as a reward, was promoted Sub-Inspector from a constable by his department.

After 17 years of hard work and expeditions, on May 22, 2008, Ram Singh Salathia became the only resident of the state to have so far reached the top of the highest peak in the world.

"It took me 17 years of mountaineering experience to reach Mount Everest,” Salathia told The Tribune, and added, "I had no words to explain my feelings when I was on top of the world, literaly."

"The journey to conquer Mount Everest was full of hardships; there was a lack of oxygen; and avalanches were rampant. One can say it was a journey where all of us knew that our chances of survival were minimum, but still we risked our lives and finally we did it,” he said.

The family members were not in favour of Salathia joining the expedition as he had narrowly survived a disaster on an earlier expedition to Ladakh, where he had become a victim of severe frostbite.

“I kept my selection a secret from my family.When they came to know that I was going on the expedition, first they tried to persuade me not to go and when they failed, they stopped talking to me,” Salathia said.

But for Salathia the only dream he had from his early childhood was to hoist the tricolour on the world's highest summit.

"I had to do this and when I reached the summit, I first informed my officers that we had done it. Then, I called my parents and every one was elated at my grand success,” he said.

Salathia who has become a role model for all the mountaineers in the state wants to be part of another expedition of the Jammu and Kashmir police in 2010 to scale the highest peak.

"Now I am a part of the Jammu and Kashmir police's adventure cell. I have been appointed instructor to train mountaineers as the department wants to send its own expedition to Mount Everest in 2010”, he said.

Jammu, November 21
Raksha Sharma, a noted Hindi writer and columnist, is writing a book describing female artists and widows of artists who enriched Dogra cultural heritage.

It is another book after Sehyatra, a narrative of her husband, Yash Sharma, a pre-eminent Dogri poet’s life.

The book holds historic significance, as it is an account of all major developments related to the language.

"Most of the widows of artists are living a secluded and gloomy life, but there is none to peep into their pathos. Same is the ordeal with renowned female artists in our region," remarked Raksha.

"It is said that a warrior was showing scars to her wife while narrating the incidents related to wounds inflicted upon him in different battles. She kept listening. Later, she said despite a heart afflicted with countless wounds you would not have even heaved a sigh had you been a woman," she said.

Recalling the past she said that there was a time when newly wed teen boys
would join British army and never come while their widows would wait for them
throughout their life.

"Although much has changed but even today cruelty against woman is prevalent in our society in one or the other form" she believes.

Though the title was yet to be finalised, she said her book mentions some widows of poverty stricken yet great Dogri artists whom no body acknowledges today.

"Nirmala, widow of great poet Keri Singh Madhukar, waited for her husband for almost 35 years till he died," she said.

She also describes life of Madhu Mangotra widow of eminent poet Ashwani Mangotra. Sahitya Academy, New Delhi recognised work of Ashwani posthumously and handed over award to Madhu.

“She made equal contribution in literary work of Ashwani by supporting household affairs by stitching clothes. She is doing the same job even today" she stated.

"My book is a tribute to all those committed women who suffer in seclusion and a salutation to changed scenario where there is no place for dehris or sati tradition," she concluded.