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Volunteers boost ‘Save Tawi’ campaign
River sprucing project hangs fire
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Rajouri’s Shaheedi Sthal in a shambles
Pamphlets deface the walls of the Shaheedi Sthal in Rajouri. Photo by writer
Jammu needs to promote tourist destinations
Railway Station lacks facilities
Electoral rolls not transparent: Ex-minister
87-yr-old hurt as man opens fire
Jawan killed in blast
Lecturers’ Day celebrated
Man held with charas
Man found dead
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Volunteers boost ‘Save Tawi’ campaign
Jammu, April 9
They had submitted a letter to the chairman of State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) on April 2, revealing that the ‘Save Tawi’ volunteers had collected huge quantity of poly bags from the Tawi riverbed during the last two days of Navratras and the same were lying unattended. They also urged the SPCB to take up the matter with the authorities concerned to remove the poly bags and garbage and take suitable action to discourage the commoners from dumping polythene bags into the river. Taking a serious note of the letter, the SPCB referred the issue to the Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), on the same day through a communication number SPCB/PS/MS/12/ 906-08.
Sources in the JMC revealed that following the instructions, the authorities concerned had deployed various teams to clean the area. Moreover, both the senior volunteers are spearheading the movement to save the river with a zeal as they spent last Sunday in removing polythene bags from the riverbed and counselling the people near the banks. Chib, who has been conferred with the Sena Medal for providing logistics back up to Kargil Operation, told The Tribune, “We cleaned up some area with the help of some locals and later talked to the people residing in the nearby areas to convince them for not dumping polythene bags in the riverbed. We also talked to Mahant Siya Ram of the temple located on the left bank of Tawi, Manav Kohli, member of the Bikram Chowk Shopkeepers Association, Moulvi of the mosque located on the Tawi Bridge and Om Prakash Shastri, priest of temple adjacent to the mosque,” adding that all of them assured a whole-hearted cooperation to the movement. Parimoo said, “It hardly makes a difference what is our number, what matters is our spirit. We will keep on contributing for the cleaning of Tawi and are moving with a fixed plan.”
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River sprucing project hangs fire
Jammu, April 9
The construction of a park being developed on 27 kanals of land near Gujjar Nagar has been stayed by the high court, after locals claimed that the land belonged to them. The beautification project was initiated in 2004 by then Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and later reviewed by Ghulam Nabi Azad when he was the Chief Minister. Azad had given consent for the construction of two parks along the river, which were being developed by the Jammu Development Authority (JDA). With the project tangled in a legal battle, the land is being used as a parking area by locals and during the Amarnath yatra, the authorities allow sadhus to stay at the place. However, JDA secretary ML Malik said all the problems between locals and the JDA have been sorted out and work is progressing well. He said the authority is making efforts to complete projects on time. The beautification plan had provided for landscaping the river banks by constructing walkways, gardens and recreation centres and remove the garbage lying there for years. “Jammu has a river running through the middle of the city and a forest within the municipal limits, but these have not been maintained properly. The fate of the entire project hangs in balance. Even the work on the lake project is going on at a slow pace,” said social activist Vishal Sharma.
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Rajouri’s Shaheedi Sthal in a shambles
Rajouri, April 9 The monument is decorated every year on the Rajouri day celebrations on 13 April when the Army, civil administration officials wake up after deep slumber. As far common days are concerned, the authorities have no time to take care of the memorial. “Animals stay at the memorial giving it an ugly look. People also use it for drying clothes,” historian Marajkar Singh said. The memorial is in such bad shape due to the casual attitude of the Army and the administration. It has become an advertisement spot for political parties and tutorials. People deface the memorial by sticking posters, banners and holdings over it. Last year, local press highlighted the issue, after which the Army and local administration came in action and cleaned it and maintained it for some time. But the Shaheedi Sthal is again in a bad shape. Amit Sharma, state president, Pratima Raksha Saman Samiti (PRSS), said, “It is humiliation of those who sacrificed for Rajouri’s liberation.” Rajouri DC Sowgat Biswas said, “It is an important and respectful place which needs to be maintained by the local municipal committee and the Army.” The Shaheedi Sthal at the Gujjar Mandi Chowk in Rajouri was built in early 1990s to pay homage to the brave civilians and Army personnels, who had sacrificed their lives for liberation of Rajouri on April 13, 1948. Historical background of Shaheedi Sthal
* According to locals, the war memorial was built in early 1990s after the locals had demanded that the place needed a memorial to honour the people who had sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Rajouri in 1948. *
On 14 April, 1948, Major Gen Kulwant Singh launched an attack against the Pakistani forces that had converted the site of present air field into a slaughter ground on 13 April, 1948. Enemy killed over 13,000 persons and the survivors had to escape to forests before Maj Gen Singh could come to their rescue. He led his troops from Chingus to Rajouri on 10 April, 1948 leaving over 500 Pakistani soldiers dead in clashes at various places. *
A grand function is organised at the memorial on 13 April every year in the memory of those who sacrificed for the motherland.
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Jammu needs to promote tourist destinations
Lakhanpur, April 9 Jammu city received more than 1 crore tourists in 2011, who went on the pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine. But the state government is not successful in diverting even 10 per cent of the tourist inflow to other destinations in Jammu. Patnitop, considered as the best hill station of the region, received only 2.97 lakh tourists in 2011, which is 3 per cent of the tourist inflow in Jammu. In 2010, 3.54 lakh tourists visited Jammu as compared to 3.03 lakh tourists in 2009. The entrance at Lakhanpur, which connects the state to rest of the country, displays a beautiful building, which is almost complete but remains unopened. On the other side, there is an old toll plaza which is used for both entry and exit purposes. The building, once completed, will be used as the entry and the old toll plaza will be used as the exit. As one enters the state, the only destination for the tourists is the Vaishno Devi shrine. The Mansar Lake, which is only 30 km away, is not a major hit with the tourists. Out of 1 crore tourists, only 5.14 lakh visited the lake in 2011. The religious shrines -- Shahdra Sharief in Rajouri and Shiv Khori in Reasi -- received more than 12 lakh tourists in 2011, but the shrines do not receive many tourists from outside the state due to poor connectivity. Robin Singh Mehta, Director, Jammu Tourism, said, “We are trying to explore new tourist destinations in the Jammu region. We would promote Shiv Khori and Bhaderwah as tourist destinations.” “Militancy had a very bad impact on the state because of which we could not explore hidden treasures of the state. The tourist inflow was also less due to fear of militants here,” he added. What ails Jammu tourism?
As one enters the city through the Lakhanpur toll plaza, damaged roads, stranded trucks, and shabby entrance welcome the tourists. Though the new toll plaza is under construction, the land dispute on a part of the land has jeopardised opening of the new entrance. Most of the tourists visiting Jammu are not aware of the tourist destinations here. After paying obeisance at the Vaishno Devi shrine, most of the tourists leave the region without exploring other destinations here. There is a route connecting the national highway
Mansar-Sanasar-Sidhra-Jammu. The route is one of the best routes in Jammu and presents a picturesque view of the hilly regions of Jammu. But few people opt for this route as they are now aware of this newly constructed route. Though the Jammu
region has beautiful destinations like Poonch, Rajouri, Bhaderwah, Patnitop and Sanasar, people are unaware of these destinations. Savita
Suryavanshi, a tourist who was on her way to Jammu, said, “We have come here to visit the Vaishno Devi shrine. We did not know about
any other place worth seeing. So we planned a short trip. Next time we will plan for Srinagar and see all other places.” “We are trying to explore the leisure tourism here. Our main focus is religious tourism, which we are trying to improve in the state,” added Director, Jammu Tourism. |
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Railway Station lacks facilities
Jammu, April 9 Sharadh Patel, a passenger, was shocked to see the filthy condition and lack of basic facilities at the station as most of the passengers were waiting on the floor of the station. “Neither there is a bench at the railway station for the passengers nor a waiting room. It is one of the important railway stations in the northern region as the Vaishno Devi shrine draws lakhs of tourists every month, but there is nothing here that welcomes or attracts us towards the place,” added Sharadh. There is a Tourism Department centre to help the tourists at the station, but the passengers do not know about it as there are no signboards that could indicate its location. The X-ray machines installed for checking the passengers and luggage are out of order. The Railway authorities say that the machines remain in such bad condition due to overburden. Raghav Sharma, a frequent traveller, said though the station is a critical one but there is no special arrangement for the security. “There is no check of the platform tickets. Anybody can enter the station; no one will ask you the reason to stand there. Even the beggars can be seen on the platform.” Robin Singh Mehta, Director, Jammu Tourism, admitted that there are many loopholes in the system that need to be rectified. “Yes, there is a need of signboards, welcome boards and other things that can attract the tourists. We are trying to improve, but things will be done gradually.” The Railways had started a multi-storey building project in 2006 with an intention to provide all the facilities to the passengers, including restaurants, restrooms, waiting room and recreational hall. Following a tussle between the Railways and the state administration, the project has been put on hold. According to sources, the department has sanctioned Rs 30 lakh for the polished benches to be placed at the railway station, but the work has not started yet. The passengers have to drag their luggage from the platform right up to the taxi stand as there is no escalator or mobile luggage carriers. The Railways has no project to introduce the escalators, mobile luggage carriers or wheel chairs at the Jammu Railway Station, said the sources.
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Electoral rolls not transparent: Ex-minister
Jammu, April 9 Gupta said it was sad that certain elements had been playing foul with the electoral process and making a mockery of the democracy. This approach had led to many problems in the country. But it was unfortunate that even after the extension of jurisdiction of the Election Commission of India in J&K, such unconstitutional elements did not relent. He said it was intriguing that prior to 2008 Assembly elections, the Jammu region had more electorate than Kashmir valley. In 2002 Assembly elections, the Jammu region had two lakh voters more than the Valley. And, in the history of electoral process, these elections were recognised as
“most fair”. It was in the wake of these elections that for the first time the government of the state was changed. Gupta added that during the past 4-5 years a large number of electorate of the Jammu region had been mysteriously deleted to change the regional balance. “Not only this, even in the preparation of electoral rolls for the civic elections, a foul play is evident. In certain wards, a large number of voters have not been registered and on the other hand in many wards, especially in Srinagar, the number of electorate have almost doubled whereas in some other wards there has been no change”, he said. He pointed out that in Srinagar, an increase of over 1.55 lakh voters has been registered in 68 wards whereas in Jammu city, the increase is just 17,000 in 71 wards. Gupta regretted that not only the electoral rolls were faulty and full of mistakes, even the photo identity cards issued by the Election Commission of India were faulty and loaded with howlers. He said it was the responsibility of the Election Commission to investigate about the manipulations that have been played |
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87-yr-old hurt as man opens fire
Jammu, April 9 The victim has been identified as Nabha Singh, son of Swarn Singh. He runs a shop in the area. Reports said the accused, identified as Shibu Singh, had some argument with Nabha Singh over some minor issue. Later, the accused returned with an air gun and fired at the old man, who received bullet injuries on the chest. The accused fled from the spot. The victim was shifted to the Government Medical College in a critical condition. The police has launched a search to nab the accused. — TNS |
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Jawan killed in blast
Rajouri, April 9 He died on the spot when the grenade exploded. An inquiry has been initiated to ascertain
the cause behind the blast, the spokesman added. |
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Lecturers’ Day celebrated
Jammu, April 9 The persons, who were present on the occasion, included NS Jamwal, Ram Prakash, Tarsem Singh, HD Qureshi, Charan Dass and Gurcharan Singh.
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Man held with charas
Rajouri, April 9 A case under Section 8/20 of the NDPS Act has been registered. — OC |
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Man found dead
Jammu, April 9 The locals reported the matter to the police. The body was taken to the GMCH for postmortem. The police has started the inquiry and is waiting for the postmortem report. “Though no marks were found on the body, but the police has questioned Ram’s employers and acquaintances,” said a police official.
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Not only living beings are victimised but martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Rajouri are also the subject of negligence and disrespect.
A glaring example is the Shaheedi Sthal in Rajouri, a symbol of patriotism and history of
Rajouri, where names of hundreds of martyrs are scripted, but it is facing negligence.
The board at Lakhanpur, entry point to the state, reads ‘Welcome to Jammu’. The city is considered as the third major pilgrimage tourist destination in the country. But is Jammu actually welcoming the tourists?
The All-J&K Plus 2 Lecturers Forum celebrated Lecturers’ Day here today. The speakers from various parts of the state expressed their valuable views on the importance of the day. Along with this, they also discussed about the functioning of the Department of School Education with a special focus on the role of Plus 2 cadre in the development of education in the state.
“It has been observed that a lot of polythene bags and other non-biodegradable material have accumulated along different ghats of the Tawi as a result of religious activities at the end of Navratras. A special clean-up operation along the different ghats of river, therefore, be taken up to get rid of this polluting material,” read the communication. 