Bari Brahmana town

Raising dust

Realty takes a beating in Bari Brahmana town near Jammu as elevation of NH-1 divides it into two

Shop prices crash 70% w Cash sales of petrol stations down 75%

Residents wanted flyover, NHAI said it wasn’t feasible.

Ravi Krishnan Khajuria
Tribune News Service
CONSTRUCTION of a road or a highway often brings development and sends property prices spiralling, but exactly the opposite is happening in Jammu. The very lifeline of the country, National Highway No. 1, is spelling doom for realty in the town of Bari Brahmana, 13 km short of Jammu.
The stretch of NH-1 passing through the town is being four-laned. So far, so good. In the widening process, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) elevated the one-kilometer stretch by raising 30-40 feet surface constructing concrete walls to lay a new, elevated road. Consequently, the town has been virtually cut into two separate, unconnected halves with no passage for vehicles to drive under. Only pedestrians can walk through the three-four openings.
Shops and business establishments that once boasted of facing NH1 are now in trouble. As sales plummeted due to the new construction, so did property prices. A 12x15 sq.ft. shop that once fetched upwards of Rs 3.25 lakh has no takers even at Rs 1 lakh. It would be convenient and safe to earn interest than wasting Rs 1 lakh from where business has virtually disappeared was the general refrain among the people here.
While the trading community on the left side of the highway (from Jammu) is witnessing a 25 per cent business loss, their counterparts on the right side are bearing a whopping 60 per cent loss. Sample this: Cash sales have slumped to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 4 lakh a day at petrol filling stations. On lean days, sales hover around the Rs 50,000-mark. The Indian Oil Corporation filling station established in 1978 has recorded a whopping loss of Rs 60 lakh a month. “Heavy vehicles and long distance vehicles don’t come to us and we are forced to cater to local vehicles,” said an official.
Things are no better at Shivalik Autoliners, owned by a retired police officer. Lone employee Satpal said that before the project began, they would get 22 oil tankers a month. “Now we barely order two to three tankers. Sales have come down from Rs 1.2 crore to Rs 1.5 lakh a month,” he said.
A three-storey hotel with a bar and restaurant now earns a petty Rs 6-7000 a day. Gazelle Bar, Restaurant and Hotel owner Satinder Singh, who had invested Rs 75 lakh to raise the hotel, is struggling to repay the bank loan. “We have nine rooms. Most of them remain vacant as no one likes to stay here,” he said.
The trading community in the industrial town of Bari-Brahmana has been bearing the maximum brunt of ‘ambitious’ schemes part of the north-south corridor project. “Usually, such projects see a steep increase in real estate prices but here, not only have our livelihoods have been hit hard, property rates too have gone down drastically,” said 70-year-old M.L. Khanna, who has been running a steel workshop for the past two decades. “It is impractical even for pedestrians. There are just three-four openings in the one-kilometre stretch. It would have been lot better had they constructed a flyover like the one in Jammu city, Khanna added.
Tarsem Gupta, a businessman dealing in cosmetics, readymade apparel and branded shoes since 1982, said that his business, too, had been ruined. “My business has come to zero after NHAI raised the surface to build an elevated road. We now want to sell our shops, but there are no takers,” said Gupta. We have made numerous representations to the state government through the then Jammu divisional commissioner B.R. Kundal, Congress MPs Lal Singh and Madan Lal Sharma, sitting minister Surjeet Singh Salathia and former minister Gulchain Singh Charak but nothing worked out.
“We also contacted NHAI and suggested that a flyover be made instead, but they turned down our request saying rules did not allow it,” said Gupta. Had NHAI raised a flyover, the space underneath could have been utilised for parking lots besides providing wider passage to the people easily to cross over, he added.
Pawan Kumar Garg, manager of NHAI’s technical wing, said that five-six openings had been maintained in the stretch, but only for pedestrians. “Keeping openings for vehicles increases the risk of mishaps,” he said. He said that flyovers could be constructed on highways, but the bearing capacity of Bari Brahmana soil was poor. “NHAI had no choice but to raise the surface. Half the work running into crores of rupees had been completed by the time objections were raised,” Garg said.
By design?

RESIDENTS and traders allege that the design was deliberately altered to inconvenience them and “teach them a lesson” after some shopkeepers misbehaved with a NHAI engineer. However, the allegations could not be substantiated. A senior official did claim that no NHAI official had been manhandled in Bari Brahmana.

(http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090321/real.htm#1)

Dogri, An alien in its own land

Dogri, the language of warriors, is struggling to find acceptance in its own land.
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria on the evolution and plight of the language

The 150-year-old Mubarak Mandi Palace complex in Jammu was the residence of Dogra rulers.

A scene from Dogri play Alhar Goli, Vir Sipahi. Dogri theatre has started giving actors to the film and TV industry.
Dogri language is surrounded by ironies. Popularly called the khand-meethi boli (language as sweet as sugar), this Indo-Aryan language is the language of warriors — Duggars.
An ancient language, Dogri first found mention in the works of Amir Khusro as far back as 1317, but in the place of its origin it is yet to find popularity.
Efforts have been made by the state’s leaders towards its social acceptance, the recent one by Congress MP Madan Lal Sharma, when he took oath in Dogri in the 15th Lok Sabha.
This effort yet again brought forth an interesting irony. While MPs are allowed to use the language in Parliament, back in its homeland both the BJP and the Panthers Party legislators had to seek special permission from the Speaker of the present state Legislative Assembly to take the oath in Dogri.
Though after a protracted struggle the language was included in the Eighth Schedule of India’s Constitution on December 22, 2003, it has to struggle for survival because of official apathy.
Apart from the official indifference, litt`E9rateurs of the ancient language attribute the "utter neglect" of Dogri to the reluctance on the part of Dogras to speak it with pride like Kashmiris speak their mother tongue.
One of the state languages of Jammu and Kashmir, Dogri was recognised as an "independent modern literary language" of India on August 2, 1969, by the Sahitya Akademi of Delhi.
Mainly spoken in the region of Jammu, Dogri is also spoken in some parts of northern Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
This ancient language, which has its own grammar and dictionary, also has a vast repertoire of literature comprising a magnificent array of poetry, fiction, prose, novels, short stories and plays. Under the poetry category alone, it has poets like Kavi Dattu dating back to the 18th century to present century Prof Ram Nath Shastri and poetess Padma Sachdev.
Kavi Dattu, who belonged to the court of Raja Ranjit Dev, is held in high esteem for his Barah Massa (twelve months), Kamal Netra (lotus eyes), Bhup Bijog, Bir Bilas and other works.
But sadly the language has not found favour with the present generation, laments MP Lal Singh, who was the first to take the oath in Dogri in the last Lok Sabha. He attributes this malady to shyness on the part of Dogras, who he says, "discourage their children to speak in their mother tongue".
Former Education Minister and Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh says that lack of will on the part of the state leadership has resulted into this dismal scenario. Despite it being a state language, even today Dogri is not mentioned in the list of its official languages of the state Legislative Assembly. If members want to take the oath in Dogri, they have to take special permission from the Chair, he says.
The state Legislative Assembly only supplies performas in English and Urdu languages, adds Harsh Dev, while trying to drive home the point that the government has not done much to promote this language.
Despite its inclusion in the Indian Constitution, the 87-member state Assembly still has not come up with a two-third majority to pave way for a constitutional amendment so as to adopt Dogri as one of the official languages, he claims.
Founder of the Dogri Department in University of Jammu and one of the famous litterateurs of the language, Dr Champa Sharma also expresses regrets over the raw deal being meted out to the language.
Way back in 1991, the state government agreed to introduce the language in the higher secondary classes. An action committee was also framed but things didn’t move further, she recollects.
During the stint of the previous Congress-PDP government, a similar effort had been made when the government assured to introduce it as a subject in government colleges in all districts, she adds.
But even today in Government Colleges for Women in Gandhi Nagar and in Udhampur there have been only stop gap arrangements on a contractual basis, made by the government to teach Dogri.
In the 22 districts of the state, only three colleges — in Kathua, Jammu and Udhampur (boys college) — have a permanent Dogri teacher each.
The miserable plight could further be gauged from another cosmetic exercise by the government, which made Dogri a compulsory subject till primary classes but failed to provide language teachers.
Another prominent Dogri storywriter, who wished anonymity, felt Jammu missed strong and committed people like Prof Ram Nath Shastri, Dinu Bhai Pant, Sansar Chand Baru, Narayan Mishr and Bhagvad Prasad Sathe, who founded the Dogri Sanstha in 1944. Enthusiasm to promote the language died down because of political interference and hence the endeavour fizzled out before it could become a mass movement, he said
The Dogri Sanstha was formed in 1944 under the tutelage of Prof Ram Nath Shastri in association with J&K Akademi of Art, Culture and Languages and the Sahitya Akademi. It played a key role in the preservation and propagation of Dogra art, culture and language.
Even today, the sanstha is making valiant efforts to keep the language alive. It has been getting many Dogri works translated into other languages and vice-versa. It is also producing children’s literature and promoting writers, poets and artists.
Before the sanstha’s formation there were just four Dogri books available in printed form. These included: Rajawali- a Dogri translation of the Persion prose by Tahel Dass during 1785 - 1811, Dogri translation by Jyotshi Visheswar of ‘Leela Wati’- a treatise on mathematics by Bhaskracharya, published in 1873, Dogri translation of Bhagwadgeeta by Prof Gauri Shankar published from Lahore in 1934 and Dogri Bhajan Mala by Pandit Hrdutt in 1935.
Today, Dogri writers have been contributing in every sphere of literature. Dogri theatre, too, has made long strides and has started giving actors to the film and television industry.

However, a lot more needs to be done to promote the Dogra culture and language, which have lagged behind because of its own people, adds Dr Om Goswami, former Additional Secretary of the J&K Academy for Art, Culture and Languages and a storywriter.

(http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090801/saturday/main1.htm)

Swine Flu in J&K

7 more samples airlifted to NICD, testing labs in twin capital cities to take little longer

Ravi Krishnan Khajuria

Tribune News Service

JAMMU, August 13:

Even as Technical Education Minister RS Chib took stock of the surveillance center and isolation ward for the H1N1 virus at Yatri Niwas on the banks of Tawi River, blood samples of seven more persons having symptoms of suspected swine flu were airlifted today to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in New Delhi taking the total number to 34 since July 10.

We would get the reports of 19 persons probably by tomorrow, Medical Superintendent of Government Medical College, Dr Ramesh Gupta told The Tribune.It may be stated here out of 34 samples one of a 22- year old girl from Nanak Nagar was tested positive.Though seven blood samples were airlifted to the NICD, we await reports of 19 persons that may reach us by tomorrow, added Dr Gupta. State epidemiologist Dr RS Charak said, blood samples of seven more persons were sent to the NICD today taking the total number to 34.Technical Education Minister RS Chib along with Dr Charak and Chief Medical Officer Dr Shahid Mughal today visited the Yatri Niwas, base camp for the Amarnath pilgrims on the extreme corner of the city on the banks of Tawi River.Chib took stock of the arrangements made there to tackle the swine flu.Health authorities converted the base camp into a makeshift surveillance center for the H1N1 virus besides establishing an isolation ward and an OPD so as to keep a check on the contagious virus.Earlier, isolation ward and the OPD were set up at the overcrowded Government Medical College (GMC) where the virus might have caused a pandemic.Meanwhile, official sources told The Tribune that to expedite the process of testing blood samples, proposed labs in twin capital cities may take some more time.In Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura where we have sufficient infrastructure, the testing lab can be set up within a fortnight, provided we get sufficient financial assistance, they said.However, in Jammu where we lack requisite infrastructure we need more money compared to SKIMS and hence it may take a little longer here in the winter capital, they added.Sources also said that after union government authorized some private labs to conduct the test, name of Dr Lal Path Lab in twin capital cities was under active consideration of the state government.But before authorizing Dr Lal Path Lab to conduct the tests, we have to ensure that it has all the requisite equipments and facilities, they added.However, in private labs a single test for the swine flu costs Rs 10,000 and only rich strata of the state can afford it.Ends

Eve teasing on rise in Jammu

Ravi Krishnan Khajuria
Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 17: Even though Jammu SSP Manohar Singh had constituted an anti-eve teasing squad, the menace continues to haunt school and college-going girls in the winter capital.
“Street ‘romeos’ stalk us and pass obscene remarks, but we have to quietly tolerate their nonsense,” says a second-year student of Government College for Women, Parade.
Though girls should not keep quiet and “some of us do muster courage and lodge complaint with the police, most of the times we keep mum”, she adds. “Even if we try to teach a lesson to such elements, people in our so-called civilised society don’t come to our rescue leaving us alone to fend for ourselves”, says a student of the women’s college in Gandhi Nagar, who quoted a recent incident when two ruffians misbehaved with her friend while returning home after attending their tuition classes.
The police alone cannot end the menace and society at large has to put up a brave face against such elements, she says.
She, however, attributes the rise in eve teasing to the fast changing lifestyle in Jammu where people have been blindly following western lifestyles.
Sources in the police department admit that though the anti-eve teasing squad has been constituted, the practice continues in the city.
SSP Manohar Singh constituted anti-eve teasing and anti-goonda squads in September last year, they say, adding that the then inspector, who has been promoted as deputy superintendent of police, Rajni Sharma, and inspector Vishal Sharma headed the teams, respectively.
Though initially these squads launched a crusade against eve teasing, for the past few months such crimes are being handled by the police stations concerned.
However, a senior police officer says the anti- eve teasing squad has been doing its job efficiently, but isolated cases do happen. “One cannot expect that there would be 100 per cent check on eve teasing in a big and constantly expanding city like Jammu, which has witnessed a mushroom growth of schools, colleges and private coaching centres in the recent times,” he says.

Ropeway project makes no headway

Ropeway project makes no headway
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria
Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 17Conceived over six years back, the ropeway project to connect the Bhairon Ghati Temple with the holy cave shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, nestled amidst the Trikuta hills in Katra, hangs in balance.
Despite being the second richest autonomous body in the country after the Tirupati Dev Sthanam (TDS) of the famous Tirupati Temple, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine board (SMVDSB) so far has failed to initiate work on the ambitious Rs 18 crore project.
Undoubtedly, ever since the then Governor Jagmohan created the SMVDSB, it has not only streamlined the entire pilgrimage but also improved existing facilities at the holy town of Katra and the 13km long route till the Bhawan.
However, the ambitious project costing Rs 18 crore has not seen the light of the day as yet, said a SMVDSB official on the condition of anonymity.
He said, "In a bid to attract more pilgrims, the board has decided to come up with the project at a cost of Rs 17.88 crores. The proposed ropeway will be 450 metres in length.”
“Since without paying obeisance at the Bhairon Ghati temple, pilgrimage remains incomplete, so we decided to have a ropeway,” he added.
Board has been into consultations with the rail India transport and economic service (RITES) and a preliminary report, too, has been prepared but a final word was yet to be taken in the board meeting, he said.
No work, whatsoever, has been started as of now, he added while expressing regrets over inordinate delay in executing the project. Every year lakhs of pilgrims from around the world visit the famous cave shrine but a miniscule number among them go to the Bhairon Ghati because of the fatigue.
However, SMVDSB's assistant chief executive officer Bodh Raj claimed that the board has been actively deliberating upon the issue. “We are actively considering the project, but as of now no final decision has been taken,” he said