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Tea with The Tribune
Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, MLA
Rural stint may be made mandatory for medicos
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Nature’s paradise a ‘living hell’
This village sends maximum youths to armed forces
SSA reduces number of out-of-school children
ISM doctors seek jobs in Health Dept
Book pleads for Art 370 abrogation
Villagers being trained to save accident victims
De-addiction centre helps girl shun drugs
Srinagar diary
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Tea with The Tribune
Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, MLA
Tarigami, a man with a balanced mind and a balanced approach, who has become a voice of right-thinking people in the state, had gone through several upheavals in his personal and political life. Coming from a humble family from Tarigam village in
Kulgam, he continues to fight for people. The Tribune team talked to him on various issues.
Following are the excerpts: Ravi Krishnan Khajuria (RKK): Tell us about your family background. How you became a politician and who inspired you with the Leftist ideology? Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami
(MYT): I belong to a lower middle-class peasant family of Tarigam village and none in my family had any political background. Since my childhood I was a bit emotional and sensitive to the surroundings. A communist leader, Abdul Karim
Wani, used to visit our village for public meetings and my uncle used to take me to his meetings. I was greatly influenced by his thoughts. From there started my political journey. We first started a movement in Kulgam resisting forcible procurement of rice from farmers during the regime of the then Chief Minister GM
Sadiq. During college days, we used to stage protests on burning issues and I along with my colleagues got arrested several times. In fact, I was the first victim of the Public Safety Act
(PSA) that was slapped on me in 1979. RKK: What is the most shocking incident of your life? MYT: The death of my wife in 1975. It still remains the most shocking incident of my life. I was in jail when she died. Though I was given parole for one month but only after three days, I was rearrested. Prisons became part of my early life. I spent 14 months in a Reasi jail. Dinesh Manhotra (DM): In a communally sensitive area like Kashmir where fanatic groups like Jamat-e-Islami have great influence, spreading Leftist ideology is a difficult task. How do you manage? MYT: It is really a difficult task to organise political functions, especially for CPM or other socialist
organisations. The Kulgam constituency was earlier considered as a citadel of
Jamat-e-Islami. It is the result of our work with the people that we have strengthened our base in that area. DM: You were in the forefront to form the Third Front in Kashmir to provide alternative to the National Conference and the
PDP. Why that experiment failed? MYT: Political alternatives are a must to make the democracy more vibrant and people oriented. Hegemony of a single political party is not in the interest of the democratic system. We tried to provide an alternative but that effort could not mature. Ghulam Hassan Mir, Hakim Mohammad Yasin and I along with some other right thinking persons had initiated efforts in this direction. Had we contested the 2008 Assembly elections jointly, the political situation today would have been entirely different. DM: What is the future of the Third Front? MYT: We have not shelved the idea. I will continue my effort to provide an alternative in the state. DM: The National Conference and the PDP have given two different proposals for the solution of the Kashmir problem. In your opinion, what is the viable solution? MYT: In my opinion, demands of self-rule and greater autonomy should not be confined only to some families of Kashmir. There is a need to trickle down decision-making power at grassroots level to increase peoples’ participation in governance on the pattern of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. Keeping in view the topography of the state, decentralisation of power is the one and only solution to meet the aspirations of all sections of society. RKK: J&K had always remained a communally sensitive state where voices like separate statehood to Jammu, UT status to Ladakh and freedom to Kashmir keep on creating noises. What is your reaction? MYT: I had and would keep opposing any move to divide the state. In fact, I had moved a resolution in the Assembly opposing any such move. The state today needs a politics of reconciliation in the form of Indo-Pak dialogue and talks between the Centre and the state. RKK: There are voices of discontent also like discrimination between the three regions and within sub-regions. What do you think? MYT: Unless the three regions talk to each other, things can’t improve. We talk to New Delhi, Pakistan and the US, but a dialogue within the three regions is also indispensable. Sunaina Kaul (SK): During the last Assembly elections, you got more Kashmir Pandit votes as compared to other candidates. Will you give special attention towards their problems? MYT: I have close intimacy with the Kashmiri Pandit community. Even if they had not cast their votes in my favour, I would have continued to highlight their problems. They have many issues like unemployment and enhancement in relief. The state government must pay attention towards their problems. SK: What is your party doing for restoring trust between displaced Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims in Kashmir? MYT: The return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley is not an easy task. There is a drastic need for building confidence among the displaced Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims. I have been supporting their return and rehabilitation, but we have limited influence. Joint efforts by all political parties and even by Separatists are required. Ashutosh Sharma (AS): Despite Supreme Court’s ruling, militancy affected migrants of the region are not getting adequate relief. How do you look at the issue? MYT: It is unfortunate. The government is bound to provide them relief besides rehabilitating them. But it’s not being done. I see it as a human issue that needs a compassionate approach for their welfare. Since they are also victims of militancy they should be treated on a par with the KP migrants. AS: Do you think the government is serious in eradicating corruption? MYT: After the demise of its former chairman, Justice RP Sethi, role of the Accountability Commission has reduced considerably. The commission needs to be strengthened to curb corruption. Secondly, the government has not been able to appoint any chairman for the state RTI Commission. The appointment of its chairman should be time bound and the post should be advertised and a suitable person should be appointed without delay. There is also a provision in the state RTI Act that only people belonging to the state can seek information. I contest that everyone should be included in the purview of the RTI Act. AS: What is your reaction to reports about violation of labour laws by employers? MYT: Even in the government sector, minimum wages are not being disbursed to employees working on ad hoc and contractual basis. Recently, I met laborers working at coal mines in Kalakote. I came to know that even those who have completed 15 years of service are still treated as unskilled labourers. I strongly urge the government to work for the welfare of working class. AS: Your take on new surrender policy that proposes amnesty to the youth who had crossed over to PoK for arms training and are now willing to come back? MYT: I was the first legislator who passed a resolution in Assembly advocating their return in 2005. The issue was later hijacked by other political parties. I also stand for the redressal of grievances confronting the alienated sections. So I don’t see any harm if they come back with a changed heart under a due mechanism. Both India and Pakistan should jointly workout in this regard. |
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Rural stint may be made mandatory for medicos
Jammu, March 5 He stressed on achieving maximum physical and financial targets under the NRHM and asked the authorities to conduct a survey for grading districts on the basis of achievements. Abdullah also asked to conduct weekly review of all works under the NRHM and to conduct a survey on the maternal mortality rate. He also asked the authorities concerned to make health workers more responsible for pre-natal, post-natal care and immunization by extending lucrative incentives. The Centre would be approached for seeking flexibilities of criteria under various centrally sponsored schemes like Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), NRHM and others, he said. Abdullah said the government would urge the Planning Commission to release at least 50 per cent of the allocation under all centrally sponsored schemes in April of every year. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma said the government was tightening the noose on private practice and mushrooming of private nursing homes. He said medicos were being encouraged to serve in rural areas with revised incentives and health services were being created under the NRHM to meet dearth of trained doctors. It would be made mandatory for every doctor to serve for at least 2-3 years in rural areas, he said. Sharma also advocated for changing the nomenclature of allopathic dispensaries (ADs) and medical aid centres (MACs) to primary health centres (PHCs) and sub-centres. . — PTI
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Nature’s paradise a ‘living hell’
Chan Marg (Shopian), March 5 “Please write something about our village, so that the authorities wake up from deep slumber. This village was set up years before the country got freedom, but more than 60 years have passed we are yet to see electricity,” Altaf Ahmed, brother of paratrooper Imtiyaz Ahmed, who was killed while fighting with militants in Sopore town last month. He said the sacrifice made by his brother gained the attention of the media towards their village which had otherwise remained neglected. “We have been requesting every visiting journalist to highlight our problems. If the people here get electricity, that would be the biggest recognition of my brother’s sacrifice,” maintained Altaf. The village also lacks the basic facility of road connectivity and people have to tread several kilometers on slippery muddy track to reach the village. “Whenever there is rain or snowfall, we remain totally cut off from the rest of the world. And whenever somebody falls ill, we have to carry the patient on a bed and walk several kilometers before we reach the hospital in Shopian town,” said Ghulam Qadir, a resident of the village. Similar is the condition with several other villages situated near this village, which is also one of the link roads to the prestigious Mughal road project that would be an alternative route for connecting the Jammu region with the Kashmir valley. “During elections, politicians come to us and make tall promises. But after the elections are over, nobody turns up, not even the elected representative,” said Sajad Ahmed, another resident of Chan Marg village. He said, “The situation is more challenging for expecting mothers as there is no primary health centre and in case of an emergency, we have to carry them on a bed to Shopian for delivery. Though the place enjoys nature’s beauty, it is a living hell so far as basic facilities are concerned”.
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This village sends maximum youths to armed forces Chan Marg village situated in the hotbed of militancy-infested district of Shopian is one of the villages in the valley known for sending the maximum number of youths to the armed forces . Defying threats from militants, 80 of the 200 families in the hamlet have sent their youths to join the Army whereas an equal number are serving in the police. Nazir Ahmed Thokar (55), father of four sons, had sent all four to join the armed forces, three in the Army and one in the local police. His younger son, Imtiyaz Ahmed (22) attained martyrdom last month while fighting militants in Chinkipora village of Sopore town in Baramulla district. “As a majority of the residents in this village belong to the Muslim Rajput clan, it is in our blood to serve the motherland,” said Sajad Ahmed of 2 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry currently posted in Siachen. The villagers serving in the Army say that as there parents remain under constant threat from militants a majority of them prefer to keep their families with them. “As I am posted in the JAKLI regimental centre in Srinagar, I have kept my family with me there,” said Altaf Ahmed . “The militants keep sending us messages to ask our children to leave the Army but we have never asked our children to leave the force,” said a parent whose two sons are in the Army. Altaf said he had been in the Army for the past 15 years and preferred to join the force when militancy was at its peak in the Kashmir valley. Parents like Nazir Ahmed whose children are in the Army say that they are proud of their children because they chose to serve the motherland rather than die like a traitor.
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SSA reduces number of out-of-school children
Jammu, March 5 The number of out-of-school children has been reduced from 3.76 lakh to 51,000 from 2002-03 to 2008-09, claimed Khursheed Ahmed Rishi, state project director, SSA, while talking to The Tribune. Rishi said this year too, the SSA has again achieved success by reducing the number of out-of-school children up to 39,746. “Putting tooth and nail efforts, we have succeeded to bring down the number of out-of-school children drastically during the past five years. In future, we might be able to further bring down the number of out-of-school children to 19,000,” said Rishi. These out-of-school children fall in the age group of 6-14 and belong to deprived section of society. Out-of-school children comprise dropouts and never enrolled children. The children who have left the school after taking admission are called dropouts and the children who have not joined the school rolls at all are called never enrolled children. The major portion of out-of-school children comprises Schedule Cast and Schedule Tribe girls belonging to Gujjar and Bakarwal Community and children of migrant labourers, who have come to Jammu and Kashmir from different states of the country, particularly from Bihar, to earn their livelihood, said the state project director. Rishi said due to the lack of awareness among the Gujjar and Bakarwal Community, they do not allow girls to get education. He said the SSA is looking forward to make education more interesting for these children so as to attain 100 per cent attendance and 0 per cent dropout rate in the state. While considering it a difficult task for the SSA to bring down the rate up to 0 per cent, Rishi said, “Usually these children leave/drop school because of economic crisis. They leave schools to earn money for their families for which they have to do labour.” “We cannot force their parents to send them to schools, but we are trying to come out with a scheme to provide financial assistance to them so that these children can come to schools,” he added. The SSA has also introduced a bridge course for these out-of-school children, who are now coming in schools, to make them equal to the regular school-going children of their age group. The three-level bridge course is meant to fill the gap between in and out-of-school children. During the first level, students are taught the syllabus of class I to class III, the second level includes the syllabus of class IV to class V and the third level includes the syllabus of class VI to class VII.
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ISM doctors seek jobs in Health Dept
Srinagar, March 5 “Salary is not our priority. We want to be employed as rehbar-e-sehat on contractual basis in the Health Department,” said Dr Hamid, president, Unemployed ISM Doctors Association. He said unemployed ISM doctors recently met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during a public darbar in Bandipora. “We were assured that unemployed ISM doctors would be employed in the Health Department, but no action has been taken so far, which has led us to frustration.” Dr. Javaid, spokesman for the association, said the Union Government had directed states to recruit one ISM doctor on two sub-centres of the state. “In the total 2,256 sub-centres, 1,100 ISM doctors can be easily given employment,” said the spokesman, adding, the same had never been implemented. He pleaded that most of the ISM doctors had crossed the age bar and demanded that they too should be provided a chance to appear in the interview for the posts, if advertised. The first batch of ISM doctors passed out in 2006. Dr Hamid said ISM doctors got themselves registered after directions from the government. “Later, it was stated that 602 candidates would be absorbed, but only 337 were given jobs under the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) scheme”. The scheme was launched in all states in 2000-01, but in Jammu and Kashmir, it was launched in 2005-06. The spokesman said if 375 Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) candidates could be employed on contractual basis and an equal number through public service commission then why not ISM doctors. They said they were working as private practitioners and were facing huge challenges. “We want the government to come to our rescue so that our problems are mitigated.”
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Book pleads for Art 370 abrogation
jammu, March 5 Sehgal has dedicated the book written in Hindi to nationalist leaders of the state like Dr Om Prakash Mengi, Pandit Prem Nath Dogra and Shyamlal Sharma. It emphasizes on the "glorious" past of the state and highlights the concern over separatism and Pakistan-backed terrorism. Some chapters in the book have been dedicated to historical warriors of the state like Baba Jitto, Veer Banda Bahadur and General Zorawar Singh, Dogra rulers. The book also cites the role of the RSS in the state and the plight of militancy-affected people. It criticises the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Abdullah family for all ills plaguing the state. The author believes that Article 370 is the root cause of problems confronting the state and advocates its abrogation. The writer categorically negates the "autonomy" and "self-rule" slogans as he feels that such arrangements would endanger the country's sovereignty by only encouraging religious bigots. He appreciates the security forces for fighting insurgency and communal frenzy in the valley. The writer also puts forth a formula to resolve the vexed Kashmir problem.
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Villagers being trained to save accident victims
Udhampur, March 5 Several accident-prone points have been identified in Udhampur and Reasi districts, which are part of the 13 multi-hazardous districts selected for the purpose as per the action plan adopted by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the basis of KM Singh Committee Report. Other districts included Jammu, Srinagar, Rajouri, Poonch, Budgam, Anantnag, Pulwama, Baramulla, Kupwara, Leh and Kargil. The action plan is in line with the core recommendation of the KM Singh Committee is that the present civil defence set-up catering mainly to towns should be expanded to the rural areas which are equally or even more vulnerable. “With this in mind, we have launched a programme to involve the villagers on a voluntary basis for the noble cause for saving the lives of accident victims on the NH-I passing through our area,” said Bodhraj, deputy controller, Civil Defence, Udhampur, Reasi Range. Since February 18, several awareness-cum-demonstration camps have been organised in Udhampur and Reasi districts. It was just a coincidence that a youth and his brother-in-law, who were on a bike, lost their lives after a fatal accident on the same day one such camp was organised at Thard village near Udhampur. Since such fatal accidents take place frequently on the NH-I, this particular instance highlighted that there is a need to do something so that precious lives are not lost for the want of crucial help to the victims. “It is not that earlier villagers living close to any accident site did not come forward to provide help, but their efforts many a time used to go waste as they were not trained. For instance, we did not know how to give first aid in case of fractures or how to retrieve victims stuck up in badly damaged vehicles. Now, we are provided with first aid kits and stretchers,” said Nasib Singh, a volunteer who runs a grocery shop at Samroli, an accident-prone halting point on the highway. Involving people like him has certainly paid off if participation of people in camps is any indication. They included sarpanches, panches, nambardars and village chowkidars. “Our department will remain in touch with the volunteers enrolled at the camps. They have taken the responsibility to keep kits and stretchers under their care. There might be some teething problems since it is a new initiative, but we have not come across any problem at the camps organised so far at Thard, Balinalah, Tirthi, Krimchi and Samroli in both districts. We hope that after the training, volunteers will be able to save many lives,” added Bodhraj.
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De-addiction centre helps girl shun drugs
Srinagar, March 5 Having a bright career ahead, Arfeen always passed her examinations with good marks. She used to study hard and participate in extra-curricular activities. Soon her life took a worst turn. As she fell prey to drug abuse, there was a change in her overall temperament. She was no longer bothered about her health, hygiene and dress pattern. Her attitude towards life had changed and her relation with her mother and other family members turned hostile. Tired of various mechanisms adopted to bring Arfeen’s life back on track, her uncle approached Dr Ghulam Nabi Wani, founder of the Hindustan National Social Security (HNSS) De-addiction Centre, Khanyar. Arfeen had lost her father at a young age and was brought up by her mother and uncles. “I knew the family. Nobody could believe that a girl from this family would fall prey to drug addiction. I tried my best in detoxifying her,” said Dr Wani. Arfeens’ uncle shared that she was coming up as a bright student and secured good percentage up to class X. “The moment she got enrolled in class XI, we noticed a change in her temperament”. The family started looking for reasons behind her abnormal behaviour and arranged a family meet to discuss the problem. “Arfeen got attached to one of her uncles, who covered her interests. But her mother often burst into tears thinking her daughter is on a wrong path with no solution in sight,” said the HNSS founder. Finally, Arfeen’s meeting with Dr Wani was arranged. In the first few meetings, the girl wasn’t ready to accept that she was a drug addict. A woman social worker and a nurse at the de-addiction centre motivated her to come out with details. “Once she got convinced that we are trying to help her come out of this mess, she divulged the details. We are glad that we succeeded,” said the social worker. Arfeen had been using cough syrups in an irrational manner and would continue taking these syrups, even though there was relief from cough. “While we were motivating, counselling and guiding Arfeen, she burst into tears and said she took 30 ml of cough syrup thrice a day for weeks together,” said Dr Wani. Arfeen also used to consume sleeping pills like diazepam during cough episodes. “After few days, she changed her statement and said that she would take one and a half or two bottles of Siricodeine cough syrup and five tablets of diazepam on a daily basis.” Dr Wani said Arfeen liked sedation and the taste of cough syrup and that was the reason why she didn’t want to discontinue it. Finally, the de-addiction centre staff succeeded in persuading her to give up the habit. Later, she was detoxified. She overcame all hiccups, regained her confidence and started her life afresh. |
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Srinagar diary
Potholes in the making
After the harsh winter in the Kashmir valley, pleasant spring is always welcome. With the chilly winter coming to an end, spring has started setting in and this is marked by rain in the plains and snow in the upper reaches. This is what happened over the past one week. But the season’s first rain accompanied by melting of snow has resulted in creating a lot of problems for local people as water-logging has become a perennial problem in urban areas. Most roads in the capital city and other major towns are converted into cesspools where water stagnates and creates problems for pedestrians. The splashing of muddy water from these cesspools by vehicles makes the life of pedestrians miserable. This situation prevails whenever rain takes place. Even as the government claims to have improved main and link roads at a heavy expenditure, there is no respite from water stagnating in potholes on various roads. Check on free sale of medicines advocated
Free sale of medicines in the market needs to be looked into at the earliest. The authorities are a mute spectator while society at large is indifferent towards such a glaring issue. Easy availability of medicines enhances self-medication that has been found to be one of the major contributing factors leading to a serious problem of drug addiction. It is time that free sale of medicines is strictly banned and the chemists are instructed to demand prescription from customers approaching them for medicines. In turn, consumers should demand cash memos from chemists for purchases. The same would in a way help to maintain a check on spurious, adulterated and over-pricing of drugs. Self-medication and substitution of medicines that were creating enormous problems in society would also be checked to a large extent. (Contributed by Ehsan Fazili, Tejinder Singh Sodhi and Afsana Rashid) |
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Udhampur, March 5
Despite the ban on its use since May last year, polythene has gradually staged a comeback in the market places. For some time after the imposition of the ban there was a vigorous campaign against the use of polythene carrybags. But this spirit died down gradually with the government also turning a blind eye to the use of polythene carrybags. These polythene carrybags, which have since long replaced bags made of biodegradable material, seem to be making a permanent place in daily life (See photo). As a result, the steps to preserve and conserve water bodies, greenery and forest cover in Kashmir easily become the victim of official apathy and least concern among the people. When the campaign against polythene was launched last year, there was virtually an end to the use of polythene bags. As the campaign and spirit started fading away, these bags staged a comeback with transparent material for carrying milk products. The non-biodegradable material is now found in almost all colours for carrying all consumer items from vegetables to other goods.