Category: EDITORIAL

For further betterment of the connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir, The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved construction of two tunnel projects, three flyovers, four bridges and 10 other works.  in J&K. The two main projects – Pir Ki Gali and Sadhna tunnels, had been a long pending demand by the people of Kashmir. The people of Karnah have suffered a lot in absence of the tunnel. Come winter, the entire populace of this boarder region gets disconnected from rest of the world. The people face lots of hardships besides loss to lives as slippery conditions of the tricky road result into frequent road accidents. In absence of proper connectivity during winters, the patients with serious ailments couldn’t reach to district hospital or other health institutions in rest of the Valley. From ages they have been urging the governments, that be, to construct a tunnel to ease their lives and fortunately the Union Government has decided to do so and bail them out from the every-year winter trauma.

As for as Pir Ki Gali tunnel is concerned, it will enhance connectivity of both Kashmir and Jammu regions. The Mughal Road is a vital connection between Valley and Pir Panjal region besides rest of Jammu region. This road is an alternative to Jammu-Srinagar Highway which used to remain frequently blocked, particularly, during winters. Now that the condition of this highway has improved a lot, it has not lessened the vitality of Mughal Road as this road has brough Rajouri and Poonch very closer to the Valley. However, it too faces winter closures at intervals thus hampering the movement of the people. From day one of commissioning of this road, people from both the regions have been demanding construction of a tunnel and by sanctioning the Pir Ki Gali tunnel, the Union Government finally listened to the people who feel elated by this announcement. A tunnel on this road will make it an all-weather road thus improving the connectivity between the two regions.

The other road a flyover projects sanctioned by the MoRTH too are vital for the Union Territory. These will enhance the connectivity which ensure high-speed development of the region. The surface communication is the vital part of any region’s development and progress. The better roads you have, the better prospects of growth are there. While MoRTH has taken up these vital projects, the UT government should focus on existing roads. Most of them, particularly, in rural areas are in bad shape. June is coming to end and yet macdamization of these roads has not been taken up. As Kashmir has limited working season, the government should start the process at the earliest.

In the wake of the US bombing of three major Iranian nuclear sites, Tehran has indicated that closing the Strait of Hormuz for shipping is one of the options on the table to pressure its adversaries, experts say that any blocking or disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea – will have a significant global and regional impact including on India’s energy security, strategic affairs. experts have said. It may be recalled that nearly 30 percent of global oil and a third of the world’s LNG (liquefied natural gas) passes through the Strait daily and its closure would immediately reduce global supplies triggering a spike in prices.

However, India’s Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, has assured the country saying India has enough energy supplies to meet requirements for several weeks and continues to receive supplies from several routes. He said that India is world’s third-largest oil importer and fourth-biggest gas buyer, adding, government has been “closely monitoring the evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East since the past two weeks. He clarified that India has diversified its supplies in the past few years and a large volume of our supplies do not come through the Strait of Hormuz now.

The Minister’s statement is reassuring as people here are worried that if the Israel-Iran war continues, of which US too has become a part, prices of petroleum products may soar. The Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is threatening to shut down following US strikes on its nuclear facilities, is an important transit for oil coming from the Middle East. About 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil out of India’s total import of 5.5 million bpd transits through the narrow waterway. However, India has diversified sources — from Russia to the US and Brazil — which can readily fill any void.

Whether oil prices go up or not, the continuation of Israel-Iran war is threatening the world peace and it is in this backdrop that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on Sunday conveyed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian India’s “deep concern” over Iran’s conflict with Israel and called for immediate de-escalation of the situation through “dialogue and diplomacy”. The phone conversation initiated by Pezeshkian came hours after the US bombed three major nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — in Iran, bringing itself into the Israel-Iran conflict.

It goes without saying that war is no solution to any problem, in fact, it is the biggest problem itself. In modern wars there are no victors and no defeated ones but yes, the is death destruction and economic disasters. Let us all pray that good senses prevail on the conflicting countries and de-escalation take place so that the world can breathe easily once again.

Besides the big political and developmental issues, even everything mundane, if it concerns people of the state, too is within the government’s mandate, enjoining upon it to ensure that masses are not troubled. This is exactly where the role of the government and its agencies vested with the responsibility of keeping an eye on the market places and ensuring that unscrupulous people and their practices are kept at bay, comes in. But unfortunately, on this count there is not much to the government’s credit, for the simple reason that its agencies have perfected the art of turning a blind eye to the illegal practices which are no longer an aberration but a general rule as far as the business conducted in our market-places is concerned.

Take for instance the case of food stuffs sold here. Even as it is common place knowledge that adulteration of edibles is a norm here, the agencies vested with the job of taking action against the greedy businesses and people associated, are desperately found wanting both in their will as well as wherewithal to deal with the problem. Once in a while, SMC and Drug and Food Control authorities, and at times even the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution department officials inform public that their so-called checking squads have raided market-places and procured food samples for lab analyses to check them for adulteration if any. Thereafter, never ever are people informed about any subsequent action, not to mention of anyone being chargesheeted for adulteration! Instead what happens usually is that the food samples taken away from the markets are dumped into the cupboards of the concerned agencies, and the accused are simply given a clean chit. The consequence of all this is that the public’s safety and health stand largely compromised.

With poor masses left to the mercy of greedy adulterers, it doesn’t require an Einstein to think how it compromises their physical well-being. As per the doctors, presence of a simple chemical ‘oxytocin’ – although a banned drug, but which is usually given to cattle to increase their lactation, seeps easily into the human body through milk that people consume. There it could easily translate into hormonal imbalances, resulting in miscarriage among pregnant women, as well as eye and other problems among the newborns. It also leads to certain heart and neurological complications. Here it is not only the oxytocin, but even dangerous detergents and urea have been found in milk samples, and industrial dyes and synthetic colours and a whole lot of other dangerous chemicals have been found in so many other edibles, but no substantive action against the adulterers has come about from the concerned agencies.

Now one may ask, what action have the authorities taken against the milk companies whose samples as per the official claims were found substandard and contaminated with dangerous chemicals? What action has been taken against those whose spices were found adulterated? What about those using industrial dyes in foods? If this is the sorry state of affairs with a very common and essential edibles like milk, which because of its characteristic colour and taste is unlikely to accept much adulteration, one can only wonder what might be the case with other food stuffs, including spices, bakery, snacks and other things.

The Union Government is serious in its efforts to revive tourism in Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack and it was in this regard that Union Minister for Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat visited Kashmir, had detailed meeting with Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah and also visited Pahalgam. While the Union Minister discussed with the Chief Minister about broad range of initiatives aimed at boosting tourism infrastructure, promoting heritage and cultural sites, and creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities, his comments after visiting Pahalgam have been appreciated by one and all, particularly in Kashmir.

Following the terror attack, the tourism industry came to a sudden halt (thankfully, the ice has started breaking). While it impacted the economic activities, the trauma of innocent killings was much more than the economic losses and that is why Kashmiris, irrespective of political ideologies, were out on streets condemning the terror attack. However, some hate mongers too were out to demonize Kashmiris as a whole. Some media outlets, social media handles etc. waged a campaign against entire Kashmir populace trying to portray each and every Kashmiri as a blood-thirsty terrorist. 

This campaign, genuinely, pained Kashmir and Kashmiris. As they were struggling to come out of the pain of terror attack, the hatemongers were inflicting more pain to them. In such an atmosphere when Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, while flagging off Vande Bharat train to Kashmir, publicly paid tributes to Syed Adil Shah, a Kashmiri youth, who too was killed by terrorists while trying to save the tourists, people of Kashmir got a message that no matter what the hatemongers want to do, the country’s tallest leadership is with the people here.

In the same manner, the Union Minister for Tourism took to X saying he was “deeply moved” to meet Sajjad Ahmad Bhatt, who had carried an injured tourist to safety after the Pahalgam attack. “In a moment of fear and chaos, he chose courage and humanity above all. His selfless act is the real reflection of the spirit of Kashmir — brave, compassionate, and unwavering,” he said, and also shared a small video, titled “Meeting the Pahalgam Hero”. The Minister’s words about the real reflection of spirit of Kashmir, will prove balm to the wounds that were inflicted on Kashmiris by the hatemongers.

These are undoubtedly encouraging signs that ignite the hope that the tourism would be back on rails. Now that train service has connected Kashmir with the rest of the country and in coming days more trains may be added from various other states to Kashmir, people here are hopeful that the industry may be revived and will flourish in the future.

The ever increasing population of stray dogs in Kashmir Valley, particularly in Srinagar city is a great challenge the population here is face to face with as there has been a surge in dog bite cases here. The situation has become more alarming as frequent cat bite cases too are being reported as a new trend of keeping cats as pets has gone up. Having pets is not wrong but those who decide to do so, should follow the norms like vaccination, deworming, timely treatment, and hygiene practices thus minimizing the risk of transmission of rabies.

As per reports, 12,833 victims, mostly from dog and cat bites, sought treatment at the Anti-Rabies Clinic at Srinagar’s SMHS Hospital in the past year. Among these cases 6,258 were dog bites, 6,095 cat exposures, and 480 other bite cases. The trend shows increase in cat bite cases. Earlier, cat bite cases used to be very rare but with more and more people having cats as pets, the increase in bite cases is very visible. It is mandatory that while rearing pets, all the protocols are followed properly thus keeping the pet clean and healthy and also not getting exposed to the risk of catching rabies.

As for as dog bite cases are concerned, they are all from stray dogs. The over growing population of stray dogs is a glaring proof of the inefficiency of those who run civic bodies in Kashmir. In 2008, the animal rights organizations compelled the authorities to stop the poisoning process to kill stray dogs. Since then the dog population is on the rise here as the concerned authorities failed to adopt alternative scientific measures to keep the population under check. As poisoning of dogs was banned, the authorities were supposed to go for massive sterilization of dogs as the step was and is an animal friendly one and also an effective tool to keep the dog population under control. But here too, the authorities have failed.

Another failure of the concerned authorities responsible for increasing dog population and subsequent dog bites is the issue of waste management. In Srinagar and other major towns, the garbage is scattered haphazardly inviting armies of dogs thus risking the life and limb of people particularly children and women. The civic authorities should wake up and launch a massive sterilization campaign. Besides they should go for proper waste management and also identify places where dog ponds could be made. The government should ensure ample funding so that sterilization centres are established all over.

Globally, the rise in population sends people pouncing upon uncultivated land to squeeze food for themselves but ironically, it is a reverse trend here in Jammu and Kashmir as people obnoxiously are hell-bent over replacing cultivable land by concrete structures of least developmental value to the economy of the state. It is the insensitive attitude and non-seriousness of cultivators as well as the lack of concern on part of the government including the couple of agricultural universities in Kashmir and Jammu which are responsible for this agrarian mess the state is in.

J&K’s peculiar geographic location and climatic conditions make it ideal for the growth of foods of highest quality. Take, for instance, the ‘Kashmiri rice’ grown here or for that matter the Basmati rice grown in certain Jammu regions. The stuff that grows here is priceless. The varieties of rice that arrive here from other states at highly exorbitant prices, are no match to our indigenous varieties. But it is nevertheless bought and consumed here, because our local produce is too little to feed us. 

On its part, government also shares a lot of blame, for it has not accorded agriculture kind of priority it deserved and nothing much has been done to popularize it and develop it on scientific lines. But having said this, it also remains an uncomfortable reality that people of the state, and ironically mostly the rural-folk have been running only after the government jobs. Although there is nothing wrong in people with farming background taking to some other jobs, but often this comes at the cost of agriculture. No wonder one of the major problems confronting us is the transformation of our agrarian agricultural lands into concrete jungles. This was, and is bound to happen because when farmer’s children opt for some other jobs other than farming, the agricultural land of the family gets automatically relegated into a material piece of property. This land is then sold off, even if for a fortune, but it very rarely gets recycled into a state wherein it would again contribute to production of food. 

Fact of the matter remains that Jammu and Kashmir desperately lags behind in agriculture and allied sectors so much so that the it is not able to fulfill its own needs of food. Doubtlessly the economic condition of the UT is very precarious and agriculture is the sector that could bail it out. But this is possible only if the people, and the  educated young lot in particular, also start thinking of agriculture and related sectors as a sphere of activity to opt for a career in. As of now, this doesn’t seem to be happening.

On Monday, Police recovered 76.540 kilograms of semi-ground poppy straw and 4.290 kilograms of grinded poppy straw in powder form (commonly known as Fukki) from a cowshed in Chadoora area in district Budgam. Almost every day, Police seizes contraband substances and arrests some drug peddlers. That, it has become a daily routine, indicates how serious the drug trafficking menace has become. 

In these columns, we have regularly been writing about the menace. This repentance is needed because drug trafficking and abuse is emerging as a biggest challenge to Kashmir society as more and more people, particularly the youth, are falling prey to this menace. Though there is no statistical data available to show the exact number of drug addicts in the Valley, reports pouring in on daily basis regarding arrests related to drug trafficking, seizure of contraband drugs, besides the records of drug de-addiction centres are enough to indicate that the problem is graver than what is seen superficially.

Jammu and Kashmir Police have launched a coordinated operation against the traffickers and have been arresting the peddlers, seizing narcotics and in certain cases attaching the properties of those who are running the drug mafia. People are appreciating these efforts of the Police and expect more vigorous war against those who are playing with the lives of youths.

Though a number of doctors, civil society activists and the concerned government agencies are trying their best to help the addicts to overcome the menace and start their lives afresh, the menace continues to grow in size with every passing day. Actually drug trafficking and abuse can’t be dealt only with official machinery, few social organization and doctors alone. It needs a strong and collective response from the citizenry. 

 It is high time that people wake up to this disaster in making and fight the battle against drug trafficking. Religious leaders, particularly the Imams of Masjids can play a vital role in fighting this battle. Every Friday, the Imams lead congregational prayers and give sermons about various issues. People listen to them, respect them and their word has an impact. Let these Imams talk about the menace during these sermons. Let them make people aware about the disastrous outcome of the menace. The mohalla and village elders too need to play their role. As responsible citizens they should keep an eye on their respective areas and if they find someone involved in such crimes, they should take help from law enforcing agencies to stop the crime.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet Sub-Committee formed to examine grievances related to the Union Territory’s revised reservation policy has completed its report and is set to present it before the Cabinet in its upcoming meeting. It may be recalled that the committee was constituted in response to widespread concerns following a March 2024 amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, under the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The amendment increased reservation in government jobs from 43% to 70%, largely due to the inclusion of the Pahari community under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. The policy sparked protests and opposition from several quarters, prompting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to set up the Cabinet Sub-Committee to reassess the implications of the move. The panel was given six months to complete its review.

While people are yet to know what the Cabinet Sub-Committee has recommended, this goes without saying that the system of reservations has proved a big nuisance even though the measure was well-intentioned when it was conceived. In order to equip unprivileged classes for improvement in their lot, reservation, if anything, serves as a short-cut method. It may no doubt yield some results in terms of speedy development, self-sufficiency and self-reliance of underprivileged classes, but at the same, it also undercuts the chances of normal growth of those who do not belong to any of the “privileged categories”. In fact the experience also shows that only a small fraction of unprivileged people have benefited over the years while a huge lot continues to rot in the mess they were in 1947. 

Most often the people who got benefited from being a subject of a special class, category or area leave their place of birth, even their class and community, thus defeating the purpose of the reservation completely and making enough strong the cause of those who have time and again been voicing concerns against this discrimination in a society that does not have big enough differences among its subjects. One can cite numerous such examples wherein the ghost of reservation has crossed its boundaries and is taking away the share of those unfortunate souls who find themselves as being “officially” forward section of the society even if they starve after getting degrees from prestigious universities and institutes. 

Nobody is against the progress and development of any particular class or community of people. But doing so at the basis of reservations is not fair, at least not to those who do not have the privilege of falling under any reserved category in terms of ethnicity, social standing or geography. Indeed this system is sowing the seeds of a much bigger social strife and discomfort – which clearly outweighs any and all the benefits of this practice. Even as doing away with the system of reservations may not be an easy decision for any government, but then something needs to be done for sure, because the status quo is hurting a huge chunk of people by confusing their basic needs, which is a sure recipe for disaster.

After Pahalgam terror attack, the tourism industry in Kashmir has been hit badly as thousands of intending tourists cancelled their visits. Following the attack, the administration here closed down several parks and tourist destinations in view of security considerations. However, fresh hopes have been rekindled as the Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha on Saturday announced these parts and destinations are being reopened in a phased manner for tourists as the divisional commissioners and IGPs of Kashmir and Jammu have taken reports from every district. He said these parks and places will be opened in a phased manner. He disclosed that the destinations that will be re-opened in first phase (May 17) include Beetab Valley and the parks near Pahalgam market in the famous tourist destinations of Pahalgam, Verinag, Kokernag and Achabal gardens in Anantnag district. In Srinagar, Badamwari Park, Duck Park near Nigeen and Taqdeer Park near Hazratbal will also be reopened in the first phase. Sarthal and Dhaggar in Kathua, Devipindi, Siyad Baba and Sula Park in Reasi, Guldanda and Jai valley in Doda, and Pancheri in Udhampur — all in Jammu region — are also being reopened in the first phase.

Opening of these tourist destinations will send positive signals all over the country and thus help in getting the tourism sector back on rails. Re-opening is being welcomed by the locals who have a culture of visiting these places, particularly, on weekends.  LG has assured people that that once the committee comprising of the divisional commissioners and IGPs of both regions will take reports from districts, some more places will be reopened in consultations with the Tourist Department.

It goes without saying the economy of the people of the areas, that have been closed down, majorly depends on tourist footfall. Take, for instance, Drang area of Tangmarg. Normally on weekends it witnesses huge rush of picnicking locals. The waterfall there has become a favourite selfie point for local visitors. However, after Pahalgam terror attack, it too has been closed down impacting the livelihood of small transporters and shopkeepers.

Same is true about other destinations. Though tourists from across the country have started visiting Kashmir, of course in very small numbers compared to pre-22 April, the locals, who have a culture of picnicking are not able to do so with the closure of these destinations. Now that LG administration has decided to re-open these destinations in phased manner, hopefully these destination will witness comfortable footfall in coming days thus helping the shattered economy of the people living there.

With Union Power Minister Manohar Lal saying that the government will revive the Tulbul project on the Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir as it no longer needs Pakistan’s consent after the Centre put the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, hopes are generated here that finally J&K may have sufficient electric power in coming days. Talking to media the Union Minister said that India will “definitely” work on new hydro-electric projects in the wake of the suspension of the IWT with Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. He said, earlier, the government had to discuss any such project with Pakistan. Talking about Tulbul, he said the project was conceived in 1981 but Pakistan did not give its consent and it was shelved. “Now, when there is no need (for consent), we will restart the project and a DPR will be prepared soon,” Khattar said.

The Tulbul project, which envisaged constructing a 439-ft-long and 40-ft-wide barrage with a storage capacity of 0.30 million-acre-feet (MAF) below the Wular Lake near Ningli in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district to stabilise Jhelum’s water level, was abandoned midway in 1987 after strong objections from Pakistan. Fact of the matter is that Indus Water Treaty has been a big handicap for J&K to fully harness its hydro-electric potential as there were restrictions imposed on the storage of water and hence whatever generation is done, is purely dependent on run of the river. During winters the water levels in rivers reduce drastically and thus J&K faces acute electric power shortage.

The electric power has been a main issue confronting Jammu and Kashmir. During winters, people of Kashmir Valley and Jammu’s winter zone suffer terribly as they have to face longer power cuts. And during summers, Jammu’s plains suffer due to the shortage of electricity. In rural areas the situation turns more pathetic as people don’t get electricity even for eight hours in 24 hours. Same happens in Jammu plains during summers. When people here are in dire need of electricity to fight scorching heat, they have to face frequent power cuts. 

Now that the Centre has put IWT in abeyance, it is an ideal time to exploit the full potential of the waters in Jammu and Kashmir and generate more power. That said, there is one more reality which should not be ignored, instead should be taken care of. Jammu and Kashmir is the only place which, despite generating electricity, remains in the dark as electricity generated here goes to the NHPC, which then sells it back to the people. The UT government should focus on this issue too and seek the return of at least some power projects from NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation).