Category: EDITORIAL

Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo has said that all the works for revival and restoration of heritage are significant for protecting our rich past for our future generations. He has asked the concerned agency that every effort should be made to conserve this historical treasure trove in a highly professional manner in order to present the same to heritage lovers in an aesthetic fashion. He instructed the Department of Archaeology & Archives to intensify the restoration efforts, ensuring visible progress on the ground and asked it to to strike a balance in choosing the projects in each district so that the heritage and architectural monuments widely spread here are protected for posterity.

The heritage and monuments are not just objects of the past, these are actually the engines of continuity of human civilisation and that is why the developed countries ficus on preserving such monuments. In the year 2008 Srinagar and Leh (old) towns were included on the New York-based World Monuments Fund (WMF) watch-list of the 100 most endangered sites across the globe. WMF is the foremost private and non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of endangered architectural and cultural sites around the World. 

That a foreign organization showed interest in preserving Srinagar’s cultural heritage obviously should have come as a clarion call for all the people here that owing to their lack of concern about their heritage, someone from outside had to step in to wake us up from slumber. The heritage in Jammu and Kashmir and particularly in Kashmir Valley has all along got very little or no attention by any quarter. The indifference towards this sector is not confined to the governments, that be, but to the general public too. While government’s lack of interest saw wanton loot and destruction of heritage sites, people too are no less ruthless and in certain cases have been instrumental in destroying these glories of the past.

Like governments, that be,  local populace, more or less, has always remained indifferent towards this aspect. While all over world people feel proud of their cultural heritage and get inspirations for coming ages, in Kashmir these sites have always been treated as alien – as if the people have no emotional or cultural connection. Peoples’ indifference and sort of disrespect towards their heritage and culture is one of the main reasons of the trouble and turmoil that the region is face to face with today. People who don’t respect their history, their culture and their heritage are bound to lose connection with the roots and once this connection is broken, peoples’ identity is lost. That is what has happened here.

In this backdrop, the Chief Secretary’s assertions for preserving the heritage sounds music to the air. It is high time that steps are taken on war-footing basis. This treasure trove is to be preserved so that coming generation don’t see any disconnection on their civilizational travel.

Jammu and Kashmir, most of the times is in the news for bad reasons, has been lucky this time around as it has emerged as the first among all States /UTs which got sanction under PMGSY-IV and the package will provide connectivity to 390 number of eligible habitations with population more than 250 souls. The GoI has approved 1781 KMs road length to connect these populations. 

Reacting to the development, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan for sanctioning 316 road projects worth over Rs 4,200 crore for the Union Territory (UT) under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).

It is a big step, a step that would positively impact the lives and economy of people living in rural Jammu and Kashmir. While as, in olden days, focus was always on urban hubs and the rural pockets would get least attention, PMGSY has revolutionized the rural populace ensuring a dependable surface communication and this communication is more vital than any other communications for the development, progress and prosperity.

Road connectivity is what changes the lives of people. Under PMGSY, a revolution has erupted all over the country, J&K being no exception. The disconnected and desolated areas suddenly emerged on the developmental map of the country and proudly became the partners in the larger growth process.

Neglected, isolated, deserted – most of these areas are now connected – courtesy, PMGSY. They are now in a position to contribute to the economy of the region and also harvest the benefits of the growing economy. And that is what welfare states are meant to be for. To reach out to the rarest of rare areas, where, proverbially even angels dare not to tread. That is what PMGSY scheme is doing.

Sanctioning of fresh projects in J&K is a great step and will undoubtedly go in a long way to uplift the citizenry here. It will not only broaden the scope of connectivity but will prove a great economic booster. With such kind of developmental initiatives, Jammu and Kashmir, which has suffered a lot on all fronts, including economical, during past several decades, gets courage to see and dream a better future ahead.

While the entire populace of J&K joins LG in expressing gratitude to the Central government for putting J&K  ahead of all UTs and States, the people want the union government to come up with more such initiatives to help rebuild J&K, particularly Kashmir, which has suffered a lot – economically, politically, psychologically, financially, and emotionally. They believe that helping Kashmir is to strengthening the integrity of the nation. Period.

The other day, Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, chaired a high level meeting to review the progress on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) project in Kashmir and took serious notice of the slow pace of construction work and expressed strong dismay over the inadequate deployment of men and machinery on the site. As the flagship project is being closely monitored at the national level and through the Prime Minister’s PRAGATI review meetings, CS emphasized that accountability must be fixed on the contractor for failing to mobilize sufficient skilled and unskilled labourers to meet the project timelines. He directed the CPWD to expedite the pace of work and initiate the immediate remedial measures on this account. He asked to issue strict instructions to the contractor to avoid any further delay. He categorically stressed that November 2025 deadline must be met without any compromise.

Jammu and Kashmir has a history of delayed projects. Most of the developmental projects here are never completed within the given time frame and this delay impacts both the development of the region as well as economy besides burdening the government exchequer. The delays result in cost escalations and sometimes, the costs estimated at the beginning turn double with the delays.  For instance, work on Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh Expressway Corridor was started on June 22, 2013 and it was scheduled to be completed in three years. However, it got delays and its first phase was inaugurated in 2018, a delay of two years.

There are several other projects that were not completed within the time frame and this has become sort of a culture in J&K. AIIMS Awantipora too has missed some deadlines and it was in this backdrop that the Chief Secretary has expressed his concerns. The project is too vital for Kashmir as it has a potential to revolutionize the tertiary healthcare infrastructure in Kashmir. While AIIMS Jammu is functional, here in Kashmir, as per official sources, only 64% of the project work has been completed.

Now that the Chief Secretary has noticed the delay, it is hoped that the project is completed within the given deadline that is November 2025. The concerned executing agencies and the official machinery should pull their socks and ensure that they adhere to the given timeline.

Following the flagging off Vande Bahat trains to Kashmir and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s remarks made in a public rally same day at Katra, there is a lot of positivity in the air as for as Kashmir is concerned. On 6th of May, the PM inaugurated world’s highest railway bridge, Chenab Bridge and Anji Khad Bridge and flagged off Vande Bahat trains to Kashmir thus connecting the Valley with rest of the country through railways, a dream nourished by Kashmiris since ages.

While the day will be remembered for ever in the history of Jammu and Kashmir and that of entire nation, PM’s remarks in a public rally have kindled hopes of brighter future for Kashmir. His assertion that he will not will not allow the Pahalgam terror attack to stop development in J&K and that the dreams of the youth will be fulfilled and any obstacle in this regard ‘has to face Modi first’,” has come as balm on wounds of Kashmir’s soul that got terribly hurt in Baisaran Pahalgam.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack, some hate-mongers and scrupulous elements within media and politics had launched a demonizing campaign against the entire populace of Kashmir, the Kashmir that rose in unison to condemn the terror attack. However, these elements have got a befitting reply from the abode of Mata Vaishav Devi Ji, and that too from none other than the Prime Minister of India. 

Puncturing their balloons of lies, PM Modi publicly acknowledged that people of Jammu and Kashmir people of Jammu and Kashmir have stood up against this conspiracy of Pakistan and have given a strong message not just to Pakistan but to the terrorist mentality of the whole world. Citing the example of Adil, who was killed by the terrorists while trying to save tourists, the PM also acknowledged that the youth of Jammu and Kashmir have now made up their mind to give a befitting reply to terrorism as this is the terrorism that burnt down schools in the valley, and not just schools or buildings, it burnt the future of two generations. 

Hopefully this message goes across the country and the elements who are trying to defame Kashmiri populace are isolated. Making accusation and delivering judgements while sitting in cozy newsrooms, is not what nation wants. Nation wants what PM Modi said at Katra and that is – no matter what Pakistan and its terrorists plan to do, all their plans will be shattered by the government of India taking the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the Valley along. Message is clear and louder, PM stands with J&K people, let this reality dawn on hate mongers.

Finally, the day has come for which Kashmiris were waiting for ages. With Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurating world’s highest railway bridge, Chenab Bridge and India’s first cable-stayed rail bridge, Anji Bridge and flagging off two Vande Bharat trains, Kashmir has finally been connected with rest of the country.  The 272 Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) has become a reality. Nothing could a better Eid gift For Kashmiris than opening of this railway link.

In modern world, surface communication is vital for progress and development. Kashmir Valley has all along been suffering on this front. Given the fragility of Srinagar-Jammu highway, travelling to Jammu or other parts of the country had all along been a nightmare particularly for students and small traders who study or do business in different parts of the country. Though the highway hass been upgraded of late, still there are some bad patches which are yet to be taken care of.

In this backdrop having an all-weather railway link is what is going to prove a game changer. The railway track is an engineering marvel. Take, for instance, Chenab Bridge, located between the remote villages of Kauri and Bakkal, it rises 359 metres above the Chenab River, 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower, and spans 1,315 metres in length. The bridge is designed to withstand winds of up to 260 km per hour and seismic activity, the bridge has a projected lifespan of 120 years and has been built at a cost of Rs 1,486 crore. The USBRL project constructed at the cost of around Rs 43,780 crore, includes 36 tunnels (spanning 119 km) and 943 bridges. The project establishes all-weather, seamless rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country.

The railway connectivity will not only give a boast to the tourism sector but will revolutionize the horticulture sector too. Horticulture is the main economic activity in Kashmir. Apple, Cherry, Strawberry, plums, apricot are produced here in abondance. This sector would suffer a lot due to transportation issues and at time, given the road blockade, fruits with less shelf life would rot before reaching the intended Mandis. With a direct train from Kashmir, the fruit growers would reach different cities of the country well in time with their produce. As Prime Minister that he will end Dil Ki Doori, Delhi Se Doori, this rail link is undoubtedly going to do so. It will bring Kashmir more closer to the rest of the country.

June 05 is observed as World Environment Day and governments, non-governmental organisations, civil society groups, business groups join hands to make people aware about the This year, the spotlight is on plastic pollution. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his message, has said that this year’s World Environment Day focuses on solutions to beat plastic pollution. And rightly so. Plastic pollution is choking our planet – harming ecosystems, well-being, and the climate. Plastic waste clogs rivers, pollutes the ocean, and endangers wildlife. Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, in his message on X, has said, “…let us rededicate ourselves to root out plastic pollution and work towards the cause of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation for the common good of humanity and a healthier planet for future generations.” 

On this day awareness campaigns would be launched, seminars and different programmes would be held all over the world, J&K being no exception. However, have we, in J&K, ever though about the issue seriously. Our forest cover is shrinking, our water bodies are shrinking, our glaciers are melting, our air quality is deteriorating and both we the people and respective governments talk about environment only on World Environment Day. Take, for instance, Srinagar city, every nook and corner is dumped with garbage. The concerned authorities are yet to come up with scientific waste management system. See the condition of Dal lake. Billions of rupees have been spent on its conservation but has anything been achieved.  It was spread over 2,547 hectares in 1971 and today it is just on almost 1600. Wular lake has been encroached upon, forest lands have been encroached upon and we and our respective governments watched silently.

In countryside, Kashmir Valley had abundant fresh water streams and rivers. Till late 80’s, people used to drink directly from these streams. Today, in some areas the streams have completely vanished and the ones that exist have turned into stinking drains. People dump all garbage particularly plastic waste into these streams and rivers. In 2008, J&K government banned polythene bags under the J&K Non-Biodegradable Material (Management, Handling and Disposal) Act, 2007. The ban remains confined to the papers only as no concrete steps were ever taken to enforcement the same.

To save the environment from further damage, the government, that be, and the public have to join heads and hands. The governments should take concrete steps for waste management and should launch a massive afforestation drive besides retrieving forest land from encroachers. People on their part need to wake up and develop a habit of keeping their surroundings clean not just their homes alone.

The statement made by Julia Simpson, head of World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) regarding revival of tourism in Kashmir is reassuring. Describing tourism as an “incredibly resilient sector”, she expressed optimism about the revival of Jammu and Kashmir tourism that has suffered a huge hit in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack wherein 26 tourists and a local were killed. Before the deadly attack, the tourism sector was flourishing and breaking new records. Most of the hotels, guest houses, house boats and home stays were booked. But as the enemy couldn’t digest Kashmir’s prosperity, a conspiracy was hatched and tourists were targeted in Baisaran Pahalgam resulting into the complete collapse of the tourism industry.

The tourism sector contributes nearly 7% to the region’s GDP besides generating employment. From past few years, as the Valley witnessed improvement in law and order situation, the sector had started flourishing and more and more people were opting to be part of this sector. In Srinagar city, people had invested good amount of money to remodel their homes to offer home stays to the visitors. So had happened in the vicinities of Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg and other tourist destinations. New tourist resorts like Doodhpathri, Gogaldara, Yusmarg, Gurez etc were opened for tourism and these virgin destinations were attracting thousands of tourists. Border tourism had been introduced and tourists had started visiting areas along the Line of Control (LoC). Entire region was expecting massive tourist footfall this summer but one terror attack in Pahalgam and all hopes were dashed.

Julia Simpson’s assertion that people were apprehensive that travellers would not go to the Middle East after the Israel-Gaza conflict or would not travel to Europe after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but people are travelling to the Middle East and Europe, gives some hope about the revival of the tourism in Kashmir. Prime Minister, Home Minister, J&K LG and Chief Minister, all are on the same plate as for as revival of tourism is concerned. It is important that the governments, from Srinagar to New Delhi, take the project of reviving the tourism in Kashmir on priority basis and take all the necessary steps to provide a sense of security to the visitors.

In the meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir government should come forward to help the people affiliated with the sector. Be it people related to hospitality sector or transport, they had invested hugely and taken loans from banks. Now they are not in a position to pay back and here the government has to rescue them. In consultation with the Union Government, the J&K government should assess the situation and come up with a package to rescue this chunk of population. 

Reports suggest that the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first direct train service to Kashmir on June 06. If it happens, it would be a historic day as Kashmir Valley finally gets connected with rest of the country through railways. People of the Valley have been waiting for this development to take place since ages. While the direct train service from Kashmir would ease the travel to other parts of the country, it will be a big opening for the horticulture sector. Fruits like cherry and strawberry, plums, apricot are the ones with least shelf life will reach Mandis well in time. The other day, a parcel train containing 24 tons of cherry left Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station for Mumbai on Saturday. And now with the opening of direct train from Kashmir, such parcel trains would undoubtedly give a big boast to horticulture sector. Every year, the orchardists depended solely on the mercy of weather and the condition of the Srinagar-Jammu highway to transport their fruit to bigger Mandis. Most of the times they would suffer losses as due to closure of highway the fruit would rot in the trucks. However, with direct train to New Delhi, horticulture sector is likely to benefit the most as fruit from here would reach outside Mandis without any delays and thus the growers would benefit a lot.

The train service will boost tourism as intending tourists will now have a viable alternative to travel to Kashmir. From past few years, it has been witnessed that during peak season, the airlines charge hefty amounts and thus impacting the tourist arrivals. With direct train from Delhi to Kashmir, the hegemony of the airlines will be over and more and more people from rest of the country would be able to afford Kashmir visit that would give flip to the tourism industry here.

However, while people of the Valley are very excited to welcome train services between New Delhi and Srinagar, some reports, besides the time table issued by Northern Railways, has somewhat, dampened the excitement as the timetable suggests train services between Katra and Srinagar and vice versa only. Reports suggest that trains either coming from Srinagar or returning to New Delhi will stop at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Railway Station in Katra, Jammu, where passengers will have to board another train to complete their journey. As per the report, all passengers will have to deboard and exit the station at Katra, get their luggage re-scanned at the departure lounge before boarding the train stationed at platform number 1 for their onward journey. The same train will not continue to further destinations, and passengers will have to wait for the next train to proceed. 

If the reports are correct, there will be no direct train service between Srinagar and Delhi and that is what is baffling the people of Kashmir Valley. They were expecting a direct train to have a hassle-free journey. Now that, if passengers have to deboard at Katra, go for another security check and then catch the next train to further destination, the travel becomes more hassled. If a train travel to Jammu takes 6 to 7 hours, why should anyone from Srinagar chose the train when he/she can drive to Jammu almost the same duration. Security should be the priority but logically a direct train from Srinagar to Delhi or Jammu and vice versa could be more secure than changing trains enroute.

At one point of time forest products contributed a whole lot to the state’s economy. But owing to both governmental neglect as well as official incompetence which couldn’t regulate and manage forestry on scientific lines, the entire activity of lumbering was closed down. Now as population continued to grow and so did the demand for more houses and hence more timber, the Forest department and its subsidiaries failed to live up to this demand, which automatically gave rise to a culture of loot in the form of timber smuggling which continues without any respite.  The National Forest Policy recommends a forest cover of at least one third of the total geographical area with 20% of plains and 66% for hilly areas. Though J&K is above the national average of 24.47% but falls short of the recommended norm for hilly areas. In hilly areas, forest cover started vanishing in mid-90’s as timber smuggling was at its peak. Even today, particularly in south Kashmir’s hilly areas, one could see huge vacant patches in mid forests where once used to be thousands of trees. Though much is talked about afforestation but most of times it is just for photo ops. Had there been  a scientific forest policy in place, somebody would have bothered to question why has the Forest department itself grown into a sort of white elephant, which instead of contributing to the state’s economy is only draining it like a parasite. As of now hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of construction-grade (A-grade) timber is rotting in various official depots and several times more is rotting inside the forests, but is there anybody who is bothered about it. While the common people are thirsting for timber, the inertia-ridden Forest department is doing nothing to supply it to them. It defies common sense that the department is letting the timber to rot but is not selling the same to the needy which would not only have contributed big revenue to the state exchequer but would have also brought down the demand for timber, thus discouraging the timber smuggling in turn. 

Another worrisome factor our forests and particularly their management is tapping the vast potential of what is in official jargon called “minor forest products” or MFP. This MFP which includes hundreds of herbs and medicinal plants are a huge resource just waiting proper exploitation. This is not to say that these are not exploited – certainly are, but in the most disorganized and shady way. Here again this huge resource worth millions has been left to either rot in the forests or has been given for virtual peanuts to a few people who are in this trade. So far nothing worthwhile has been done to tap this huge wealth, and one is hard at understanding why has there been a deliberate neglect of this important resource. At a time when economics seems to have become a political buzzword for the government, one is really hard at understanding why is forest wealth — which if managed properly has a huge potential to draw this state from many of its perennial economic ills – not been accorded the kind of importance it merits. 

Kashmir’s horticulture sector has got a big boost as a parcel train containing 24 tons of cherry left Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station for Mumbai on Saturday. The train, which will reach Mumbai’s Bandra station within 30 hours, was earlier scheduled for June 3 but was advanced to facilitate two more indents for loading of cherries, one from station and another from Jammu station, in the coming days. The development has rightly been described as ‘historic’ by the railway authorities. Transportation has all along been a big challenge that Kashmir fruit growers have been facing historically. The fragility of Srinagar-Jammu highway has always been a nightmare for the fruit growers as due to landslides and bad weather, it would get closed with fruit-laden trucks getting stuck for hours and days together. Fruit like cherry have very short shelf-life and thus it would rot on way to outside markets due to blockades. Though, of late, a lot of work has been done on this highway and it has been upgraded laying fresh tunnels thus reducing the travel time but there still are some bad patches which challenge both commuters are well as transportation of fruit. By starting the parcel train from Katra and Jammu, the railway authorities have further shortened the transportation process as earlier the cherry growers would carry the cherry to Amritsar and from there it would go to other Mandis of the country in parcel trains.

Though a very highly appreciable step, the fruit growers are eagerly waiting for the day when instead of Katra and Jammu, such parcel trains would leave from different railway stations of the Valley and reach the different markets of the country well in time and without any damage. That would be the game changer. Horticulture is one of the most important sectors in Kashmir’s economy. Nearly 7 lakh families are directly or indirectly engaged in horticulture, and besides other fruit, Kashmir produces over 20 lakh metric tons of apples annually. Direct parcel trains from Srinagar to other parts of the country will revolutionize the horticulture sector and thus give a great push to overall economy of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. Though Prime Minister was to inaugurate the direct train service from Katra in Jammu to Srinagar early this month but the function was put on hold due to inclement weather. People of Kashmir are still waiting for this to happen, however, as of today, there is no word from the railway authorities. The union government need to prioritize the issue and speed up the process of connecting Kashmir with rest of the country through railways.