Women Empowerment is an Oxymoron so Far as J&K is Concerned

Raman shoots down the idea that women's emancipation in J&K is anything more than an empty rhetoric 

(Mr. Raman Sharma, 27, was born in Jammu city. He received his schooling in the Sri Ranbir Memorial School, Jammu, and graduated in political science and sociology from the Jammu University. Mr. Sharma is a free lance journalist and a social activist who has filed over 500 Right to Information (RTI) applications with the Central and J&K governments.)

“Women Empowerment” in J&K is Not More Than a Slogan !

Women Empowerment in the state of Jammu and Kashmir possibly would remain a slogan for at least one more century because there appears no immediate ray of hope as all the political parties believe in lip servicing rather than doing anything to give them an opportunity. This is unfortunate that even after more than 60 years of democracy only 3 women leaders could become even Members of Parliament.

Yes, in the recent history of the state only 3 women from Jammu and Kashmir could enter Parliament of India, Krishna Mehta, Begum Akbar Jahan Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti are the only names that come into thought when one explores political empowerment for women in the state. This is obviously a matter of great concern that when there are more than 5,883,365 female citizens out of total 12,548,926 population and more than 31 Lac voters out of total 64 Lacs combined electorate still their presence in the power corridors of Jammu and Kashmir state remains almost negligible.

The discrimination is done by each and every political party of the state with women, all of them are reluctant in giving them political opportunity to show their abilities and competence. This is being proved beyond any dispute when one have a glance at the list of 89 honourable members of legislative assembly there are only five female Legislatures in the lower house whereas officially it is being informed that there are over 3 millions female voters in the state. At present out of 30 members in the state upper house (Legislative Council) the female representation remains zero. The council of ministers in the state is also purely male dominated and there’s just one female minister namely Miss Sakina Itoo. Out of total 10 Member Parliaments there is no presence of any women candidates neither in the Lok Sabha where all the six seats occupied by male members and even the 4 Rajya Sabha seats are shared amongst the gentlemen.

In this troubled state the female folk is hardly accommodated even at the soft higher political posts such as vice-chairperson of community welfare boards like, Kissan Welfare Board, Pahari Speaking Board, Vice Chairman, J&K State Advisory Board for Development of Gujjars and Bakerwals and other. These posts could be easily offered to the female political activists to show their ability and if they do well their then they might be offer some other chance.

Even at the Panchayat level the scenario is no different, the approach of all the political parties is more or less same, except National Conference and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party no other political party even gave mandate to any other female contestant for 4 MLC’s seat. Amongst total 44 nominations filed for the MLC’s seat there are only 2 female Candidates. Activists and Experts feel that the powerful Panchayati Raj Institutions in the state could be the best option towards women empowerment and to provide them the opportunities to serve the communities and build up leadership character. But contrary to the experts’ opinion, the state government have not even given any honorarium to elected panchayat members. In the 2011-Panchayat elections a good number of female candidates successfully contested the elections. Now these elected Panches and Sarpanches are feeling being deceived because many of them were earlier earning their livelihood by one way or other like Tailoring, Sallon and Handicraft but after being elected as Panchayat members they could not devote time there.

The political empowerment for women in the state is necessary not only to accommodate them or for their social and political empowerment but this is the need of the hour, The sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir leaves a lot to be desired as it lags behind the national average by a huge gap. The female Sex ratio of Jammu and Kashmir is 883 females per 1000 males and the child sex ratio is also alarming 859 females per 1000 males. Even the female literacy rate is 58.01 % which is 7 % less than that of national rate i.e. 65.46%. When in our neighboring state of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab we can have female literacy rate of 76.60 percent and 71.34 respectively.

The Political bosses in the state must understand the fact that the women of Jammu and Kashmir are very competent, every individual woman here is capable of making change and that’s they work in every sector and level of society. The women folk of Jammu and Kashmir is perhaps the most tolerant, courageous, talented and obviously beautiful and this is the reason that they are living in this troubled state with dignity and decorum despite the fact that in these past 25 years long violence the state had witnessed 68000 violence incidents. Women suffered the most in these violence, they lost their Spouse, Son, Father, Mother, Sister, Brother and other dear ones but their will and strength remained intact. But unfortunately they were never rewarded for their courage, at present there are total 86 women members in the Parliament, 60 in the Lok Sabha and 26 in Rajya Sabha but not even a single from J & K. Why?.

There is an urgent need to bridge the gender gap in the state because no society and civilization can move forward without the participation of its half population as well said by Swami Vivekanand, “There is no chance of the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved.” Let’s hope the state would also see a new era where women play more significant role and the state rise to new heights where there are no gender biased and male dominance. It is also desired that in the next Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and assembly elections the women of the state are given their due share and the blot on the state that it do not believe in empowering women gets washed away. The activism of student at the college and university level is the only hope to further raise this debate of women empowerment and removing discrimination. The discrimination and prejudice with the women is not only committed by the political class even the state (government) directly or indirectly reminds the female population that they are dissimilar and treated other wisely, only female college students in our state are burdened to wear Uniform in their colleges and universities but no one has the justification or valid reason that why men/boys are exempted from such restrictions.

Women Make History

Rekha describes the triumph of women in bridging the historical divide

(Prof. Rekha Chowdhary, 57, was born in Jammu and has been a university teacher for the past 30 years. She is currently the Professor of Political Science, University of Jammu. During her distinguished teaching career, she was the visiting Fellow under a Ford Foundation grant at the Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford, in 1992-1993; winner of the Commonwealth Award availed at the University of Oxford, 1997-1998; and the Fulbright Fellow availed at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC, in 2005.)

‘We Crossed the Line’

Coming back from Muzaffarabad after attending a cross-LoC women's conference, I was asked by someone: 'so what is the most important thing that you accomplished during your visit?' I answered without much thinking: ‘we crossed the Line’. This was actually the spirit which dominated the visit as well as the conference. We had crossed the line literally and also metaphorically.

It was an overwhelming emotion that had overtaken each one of the ten of us who were standing at the Indian side of Kaman Bridge as well as a score of women who were on the other side of the bridge, waiting for the gates to be opened. They had travelled the same morning from Muzaffarabad to receive us.

On clue it seems, it started drizzling and we became doubly conscious of the boundaries and borders that we were going to cross. It was after sometime that gates were opened. Officials from both the sides moved and reached the middle of the bridge and held a sort of meeting for few minutes before we were allowed to walk on the bridge. We crossed the bridge and reached the other side of the LoC just into the arms of the women waiting there. ‘We did it!’ was the chorus everywhere.

It was crossing the Line per se – the Line which has divided the two sides of Jammu and Kashmir and which has restrained the people from meeting their closed ones (close standing here for blood relations – brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, grandparents) even when they may be living a mountain, a river or a road across. The Line once drawn would not allow people to trace their roots and visit their villages and homes that they once lived in but were forced to leave. It was the idea of doing something that was ‘impossible’ till very recently. The line named as ‘ceasefire line’ initially and renamed as LoC in seventies, was opened for the movement of people in 2005 but as a general rule only those people were allowed to travel who had relatives on the other side of LoC. Maybe in the beginning, it was the humanitarian consideration that worked in this direction as thousands of families were divided across the LoC and were to be given a priority over others to use the LoC route. However, soon it became a sort of rule and came to be followed so strictly that even the officials dealing with the paperwork were convinced that only relatives could travel through LoC, others needing to go across had to take the visa route of Wagah.

So one can understand the excitement that we were feeling! Though a few of us had some relatives on the other side of LoC, but many others did not have any relative and we were crossing the LoC merely because we were the residents of the state. It was a ‘Permit’ which we were carrying that was the basis of our visit. No passport was required and no visa was stamped. It was just a single page permission issued by the Government of the state of J&K. It was just like visiting another part of the state. The only reminder to us that we were crossing the Indian territory and entering the territory under the control of Pakistan were the immigration and custom offices on both the sides. That we are among the first group to cross the LoC in this manner, is in itself a matter of significance. We were conscious that we were making history hoping that this small step of ours on the Kaman Bridge will open the route for many other groups – the professionals, the media persons, civil society activists, cultural troupes, students. We were setting the precedent.

Throughout our trip we were conscious that we were not standing alone, the governments on both the sides were very much supporting our trip. From the word ‘go’, we were given the VIP treatment. The ‘delegates’ was our designated name and the difficulties were eased and special arrangements were made in this name on both the sides. The immigration officials on the Indian side seemed to be as excited about our trip as we were. They were wishing us and our conference good luck. The officials on the other side were treating us like royal guests.

The Conference

It was around the theme of building bridges and bringing women's voice in peace-building that the Conference was organised. There were three sub-themes of the seminar: Gender and Peace-building: Understanding women's narrative on Kashmir conflict; Empowering women in peace-building; and lastly, Women, Inclusive Security and sustainable peace-building. The basic tenor of the seminar was built around probing the role of women in the peace processes and advocating for a bigger space for them in all the formal political processes and institutions. There was a general concern that despite being the major stakeholders in the political processes, women are generally marginalised in decision making processes. Despite the assertion of the agency of women in a variety of manners, neither are they represented in leadership positions nor are their gender concerns reflected in the conflict related discourse. In the overall patriarchal nature of conflict, their issues are raised in an instrumental manner without much concern for their gender interests.

Though like every other discourse on conflict situation, the suffering of women in the conflict situation was underlined, yet the basic mood of the participants was to emphasise the resilience and survival of women. Participant after participant emphasised the need to go beyond the discourse of victimhood and to focus on their survival strategies, their empowerment and their assertion of rights. A speaker clearly emphasised the point that too much of emphasis on victimhood leads to the perpetuation of discrimination. Reflecting at the ground reality which points towards the fact that women have come out of the mode of victimhood, many participants talked about the need to focus on the issues related to rehabilitation and reconciliation. Rather that the politics of despair that is generally reflected in the male-dominated discourse of conflict, it was the politics of hope that was being stressed upon. Examples of prominent women were given who are involved in the process of rehabilitation of other women; who are engaging in the issues related to justice; who are playing active role in empowering women–educating them, building their skills, providing them resources. Countless nameless women, it was stated, are providing support to their families. On the whole, women are moving forward, coming out of their passivity and transcending their state of helplessness.

What could be further seen as path-breaking response during the conference, was the emphasis on woman being both as a ‘person’ in her own right as well as a ‘political person’. The language that was used was the language of ‘rights’, of ‘assertion’ and of ‘demands’. Though acknowledging the suffering of woman as a ‘mother’ or as a ‘wife’, the need to go beyond this discourse was emphasised. As a speaker stated that it is true that many women have suffered because they have lost their sons or their husbands, yet limiting them to their relationship with men leads to making their agency invisible. Till the time we continue to see women only in their relation to men, their gender subordination is reinforced.

Interestingly, mention was made, not only of social subordination of women but of their political subordination. Ranging from the issues of absence of women in leadership positions, formal political institutions, and peace processes to the issue of the absence of gender narratives of conflict – the patriarchal nature of all politics, both the mainstream as well as separatist, was pointed out. The fact that the political space is not being provided to women, was taken note of. Demand was therefore made not only for including women in the formal and informal processes of peace building but also in all other political processes and institutions. Extending the debate to other dimension of politics, the political use of religion to the disadvantage of women was also talked about.

Gender remained the central point of conference. Much of the debate revolved around the question of rights and empowerment of women. In the specific context of peace building, the gender concerns, gender representation and gender equality were considered the major pillars. Linking the relationship between gender equality and peace building, a participant noted the two-way relationship between the two. If there is gender equality, there would be better scope for peace building and if there is peace, there would be better possibilities of gender equality. 

Women Empowerment

Roshan pitches for gender equality

(Ms. Roshan Ara, 46, was born in Warihama, in Budgam district. She attended the Government High School Aripanthan, and the Government Higher Secondary School Beeru. She graduated from the Government Womens College (GWC) Srinagar, University of Kashmir, and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. Ms. Roshan Ara has degrees in B.Com, M.Com, M.A. Economics, B.Ed, M.Phil, Diploma in Women's Empowerment and Development, and Ph.D. thesis titled 'Managing Work and Family Roles: A Study of White Collar Working Women in Kashmir,' which has been completed and is waiting for final approval. Until her teaching position is made permanent, Ms. Ara moves from assignment to assignment. She was previously a Lecturer in Commerce, Department of School Education, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar. Presently she is a Senior Lecturer in Commerce, Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Amirakadal, Srinagar. During leisure time she enjoys reading newspapers & journals, staying engaged on Women's Issues, and writing articles for newspapers & journals. She received the National Best Teacher Award for overall performance in 2011 from President Pranab Mukerjee on Teacher's Day 2012.)

Why Does Woman’s Career Take a Backseat?

Today careers for women have emerged as one of the most significant areas of concern for those who advocate education for women’s equality. Traditionally men have been performing the role of bread winners and women the role of home-makers. But with the passage of time, due to education and opportunities, the role of women has changed as they have come out to play their role in the outside world. But with the changing role of women, the role of men did not change. Man continues to play the dominant role of a bread winner and decision maker. He is not supposed to help in performing the domestic tasks, while as woman’s role has changed into the role of a worker and a house-wife performing multiple tasks. This is the social construction of gender where additional burden has always been levied upon the shoulders of women.

Today’s woman is termed as the superwoman as she performs all roles i.e. the role of a worker, mother, wife, daughter-in- law, relative and a neighbour. In our society both boys as well as girls perceive occupations in a sex stereotyped fashion. The development of these occupational biases is the result of role learning process which starts in early childhood. First of all it is the family which is responsible for this sex stereotyping because as a child a girl is always taught to be a best home maker. Her domestic role is always preferred over her career. Then in educational institutions gender bias is prevalent in curriculum and overall activities of the institutions. The textbooks are projected in a biased way. Here men are portrayed as doctors, engineers and scientists and women are portrayed as cooks, sweepers, housewives and nurses etc. Once inculcated, these biases become part of the behaviour of children. In this way, the quality of girls’ education does not match with their personal development. Educational institutions also do not play a constructive role in reducing the gender bias. These biases act as barriers in the development & pursuing of careers of girls. Economic compulsions and lack of exposure to information technology also come in the way of career of women.

According to latest UNESCO data, women scientists across the world constitute: Grade A – 15%, Grade B – 32% and Grade C – 42%. Women’s share in total number of researchers from Japan is 70%, Russia 45%, South-Asian region except Srilanka 30%, while as in India the population of women in scientific field is negligible. India’s women scientists constitute less than 20% in scientific establishments like CSIR. The underutilisation of knowledge of women in science is a serious threat to the scientific community. The professionals engaged in the service sectors (doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, nurses, bureaucrats) hardly make up 8-9 % of the total women workers and only one percent of the female labour force. The socialisation process in our society gives rise to the discrimination and gender gap between men and women. Our women play a subordinate role and most women who acquire academic qualification give in to the demands of the society and suppress their intellect.

In the formative years of their careers, they devote themselves to the domestic roles and their professional opportunities get curtailed. Women taking up careers aspire to have economic independence, recognition, freedom from the shackles of the household chores and the drudgery that goes with it. But when they gain entry into careers, they face the reality of competition with males, stagnation due to male domination and patriarchal attitudes. If they are single, they have necessarily to sacrifice for their careers, their biological and emotional needs.

Career development of girls is determined by parents, social attitudes, economic background and other cultural factors. A majority of girls, with an excellent educational background, give up their education due to early marriages which are still prevalent in our society. With the result they remain less educated and less skilled and end up working in the informal sector. The girls from lower socio- economic backgrounds and other disadvantaged sections of society have least opportunities of pursuing their higher education or career goals. Research conducted so far reveals that girls from better socio-economic backgrounds and educated families opt for higher education and better careers. The entry of women has been maximum in medicine and fairly low in engineering based courses. The participation of women in technical and professional education continues to remain stereotyped. Women’s polytechnics show an enrolment of 16.8% while as in IITs the participation of girls is nearly 13%. On the whole, women have not been able to make enough inroads into the areas of science and technology which should be a cause of concern for the policy-makers and educators.

Men need to develop a positive attitude towards the career-development of women as it would benefit the family in particular and the nation in general. The intellect of women needs to be enriched to provide the long lasting solutions to the social problems. The need of the hour is to make conscious efforts to develop gender friendly and gender sensitive attitude across cultures.

What Does it say About the Natives?

Bashir laments that Urdu is replacing Kashmiri in the cradle where it was born

(Mr. Bashir A. Bashir, 62, was born in Srinagar. He passed his higher secondary schooling from Baghidilawar Khan, and graduated from the Gandhi Memorial College Srinagar. Mr. Bashir completed his Law Graduation from the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Urdu. and received his M.A in Political Science from the University of Kashmir. He joined the Bar in 1973 and was appointed as Additional Advocate General of the J&K in 1984 till 1986. He is a practicing advocate of J&K High Court and has been recently designated as the Senior Advocate by the Hon'ble High Court of J&K.)

Mother Tongue, Please!

The Creator of this Universe has made identity an inseparable part of anything and everything that He has created. It is mentioned in the Holy Quran, in Sura Hujrat, that all human beings are born from a man and a women and they have been made into different tribes and nations so that they can be recognized easily. From this one can understand the importance of identity.

History bears the testimony to the fact that from 16th century when Mugals captured Sultan Yousuf Shah Chak and controlled Kashmir since then the pendulum of our political balance continues to swing on account of foreigners - Pathans, Afgans, Sikhs, Dogras – trying to undermine our political identity; but surely we too have voluntarily chosen the path of losing our cultural identity. Nations are recognized and identified by the country they belong to or by other marks like, Religion, Caste, Creed, Tribe or Language. Mother tongue is the prime mark of identity as it is an inseparable part of one’s cultural being. But we are feeling least concerned in this regard.

Few days before mother of one of my close friend expired and the Moulvi Saheb started sermonising at Nimaz Jinaza in Urdu, despite the fact that whole audience was of Kashmiri. Same happened at the graveyard, while burying her. For a few minutes I thought is Moulvi Saheb suffering from inferiority complex or the audience does not wish him to speak in mother tongue! But soon I realized that not just Moulvi Sahab, our leaders also be they of any stature or shade (because God has been generous enough to us in giving a whole host of main-stream, off-stream, middle-stream and God knows what), who deliver their speeches in Urdu or English despite the fact audience they are addressing to is Kashmiri. So from a leader down to a street hawker it is any language but Kashmiri which is used to deliver the message. More surprising is that certain organizations fighting for this language conduct seminars where also some speakers use languages other than Kashmiri.

Go to any mosque on Friday you will find sermons in Urdu. If the person is from outside state, which usually we have nowadays in most of the mosques, you cannot complain, but what about those who come from this our own land. And just note, when they are fully charged they immediately shift to Urdu or English to make an impression on the audience. In this whole process we lose connect with the language that is the cornerstone of our identity.

Instead of feeling proud of our language, to preserve our identity, we give impression to our coming generations also as if this language is not worth to be attended to or spoken though it serves us as our distinct and valuable identity. Linguists are unanimous in saying that one cannot express himself fully and exactly even if he is highly qualified in any other language than in his mother tongue yet we all are taking recourse to other languages to express ourselves which may not turn out to be perfect expressions of our feelings. I never mean we should not read and write any other language; in that case we will remain cut off from knowledge and learning. What I want is that we should not ignore Kashmiri but encourage it by expressing ourselves in this language, wherever listeners are Kashmiris, to preserve our identity. Otherwise we are putting our own identity to peril.

The Money Pit

Ashraf feels that Kashmiris are suffering from money possession mania and all that matters is making money, by hook or by crook!

(Mr. Mohammad Ashraf, 69, was born and raised in Srinagar. He attended the S.P. High School and the S.P College before joining the Regional Engineering College at Naseem Bagh in Civil Engineering. However, he changed his career to adventure sports like mountaineering and skiing, completing his training at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling and Gulmarg. He also completed a diploma in French language from the Alliance Française in New Delhi. He joined the J&K Tourism Department in 1973, rose to become its Director-General in 1996, and retired in 2003 after 30 years of service. He has been associated with the Adventure Sports at the national level and was recently re-elected as the Vice-President of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, the apex body of adventure sports in India, for two years. To commend his efforts in introducing rescue measures in Kashmir Mountains, he was awarded “Merite-Alpin” by Swiss in a special function in Les Diablerets in 1993. He continues to be a member of the Governing Council of IMF and is also the President of Jammu & Kashmir Mountaineering & Hiking Club.) 

Money, Money and Money!

During the last decade or so when Kashmir had been coming out of the turmoil of nineties, one noticed innumerable constructions all over the valley. The city of Srinagar has seen an unprecedented boom in construction of palatial private residences and shopping complexes. The number of vehicles in the valley exceeds a million and Srinagar alone has over a quarter million of these! The land prices are soaring sky high. The value of rupees one crore has now been reduced to almost a hundred thousand rupees. The property and land sales which people used to discuss just a decade back in lakhs are now discussed in crores! It is crazy to think that just a piece of land good enough to build a nice house with an attached lawn would cost more than couple of crores!

Where from is the money coming? During recent years very rich agricultural land has been converted into houses, shops, and so on in violation of all laws forbidding conversion of agricultural land. The government itself was the first violator. The worst was the railway line running through the heart of the valley. People got money as compensation of their lands. They bought tippers from this money to ferry earth for the railway line by chopping off all the beautiful hills in different areas. In the urban areas especially Srinagar, people have virtually gone berserk. There is construction activity everywhere. Palatial houses, huge shopping complexes, and dozens of hotels and guest houses. Kashmiris have developed a typical sheep mentality. If a sheep takes a particular mountain trail, the entire flock follows it regardless of the fact that the trail my lead to their ultimate doom! In most of these constructions, the Master Plan, the municipal laws, the environmental considerations have been given a go by.

We have some of the strictest legislations regarding land use and building bye laws but the “money” has softened all these. The only requirement for getting permission is “money”. It is like a magic wand. It opens all doors. As already stated, the worst tragedy is that the framers of these laws and the people responsible for their enforcement are themselves the first violators of these regulations! Government Departments and other organisations are supposed to be planners, motivators, and regulators of the private entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, they are entering into business themselves simply to make money for the people manning these at different travels. As Margaret Thatcher once said, “Government has no business to be in business!” But no one follows this advice here.

The money entered into Kashmiri enterprise right from the start of its movement for emancipation from the centuries old oppression. After having been suppressed and treated brutally for centuries, Kashmiri Muslims who were the main sufferers under the Dogra rule, rose up in 1931. However, the movement got corrupted in 1938 itself by the ideologies which were coming up at that time in our neighbourhood. After 1947, the newly created two countries tried their best to corrupt us in every possible way. On two sides of the divide edifices based on every type of corruption have been created. The worst traits of our character have been encouraged in every possible way. The good traits like honesty, boldness, and uprightness, if ever these were there, have been drowned in the sea of corruption. Giving or taking a bribe is not frowned upon at all. In fact, it is quite normal everywhere. People do not mind it at all. Corruption has seeped into the blood stream of Kashmiris! There is no place for an honest and upright person in the present society.

Quite often the development and growth of these worst traits of our character are blamed on outsiders who have tried their best to exploit these to their advantage. That may be true but the basic fact remains that we do have serious flaws in our character and none of our leaders have made any attempt to set these right. Rather they have all tried to exploit these to achieve their own short term goals. Again it is a universal truth that the character of a person can be reformed by example rather than by preaching. We have yet to find such preachers who practice what they preach! Is there any chance of our getting out of this web of money, money, and money? There is only one possibility and that is to reform our basic character. How that can be done? Sir Walter Lawrence in his book, the “Valley of Kashmir”, observes, “The Kashmiri is what his rulers have made him, but I believe and hope that two generations of a just and strong rule will transform him into a useful, intelligent, and fairly honest man”. The million dollar question is how and when will we get those two generations of just and strong rule? Anybody having any answers please?

4,000 Deaths in 17 Months!

Obviously early deaths unrelated to politics raise no alarms in Kashmir

SKIMS Going G.B. Panth Way

Mudassir Kuloo (Kashmir Monitor)

Srinagar: All seems not to be well in the once prestigious Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences where according to the reports mortality rate has been going upwards with the administration sleeping over the issue, not taking any serious corrective measures.

Director of this institute, recently left the state Health department red faced, with his detailed report on infant deaths in G.B. Panth Hospital, must be having sleepless nights as under his very nose and leadership, some “4,000” deaths have been reported there in 17-months, in the hospital that he heads. These exclude the deaths caused by fire arm and also those occurring in 48-hours of admission to this hospital.

It was after a huge hue and cry, the state government accepted that around 4,000 infants died at the GB Panth Hospital from 2008 to September 2012 mostly due to medical negligence. The Director SKIMS Dr. Showkat Zargar in his report blamed the former Medical Superintendent Dr. Javeed Chowdhary for his negligence to control the infant death rate at the Hospital.

However, the sorry state of affairs at the SKIMS Soura, has all along gone unnoticed, that too under the leadership of the Director, who was appointed to review the functioning of the G.B. Panth Hospital. Well placed sources told The Kashmir Monitor that as per the official records of the SKIMS, Soura, 4,000 deaths have been reported in 17- months, which exclude deaths by fire arm and deaths occurring in 48-hours of admission to this hospital. These all are net deaths and the number of gross deaths are far higher. Sources said, the actual numbers of deaths are much higher (gross deaths), as the deaths taking place in first 48-hours of admission to the hospital have been excluded.

They said an average of 8-10 net deaths are daily reported there.

“However, nobody seems bothered to look into the causes of the death rate at the SKIMS showing an upward trend. This despite the fact, the SKIMS Soura consumes the substantial portion of the state budget meant for the health care. There is mismanagement, resulting in poor patient care and alarming number of deaths,” said a senior medico of the hospital, on condition of the anonymity.

An alarming death rate at SKIMS had attracted the attention of the state legislature and the Speaker appointed a House committee to examine the cause of alarming increase in the deaths of patients at SKIMS Srinagar vide order dated 24-07-2012.

This year, 18-patients lost their battle for life at SKIMS Soura during the three days of the strike of its resident doctors. “These deaths were avoidable and the patients could have been saved with careful and timely medical care. But the authorities took no steps to avoid these deaths,” said an employee. Sources said, it has come to fore that 70-percent of blood, urine and other tests conducted on the patients were wrong and doctors do not trust these reports.

Insiders said there is an acute shortage of drugs, improper ventilation, acute shortage of anti-cancer and life-saving drugs, which lead to poor patient care. “There is lack of accountability from bottom to top. There is mismanagement risking the lives of people. The situation is worse here than the G.B. Panth Hospital, but the mess in which the SKIMS has been thrown, is being ignored by the state administration, for reasons better known to the people at the helm of affairs,” said an employee of the SKIMS.

When contacted, Dr. Ajaz Mustafa, who is currently holding the charge of the Medical Superintendent, SKIMS, Soura, said, “The deaths are of two types, one is gross death rate and another is net death rate. Gross deaths include the deaths that taking place in the first 48-hours of admissions to the hospital, i.e. emergency patients like accident patients. Institute is not responsible for those deaths, except if there is some medical negligence.” When asked whether 4,000 deaths are of net deaths, he had this to say: “I don’t know exact the figures. But death rate is not so high. I can’t tell you exact figures.”

A Short-lived Experiment?

Who will do the service when warranty on traffic lights expires?

In Srinagar Signals Are Turned Off to Avoid Vehicle Rush!

Faiqa Masoodi (Rising Kashmir)

Srinagar: While the summer capital is already infamous for lack of traffic sense, several spots in City are becoming commuters’ nightmare, due to non-functional traffic signals installed recently.Though the traffic lights installed at various busy junctions of the city came as a respite from the ever increasing vehicle rush, the technical faults have made many of them defunct.

Traffic lights installed at junctions like Karan Nagar Chowk, Jehangir Chowk, Sanat Nagar, Pantha Chowk, Radio Kashmir Srinagar, Zero Bridge remain out of order for most of the time. And if functional they either flash red or green lights only thus confusing the drivers.

Talking to Rising Kashmir, SP Traffic (City), Haseeb-ur-Rehman said the rush of vehicles is so huge especially in the evening hours that we have to turn off the signals and direct the traffic movement manually. “There are definitely some technical faults as we don’t have the advanced system for maintaining the traffic signals. The less roads and more number of vehicles has further added to our problems as the rush of vehicles is so immense that we prefer to turn off the lights,” the SP said. Adding he said the places like Rambagh, Dalgate witness such heavy traffic rush that the lights are of no use there at times. “These lights don’t work on the sensors but are automatically fixed with some time periods. So they can’t judge which road has more number of vehicles. They glow according to the fixed time and this, at times, adds to the traffic mess. That is why we prefer to put them off on the occasions of festival or during heavy rush of vehicles,” Haseeb-ur-Rehman said. Maintaining that the department is working on the technical issues, Haseeb said it is a big project and will be completed in a phased manner. “Our control room is ready and we are installing the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in it. That way we can watch the traffic flow on the important routes of the city and can also keep an eye on those who violate the traffic signals,” he said.

About the functioning of traffic lights in winters, the SP City said it entirely depends on the power backup. “Power Development Department (PDD) has also a role to play in winters as the lights cannot function without electricity. They have the maximum backup of eight hours only and need regular power supply,” said Haseeb-ur-Rehman. SMC Commissioner, G N Qasba did not answer the repeated calls.

Bearing Unhappiness Can be Costly

Suhail sees interesting and extreme consequences of life defined by pessimism and skepticism

(Mr. Suhail Ahmad, 29, was born in Srinagar. He did his Bachelor's degree from Sri Pratap College, Srinagar, and completed both his Master's and M. Phil degrees in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Kashmir, Srinagar. He is currently working with local English daily ‘Rising Kashmir’ as Sub Editor (News). Previously he worked with the Daily Etalaat (English) as sub-editor and with the ‘Mirror of Kashmir’ as an associate editor. Mr. Ahmad has worked with a Delhi based rights group, The Other Media, heading its civil society initiative desk at Srinagar from 2007 to 2009. He has also worked with an NGO - Institute of Peace Research and Action (IPRA) on its project Cultural Renewal of Kashmiri Student Youth as Programme Officer and Editor from 2006 to 2007. I edited severalissues of IPRA’s magazine ‘Guftaar.’)

Unhappy Kashmir

Earlier this year, United Nations came up with its first ever World Happiness Report. The 158-page report reviews the state of happiness in the world. The rankings in the report were based on a number called the ‘life evaluation score’, a measurement which takes into account a variety of factors including people's health, family and job security as well as social factors like political freedom and government corruption.

If the state of happiness in Kashmir is studied on these lines, it is more likely to reveal a gloomy picture. The 22 years of bloody conflict has taken a toll on the lives of Kashmiris. As if it was not enough, issues like unemployment have made happiness look even more elusive in the valley. As the discontentment looms large, it is usually attributed to factors like adverse political situation and inept administration, which breeds evils like corruption. However, there is more than meets the eye. Besides these external factors, there are many internal factors or psychological constraints, to be more precise, which come in the way of our happiness.

The UN report states while the basic living standards are essential for happiness, after the baseline has been met happiness varies more with the quality of human relationship than with income. In Kashmir, over the past two to three decades, mutual distrust in interpersonal relations has become more common as compared to the past. We admit it in our casual conversations about social life. People seem to be more suspicious, evasive and distrustful of others in the community. How many times we hear our elders getting nostalgic about the strong bond between the family members, relatives and neighbours in the past. It all seems to be gone, replaced by jealousy and host of other counterproductive feelings.

Materialism has also made serious inroads in our society. According to some researches, people who place a high value on wealth, status, and stuff are more depressed and anxious and less sociable than those who do not. One such study appeared in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, and was widely reported in international media in April this year.

In Kashmir, now-a-days, if a person is going for some renovation work on his house or buys a new car, it’s not long before his neighbours get anxious and follow suit even if there is no apparent reason or need to feel or do so. The sense of competition seems simply overwhelming in the valley. Sometimes people think and behave as if all the good things in this life are available in limited quantities and that one could improve one’s position only at somebody else’s expense. We end up putting ourselves under undue pressure just because our neighbour, co-worker or for that matter even our relatives seem to be doing better than us in terms of material possessions or other matters.

We vent much of our negative energy blaming government for our problems. It may not be unique to Kashmir, but we seem to have more conflicting and ambivalent attitude towards the government than perhaps anywhere else. On the one hand, we are heavily dependent on the government for almost everything, from subsidy to jobs. On the flip side, however, we are also quite hostile towards it. There is a general distrust regarding the politicians and government functionaries. This ambivalent attitude also reflects our state of alienation and hence unhappiness. ‘God helps those who help themselves’ is a clichéd idiom we are all familiar with, but how many times we find people blaming their luck. The truth is that fatalism has become ingrained in us. There is nothing wrong in believing that our well-being is controlled by fate. But if we use it as an excuse and stop striving for a better life, we cannot expect our dull and difficult lives to change. Infact, this approach has had a dysfunctional consequence on the overall social change in Kashmir. Resigning to the fate, we fail to explore opportunities of better life.

We also seem to lack the ability to postpone satisfaction of immediate needs in anticipation of better future rewards. We want it here and now. This ‘lack of deferred gratifications’ deprives us of many long-term benefits. The mental inertness we exhibit sometimes prevents us from being more imaginative about things.

Some people would argue that the factors leading to our unhappiness are universal in nature, but does it mean that we should take things lightly? If things are left to their own, cynicism would only grow in our valley. We are not providing a happy environment for our children. It is certainly not a healthy sign to see the kids develop negative mindset about things in our company. Our youth are already battling the clouds of frustration and we cannot afford to let future generations also fall prey to the disease of disillusionment.

I somehow hate the word ‘introspection’, but in the context of this piece, it looks like the first and perhaps the most important step we can take as we try to make our lives happier.

Investing in Environmental Protection of Jhelum

Majeed pleads for more scientific research to save the lifeline of Srinagar

 (Dr. Abdul Majeed Kak, 65, was born and in Nowhatta, Srinagar. He received his primary education from the Government Middle School in Nowhatta and his secondary school education from Bagi Dilawar Khan Higher Secondary School in Fateh Kadal. He completed his college education at the Islamia College of Science and Commerce in Srinagar. In 1977 he was the first candidate from the University of Kashmir to be selected by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of the Government of India for a doctoral research scholarship at the university leading to a Ph.D. in Botany in 1980. He is currently the Research Coordinator in the Department of Botany at the Islamia College of Science and Commerce in Srinagar. Dr. Kak has over 35 years of teaching experience and research experience of over 25 years. He has received numerous research awards resulting in publication of 70 research papers and has authored two books on Botany. He is presently engaged in promoting and strengthening local and regional museums, a project supported by a grant from the Ministry of Culture, New Delhi.)

Jhelum: Fatally Threatened

 Our present generation barely knows that the river Jhelum passing serpentinely through three major districts of Kashmir province - Anantnag(Islamabad), Srinagar and Baramulla- is locally named as Veth. It covers a distance of about 180 Kms and ultimately enters Pakistan side of Kashmir, where it is famously known as Kashur Daraya. Srinagar city was based on both its sides from ancient times, indicating that Jehlum was life to the city dwellers. It was used for navigation, community bathing, drinking and for other domestic purposes and also for water sports. No water supply schemes existed in Srinagar at that time and Jehlum was the only source of potable water. Besides, the river was main source of navigation from one district to another and to different areas within the same district through artificial and natural channels.

Situation at presently is totally reverse. Water is highly contaminated; nobody even desires to wash hands in it. Its tributaries have either been filled up for roads, tracks or pathways or so squeezed that the present generation can never believe that once these were used for water transportation.

If we ponder for a while about the origin of this great river and the various crystal clear streams, and rivers joining at various junctions like Brangi nalla, Arpat, Kokarnag spring, Achabal and Lidder nalla which comes from Tarsar; All these tributaries join river Jehlum above Khanabal (Anantnag). A few streams coming from Tral area join it at Pampore after irrigating a vast area. River Sind from Sonamarg joins it at Shadipur. Manasbal lake also drains its water in Jehlum. Last tributary after it passes into Wular Lake is Pohru stream which drains the lolab valley and enters Jehlum at Dubgam. All these sources are so natural when they start, but as they proceed, because of biotic interference, they turn extremely polluted resulting in the formation of giant hazard.

In Srinagar district a huge population is living along its banks, many are engaged in houseboat industries, some still live in their Khuch (small one storied boats) or in Doongas. Few families still live in dingy rooms, or some in unsanitary and unhealthy huts encroached on little spaces available along the banks, dealing with scrap, wastes and thrown-outs from markets or selling hay, grass, fodder, lumber etc which is piled or dumped near the banks close to their huts, causing unhealthy situations, and the remnants directly drain into the river. Stray animals move freely on open banks, excrete anywhere they like, which is also washed down into water. At many places tourists living in houseboats further supplement pollution problem in the river.

Throughout its journey River Jehlum receives countless sewers in the form of ephemerals, dirty water channels and thousands of surface drains after passing through human settlements. They enter the river without pretreatment, discharging huge quantities of domestic and other wastes. Filth, carcasses, garbage and polythene collected by the sweepers from business markets, residential places are thrown directly in it. Not only effluents even solid wastes including other non-biodegradable items are also thrown in it, thereby further contaminating it. The significant change is attributed to unabated inflow channels, drains and effluents from hotels along its margins. By and large the whole sewerage of hotels and residential houses along the river and of other populations goes directly into it and this problem is securing higher proportion. Dumping of large heaps of cow dung to dry up on slanting bunds is washed down, which enriches the water with nutrients like Nitrates, Phosphates, Sulphates, Chlorides etc. resulting in eutrophication of the river. The nuisance of slaughter houses, wastage of tanning and sawmills and commercial washing of shawls and clothes on the banks, detergents and other chemicals go into the river and make it further polluted.

No scientific work till date has been undertaken on the management and other aspects in order to find out the ways and means for its maintenance, and to stop the sewerage of whole population directly flowing in it. Recently little effort was taken by the department of erosion where small stretch (only 3 km) from Sonawar to Dubji ghat (Maisuma) was renovated by constructing retaining walls. Surely it helped in the removal of scrap stores which was a smudge on the face of Srinagar city, but is not enough.

The river is so much strangulated below Dubji ghat to Chattabal that it is impossible to undo the damage unless strong steps are taken. Why should not the concerned department take firm actions to demolish illegal residential and other business complexes on both the banks of the river?

Strict orders should be implemented from SMC to sweepers of the city to be extraordinarily careful and not to throw solid garbage and other residual remains of fleshy animals directly into the river; they should be penalized, if they violate the directives. Fish markets on its bridges should be banned as they throw all residues and waste directly into the river increasing its nutrition. Dustbins with proper lids should be installed at the sensitive points on the bunds within easy reach of the pedestrians or tourists. Stray animals like dogs; cows, horses should be totally restricted by raising bars to go close to the river water. Overall scientific studies should be conducted both by PCB (pollution control board), cross checked by some reliable private agencies that will reveal the extent of pollution, effects of unsanitary conditions of boat populations, over silting in the riverbed, flow of drains and other effluents from hotels on its banks. Recommendations based on these studies will be fruitful for proper environmental planning of this magnificent river.

Gone are those ghats where we as school children used to wait and wave our flags, in coloured beautiful uniforms along with our teachers to the dignitaries who used to move downtown as Daryave Jaloos (water parade) from Chattabal (vir) to Lal chowk. Thus there is impending need to investigate pollution aspects of this river. The base line data that would be available would help us to devise ways to check pollution. The illegal encroachment of river banks should be immediately demolished and converted into recreation and aesthetic spots.

What if ....

Maroof says life without philosophical instincts is not worth living

(Dr. Muhammad Maroof Shah, 33, was born in Kunan, Bandipore. He has pursued a career in veterinary medicine and animal husbandry, completing Bachelors's degree in veterinary sciences (BVSc) at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry (FVSc & AH), Shuhama campus of the Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K), and MA English through the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). He is presently posted as a Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (VAS) at the Government Sheep Breeding Farm in Dachigam. Dr. Shah is the author of two books, and has lectured as a visiting fellow at the Jaipur University on Western Philosophy. In his leisure time he pursues studies in comparative religion, philosophy and literature.)

A Philosophically Illiterate Society

It is vain or futile to lament all kinds of degenerations afflicting our society. What is needed is to work for cure. I think we must target education. And in education we need to focus on something that is so little known even to MAs in education or educationists and intellectuals. A philosophy illiterate society that ours is ill equipped against multiple crises currently challenging us including corruption.

We are talking of guarding our heritage without bothering to campaign for creating necessary human resource or infrastructure. Average student here doesn’t know anything of philosophy and thus of the knowledge of general principles of all disciplines, of the knowledge that synthesizes discordant and heterogeneous bits of information in a certain coherent framework. We know much about individual sciences, physical and biological but are mostly ignorant of methodology and philosophy of science. That is why we have been unable to inculcate scientific attitude. Modern science is empiricist and inductivist in its methodology and inculcating it in our newer generation requires philosophical aptitude. How many students could define induction? Thus despite being science literates we are appallingly ignorant of its defining assumptions. We know too little about modern scientific weltanshuung or ideology. How could we conceive a critical understanding of its philosophical and methodological assumptions unless we give due attention to philosophy? General awareness regarding most of things of science, literature and arts is miserably low in our state. One can safely assert–as our great educationists have already noted – by international standards we are uneducated. The subjects like religion and philosophy, art and aesthetics, language and literature, history and psychology, sciences and their underlying philosophical foundation–hardly attract our students. No wonder we are really uneducated because philosophy illiterates. The joy of knowledge, of any science comes from deeper understanding of the subject which demands philosophical orientation in learners.

Philosophy has traditionally helped to pose new problems for sciences. In fact the great scientists have been often philosophers or philosophically inclined. Philosophy, carried in true spirit, will guide new generation to more prosperous future. Different disciplines in themselves and independently operating, can’t give us these insights which the comprehensive cross disciplinary philosophical approach can give.

Development of infrastructure for Philosophy will help to strengthen human resource in other departments in our academic institutions such as Political Science, History, English, Urdu, Education, Economics, Journalism, Islamic Studies, Linguistics etc. as all these disciplines today in the West have been linked to philosophy in one or the other way. Only students with strong background of philosophy or teaching faculty with proper philosophical grounding can properly teach educational philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of history, philosophy of language for linguistics, philosophy of religion, postmodernist, new historicist and other movements in literary criticism. Relatively poor teaching quality in different humanities department in many Universities including Kashmir University could be attributed to lack of training in philosophy of teachers. No training programme or refresher course for teachers in higher education can claim to be comprehensive that ignores lectures in philosophy. An unexamined life is not worth living, said Socrates. Without good familiarity with philosophy understood in broad sense as love of wisdom and hard consistent thinking good teachers can’t be produced. Failure of teachers in getting respect or setting examples or inculcating moral values in students can be traced to their lack of philosophical training and culture. No culture of higher moral values can be produced without philosophy (hikmah/gyan/darsana).

Our young generation is forced to go to outside the home state for pursuing studies in philosophy and other disciplines or specialised problems needing philosophical background. Thus our highly intelligent youth is led ultimately to desert the state for careers in similar disciplines and we lose future human resource. Institutions for philosophy are required for launching new courses in cultural studies, anthropology, development studies, and comparative religion. All these departments presuppose familiarity with philosophy. Philosophy has been always been instrumental in fighting crisis in values in any culture and guiding youth to pursue paths that ultimately take the whole community to new heights. We owe to philosophers all great ideas that have shaped history.

In fact philosophy should ideally be compulsory for all graduates in the State for strengthening moral-spiritual fabric in our society. If education is to be comprehensive philosophy must be in curriculum. Thus the need of philosophy course at the highest institution of learning or comprehensive Institute devoted to philosophy is too obvious if we are to make the whole educational system geared to full development of personality.

Courses in ethics which have traditionally been part of philosophy are urgently required for medical and other professionals as it is this deficit that largely accounts for current corruption of professionals. The greatest thinkers in history–in political, social, economical, religious, literary fields–have been philosophers–in fact it is philosophy which gives depth perception in any field. Understanding giants of intellectual and cultural history demands we read philosophy.

Philosophy education is an indicator of academic excellence. Today we still name academic degrees as Masters/Doctors in Philosophy. Philosophy has always been the most prized and fundamental of human inquiries and key to greatest revolutions in human thought and history. If Kashmir is to be launched on world intellectual scene and regain its lost status of shardapaeth it has to have a philosophy department of excellence at par with the best in the world. Philosophy is a quest for knowledge and value and thus the quintessence of higher art, religion and wisdom. It humanises and perfects us, deepens our perception and beautifies our inner world. It shows the way to peace within and world. It embodies the values of tolerance and pluralism in a world torn by conflicts. It provides us a trans-sectarian identity. A nation well read in philosophy can’t be mean, materialistic and corrupt. If we are serious against corruption we need to make philosophy compulsory in schools. No man is wilfully bad, said Socrates. Yes, philosophy teaches us how and why we harm our souls by doing wrong things. Religions preach these things but gnosis that is the fruit of traditional philosophies, shows it. Religion’s deeper meaning is expressed by philosophers. But very few know this because they have not been taught it. Once upon a time at least was logic was being taught to all students in Muslim schools. From our Sufiana music to our Sufi poets and from our traditional arts and crafts to diverse cultural expressions the underlying philosophical basis of our culture and religion needs to be understood and developed to appropriate the challenges of the twenty first century.

Kashmir has been the home of world’s greatest sage-philosophers. If for no other reason than merely to be loyal to their great names, to be conscious inheritors of our history, we have long been direly in need of philosophy. 

Expanding Vertically

Ashraf has an interesting idea worth considering

(Er. Mohammad Ashraf Fazili, 68, was born in Srinagar. He received his early schooling from the Government Middle School, Nowhatta, Srinagar, and from M.P. High School, Baghi Dilawar Khan in Srinagar. Mr. Fazili completed his F.Sc. from the Sri Pratap College in Srinagar, and received his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the Annamalai University with honours grade. He joined the J&K government service upon graduation and steadily rose up the ranks to the position of Chief Engineer at his retirement. He managed a number of important infrastructure projects during his government service, including the Model Town Chrar-i-Sharif, Lower Jhelum Hydro Electric Project, Solid Waste Disposal Scheme Srinagar City, Circular Road Project Srinagar City, etc. He has numerous publications to his credit, including Srinagar the Sun City, Our Ancestors and Saints of Kashmir, etc., which were presented in seminar and symposia. He writes for various journals and is presently working on the Jhelum Valley Civilization.)

City Must go for Vertical Expansion! During the past about 23 centuries, Srinagar has been witness to many transformations, be it in its nomenclature or location with changing rulers like Purana Dishthina (old capital) –now Pandrethan to Parvarpora near Koh-e- Maran hillock to Parihaspora near Pattan to Budgair, Ala-ud-din Pora near Khanqah-e-Moalla and then to Nowshehra about 03 KMS away on north of City.

The main City, however, grew on the either banks of river Jhelum. Dogra rule paid more attention to development of infrastructure like Banihal Cart Road, Jhelum Valley Cart Road, Boulevard on Dal fringe besides expansion of City with new housing colonies like Wazir Bagh, Ram Munshi Bagh, Karan Nagar and institutions like SP College, Amar Singh College and SMHS Hospital.

From 1947 onwards the City has witnessed a faster growth but mostly in an unplanned manner. Part population was accommodated in housing colonies like Jawahar Nagar, Balgarden, Nursingh Garh, Shutra Shahi, Batamaloo, Chanapora and Bemina etc, all built up in public sector.

Srinagar Municipality came into being under Municipal Act 1886. In 1960, Municipality covered an area of mere 28 Sq KMs. The limits of Municipality were extended adding the adjoining villages. And in 2000, the area covered was about 177 sq KMs. The City extends along Jhelum over a length of 20 KMs and an average depth of 5 KMs on either side of the river Jhelum.

Lateral expansion: The development of lateral expansion has its constraints as it is bounded by Zabarwan hills from Nagabal to Gagribal on east and north. On south there are uplands of Pampore Karewah and Damodar Karewah under saffron cultivation and airport activity respectively. The other uplands on south have witnessed earthquakes in the past. On the south-west side there are small Karewahs of Khushipora and Zainakote, beyond which lies flood absorption basin named Hokarsar. On the west there lies a vast water body of Anchar lake and Khushhalsar. Land area between Hokarsar and Anchar lake is agricultural, which is heavily under pressure of urban expansion along Srinagar- Baramulla highway and the Srinagar- Wayil road. During the past few decades urbanization has taken place on agricultural lands upto Ganderbal on the north, upto Pampore on the south and upto airport and Narbal on the west.

 Since the agricultural lands are squeezing, government has called a ban on the change of land use from agricultural to residential and saturation point is approaching when there will be left no land for lateral expansion. The only alternative left shall be the vertical expansion. The present restriction of 50 ft height for hotels etc shall have to be relaxed. Construction of high-rise buildings shall have to be made possible by providing the strong designed foundations for the soils generally having low bearing capacity of half a ton per sq ft. Besides, the physical impediments on lateral and vertical development of Greater Srinagar are reported to be overcome to a great extent by adopting the zonal regulations prescribed in the current Master Plan.

It has been emphasized that in the new areas the preparation of zonal /area development plans shall precede building operation of any kind and no permission shall be accorded unless the zonal/area development plan is approved by the competent authority within the policy framework described in the Master Plan. The approval of Master Plan was to be immediately followed by the preparation of zonal plans, but it is now since 12 years that the authorities are still thinking of a review and have invited public opinion once again. In fact no time should be lost for implementation of the regulations to arrest the haphazard growth of the City. A citizen too is not going to wait endlessly for delayed finalization of the zonal plans due to the gross negligence of the authorities putting forth lame excuses and hence the violations are bound to take place to be compounded by minimal fines as per age-old Municipal laws.

Doing Good, Feeling Good

Tajamul shares a personal experience

(Mr. Tajamul Hussain, 55, was born in Srinagar. He went to the Government Higher Secondary School in Nawakadal, Srinagar, and the S.P. College, Srinagar. He attended the College of Engineering, Andhra University, Waltair, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi, and the Forest Research Institute. He is a freelance writer.)

Doing Good

Memories of the freakishly chilly days of dismal and distant childhood always send me packing into the nostalgic throes. I would get to the mindboggling visions of those icy winters when I was in my preteens. Winter is a big nightmare for a typical Kashmiri, and that too when you talk of the Siberian Chilla Kalan and the 2 kid chillas. It means poverty, miseries, affliction, diseases and death. Historically speaking during Chilla Kalan, vast expanses of snow, stretched as far as eye could see, would accumulate over days of heavy snowing (followed by subzero temperatures) to be later on smeared with mud and dirt. As if it would never melt, the very sight of the frozen substance gave cold shivers. As if winter were going to be with us forever the unending load shedding cajoled denizens into living life of cavemen….using hearth, damchool, kerosene stove, lanterns, chatta-gheer, earthen lamps(tsoung), kangries, manin etc.

Eyes under pitchy conditions seemed to be of no use….. You could not see, you could not read and you could not work in the pitch black caves. In the unlighted night, as dark as the wolf’s mouth, the howling wilderness would cast a deep gloom and give rise to hellishly nightmarish imaginations. Cuddled up together in the corners of the dark, ill-ventilated cells, kind of cubbyholes, the Pheran clad grave dwellers, with tens of awe-stricken and gloomy eyes gazed into the ghostly shadows that were cast on the walls and roofs. In the pitch darkness, desolate and almost invisible, it’s the flickering flames of the lanterns, chatta-gheer, chirag (tsoung) and candles shining with the subdued brightness here and here that suggested the human habitation. In the subzero temperatures a rubbernecker, who dared venture to peep out, might hold himself in an absolute thrall at the sight of the glittering icicles that hung by the roof tops, but then it would also give him a chilly feeling of freezing-to-death.

We lived in the old city in a 3 storied house built by our forefathers perhaps in the 19th century. The locality largely symbolized kind of slum area…… dilapidated old structures (architectural disasters) that peopled dozens of families in dark, poorly ventilated cubbyholes stretched on all sides. It was a locality that was inhabited mostly by lower middle class (safaed poash) living on haakh batta….. pirs, Hakims, bakers(kandur), dairymen(ghoore), tongawalla, boat men(hanjis), carpenters, labour and the like. Earnings barely enough to keep the wolf from the door, the lone-earners of the families were obliged to feed tens of mouths. In effect a large section of society was plagued with illiteracy, ignorance, under nutrition, ill health, backwardness and all that. A few big bungalow type houses here and there suggested the presence of some well off families in the locality too. They would attract a beeline of poor and destitute to bask under their sunshine and even work as family patsies.

The narrow lanes and by lanes between and behind the lofty structures would invite horde of ragged toddlers, preteens, teens and twentysomething whiling away their time, loitering here and there. Smoking cigarette was symbolic of macho men, and most of us kids would die for taking a puff or two. Freakish games like sazza loung–a game something like hopscotch-, toure-baba (kind of peek-a-boo), bira-ball(cricket) would be played by all, irrespective of sex and age. Hordes (diphri) of gamblers of all ages would settle at the isolated places to play mongapati, trump (Turuf) throughout the day, sometimes even beyond dusk under candle light. A lucky few, as rare as a black swan, attended Madrassas, outanjis (elderly ladies belonging to pir families that taught Quran) and some government (kind of jabri) schools.

The narrow street that connected our mohella with Lal Chowk was hardly motorable. Occasionally when a Tonga or a reda passed through this potholed track the street vendors and pedestrians hurried up along with their merchandize into the shops on the both sides of the road. As I hark back the memories of my childhood, I vividly remember the Pheran clad wrinklie that for some time would situate him (self) against the wooden railing of the small bridge across the sunder kul to beg alms from the passersby. The scantily dressed snow-white-bearded ‘oldie’ invariably started early in the morning, when most of us were still in beds. The beggarly calls of the poor fellow more often than not woke many of us kids up. The ‘oldie’ would sometimes be joined by an ill-kempt tattered girl in her early teens.

On that chilly evening when a couple of us friends were loitering around the road we could make out that the beggar man was shivering with cold. He tried in vain to hide his bare legs. But then oblivious to the icy winds that blew on that evening the fellow kept on begging from the passersby. We stood alongside the kerb to observe him making beggarly calls. But then to our surprise, a turban clad sixty-something dressed nondescript, appeared from somewhere. It was kind of screeching-to-sudden-halt. He looked at the half-naked fakir with curiosity and keen interest. In a depressive stupor the old savior suddenly steered himself towards the old man and caught hold of him by his shoulders. Tears welled up in his eyes. As he hugged the poor fakir, he wept bitterly. ‘O, God, forgive me for my sins; the old man has been shivering due to the congealing cold for want of warm clothes and I …I… the ungrateful and selfish slave of Yours is living on hog and luxuriating in my warm clothing’. He suddenly stood aside, took off his Pheran and sweater and slipped out of the one of those two trousers he was wearing. He then quietly handed over the sweater and the trousers to naked fakir and helped him to slip into them. As the old fakir finished with his job the old messiah took leave of him and vanished in the thin air. The old fakir, after a short break, resumed his beggarly calls

Too Important to Ignore

Rufaida touches on an unpleasant topic

Divorce Cases on Rise in Summer Capital

Syed Rufaida (Rising Kashmir)

Srinagar: The frequency of cases related to divorce and division of joint families into smaller units has witnessed a sharp incline in Sadder Court Srinagar over the past two years, lawyers say. They say joint families are fast giving way to smaller and fragmented units in the social set up of Kashmir.

Senior advocate, Ajaz Dar said that in Sadder Court Srinagar, more than eight cases are registered every day under section 488, in which girls demand separate homes and refuse to live with their in-laws. He said the nuclear families have become a trend and forms the base of most of the cases registered in the court under 488 CrPC.

“80 per cent cases every year registered under section 488 are listed to get separate homes. Females allege that they are harassed, because they cannot fulfill demands of their in-laws. They (women) use dowry as the reason to fulfill their demands, while as in reality they are neither harassed nor tortured but want to get rid of their in-laws,” said advocate Rukhsana Khan. She said it is a “grave” situation and needs immediate attention of one and all. “Rising concept of nuclear families is paving way for establishing more and more old age homes in city.”

Lawyers at Sadder Court feel the judges can play a key role while dealing with such cases, so that least divorces take place. They feel reconciliation is the best way to deal with such cases and it can help to maintain the balance. “Females are satisfied even after getting divorce because they get maintenance charges from their husbands every month,” Ruksana said. She added that if judges would decline the maintenance charges, a compromise would be the first priority. “Misunderstanding is the only cause of such disputes between a couple. Reconciliation is the best way to deal with such cases, but petitioner (female) never compromises. Marriage that was considered as pious relation, now regarded as a deal and turned materialistic,” added Rukhshana.

While discussing cases filed under section 488, advocate Hashmat Ali said that besides surge in post-marital disputes in Srinagar, more and more premarital disputes are coming up. “At least 4-5 such cases are registered every month. These are exceptional cases we are coming through and they have created a question mark over the development of our society,” he said adding just after the Nikah ceremony, rifts arise between families and cases come to the court.

Lady advocates working in Sadder Court said that coming across such cases several times a day affects their mind and they feel insecure. “Every day I come across such cases and it disturbs me a lot. I keep on thinking that what is going to happen with our society,” said a lady advocate wishing not to be name.

Deadly Cocktail

A study says mobiles, alcohol and motor bikes are main causes of road accidents in the valley

Srinagar Tops Road Accidents

Mudasir Kuloo (Kashmir Monitor)

Srinagar: An alarming increase in the number of vehicles in the Valley has resulted in an unprecedented increase in traffic accidents. The official figures reveal a horrible scenario as the two-wheeler related accidents leads the Srinagar city in traffic fatalities and accidents.

Official records of Traffic Department reveal that at least 492 incidents took place in the year 2011 in the Srinagar district alone, in which 75 persons were killed and 511 injured. However, experts believe the number of accidents is higher as majority of the accidents go unreported.

The statement showing month wise road accidents by the Traffic Department for Srinagar district for the year 2012 says, 16 accidents took place in January while in August the number increased to 54 accidents. From January 2012 to August 2012, 352 accidents were reported in the Srinagar district.

The recent statement shows a 15 percent increase in accidents this year as compared to the previous year. Figures say that 41 persons were killed in the year 2011 as against 41 persons have already been killed this year till August in the summer capital.

While 309 persons were injured in 2011 as against 373 persons have been injured this year till August. Official records of Traffic Department reveal that 41 persons have been killed till August this year. However, officials believe that the actual number could be higher as majority of the accidents go unreported here. During the current year two-wheeler related accidents lead the figures with 85 accidents reported, followed by Tata Sumo accidents of which account to 31 cases in Srinagar.

In the month of August this year, 53 major accidents have taken place which claimed many lives. While in the same month 15 major scooter accidents have taken place in Srinagar city. There is a huge increase in the number of two-wheeler accidents. In the year 2011, 74 major scooter accidents were reported while this year the graph has increased to 85 till August.

Officials believe the number of accidents could be double this year than the previous year. Officials said 3,288 persons were killed and 27,165 injured in 18,786 accidents in the state during the last three years. The causes behind the road accidents are rash driving, use of alcohol while driving, use of mobile phones, bad conditions of roads as well as those of vehicles.

Traffic officials claim that heavy penalty should be imposed on all those who cross speed limits. “If this is strictly implemented nobody will dare to go at high speed. Heavy penalty should be imposed for those who cause accident,” they said.

Mohammad Hassan Dar, a driver by profession believes that driving test for issue of driving license needs to be made more stringent and full proof. “The Transport Department should not issue driving licenses randomly but should make more stringent measures and take proper driving tests before issuing licenses,” he said.

Superintendent of traffic police, Srinagar, Haseeb-ur-Rehman, said the department has taken several measures to curb the increasing number of traffic accidents and blamed rash and negligent driving for most deaths here. “We have installed signals and dividers and have used latest technology to reduce the number of traffic accidents. We have also placed speed breakers on various locations so that the drivers would limit their speed.” He said over speeding is the main reason for the traffic accidents that takes place here

Salafists on the Rise?

It appears that Wahabis are gaining ground in Kashmir - from torching Sufi shrines to expelling minorities

As fanatics order pastor to leave Kashmir, putting Christians into Valley of fear; HC directs J&K govt to ensure their safety

Jammu: Following grave allegations from a Christian organisation that Muslim zealots pose an imminent threat to the lives and properties of Christians in Kashmir and are a threat to their existence, high court judge JP Singh has directed J&K Government to ensure their protection in the Valley. "J&K's home department and DGP are directed to ensure that requisite steps are taken by the law enforcing agency to ensure the protection of persons and properties of the members of Christian community living in Kashmir," he said in his order.

Justice Singh also issued them a notice for their response to the petition jointly filed by the Mumbai-based Catholic Christian Secular Forum (CCSF), which also has its office in J&K, and Iftikhar Ahmad Bazmi of Poonch's Kama Khan locality under section 103 of the J&K constitution through retired judge and advocate AK Shan. It has been alleged in the petition that Christians are being targeted in Kashmir on account of their belief and, are being denied their religious liberty.

CCSF also alleged that due to the fear of Muslim fanatics, Christians had been living in Kashmir under trepidation and anxiety, and were unable to step out of their houses, jeopardising their right to life and liberty. The things, however, took a turn for the worse when "Supreme Court of Islamic Shariet" ordered CM Khanna, chief pastor of All Saints Church, Srinagar, to forthwith flee Kashmir, or face the consequences for his alleged role in converting Muslims to Christanity.

The Shariet court also asked the Government to expel Khanna, pastor Jim Borst, Gayoor Masih, Chandra Kanta and Chandra as it had allegedly found them guilty of luring young Muslim boys and girls into Christanity by exploiting their poverty. In its letter addressed to Khanna in October last year, the Shariet court said, "We would like to inform you that we are in receipt of a complaint with sufficient proof of video clipping, confirming that you are taking active part in motivating Muslim youth to convert to Christanity which is of grave concern. You are fully aware that J&K is a Muslim dominated state, and in case your act gets publicity among the masses, there is every apprehension of eruption of law and order problem on a large scale. You are therefore asked to present yourself before the Shariet court in its office at Soura, Srinagar, on October 28, 2011 at 11 am positively. In case of your failure to do so, you shall be personally responsible for the consequences thereof." The copies of this letter were also addressed by the Shariet Court to Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, and Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar.

It has been stated in the petition that instead of acting against the "illegal and arbitrary action of the so-called Shariet supreme court, police failed to protect the persons who were coerced into presenting themselves before it". Khanna was again summoned by the Shariah court on November 17, 2011. During the proceedings, he was allegedly insulted.

The chief pastor alleged that he was arrested by police in Srinagar on November 19, i.e. two days after his appearance before the Shariet court, within 24 hours of the warning issued to him by the grand Mufti of Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Bashirudin. On the same day, the Shariet court issued fatwas against Khanna, Jim Borst, Gayur Masih, Chanderkanta and Chandra, directing all of them to leave the state, while asking the J&K Government to take over the management of missionary schools in the State, and introduce Islamic studies in the educational institutions managed by Christian organisations.

After the fatwas, the Kashmir bar of advocates was too alleged to have boycotted Khanna and his four companions. CCSF alleged that there was an effort by the local population in Kashmir to drive Christians out of the State as they were considered to be "infidels". "Despite all this, the State administration's response has been lackadaisical and it has failed to protect Christians from being harassed and targeted by the self-styled and unconstitutional courts," it added. This showed that there had been a complete breakdown of the law and order machinery in the State as a result of which its citizens did not have any access to justice, CCSF said in its petition.

"The Government's failure to perform its public duty has resulted in the contempt of rule of law," it said and added, "As some people have taken law in their own hands, the rule of law has seriously been impaired." "Even as the preamble of the J&K constitution envisages liberty of conscience, thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, Christian community has been denied all this," CCSF alleged, saying "J&K is governed by its constitution which lays special emphasis on the protection and well-being of the weaker sections of the society". It also alleged that the State Government had failed to act impartially and carry out its legal obligations and safeguard the lives and properties of its subjects.

"The constitution envisages a rule of law and not the rule of men," it said and added, "In a democratic set up, the Government is responsible for ensuring a fair trial, notwithstanding the nature of accusations. However, bending to the demands of extremists raises doubts about the secular credentials of the State," it alleged. It felt that the Kashmir Bar Association's call to boycott Khanna and refusal to assist him legally too amounted to the denial of free and fair trial, and access to justice.

While the Government was perturbed over the matter, a senior police officer, when contacted over phone for his comments, refused to get drawn into the controversy. (ET)

Empowerment Through RTI

Nazia assesses RTI as a resource for knowledge and information

RTI Can Lessen ‘Communication Gap’ in Kashmir

Nazia Nabi (Kashmir Images)

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family - Kofi Annan

The relation between the government officials and commoners in Kashmir has never been strong or encouraging in terms of information exchange. Either the lack of cooperation on part of government officials or the fear of action from them impedes exchange of information sharing for the commoner. As a consequence, commoners remain ignorant of various schemes and are unable to resist when their rights become causality. They fail to defend their rights to which they are entitled owing to fear. At the same time, people remain ignorant in terms of the ways and means through which they can obtain their entitled rights from the concerned departments legally.

Right to Information Act (RTI) is one of the powerful tools which provide an individual an opportunity and a right to ask questions to the concerned government officials regarding their work. It also holds the potential to improve accountability for delivery of services to make visible, possibly immediate changes in the quality of life for many marginalised communities. There are government schemes and programmes designed to strengthen poor, but, often these schemes do not reach to the target population. Their rights lose weight and sheen due to corruption and inefficiency of the government machinery.

The RTI has the potential to change the environment of “corruption and favouritism” going on in government departments unabated now-a-days. Millions of rupees go otherwise down the drain and no one raises a finger towards the erring officials. So, RTI is a tool to help people to question even officials about their work. Thus, makes government officials accountable for the kind of work they perform and the funds they receive for any course of action. The act was introduced in India late and the state of Jammu and Kashmir also pioneered the age of Information by implementing new version of RTI Act on March 20th, 2009. The state had RTI Act in place in 2004 during PDP government era

Earlier, the act was passed in the state of Jammu and Kashmir as a sign of positive changes and initially certain changes were noticed at many levels. The act tried to bring the government officials on their toes for effective delivery of service and the dealings, later on brought many changes in the relationship between commoners and government officials. This axis attained an encouraging level as the RTI tool became a tool to dismantle the fear that powerless had earlier. People feared to question those in power or those in authority. The day to day dealings became more responsive and RTI movement unnerved certain officials’ who were neck deep in corruption.

Being the most corrupt state, there is every possibility of nepotism and chaos at every level in Kashmir. There are vested interests that want to make the act ineffective and the recent decision of cabinet to amend few sections of RTI Act added fuel to fire. This action is a planned campaign to curb the basic democratic rights of the people. My question to law amenders would be how can democracy thrive in a place where Right to Information has been put in a sacrosanct? I am still confused what does democracy mean in such a set up. Unless the commoners find an equally strong motivation to stand up and fight to preserve it, its ability to withstand this onslaught is in doubt for sure.

The surest way to strengthen RTI act is to spread the awareness about its significance and impact it has. It is also necessary to do this without creating needless animosity between the people and government officials; instead encouraging people to use the RTI for the benefit of all. People need to stand up and oppose the amendments which dilute the very essence. It is fact that even now people in rural areas hardly have the importance of RTI act. Few aware people in rural areas have used it but vast majority don’t know how to file an RTI application or what its benefits are.

So the need is to disseminate education about RTI Act, its significance and benefits among the young generation. And later, these youngsters can spread the message across the length and breadth of their respective villages. Not only this but we need to educate them about an RTI Act then and RTI Act now. Make them understand the difference between RTI Act 2009 and RTI Act 2012, so that they get to know how people at the helm of affairs try to dilute their basic human right.

The Call of Mountains and Valleys

Yusuf introduces readers to the charm of Sonamarg

(Mr. Muhammad Yusuf, 58, was born in the Dalgate area of Srinagar. He attended Government Schools in Drugjan, Sonawar, and Batwara, all in Srinagar, and completed his college studies at the Sri Partap College, Srinagar. Following his graduation, he briefly attended the University of Kashmir, and in 1980, joined the Physical Education Department of the University of Kashmir. Mr. Yusuf taught aquatics and adventure sports (swimming, mountaineering, snow and water skiing, rafting, parasailing, skating, kayaking, canoeing, etc.), before retiring in 2011. His students have has won many local sports trophies. He has led many exploration expeditions in Kashmir, and has been the Treasurer of the Winter Sports Association of Jammu and Kashmir, General Secretary of J&K Aero Sports Association and the J&K Ski & Mountaineering Association, Secretary of Srinagar Winter Sports Association, and Vice President of the J&K Yoga Association. He presently works as a consultant at the Adventure Call Tours and Travels. In his leisure time, Mr. Yusuf engages in social work, gardening and blogging.)

The Winter Is Calling

Till now most of the tourists would visit Sonamarg for a day and return back in the evening. It all was perhaps mainly due to absence of infrastructure, particularly the accommodation. There were few JKTDC huts, a dormitory and Tourist Bungalow which did not cater the heavy influx of tourists. Then some more hotels in the private sector were built, but now we have sufficient accommodation available here.

The Sonamarg Development Authority has built sufficient accommodation with modern amenities - recently many buildings like Sonamarg Club, International Youth Hostel, number of VIP huts, and Yatri Bhawan thrown open, besides a number of campsites, picnic spots and parks were developed. Many more hotels are under construction so there may not be any problems of accommodation now.

By outsourcing its properties to private sector the SDA has easily generated a huge revenue of nearly one crore which is spent on further development of infrastructure like laying of pathways for ponies and terminals for buses and trucks. The Tourist Reception Centre is under construction and may be thrown open next year.

Pertinently the International Youth Hostel alone could accommodate 200 persons at a time in its 4 dormitories and 10 rooms. It has all indoor and outdoor sports facilities available like billiards, table-tennis, carom, chess and health club. While for outdoor pursuits it has Adventure Club that conducts different adventure activities like trekking, camping, zorbing, and bungee-trampoline etc. It also has a large Conference Hall that facilitates corporate sector to hold conferences and meetings. Holding major cultural and educational programs is also possible here. It is situated a mile away from main market and is away from the noise of the main Sonamarg market. It is situated amidst lofty mountains and forest with a commanding view of River Sindh, Vishensar peak and Baltal range. Adventure Activities:

Sonamarg could offer a host of adventure sporting events round the year. It has a wild mountain beauty and offers wide variety of low and high altitude trekking. It is a base for many treks. One can undertake a circular trek to Amarnathji Cave; Bandipora; Gurez and Telail which can be further extended to Bandipora via Zadkhusi, Drass, and Pahalgam. A trek from Thajiwas leads to Kolahoi peak via Bear Valley. The most interesting trek is to high altitude Himalayan lakes of Vishensar, and Gangabal etc. There is no other place in the entire Himalayas which has more than 30 high altitude lakes within a radius of about 60 kilometers. One can also undertake day treks from Sonamarg to Ludderwas, Eagle’s Nest, Nilgrath and Sarbal, Amaranth cave, Lashi Pathri, Thajiwas, Zabnar, Hapatnar and Kazim ridge etc. Zabnar, 4040 mtr. high above sea level makes a splendid day walk and provides one of the finest view points in the area for peaks such as Nanga Parbat, Nun & Kun and Amarnath etc.

Sonamarg is considered mountaineering and rock-climbing paradise. Some of the best mountaineering and rock-climbing is in Thajiwas. There are some long and more technical rock faces at Shitkari as well where the High Altitude Warfare School is regularly conducts its training camps. Other organizations like Kashmir University, J&K Mountaineering and Hiking Club and Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering have been active in the area for some time.

Sonamarg is also called “valley of glaciers”. There are a number of challenging peaks at Thajiwas which include Umbrella Peak, Cefn Carnedo, Innominate, Mosquito peak, Valehead peaks, Crystal peak and Blade/Arrow, etc. Sonamarg receives heavy snowfall during winter but unfortunately it remains cut off from rest of the state during winter. The frequent avalanches in Shitkari area block the road and make it impossible to conduct any winter sports activity here. A large number of European Heli-Skiers have zoomed down the virgin passes, ridges and long ski runs covered with fantastic powder snow in Gund and Kulun areas. In late April, May, June and July, it is possible to ski the whole Thajiwas Nar. Glacier 6 is not crevassed and provides good ski runs from April to July. Glacier 3 would make a fine ski-mountaineering expedition to the peaks “Valehead” and “Umbrella”. A Ski team of J&K Ski & Mountaineering Association undertook first reconnaissance expedition to Thajiwas glaciers in May 1988. The team along with some Swiss skiers also undertook ski tour to Bear Valley. There is also possibility of operating tobogganing, sledging, Snowboarding, and Cross-Country and alpine skiing here. u With the raising of infrastructure the resort is all set to hold winter activities in near future.

The gushing River Sindh is ideal for wild water sports, such as rafting, kayaking and Canoeing, from Baltal to Shitkari with Grade 1 to 4 rapids. One can further extend the rafting trip up to Ganderbal if one does portage at Hung/Shitkari for about half a kilometer. Some huge rocks are lying in the middle of the river here, thus creating a big hazard making it impossible to run down the river in this stretch. The blasting of these huge rocks would offer one of the best and long commercial rafting/kayaking trips straight from Baltal to Ganderbal passing through picturesque countryside of north Kashmir?

The Tourism Department (Kashmir) has organized many International Rafting Championships in the recent past. Recently the Department organized North Zone White Water Kayaking Championship here.

Not only terrestrial sports, Sonamarg is ideal for aero and other allied sports. There is best and constant wind condition for Paragliding and Parasailing here. Paragliding pilots could fly here on glacier as well as on land. Paragliding was first introduced at Sonamarg way back in May 1988 by J&K Ski & Mountaineering Association. The team took first flight from Glacier 2 to the Thajiwas base which was in fact first flight of its kind in the sub-continent There is also possibility of organizing many other allied adventure sports like Snow rugby, Mountain Biking, Snow Cycling, Grass Skiing, Sport Angling (fishing) at different beats in river Sindh and high altitude lakes and Orienteering. Orienteering is a Cross-Country race involving map reading. Competitors make their way through unfamiliar mountain terrain using a compass and a topographical map. There is also possibility of introducing Scree Running in Krishensar/Vishensar areas. Scree is an accumulation of rock debris on a mountain or hill. Scree Running is a method of descending gravelly slope. There are a number of naturally groomed scree slopes with fine small loose stones on them. A circular mountain biking trip from Srinagar to Gurez via Drass, Telail, and back to Srinagar via Bandipur could be one of the fascinating and thrilling adventures.