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Cross-border trade
Bhaderwah Development Authority now ‘model’ for others
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Old distribution system adds to transmission losses
Jammu college forms panel to curb ragging
Cricket wins over all in Poonch, Rajouri
Extra classes by private schools fuel debate
Militants play poverty card to lure youth
Love for nature turns forest officer into writer
Special kids term visit to Srinagar airport memorable
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Cross-border trade
Suchetgarh, June 26 “Though the Mumbai terror attacks have affected the Indo-Pak ties, we still hope to see that the trade route, which used to be the shortest and safest for the merchants before 1947, would be opened”, said Puran Lal, a farmer in his late 60s. However, trade via Uri-Muzzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakote has been going on and as a result fortunes have smiled on the local populace in Poonch and Uri. “We want this trade route to be opened, which would help in improving the socio-economic condition of the people of this border village,” Puran said. No doubt, after the Partition, this route used to be preferred by smugglers, and intense shelling had been a routine affair before the bilateral ceasefire, but, at the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that the Suchetgarh-Sialkot route has a run of few minutes, said Thoru Ram, another farmer. To cover a distance of 11 km, it hardly takes half an hour and hence, one can understand the economic importance of this route, which had been the most preferred route for traders from both sides before 1947, he added. Bua Ditta, who had seen the Partition as an 18-year-old lad, felt that the Partition could not reversed, but if trade from this route was started, not only people of Suchetgarh and 20 other villages and hamlets in the area would be benefited but also provide impetus to the economy of the winter capital. “Enough bloodbath had been witnessed in the past over 62 years between the two countries. It is time we should open our eyes and explore ways to strengthen our economies so as to ameliorate the living conditions of poor people in both countries,”
he said. “Being famous for basmati rice, if trade gets started, I am sure it would change our fortunes overnight”,
he added. However, a proposal regarding the opening of the Suchetgarh-Sialkot, Nowshera-Mirpur and Pallanwala-Chamb routes with Pakistan, which had been lying with the Prime Minister’s Office, had been put on hold after the Mumbai terror attacks. |
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Bhaderwah Development Authority now ‘model’ for others
Artists’ gift to
town Tourists can now view the natural beauty of Bhaderwah on canvas also. The BDA has roped in nine artists from different parts of the country to paint different features of snow-clad mountains, landscapes, rivers and forests of this
hilly township. Parvaiz said the artists made several paintings in a seven-day workshop and had gifted them to the authority. “We have displayed the paintings for the tourists,” he added. The artists included Shamapaha Palkar from Mumbai, Anand Vaishnav from Allahabad, Bhaskar Chowdhry from Kolkata, KK Gandhi, Rohit Verma and Som Bolaria, all from Jammu, Rakesh Kumar and Aftab Ahmed from Kashmir and a local artist. Parvaiz said the authority would be organising a sculptors’ camp in which artists from all over the country would make sculptors inspired by the Bhaderwah scenic beauty. These, too, would be displayed in the different gardens or other appropriate place.
Jammu, June 26 Union Health Minister and former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad made the announcement during his three-day visit to the town recently. Bhaderwah is the home constituency of Azad. Talat Parvaiz, chief executive officer,BDA, said the authority was overwhelmed with the honour. “We would be working hard to raise the bar of development,” he added. Known as Chotta Kashmir, the town, situated nearly 30 km from Jammu in Kishtwar district, has become an alternative place for tourists to beat the heat. Due to protests and curfews in Srinagar, it witnessed record footfalls this season. The BDA has developed a herbal garden, a fish farm, another leisure garden, trekking and horse riding in the Jai Valley,a trekking route to snow-clad Mini Kailash, besides providing huts on the banks of the Gupt Ganga. The extension campus of Jammu University set in the valley with a forest cover on the one side and snow-clad mountains on the other side provides a majestic view. All these places, despite their potential, needed care and development. The BDA came into being a few years ago and has done pioneering development work. The Bhaderwah Valley in the North has beautiful Swar Dhar Mountains; in the South the series of mountains from Chatter Gali-Sonbain-Guldanda-Padri Gali; in the East the Jai Valley; in the West Seoj Gali; and in the South-West it has Kaplas and Kailash Kund. The dense green forests add charm to the valley, which is crisscrossed by a series of mountains. The Neeru river is central to the beauty of the saucer-shaped valley and the Deodar and Kail forests are the lungs of the valley. Sir GT Vigne, who toured the entire mountain stretches in the region in 1842 AD, described Bhaderwah as “The happy region - the prettiest country ever seen in the mountains.” The drive towards Bhaderwah, which starts from Pul-Doda along the left banks of the Neeru, is a reflection of the nature that this area has for a visitor. |
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Old distribution system adds to transmission losses
Jammu, June 26 Sources in the state power development department (PDD) said the system was more than three- decades- old. As per the official records, electricity supplied to most of the city passes through worn-out cables laid around 30 years ago. These not only add to huge transmission losses, but also pose a threat to the people who live nearby. To rectify the erratic power supply system and lay new lines in the state, particularly in the urban areas, the state electricity department has received a grant of Rs 500 crore under the Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme (APDRP).However, the power supply system remains dependent on the old worn-out cables. As per the sources, though around 2,000 km of power lines were replaced under the programme, most of the urban centres remained untouched which put the lives of people to risk and also added to the increased distribution and transmission losses. “The PDD stressed more on changing 33KV and 11KV power lines and improving the infrastructure in the rural areas, but the priority areas like urban localities have received less attention under the programme,” an official of the department said. The department had proposed to lay coded cables in the interior areas of Jammu city, but the project so far has not commenced keeping in view the huge expenditure that would be incurred on the project. Ajay Gupta, chief engineer, PDD (R&M), said the transmission lines could not be replaced in one go and the department would get more funds to take up modernisation projects in the power department. “Some areas have already been covered, but it would take some time before there is total overhaul of transmission lines and other infrastructure,” he said. The Chief Minister during his recent meeting with the officials of the PDD had said the state was facing transmission and distribution losses of more than 60 per cent of the total electricity generation of the state. The official figures state that the transmission and distribution losses in the state were about 50 per cent, while the rest 13 per cent were the collection losses making it an aggregate of 63 per cent. The total production of electricity in the state is between 1,300 MW and 1,400 MW, whereas the total requirement was around 1,800 MW. To meet the gap, the department has been curtailing around 40 per cent of the power supply to the different areas of the
state. |
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Jammu college forms panel to curb ragging
Jammu, June 26 In compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court, the step has been taken to ensure that newcomers are not subjected to any kind of harassment by their seniors in the name of ragging, said MS Baloria, college principal. The committee also includes a psychologist, who has been directed to brief the students about the consequences of ragging. All of its members have been directed to keep a strict vigil on the students on the college premises and hostels. Students found indulging in ragging would be dealt with strictly. Either a fine would be imposed on the offenders or they would be rusticated from the college, mentioned Baloria. Meanwhile, in other colleges, no such efforts have been made to implement the ban. Savitri Sharma, principal, Government College for Women, Parade, said, “We have a vigilant staff in our college and all members have been assigned duties to keep a check on ragging”. Parents have also expressed concern over an increase in the incidents of ragging in colleges across the country and emphasised the need for a strict action to prevent. Pointing out at various incidents of ragging, Munish Chouhan, a parent, said, “The incidents of ragging have become rampant in colleges. Newcomers subjected to ragging go through mental agony due to fear and “I feel a bit anxious in allowing my daughter to join an engineering college outside the state. The recent ragging-related incidents in other states have left me worried,” said Prinka Talwar, another parent. Rajinder Kumar, another parent, said, “Initially, ragging started in colleges for the sake of fun , but lately, it has taken a violent turn. Ragging up to certain limit is fine, but it should not amount to the harassment of newcomers”. |
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Civil Secretariat witnesses huge rush of visitors
Srinagar, June 26 Both peasants, who had left their village early in the morning, had a common cause to approach the Civil Secretariat i.e. seeking safe drinking water to a neglected portion of their village. In that part of the village, impure drinking water had led to the spread of various diseases, including jaundice, over the past few years, they claimed. “Three of my daughters have suffered from jaundice,” the woman said in a choked voice. After giving representation locally, the two had planned to visit the minister concerned to seek the redressal of their grievance with the little hope that those concerned would be available to listen to them. Mir had another reason to visit the secretariat. He wanted to enquire about the fate of an application submitted by his son for the post of constable. His son, Khursheed Ahmad, had applied in September last year and so far there had been no response, Mir lamented. He rued that corruption was the main hurdle and since he was unable to bribe anybody, his son might not be get a government job. These are not the only cases. Hundreds of people queue up in front of the main entrance of the Civil Secretariat every working day. “There was a little rush in the initial years after the 1996 elections, which were held after a gap of seven years of militancy,” said an official of the secretariat. The number had increased gradually over the years, although most of the people were not satisfied with the results of their frequent visits to the ministers and other offices, confided an official. “The number of people visiting the secretariat here since May last after the biannual shift from Jammu, has touched a high of around 2,500 per day. Even on a day when a bandh was called, 1,174 persons visited the secretariat,” said an official of the Estates Department. At least, 1,830 persons entered the secretariat on June 24, according to the official record while the number had gone down to 1,340 on June 25 when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah held an open public durbar in Ganderbal. The Civil Secretariat houses the offices of the Chief Minister, other ministers and high-level officials. It is open for public between 1 pm and 5 pm. |
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Cricket wins over all in Poonch, Rajouri
Rajouri, June 26 Once pushed to homes due to more than two decades of militancy in the state, older and younger generation, with the situation racing back to normal, are going crazy about the game and are coming out to watch cricket tournaments being organised across these twin border districts. Such is the craze of the game in these twin border districts that people in thousands come out of their homes to watch the game. “Cricket is more of a religion for us. Leave international events of the game, we cannot help stop going to stadiums here to witness the local teams slug it out in the middle,” says Suhail Dar, a resident and batsman who made it to the nationals of cricket event while in school. “For years together, we remained confined to our homes due to militancy, but things have changed for better now. We are not only playing in the local tournaments, but also our boys are making it to the national events. It’s not only the youngsters who have gone crazy for the game, but also the older people, too, are finding it a refreshing sport. “For years, our children wouldn’t go to stadium to play the game even as they have great liking for the sport. But, thanks to the almighty God that with the return of normalcy in the state, our boys are returning to stadium for playing the sport. We, too, feel happy that the game is attracting one and all,” says Shoket Mir, a resident of Poonch and fan of the game. Ajaz Ahmed Dar, member of the Sports Authority of Rajouri, which recently organised a cricket tournament wherein more than 20 teams from across the state participated, said, “In the final match played between the teams from Jammu and Srinagar, crowd which comprised children, youth and elder people, numbered more than 5,000. In the neighbouring district of Poonch, huge crowds were witnessed in all matches”. During the past few months, two major cricket tournaments were organised in the districts. |
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Extra classes by private schools fuel debate
Jammu, June 26 Some of the parents have welcomed this move as they say the students would be benefited as they would be able to complete their syllabus well in time while others have expressed resentment as they allege that their wards are being forced to go to school during vacation, which are meant to give respite to the students from the scorching heat. The education department had announced summer vacation from June 8 in schools located in the summer zone. Sources say majority of private educational institutions in the city are holding extra classes in defiance of the government orders. Some parents say the decision has been taken by the school authorities in order to compete with other private schools. Eqta Sharma (name changed), a student of a private school, says, “The move to hold extra classes during vacation is not justified as all students are enjoying their vacations whereas we are forced to put extra labour under the blazing sun”. Manoj Gupta (name changed), another student of a private school, says, “We have been asked to come for classes without school uniform since it is vacation time in other schools of the city”. Expressing resentment, Ashok Pandita, a parent of a student of a private school, says the management of the school has strictly asked all students to follow the directions and if they do not attend the classes, the school administration would take strict action against them. However, it was directed to all educational institutions to strictly follow the government orders of closing schools from June 8 failing which they would be liable for legal action. All government and private schools falling in the summer zone shall remain close from June 8 to August 2. Meanwhile, Zahida Khan, director, school education, Jammu, said, “We have categorically asked all institutions to observe summer vacation from June 8. To check the non-compliance of the orders, I have directed all chief education officers to constitute committees for conducting surprise visits for on-the-spot assessment”. |
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Militants play poverty card to lure youth
Bhalesa (Doda), June 26 Over-ground workers (OGWs), who are assigned the job of recruiting youth, have been highlighting backwardness and poverty in their respective areas to convince the youth to take up arms against the system. “Earlier, it was religion which was being used as a tool by the militants. Now, terrorists, especially the OGWs, are adopting the modus operandi of Naxalites to lure the youth to join the armed struggle for improving the system,” revealed Haji Rashid of Jakyas village while pointing towards unequal development in their area. Haji, who has played a major role in convincing some active militants to join the mainstream, has cautioned that due to the prevailing hunger and poverty, this belt would again turn into a breeding ground for militants. Inhabitants of this belt have reasons to caution the authorities against the new strategies of militant groups as this belt lacks basic amentias like roads, education and healthcare even after 60 years of the Independence. “Anti-national forces can exploit such situation because the patience of people of this region has been wearing thin due to their ever increasing miseries,” warned a youth. Security agencies are also worried about the new strategy of the OGWs as frustration rises among educated as well as illiterate youth of this belt. Pleading the cause of the unemployed youth, Shahin Ahmed of the same village, narrated an example of a fresh graduate who had no hope of getting a job. For the past two months, Javed Iqbal, a fresh graduate from Batyas village, has been struggling to get job card to work as labourer under the NREGA. Due to the backwardness and underdevelopment of this belt, there is no scope for him to get a respectable job so this graduate has decided to work under the NREGA. Javed Iqbal is not alone. There are a number of youths who are fed up with the system and ready to take any step to change it. “We have lost our patience. Schemes implemented for the uplift of the backward areas remained only on papers,” he rued and admitted that the frustration among youth had crossed all limits. This belt of Doda district is an example of the indifferent attitude of the successive regimes in providing basic amenities to the people. Due to the non-availability of road network, militant groups had earlier built up their hideouts in the remotest areas. Now, the supporters of the terrorists are raking up the issue of backwardness in this belt to increase locals’ alienation towards the system. |
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Love for nature turns forest officer into writer
Jammu, June 26 He is a man of letters - literally speaking! Since his childhood, he grew as an admirer of nature. Whether it is prose or poetry, it has a flow of rivers, freshness of cool breeze, imagery flies like birds and most importantly, the message remains immersed in the pre-eminence of a clean environment. This is the reason why being a writer and poet, he embraced flora and fauna as pivotal subjects in his write-ups. Writing under the pen-name Vidyarthi, he developed a bond with the nature in his early childhood as he comes from a rural background. Born and brought up in Ramnagar of Udhampur district, Vidyarthi credits nature as well as nomads as his best teachers. He humbly considers himself as a vidyarthi (student) even after authoring more than 30 books in different languages. Vidyarthi has immensely enriched his mother tongue by engineering botanical and other scientific terms in the Dogri language, besides writing books on medicinal plants of the state. He won the Sahitya Academy Award in 2001 for his travelogue “Boond-Boond Samrityian”, which was the Hindi translation of the original “Trip-Trip Chaitey” in Dogri. The book describes the flora and fauna of Ladakh, Mansuri and Uttrakhand. Vidyarthi, a student of GGM Science College and Jammu University, was a researcher in bryophyte and angiosperm before joining the Kashmir Administrative Services in 1984. A recipient of several awards, he joined the Indian Forest Services in 1987. Various parables and lyrical poems written by him hold the testimony of his literary genius. Vidhyarthi writes with an ability to make complex scientific concepts easy to comprehend. While writing any literary piece, he tries to incorporate popular beliefs and customs for striking a cord with readers. According to him, over the past 50 years, the state has lost nearly 40 per cent of the forest cover that has adversely affected its wildlife and plantation. “There is a need to replenish the forest cover, besides equipping the Forest Department with adequate tools and manpower for the conservation purposes,” he strongly advocates. His flair as an environment activist is deepening with the day, besides scaling new heights. Vidhyarthi puts in his own words: “People are fast growing indifferent towards the nature and the things with which it has blessed us. Be it rivers, air or soil, their quality is fast deteriorating and here arises the need for awareness and action in this regard.” |
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Special kids term visit to Srinagar airport memorable
Srinagar, June 26 Accompanied by the staff, 20 special children mingled with the officials and the occasion was no less than memorable for them. It was for the first time that the children got a chance to visit the state-of-the-art airport. “For the first time, such a visit was organised for special children. They enjoyed the visit. What more could they expect?,” said P. Rajan, project coordinator, Life Help Centre, and added, “It was a memorable moment for all of them and each child could watch more than five flights at the same time.” He said some of the children expressed a wish to fly. Rajan said the children were glad to be on the escalator. For some, it was a first-time visit and most of them were scared. The children of the centre suffer from Down syndrome, mild mental retardation, multiple disabilities and cerebral palsy. The project coordinator emphasised the importance of daily living skills and socialisation with society among special children. “We are focusing on it at all levels in our centre,” said Rajan. The project coordinator said the centre intended to take these children to parks, the railway station, post offices, banks and other places in the near future. “Such interactions enable them to know the public. In turn, the public also comes to know about them. This in a way leads to their acceptance by the society.” Rajan said the centre had two months ago applied for recognition to the Social Welfare Department (SWD). An awareness rally about the sensitisation of issues concerning the special children would be organised by the Humanity Welfare Organisation on June 27 and many NGOs had been invited to take part in it. |
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