Srinagar, June 9
For the past five years, the 25-km long stretch between Narabal and Tangmarg on the Srinagar-Gulmarg road has been a source of bitter experience for tourists and residents of the area.

The repair and improvement of this stretch, which lies at the centre of 50-km long road from Srinagar to Gulmarg, began in 2004 for which Rs 38 crore were earmarked.

It was later taken up in the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Programme in 2008, with a proposed widening of the road to four lane with an expenditure of Rs 116 crore. The completion of the road would be a boon for Gulmarg.

However, the residents of Narabal, Magam, Mazhama, Kunzar, Chandilora and other villages along the road rue the inordinate delay in the completion of work. The delay has been on account of process involving acquisition of land and the time limit of working season that is restricted to summer months.

Moreover, the last year’s agitation over Amaranth land row, which continued for more than two months, has also affected the work. According to the residents, the delay has led to the wastage of government money.

The work has affected almost all basic amenities, including drinking water and telephonic communication, agriculture and horticulture, besides creating health hazards due to dust emanating from the road.

Water pipelines to the residential houses have been disconnected at various points due to the digging work, leaving the population without water supply. Many of the residents have diverted to the traditional sources of water i.e. natural springs.

“They (construction agencies) have created a mess and there has been a lot of damage,” says Abdul Jabber, a resident of Kunzar. The irrigation of paddy fields has also been affected due to the incomplete work, he adds.

The narrow space of the road, the sides of which have been dug up for reconstruction purposes, also leads to frequent accidents.

According to Gulmarg MLA Ghulam Hassan Mir, about 80 per cent of work would be completed by the end of this year. There are three major bridges on the road, out of which one at Kunzar has been completed.

“The project began with the repair of the road, but we took up the matter with the central government, which covered the road under Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Programme,” Mir says.

Of the 25-km stretch, about 15 km would be macadamised during the coming months before winter, says Farooq Ahmad Sofi, executive engineer of the project.

Each side of the new road would be 7.5 m wide, apart from 2 m of pedestrian
path. The two sides would be divided by a 10-ft central verge with green foliage,
the official adds.

He asked the senior officers to take action against such erring persons immediately and remove them from the premises.

Jammu, June 9
A tense Kashmir valley over the recent killing of two women in Shopian and snow-bound tracks have failed to dampen the spirit of sadhus, who have started arriving in the temple city for the annual Amarnath yatra.

Though the two-month long annual pilgrimage is likely to begin from June 15, Governor NN Vohra, chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Boar (SASB), would conduct another aerial survey on June 11 to take a final decision.

Gyaneshwar, a sadhu from Pune, who has come here along with six others, said, “We arrived here on June 7, because we don’t want to miss the ‘chhari yatra’ to the cave shrine”.

When asked about the accommodation and food, he said, the people of Jammu had always been hospitable to pilgrims and they were getting everything here.

Before undertaking the yatra, we would pay obeisance at the Vaishno Devi shrine,
he added.

Camping at Geeta Bhawan near Parade Ground, Sridhar, another sadhu, said religious organisations looked after them and getting two square meals had never been a problem in this city.

On the accumulation of snow on tracks leading to the cave shrine and tension prevailing in the Kashmir valley in the wake of Shopian killings, he said none had control over nature, but as far as situation in Kashmir was concerned, it remained tense since 1947.

“It is (Shopian incident) a heinous crime and perpetrators, who outraged the modesty of the two women before killing them, should be given an exemplary punishment. The Amarnath yatra being an annual pilgrimage of paramount significance for Hindus, I am sure Muslim brethren would once again lead the country in exhibiting secularism,” he added.

Another sadhu, Inderjeet from Hardwar, said, “The Kashmir valley had remained affected by militancy for the past 20 years and we witnessed militant attacks on annual pilgrimage and inclement weather in the past, but despite threat perception and natural calamities, lakhs of devotees throng the cave shrine every year.”

Meanwhile, the district administration has been making all possible arrangements to ensure hassle-free pilgrimage.

Jammu deputy commissioner Mandeep K Bhandari said, “We have already identified a government school on the Canal Road for the comfortable stay of sadhus. Besides regular water and electricity supply, a community kitchen would also be set up within the premises”.

If there is a change in the schedule of the yatra, the sadhus can be accommodated in alternate locations as well, he added.

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Mandi (Poonch), June 9
Even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seeks to turn Jammu and Kashmir into a “model state”, this tehsil remains without a tehsildar for the past six months.

The locals say there is also no naib tehsildar in Mandi. Sources in the tehsil office said after the previous tehsildar here attained superannuation, the government didn’t send any replacement.

They said since tehsildar looks after the administration of the tehsil, the administrative machinery here is in shambles.

The sources further said for a tehsil with more than 50,000 population, having no tehsildar was a cruel joke.

They added that the people had to suffer due to the absence of tehsildar, since it is the tehsildar who issues government documents like income certificate, state subject, category certificate, etc.

Residents of the Mandi area said since there was no tehsildar in the area, they had to rush to Poonch, 25 km from here, for petty work. They said since majority of the people were poor, they could not afford to travel to Poonch for every minor work.

“For the past six months, we have been urging the state government to appoint a tehsildar for the area, but to no avail. We have to travel to Poonch for minor works. Besides there are other administrative affairs which need to be addressed by the tehsildar, but since there is no tehsildar we all are facing so many problems,” said Najam Jaffri, a resident and a social worker.

“We hope that Omar Abdullah will make every effort to turn the state into a “model state” in the coming years. First, we need a tehsildar for our tehsil.”

Muhammad Shafi, another resident, said to make things worse for the people in the area, there is no naib tehsildar in the tehsil who, to some extent, would have reduced the sufferings of the poor people of this backward administrative unit.

Muhammad Afzal, deputy commissioner, Poonch, confirmed that there was no tehsildar and naib tehsildar posted in Mandi tehsil. However, he added that tehsildar Haveli and naib tehsildar Chandak had been given additional charge to look after the administrative matters of the Mandi.

Danna-Loran (Poonch), June 9
Protecting wild bear is fine but should that be at the cost of human lives? In this area, which lies on the border of Poonch district and Kashmir province, people’s lives are being put at risk by the Wildlife Department.

It has literally failed to check attacks by the wild bear. The bear has not only terrorised people of the area, which lies close to a forest, but every year it causes severe damage to maize crop, the only crop grown here.

The locals complained that with the state Wildlife Department literally failing in managing the activities of the bear, the wild animal has created panic in the area injuring people and also causing damage to the crop.

They said since the bear moves in the area without any check, they were facing problems in sending their wards to schools.

The locals further said whenever they approached the department to keep a check on the bear, they told the people that the wild animal should be protected first.

They added that the department told them that even as the wild animal injures humans, it should be protected at any cost and the injured would be compensated.

“The bear has injured more than 12 persons past year. It also causes damage to maize crop. The department has failed to check the animal as it moves freely in the villages of this area”, said Muhammad Akbar Parrey, sarpanch of Danna village, whose relatives Muhammad Rafiq and Muhammad Latief survived an attack last year.

“Whenever we approach the department with a plea that they should control the wild animal, they tell us that they are helpless as their duty is to protect wild animals. They gave us some crackers to burst when the bear comes in the area but these crackers are not affective”.

Sources in the department said they could not “totally” control wild animals. They further said it was the human being which had encroached on the forestland resulting in increase in the incidents of man-animal conflicts.

They added that the department was also lacking staff, which would have enabled it to partially manage the bear.

Regional wildlife warden PK Singh said, “Since humans have encroached on the habitat of wild animals, this has resulted in increase in the man-animal conflicts”.

He said the department was also facing shortage of staff to keep a tab on the movement of wild animals in the area.

Poonch, June 9
With normalcy returning to the state, youths of Rajouri and Poonch districts, once considered as hotbed of militancy, have heaved a sigh of relief. Gone are the days when the youths used to stay indoors after the sunset due to the fear of becoming a victim of some militancy related incident.

Due to this, many fell prey to psychiatric ailments with sizeable population taking
refuge to drugs. Now, the youths are not only venturing outside their homes till
late in the evening, but frequently visiting the tourism spots in the far-flung areas
of these districts.

“During militancy, we had never thought of moving out in the evening because of the fear of falling prey to some militancy related incident and thus, we preferred to stay indoors. There are numerous tourist spots in our district but we couldn’t go to these places,” says Saqib Khan, a student and resident of Poonch.

“However, with things returning to normalcy, we keep on moving in the markets till late in the evening. In the past two months, we went for picnics to tourist places like the Loran valley, Noori Chamb and Mandi a number of times”.

Another youth, Shivani, a student and resident of Rajouri, says “Things have now changed for better for the youths who were hit the most by insurgency. The youths in our districts are a happy lot as they are reaping the dividends of peace returning to the state”. “I wish that militancy vanishes completely from our state and our homeland once again smiles with joy,” she adds.

DIG, Rajouri-Poonch Range, SDS Jamwal told The Tribune, “There has been a considerable reduction in militancy related incidents in these border districts”. “The youths have definitely benefited with life becoming normal in twin border districts”.

Kathua, June 9
Meagre medicare facilities, inadequate staff strength, overcrowded wards and mismanagement are some of the “symptoms” to draw the inference that the District Hospital, Kathua, is presently not in the pink of its health. This was not the only case. A few years ago, when Lal Singh, the then local MLA, was the state Health Minister, he had galvanised the entire Health Department to ensure that every patient got proper attention even at midnight.

His elevation to the Lok Sabha, however, put curtains on his surprise checks, which were appreciated by all, except doctors and para-medical staff, who were forced to follow a dress code and devote more time in hospitals than in their private clinics.

Now, as Singh is out of the state politics, so is his style of functioning. Even his name on a foundation stone, which he had laid for constructing one of the wings of the hospital, has mysteriously been erased.

Presently, on a routine visit to the hospital, one normally finds children and pregnant ladies withering in pain and lying unattended for hours together in the corridors and the hospital staircases.

As the OPDs remain closed for most of the time, it is astonishingly a field day for stray animals, who trespass into the hospital premises, giving an impression that it is a veterinary dispensary.

Some private drivers halt their vehicles in front of the main gate of the hospital, situated on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway.

Intriguingly, the hospital has no space to keep its ambulances whose condition is as good as the junk of rusted iron cabins on deflated tyres.

“I have been waiting for the doctors since morning, as both of my sons were complaining of vomiting and dehydration. I find none to attend to them. My sons are lying on the floor,” said Parkash Ram of neighbouring village of Lachipora.

A similar kind of experience was shared by Sushil Kumar of Govindsar, who was desperately waiting outside the maternity ward for a gynecologist to attend to his pregnant wife.

A shopkeeper, who runs a medical shop in the vicinity, said poor patients and those belonging to far-off places were the most affected lot.

“In the absence of proper medicare here, the affluent could manage to take their patients to any other hospital of the neighbouring state of Punjab. They can even travel to Jammu, 90 km from here, but the poor patients and their attendants have no way-out,” he said.

Dr RS Wazir, who has been designated as in charge, superintendent of the hospital this month, attributed the shortfalls to the inadequate staff and accommodation.

He said most posts of surgeon, physician and nursing orderly were vacant to man this 100-bed hospital. “Further, we lack expertise of specialised doctors,” he said.

Wazir said due to the shortage of beds, patients were to be adjusted in corridors. “We have taken up the matter with the government to make it a 200-bed hospital and also sanction adequate staff,” he said.

Regarding stray animals, who make their way into the hospital premises, Wazir sought the help of the locals to take care of their cattle. He, however, assured that under his administration, the hospital would regain its lost glory.

Jammu, June 9
Lakhs of tourists pass through Jammu on yatra to the Vaishno Devi shrine, Amarnath or to Srinagar, but the city has failed to capitalise on this huge stream of visitors.

The tourists, who arrive in Jammu either by train or by bus, prefer to stay at the railway station or at the bus stand rather then venturing in the markets of Jammu.

They even wait for hours at the railway station as the Jammu administration and traders have failed to provide them sightseeing places or shopping avenues.

The shopkeepers in the city have spent crores of rupees to renovate their shops and to attract customers, but the congestion of roads and diversion of incoming pilgrims to Katra has resulted in losses to them.

Everyday more than 25,000 tourists, who come on pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine, arrive in Jammu either by train or by bus, but majority of them directly move towards Katra, the town from where the 14km trekking towards the shrine starts.

“The main reason for the neglect of our market is that in the name of decongestion of traffic, the traffic police does not allow the vehicles to ply here,” said Satish Gupta, a shopkeeper and the former general secretary of the Chambers of Commerce and Industries, Jammu.

“When the tourists arrive in the city, they readily catch vehicles for Katra town, which was badly hampering the trade in the city,” he said.

“The Jammu bus stand has become a dumping ground for old and worn out vehicles. The government should convert it into terminal points so that the tourists coming to Jammu get time to spend in the city,” Gupta said.

The economy of Jammu mostly depends on the pilgrims who come for pilgrimage to the Vaishno Dvie shrine and for Amarnath Yatra, but the city has failed to cash in on the incoming pilgrims.

As per the estimate, more than six lakh pilgrims come to visit Vaishno Devi shrine and more than five lakh come for pilgrimage to Amarnath, but a meagre chunk of the tourists stay back in Jammu.

Baldev Khullar, president of the Raghunath Bazaar Businessmen Association, Jammu, said, “This market is 154-year-old and has been declared a heritage market. A project at the cost of Rs 5.78 crore has been taken to give the market an antique look. After the completion of the project, we hope that the market would be able to attract ample number of tourists.”

He said the project was delayed due to the code of conduct that came into force during the recent parliamentary elections.

“The market though attracts some tourists who on their way to the Vaishno Devi shrine come to visit the Raghunath Temple, but still it has failed to cash in on the inflow of tourists in the state, as tourists spots here are not given such publicity,” Khullar said.

He said the state Tourism Department should project and provide adequate publicity to the ancient Raghunath Temple in the city so that the pilgrims also visit the temple and the adjacent market.

“The meagre number of tourists that stop in Jammu would be hampered after the beginning of the train service between Jammu and Katra. The business community in the city would also get affected as it would lead to loss of revenue and employment in the region,” he said.

Loran-Mandi (Poonch), June 9
The Central government may be making efforts to connect every village in the country with a road, but in one of the most backward area of the state, the already existing Mandi-Loran road is in bad condition resulting in sufferings to local people. Locals complain that the 17-km long road, which connects Mandi with Loran and Danna, is in bad shape. They allege that the roads and buildings (R&B) department has failed to take care of the road.

The locals further complain that during the rainy season it is quite hard to travel on the road and it needs quite an effort for even walk on it.

“The condition of this road has worsened over the years and no senior officer from the department concerned has ever visited to take stock of the situation. One can still tread this road these days, although with difficulty, but during rainy season it becomes risky since the road becomes muddy and slippery,” says Muhammad Rafiq, a local resident, whose children face inconvenience while going to school.

“We face problems in transporting patients. Students also suffer because of the poor condition of the road. The government should take this matter seriously as it concerns poor people of this backward and remote area and direct the department concerned to take up its maintenance immediately,” he adds.

A senior officer of the R&B department says though the stretch of road from Mandi to Loran is in satisfactory condition, the road from Lower Loran to Danna, which is already under construction, needs to be completed.

The policy is ridiculous as teachers solely cannot be held responsible for poor results. Inadequate infrastructure, negligible facilities and staff shortage, particularly in the rural areas, are also the major factors responsible for it. In many schools, various posts are lying vacant for many years altogether. Under such circumstances, how can you expect good result? — Harsh Dev Singh, former Education Minister

In the absence of proper infrastructure, we cannot blame teachers alone for bringing bad results. The schools remain functional only for half of the session. In some schools, we do not have adequate teacher-pupil ratio. No doubt, it is a good policy, but it cannot work till infrastructure is made up to the mark. Parents are equally responsible because teachers can impart knowledge to the students during school hours, the rest of the onus lies on the parents. — Prof Dalip Singh Jamwal, president, Jammu University Teachers Association

Teachers are responsible for bringing good or poor results. The lack of proper infrastructure and management are also responsible, but teaches cannot pass the buck on others as a major responsibility lies with them. In most of the schools where infrastructure is good, teachers are found absent from their duties. In KVs, teachers are held responsible if students get less than 90 per cent marks. The teachers are working hard there and results are good. The policy is good. However, parents, too, should spend more time with their wards as most of the time children remain with parents. But we cannot blame the parents as some of them are educated while some others are illiterate. — Prof Lalit Mangotra, former head of the department of physics, University of Jammu

It is a good policy but I do not think that it would work as our country is spending too less for the education as compared to our neighbouring countries. Parents are also responsible, but a major responsibility of imparting education lies with the teachers. — Rekha Sharma, student

Teachers are responsible as part of the education system, which needs to be overhauled to put it on the right track. Parents are less responsible because they always remain busy in managing family affairs and hardly get time for their children so all responsibility lies with teachers. — Aftab Hussain, student

Teachers always try to bring good results. But parents are responsible for it as children spend most of the time with their parents, who hardly take out time to look after their wards. Due to illiteracy of the parents, no parent-teacher meetings are held in government schools. Tough syllabus also leads to poor results because sometimes syllabus is beyond the comprehension of children. Poor teacher-student ratio also affects results as under such circumstances teachers cannot concentrate on individual student. — Smriti Sharma, teacher

There is a close relationship between parents and teachers as both are responsible for crafting the future of a student. Blaming one is not justified. The policy is good, but in the absence of proper infrastructure, how can it work? — Tara Chand, teacher

Yes, teachers are responsible as they fail to make parents aware about the poor performance of the student periodically. The policy will make teachers responsible towards their duties. A criteria needs to be fixed for their performance that weighs on their service. Parents, who should monitor daily studies of their wards, are also responsible to some extent. — Daljit Kaur, a mother