Union Tourism Secy inspects Mubarak Mandi renovation works

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Union Secretary for Tourism, Government of India, Mr. Surjit Banerjee today visited Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex and inspected its ongoing renovation and repair works being undertaken by the State Tourism Department and other agencies. Director Tourism, Jammu, Mr. S. M. Sahni and other senior officers of the Archives and Tourism Departments accompanied the Union Secretary. Mr. Banerjee inspected the darbar hall, conference hall, old High Court complex, gole ghar, Maharani Charak Mahal and other sites in the complex. Director Tourism apprised the Union Secretary that the restoration work is being carried out by the Tourism Department in close coordination with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). He said that while INTACH is preparing the detailed project report for preserving the heritage complex, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is heading conservation work. The Public Works Department (PWD) is looking after maintenance and protection works, he said and added that the entire conservation works are being carried out in a coordinated manner. Expressing satisfaction over the restoration work done so far, Mr. Banerjee emphasized on expediting the pace of work, so as to regain the pristine glory of the Dogra architecture. He asked the concerned officers and agencies to submit a detailed estimate of funds requirement for further completion of the renovation work. He assured all possible financial assistance and cooperation for the preservation of Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex from the centre.

Rs. 9.50 Cr for Chenab flood protection works

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Minister for Health, Horticulture and Floriculture, Mr. Sham Lal Sharma has said that Rs. 9.50 crore would be spent on Chenab River channelizing around Akhnoor this fiscal to save the fertile land from erosion during floods. He said hundreds of kanals of land in the area have been washed away by floods in the past and to tackle the problem, the government has formulated a comprehensive plan of Rs. 19 crore. The Minister said this during his day long extensive tour of the areas located at the right bank of Chenab at Akhnoor. The Minister took on-the-spot assessment of the situation and issued directed the engineers to start the work on the vulnerable spots. He asked them to complete the works before the next summer season. He stressed on maintaining the quality of work as per the set specifications and by making use of modern engineering techniques while emphasizing on judicious use of funds. Saying that saving the lives and property of the people is the prime duty of the government, the Minister assured that all necessary measures would be taken in this regard. He said that concerned officers will keep a close vigil over the situation especially during the rainy season when threat of floods looms large. He said a new survey of the vulnerable areas will be conducted to tackle the problem effectively. The villages visited by the Minister included Lehrian, Sangrampur, Chack Biasa, Bhour, Dalpat, Chack Kirpalpur,Changwan, Devipur, Mera, Shetaliar. All these villages are located just at the right bank of river Chenab and remain under the threat of floods during the summer. Various deputations of people called on the Minister during the tour and apprised him about their problems. He heard them patently and assured the redress at the earliest. Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control, Mr. Daleep Bakshi, SDM, Akhnoor, Mr. Ashok Sharma and other officers accompanied the Minister.

Gujjar children most deprived lot

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Children day

Over 5 Lakh Gujjar tribal Children live in utter deprivation in Jammu and Kashmir due to usual neglect and are being mostly exploited in terms of physical because of limited source of income and they are forcibly put to labour by their parents because of limited source says a study conducted by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation a National Organisation working on Gujjars

“The parents of most neglected Ajhari and Manjhi Children are not aware of the schemes launched by the government for their education and social uplift as they in far-flung areas and are nomads moving from one place to another,” said Dr Javaid Rahi, national secretary, Tribal Foundation.

The foundation carries out studies on tribes and cultures and will shortly come out with a survey on the condition of Muslim Gujjars in Jammu and Kashmir.

Gujjars, a nomadic tribe, constitute as much as 20 percent of the state’s population of about 12 million and mainly live on cattle rearing. In the summers they live in the higher reaches of the state, and come down to the plains in winter.

Dr. Rahi said the facilities provided to the girl child in this community were inadequate. “This can be understood from the fact that there is only two Government Gujjar Girl Hostels in Jammu and Srinagar in the whole state for about 1.2 million Gujjar women.”

The community also feels the pinch of insufficient educational opportunities for Gujjar girl students. Rahi said, “Only eight girl students could make it to the university this year for postgraduate studies.”

The foundation reveals that very few girls from the Ajjhari and Manjhi sub-tribes of Gujjars were sent to school, and there is a very high dropout percentage due to compelling economic or domestic reasons and early marriages.

According to the foundation studies, extreme poverty, child labour and early marriage are “pushing the future of Gujjar children into darkness”.

Rahi said their survey had revealed that out of 100 Gujjar children in the age group of 7 to 15 years, about 75 are engaged in “physical labour”. They are being exploited due to lack of resources and poverty, he said.

According to the survey, “the worst condition is of the children belonging to the Ajjhari Gujjar (shepherds) and Manjhi Gujjar (buffalo keepers) - 83 percent of whom have not seen school while 17 percent are getting an education in religious institutes.”

A large number of these children are working as domestic helpers in the households of rich ones. “At least 17 percent Gujjar children inherit bonded labour from their forefathers.”

Rahi also said that “early or even child marriage prevalent among the tribe was also one of the reasons for not being able to study and progress”.

There are over 2.5 million Gujjars in the state, of whom about 1.2 million are women,.“Female Gujjars are more in number than men as their birth rate is high and mortality rate is low.”