SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir Government provided transport service to 12,497 tribal communities and transported more than 1.56 lakh livestock under biannual migration (transhumance) from Kashmir valley to Jammu.

The Tribal seasonal migration from highland pastures ends with onset of snowfall in the Kashmir valley and the Government under its initiative for supporting biannual migration, 12,497 tribal communities provided transport service along with the 1,56,215 livestock.

The scheme initiated by the Tribal Affairs Department in 2021 is being implemented through District Administrations under supervision of Deputy Commissioners and transport fleet provided by the J&K Road Transport Corporation, an official spokesman said.

Tribal seasonal migration from highland pastures ends with onset of snowfall in Kashmir and enables them to save Rs 74.18 Crore for migration.

More than 12,000 families and around 70,000 people benefited under the initiative this year which is the highest since the launch of the initiative.

These include 86,192 from Anantnag, 22,221 from Ramban, 12,714 from Kulgam, 10,223 from Pulwama, 9758 from Ganderbal, 6897 from Shopian, 3593 from Srinagar, 17,48 from Budgam, 1717 from Bandipora and 1152 from Baramulla. The arrangements at district level were supervised by the respective Deputy Commissioners.

The concept of transport service was introduced after the 1st International Conference on Transhumance held in Albania in 2021 and shared International best practices for sustaining transhumance and supporting the pastoral communities in migration to avoid conflict, mitigate losses and establish institutional mechanisms.

Secretary, Tribal Affairs Department, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary informed that as per 2021 survey conducted by the department, tribal families possess an average livestock of 12.48 and family size is 5.8.

This year total livestock numbering 1.56 lakh was transported along with the families from various districts of Kashmir to Jammu.

An evidence-based approach to public policy has been introduced to acknowledge the rangeland management and environmental conservation services provided by the migratory tribal families based on which transport service is being provided as an incentive.

Choudhary informed that at an average each family saves 20 days of transit and taking into account man-days and prevailing wage rates there is saving of Rs 20,380 per family of 3 adults and additional saving of transport costs up to Rs 40,000.

He said that notional savings of these families during the current migration season is Rs 25.46 Crore for days saved and Rs 48.72 Cr for transportation and other expenses.

These initiatives lead to poverty reduction and also safeguarding the livestock against losses related to accidents, exhaustion deaths and climatic conditions. (UNI)

SRINAGAR: More than 230 schools laced with modern facilities of PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) Yojana are to be established in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Official sources said that during the year 2023-24, a total of 233 schools have been brought under PM Shri Yojana and the Government of India has issued approval to the Jammu and Kashmir Samagra Shiksha.

Notably, the PM Shri School is a centrally sponsored scheme initiated by the Government of India with an objective to establish over 14,500 PM Shri Schools, overseen by the Central Government, State/UT Governments, local bodies, as well as Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS).

“The centre’s ambitious scheme for holistic education is becoming a boon in changing the picture of education in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and work has started towards modernizing 233 schools in Jammu and Kashmir under PM Shri Yojana,” they added.

“As many as 74 elementary and 159 secondary schools have been selected for PM Shri Schools and these schools will be developed as green schools and will have arrangements for solar panels, LED bulbs, nutrition garden, waste management, plastic free, water conservation etc,” they added. 

“The work on schools under PM Shri Yojana has started and for the first phase, an instalment of Rs 26 crore has also been released,” said an official.

He added that tenders have been floated for various works while approval has been given for the selection of 261 schools under the PM Shri Yojana in the second phase for Jammu and Kashmir.

Pertinent to mention here that in the first phase, 6448 schools across the country have been brought under the ambit of PM Shri Yojana, which includes 233 schools in Jammu and Kashmir.

Teaching learning material, sports physical education and all other facilities will be available in these schools. (UNI)

Dr.Ab. Qayoom

SRINAGAR: The tall claims of the district administration and Ut government about providing better facilities of roads and Agriculture water,Online network connectivity and electric  pools fall flat in village of Chek-e-Sodal village of sub-District Handwara in North Kashmirs Kupwara district.

According to residents the basic facilities in the area are in pathetic condition as a  result they  live a life of miseries."At the time of voting we are at forefront, but when it comes to development we are being ignored," said Mohd Jamaal, a senior citizen of the village. Locals said that other countries are ready to launch 5G internet service but we are facing Mobile network system and electricity system.They said that if we want to contact through online network to those persons who are out of country we have to travel 1km atleast then we can connect him easily. Alleging the district administration of improper approach towards the village which according to them resulted in non-development of village, another local said.

People of the area said that the irrigation dame built early in 1999 on top of village but now adays run without any proper mechanism, due to which we loss every year a golden era of a Agricultural season "our elected DDC member Advocate Zahoor Ahmed has totally left us on God's mercy," a local lamented. The residents also alleged that the Power Development Department (PDD) had not upgraded electricity transmission lines in the village.

"The high-tension and low-tension transmission lines are of poor quality and are lying low, often developing snag and affecting electric supply to the village,” locals said.They said the low-lying transmission lines pose a serious threat to the life and property of the locals.

The people living there also raised there concern in issue that people from other villages refuse to tie Matrimonial relationships here because of unavailability of basic facilities.

Meanwhile, the locals have appealed the concerned authorities especially LT Governer, and Disit Administration to look into the issue for an immediate redressal. (HT)

SRINAGAR: The Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, today held a high level meeting of civil administration and police to take stock of arrangements for the upcoming Shri AmarnathJi Yatra, 2023 in light of Supreme Court directions to ensure smooth conduct of yatra.

Dr Mehta observed that the yatra is filled with religious fervour and should be developed as benchmark in religious tourism. The yatra has significant impact on both our economy and composite culture. He said that all arrangements made should make the Yatra a memorable experience.  He also said that  the pilgrims should  fully enjoy this spiritual journey in the lap of nature without any haste to cover more distance.

The Chief Secretary took first hand appraisal from all the concerned Departments and Deputy Commissioners about the civil works related to the smooth conduct of the yatra. He enquired from them the kind of arrangements and back up plans for providing reliable accommodation, water, electricity facilities made by each of them in their districts.

He directed the Divisional and District Administration to ensure that no Langar, tenement or any other service is established in disaster prone areas. He urged the concerned DCs to certify the same before commencement of yatra. He also asked for deployment of NDRF, SDRF and mountain rescue team personnel in adequate numbers at all the vulnerable spots enroute Holy Cave.

 Dr Mehta also laid stress on ensuring that appropriate number of washrooms, dustbins, sanitation workers should be in place at each location. He stressed on making all the base camps and other sites comfortable, clean and hygienic using modern techniques especially around Langar areas. He asked for deploying adequate manpower for maintenance of public utilities and providing of all the paraphernalia required in these utilities.

Moreover the Chief Secretary made out that all the Departments should prominently display their achievements right from entering the UT at Lakhanpur till reaching holy cave. He laid stress on improving the aura and face lifting of the entry points at Lakhanpur, Railway Stations and Airports of J&K.

Dr Mehta asked the Deputy Commissioners of Anantnag and Ganderbal to examine both the routes up to holy cave themselves and see that all critical, protective works have been carried out satisfactorily. He asked them to ensure proper cleanliness and illumination of all the routes and areas so that the ambience  is festive in the whole of the UT.

He further said that the SHGs registered under JKRLM, Mission Youth and other agencies should be provided an opportunity to showcase their products enroute yatra. He also called for providing ample opportunities to the locals to do their business as per the regulations made for each trade.

He took note of all the preparations made till date by departments like Health, Jal Shakti, PDD, PWD, RDD, H&UDD, BRO, Shrine Board, and the divisional and district administration. He directed them that there should be high end arrangements from each quarter with inter-departmental coordination so that the arrangements made are both efficient and established on time.

On the occasion, the Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor, Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, who is also CEO of the Shrine Board gave detailed presentation of the arrangements made for smooth conduct of this year’s yatra.

It was given out that nearly 4000 sanitation workers and 12000 service providers are going to be roped in this year for providing different services to the pilgrims. Further it was revealed that RFID passes after aadhar based eKYC of each registered yatri would be granted for better management and avoiding of overcrowding and rush during yatra this year.

It was made out that all the facilities are being upgraded from last year with provision for better health, connectivity, telecom, water, electricity facilities along with a disaster mitigation plan.

The meeting was informed that accommodation facilities for some 70000 pilgrims at base camps and around 53000 at other lodgements is going to be provided to the devotees. Regarding the telecom services it was said that 25 towers would be installed by BSNL, 7 by Airtel and 29 by Reliance Jio besides high speed internet through lease line to yatra camps. The yatra would be monitored on real time basis in the Integrated Command & Control Centre located centrally.

 It was also made out that 29 health facilities are going to be established enroute to be manned by around 1800 medics/paramedics to be provided by GoI (188), other States/UTs (695) and the J&K Government (907) itself. This year the 100 bedded hospitals at Baltal and Chandanwadi are going to greatly enhance the health facilities for yatris with additional feature of telemedicine and super speciality services through e-Sanjeevani  portal, the meeting was apprised.

It was made out that weather forecasting infrastructure is upgraded with use of RADARs and Automatic weather stations (AWS). The damaged bridges on both the axis are being re-launched besides widening/upgradation of narrow and vulnerable stretches as per the Supreme Court directions, as was learnt during this meeting.(GNS)