News Kashmir Magazine

Edit 28 December, 2020 Issue .

Media Role in Disaster Management

We live in times of Disasters when natural and man made disasters are wrecking havoc throughout the world.Media as a fourth pillar of democracy has a key role in disaster management .media assists in the management of disasters by educating the public about disasters; warning of hazards; gathering and transmitting information about affected areas; alerting government officials, relief organizations and the public to specific needs; and facilitating discussions about disaster preparedness.Recently in  a welcome development in this regard  Webinar on “Media for Disaster Risk Reduction” was jointly organised by National Institute of Disaster Management and Institution of Engineers (India) J&K State Centre, Srinagar, today, in collaboration with J&K Information and Public Relations Department, Kashmir Editors Guild, Kashmir Press Club and J&K State Emergency Operation Centre, Srinagar. The webinar was inaugurated by Dr. Syed Sehrish Asgar, Director Information and Public Relations Department.

Speaking on the occasion Dr Sehrish said media is the most effective link between the Public and the Administration, and Information Department is the link between Government and Media. She said that coordination mechanism with media needs to be further strengthened, in order to ensure that media has timely access to disaster related data, otherwise it can lead to publishing of unverified and speculative reports. She implored the concerned officers that should share relevant information about each incident promptly, otherwise reporters have to rely on information which may not be accurate.
One hopes in our part of the world media role in disaster management would be critical in coming times .

Kashmir Train hopes 
A train link from Kashmir to Jammu has always been high hope for the masses of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite the project commenced few decades back only Baramulla to Banihal , Udhampur to Jammu has been completed .The Banihal Katra section is yet to be completed ,which once completed will directly connected Srinagar with Jammu. Now in a good news the Northern Railway will be completing the most difficult 111-kilometre long section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link by December 2022 that would connect Kashmir to the rest of India through the railway network, a senior official said recently .
“The work is going on in full swing. The prestigious project will be completed by the end of 2022”, Northern Railway General Manager Ashutosh Gangal told reporters.According to the officials of Northern Railways, perhaps, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project is the most difficult new rail line project undertaken by the national transporter. The project has been divided into three sub-sections for execution purposes. The most difficult stretch of this rail line project, Katra-Qazigund leg, and its alignment which is 129 km long, passes through the ranges of Patni and Pir Panjal.
One hopes train hopes of Jammu to Srinagar which would give great boost to economy of Jammu and Kashmir would help in economic boom and ease to commuters once completed .

Editorial 14 December, 2020 Issue

Insaaf Ki Dastak : A Ray of Hope
Justice is the paramount need of every society and to run society in peaceful and progressive manner delivery of Justice is a must. 
Former Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Patron-in-Chief J&K State Legal Services Authority, Gita Mittal, who retired few days back but before that  launched an ambitious legal outreach programme “Insaf Ki Dastak”.

A statement stated  that the programme aims at providing access to justice at the door steps of people living in far-flung and inaccessible areas of the UTs of J&K and Ladakh who face severe hardships in reaching the courts for their legal issues.

The project “Insaaf ki Dastak” (Access to Justice for inaccessible areas) was envisioned by former Chief Justice, Gita Mittal and Justice Rajesh Bindal, Executive Chairman of J&K SLSA to ensure that no person is deprived of their constitutional rights enshrined in Article 39-A of the Constitution of India which provides that the State shall secure that the operation of legal system promotes justice, on the basis of equal opportunity and to ensure that  the opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of any disability.Pertinently, the rules governing the filing of suits, appeals and petition by the persons residing in remote areas were framed and by virtue of Notification no. 1617 dated: 07.03.2019, the High Court of J&K made necessary amendments to J&K General Rules (Civil) of 1978 svt. The High Court in Sch. (Schedule) A Chapter 8 of the J&K General Rules (Civil) of 1978 Svt. has notified certain areas of UTs of J&K and Ladakh as remote areas.One hopes wheels of Justice run smoothly in Jammu and Kashmir in favour of justice starved masses .

For achieving the target of the Project, the assistance of department of posts and certain government approved agencies providing public services (Common Services Centres) was also sought. The Para Legal Volunteers who form an important area of Legal Services Authorities would bridge the gap between the people living in inaccessible areas with Court and other Legal Services Authorities by facilitating filing of cases as per rules through the CSC’s /Post office located in their area.One hopes this programme changes dynamics of justice in Jammu and Kashmir towards betterment.

Positive figures on JK Unemployment levels 
The problem of unemployment has been plaguing the present and future of Jammu and Kashmir youth since long . High percentage of unemployment among educated youth has been a much severe problem for Jammu and Kashmir.During Covid Pandemic and  past Upheaval situation on this front had gone worse .
Now in a ray of hope ,The rate of unemployment has fallen to 8.6% in the month of November from 16.1% in October in Jammu and Kashmir, as per the data given by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). 

In July, Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) published the recruitment notification for 8575 Class 4 for District/ Divisional / Union Territory (UT) Cadre.
Pertinent to mention here according to  official reports, A total of 1,35,590 registrations took place for the total vacancies of 8575; which depicts the inside picture of the employment crisis in Jammu and Kashmir. As per The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) figures, India’s unemployment rate is 6.7 per cent which means J&K has a higher unemployment rate than the national average. Among the states 
Haryana tops the list with 25.6 per cent of unemployment rate, followed by Rajasthan with 18.6 per cent. 

The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries in its preliminary report suggested that five lakh job losses were recorded in Kashmir region only post abrogation of Article 370 last August which was followed by lockdown to combat Covid-19 pandemic.One hopes we continue to witness positive developments on unemployment front .

Mayorship Hopes In a significant development,  The former Mayor and ex-Peoples Conference leader, Junaid Azim Mattu was  elected Mayor of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) for the second term.Mattu, won 44 votes while Imran has got 7 votes. 26 members walked out during the election process.
Pertinent to mention here that Mattu, who does not have any known party affiliation currently, defeated Sheikh Imran, a former deputy mayor who was removed from office last year through a no-confidence motion. Imran also did not represent any party in the mayoral polls.
Mattu tweeted on micro blogging website Twitter : “What a humbling, emphatic verdict! We have touched the 2/3rd majority mark! 
Thank You to my fellow Hon’ble Corporators and the people of Srinagar for your trust and faith again. 
Together we will all serve Srinagar and take it to new heights!
In recent memories ugly politics has hit hard the SMC functioning hard .
Masses are expecting now with some sort of semblance will be seen in the functioning of Srinagar Municipal Corporation and Junaid Mattu will take all steps for betterment of the Srinagar city .

23 November,2020 .

Walnut Sector in Kashmir Deserves Promotion

Walnut sector used to be bulwark of rural economy of Kashmir .A village in Kashmir used to be incomplete without presence of Walnut tree.But over the decades due to rapid conversion of land into apple orchards,Jungle of construction the walnut trees have been worst hit as a result walnut sector has suffered .Now some good developments have taken in recent times . Farmers residing in remote hilly areas of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, who are solely dependent on agriculture to earn their livelihood are now changing the trend of farming by adapting walnut farming on a large scale.Pertinent to mention here that Farmers here are now engaged in walnut farming along with other crops like maize and rice. The farmers are focused on horticulture farming of cash crops.Now the walnut crops are ready for sale in areas like Kotranka, Budhal. 

In another optimistic development, Director Horticulture recently visited the fruit plant nursery Tral where the Director was appraised that 20000 walnut seedlings have been produced during this year, which shall be grafted during coming season for production of quality planting material.
The demand for walnut plants is quite high in the Valley and no stone should remain unturned in producing the quality walnut plants. Recently,Director Horticulture was appraised that at this nursery around 25000 clonal root stock is being multiplied which shall augment the availability of plant material. Director Horticulture directed to establish small model high density orchard which shall serve as a demonstration plot. 

The hope is that all important walnut sector is given due attention so that it becomes a major source of our income and employment.

Srinagar Smart City Projects Raise Optimism

Srinagar ,the city having centuries old rich history is the heart of beautiful Kashmir Valley .It is dream of every Kashmiri to see Srinagar developing into a full fledged smart city soon.Recently it was learnt that ,  The Srinagar Smart City Ltd convened 6th meeting of Board of Directors which reviewed the progress on various projects approved during previous meetings and also approved a host of new projects in various sectors aimed at key infrastructure interventions and developmental initiatives in city.Pertinent to mention,Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir Pandurang Pole, Chief Executive Officer SSCL / Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Director SSCL Naveen Aggraval, VC SDA Dr Bashir Ahmed, Commissioner SMC, Director Archives and other members were present.On the occasion, CEO Smart City (DC Srinagar) briefed the board about progress on various projects which include initiative for Smart Power metering, smart water metering under which DPRs have been formulated and funds to the tune of Rs 17 Cr and Rs 45 Cr earmarked to Power and Jal Shakti Departments; city beautification, 5KM long cycle track initiated along 90Ft road soura, underground cabling in various parts of city, release of funds to Tourism department for revitalisation of Yarkhand Sarai, tendering of project for conservation and beautification of Maharajganj Market, Variable Message Display screens installed at 10 locations, work on Smart Vending Zones under progress, conservation of shrines including Imambada Hassanabad, Raghunath Temple, St Louis Church; establishment of Smart Health Centres and Smart Classrooms, tendering of bio-toilets project, completion of civil work of Integrated Command and Control Centre at Bemina, completion of Fire Safety infrastructure project including procurement of boats and fire tenders, installation of Reverse Vending Machines at 10 locations completed, process initiated for procurement of 20 electric buses through SRTC and installation of air, noise and water quality monitoring systems at various places in city. The CEO also informed that 73KM road has been re-developed under Smart City and PWD has been entrusted with installation of signage and street furniture; establishment of Disaster Relief Shelters and emergency evacuation has also been completed.
The BoD meeting approved several new projects which include cycle sharing scheme involving procurement of 500 cycles and installation of cycle stands in central business area, a joint initiative of Smart City and District Administration; additional Smart Class Rooms, formulation of DPR for Bohrikadal and Zainakadal market beautification, Kawdara Craft Exhibition Centre, development of 26KM pedestrian pathways in various areas of old city using local devri stone, heritage walkways, conservation of hertage network, social protection plan, community based trained task force linked to schools, adaptive reuse of lower court, re-development of FCI godown as commercial district, smart advertisement panels and display boards at road intersections, green spaces, wall paintings, community engagement initiatives and other projects related to drainage, road development and junction improvement. The board was informed that with initiatives of several new projects the ranking of Srinagar Smart City improved from 96 in March 2019 to 72 in June 2020 which further slated to be around 50th rank once approved projects are initiated and ongoing projects are completed in next two months.
Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir asked the officer for effective and concerted efforts for inter-sectoral convergence for best possible results and also laying focus on quality and timely completion of projects. One hopes Srinagar City as a complete Smart City will be a reality soon.

Biden Presidency Global impacts 

For decades, the question of who occupies the White House has had a direct bearing on the shape of the global economy and global politics. Joe Biden who is slated to be thr next President of United States of America, the most powerful country will have to address host of challenges  . First and foremost is the ranging Coronavirus Pandemic in USA which has killed lacs of humans and infected millions there. The restoration of dwindling US influence would be another major Challenge for the Biden Administration. Biden administration would continue to depict China not just as an authoritarian superpower (which it is), but also as a global threat to the very idea of freedom itself. It would frame competition with China in terms of a global battle of ideologies, and, in a rhetorical carry-over from the Trump years, speak of binding together “like-minded” democratic allies in the Indo-Pacific. The first Biden term would likely see a revival of democracy promotion as a core tenet of U.S. foreign policy, on the assumption (not always stated openly) that a more democratic world is both achievable and likely to turn the tide against  China.Biden would be mix bag for India. He will do everything to have stronger ties with India but as many political analysts state that We can be sure that Biden-Harris won’t give Modi and BJP the free pass that Trump did. Biden has expressed disapproval of the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and Kamala Harris’ words on the abrogation of Article 370 should alarm New Delhi. Biden would like to revive the Iran Nuclear deal and that is big respite for Iran and it’s neighborhood especially India and Pakistan. For Pakistan the Presidency of Joe Biden looks Unknown commodity. Turkey might not like Biden Presidency as he and his team are quite vocal on Kurdish rights. Overall Joe Biden offers a picture of cautious optimism for US and World.