Jammu, March 10
Though the state government has taken the uphill task to restore the pristine glory of the Mubarak Mandi complex in Jammu, which once used to be the royal residence of the Dogra rulers of the state, a visit to the complex tells a different story.

Udhampur, March 10
Not only a place for children of the Bal Ashram in Udhampur has now been approved despite odds, but also the construction work has started for the building on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

All the 55 inmates of the Bal Ashram putting up in a congested rented accommodation will finally get their own place that is slated to be ready in a year’s time. The construction work has started on a war-footing from January this year for the building. It would have 80 rooms for the inmates, a study room, a dining hall and a small sports ground. The construction cost has been estimated at Rs 99.45 lakh.

District Social Welfare Officer Anil Sharma, who has been keenly overseeing the affairs, said, “We had planned the project for a premise for these children, but the land allotted was not good as it was perched on a cliff with a small area. The next challenge was to look for a better place. After a great effort, I spotted a vast expanse of vacant land in the vicinity of the Nari Niketan building. But I faced opposition for this new land.”

“Many officials tried to prevent me by saying that a building for these boys in close proximity to young women living in the Nari Niketan will not augur well in future, but I took up the matter with the Deputy Commissioner and convinced him against such conservative ideas. To pacify people, we will build a dividing wall between both the buildings,” he added.

“The local residents complicated the matter further, as they opposed the construction in this area where a temple and water work was also situated,” Sharma informed. Local people who had encroached on the government land by building a temple were not ready to give up the land. They also opposed the construction, as just a few metres away was a place for dead children’s burial.

“But, I thwarted their attempt without disturbing the temple. I drew a wall segregating the temple area but since the water work was common, so I took people in confidence for that,” he added.

The children have been waiting impatiently to enter the new premises. “All these years, we have been living in a congested building without any space to play. But now with this new building, we will get sufficient space for ourselves,” said an inmate, Sunil Kumar.

Udhampur, March 10
Seven-year-old girl Bhooma Khajuria has brought laurels to Udhampur as she was the youngest participant in a classical music concert, which was held at Noida under the banner of “Shankhnadh” in which more than 1,200 artistes performed recently.

Bhooma enthralled the audience when she played sitar with other nationally and internationally acclaimed sitar players.

The girl not only became the youngest participant but was also applauded by prominent artistes who came from all over the world to participate in the concert.

Bhooma by chance got an opportunity to perform at the function.Belonging to a family of artistes, Bhooma was accompanying her parents who had gone there to participate in the concert. Bhooma’s father Anand Khajuria and mother Anjana Khajuria are known artistes of Jammu and Kashmir. “When we were filling our nomination forms to participate in the concert, Bhooma told us that she also wanted to perform in the concert,” informed Anand. Her parents contacted the organisers and told them about the desire of their daughter. Instead of nominating themselves to participate in the concert, they allowed Bhooma to perform in their place.

Initially the organisers were hesitating to allow such a young girl in the concert but later they gave her green signal. Artistes from age group of 82 years to seven years played sitar and tabla in the concert and Bhooma became the youngest artiste who performed in that function. “Everybody was surprised to see such a small girl performing in the function,” Anand informed, and added that her daughter has brought laurels not only for the town but also for the state.

Residence of the town organised a function to felicitate the girl for her performance. Felicitation function was held at Udhampur Stadium, where senior police and civil officers presented memento to the girl.

Speakers appreciated confidence of the girl and hoped that she would continue to bring laurels for the state. Deputy Commissioner Ajay Khajuria, while presenting memento to the girl, said it was really a matter of proud for the people of Udhampur.

Rajouri, March 10
A sizeable number of the migratory population of Gujjars and Bakkarwals in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch is without ration cards.

They were not included in surveys conducted by the government for inclusion in the Below Poverty Line (BPL), Anatodya Annapurna Yojana (AAY) and Above Poverty Line (APL) schemes twice in 2002-2003 and 2008-2009.

“We don’t have ration cards since we were not included in the surveys. Since we don’t have ration cards, we cannot avail the ration at subsidised rates and have to buy the same from the market at higher rates. We are poor and are passing our days in great suffering”, said Alam Din, a Bakkarwal, who, along with other eight other of his family shuttles between the Pir Panjal area in the summer and the plains of Kalakote in the winter.

“We have heard that the government twice conducted surveys for including the poor in the BPL list for giving ration at cheap rates. But no one ever came to us for including us in the list.The government should rise from slumber and include us in the same so that we get ration at cheaper rates”, he said.

A senior revenue officer said on condition of anonymity that though the Gujjars and Bakkarwals who had settled at one place had been issued ration cards and included in the BPL, APL and AAY schemes, the migratory population had not been issued the ration cards. “It is an irony that a majority of the migratory population of the Gujjars and Bakkarwals have not been given ration cards and as such have not been included in the BPL, APL and AAY schemes. These are the people who are poor beyond imagination and have a tough life”.

“It is quite shocking that a large majority of the migratory population of Gujjars and Bakkarwals have not been given ration cards and as such have not been covered under various schemes. The government twice did the surveys, but these people who are very poor and live a tough life have not been included”, said Dr Javaid Rahi, national secretary of the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, an organisation working for the welfare of the tribes in India.

Assistant Director, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), Rajouri, Kewal Krishen confirmed to The Tribune that some of the migratory families of Gujjars and Bakkarwals had not been included in the BPL list. “The Chief Minister has recently ordered a fresh BPL survey.The leftover families would be included in the list”, he said.

Gulmarg, March 10
The snow-clad tourist resort of Gulmarg with a historic background has much to offer to the tourists and winter sportsmen round the year. Located at a distance of over 50 km north of Srinagar, at a height of 8,500 ft from the sea level, it not only attracts local tourists, but also domestic and international tourists and adventure sportsmen as well over the past several decades.

Gulmarg is said to have been discovered as a leisure spot by one of the rulers of Kashmir, Yusuf Shah Chak, who along with his poetess Queen Habba Khatoon would visit the place. Mughal Emperor Jehangir, with great aesthetic sense, liked the place.

“This is a winter destination and summer is a bonus”, comments director of the Tourism Department of the state government Farooq Ahmad Shah. It provides the best quality of snow slopes for skiing events for the players from across the globe during winters, while the local and domestic tourists make a beeline to this health resort during summer months over the lush green slopes.

Various events have been organised here during the past 10 years to attract more national and international winter sportspersons and also to increase the flow of tourists to boost economy in the aftermath of the armed turbulence in Kashmir since early 1990’s.

The first major event organised was the conduct of first national winter games in Gulmarg in February 1998. The third and fifth national winter games were also held here in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

Apart from the natural good quality of snow and the slopes, the tourist spot has much to offer for the tourists and sports lovers that includes Gulmarg Gondola, a cable car project linking the spot with the upper skiing slopes of Apharwat and Kongdoori, over a length of more than 5 km.

Director of tourism Farooq Ahmad Shah opines that Gulmarg has been emerging as the most affordable skiing destination in the world and provides the best skiing slopes. “We are topping the country in the winter sports”, he adds.

The Tourism Department has ambitious plans for the development of infrastructure in this scenic spot to facilitate the comfortable stay of international players and visitors. He held that there was still scope for upgrading the facilities to accommodate international level tourists and skiers and expressed the hope that the international level facilities would be available in Gulmarg from the next year.

The winter games federation of India is also planning to hold various events from next year, when the basic infrastructure of international standard is expected to be in place. All these measures would help in attracting tourists not only in this tourist resort but elsewhere also in Kashmir and thereby boost economy. 

Jammu, March 10
A widely travelled official of the Postal Department has taken up a mega project of documenting the history and the anecdotes linked with 595 villages of Kashmir, where Kashmiri Pandits used to live, along with the local Muslims, prior to their mass migration in 1990.

Assistant superintendent of post offices, Udhampur, Chander M Bhat, who is tirelessly working on this project for the last five years, hopes that his efforts will help the young generation in exile to know about their roots, legacy and the rich cultural heritage of the community. He has named this project in typical Kashmiri as “ool”, (the nest), believing that every individual, who has lost his nest in the valley, will derive some kind of solace after going through this well researched document, based on six volumes, each carrying 2,500 pages.

This six-volume project, the maximum portion of which has already been completed, carries the historical and religious background of each village, where Pandits were living since ages. Besides the description of the eminent personalities produced by the village, it has a mention of the village deity, the location and the topography of the village and the population of the Pandits before their migration.

Chander, originally a resident of Murran village of Pulwama district of Kashmir, said “Ool also carries the details of village springs and brooks and the names of all those religious places that were visited and equally revered by Hindus as well as Muslims.”

He said the project also intends to carry all those incidents that took place in the respective villages, after 1990, when the militancy was at its peak.

These 595 villages and localities, about which the history has been documented, fall in all the major districts of the North, Central and South Kashmir, besides the city of Srinagar.