In this Issue...

• Drive on to conserve Dal Lake

• State police offers employment opportunities

• Heritage monuments to be renovated along Mughal Road

• Kashmir emerging as attractive medical tourism hub

• Kashmir promotes IT

• Restoration of Chattabal Weir to boost river transport

• New tourist centre opens its doors in Srinagar

• Losar celebrated in Ladakh

• Bhaderwah fast evolving as tourist hotspot Vol.1, No.16, February 2011 “Actually, this is our overall programme for the conservation of the Dal Lake. Under this project, we are cleaning the outfl ow-infl ow channels and the inner circulation channels of Dal Lake. We are trying to keep these channels clean, which is very important for the health of the lake,” said LAWDA executive engineer Mushtaq Hussain Jan. The Chuntkul plays an important role in maintaining State police offers the level of the Dal Lake, as its water fl ows through the channel into the River Jhelum. Illegal construction employment opportunities on the banks of the Chuntkul Channel had affected the fl ow of water, but after the intervention of the high saw an overwhelming response, with over 15,000 court in 2008, illegal structures around the channel unemployed youth in the Kashmir Valley taking part were demolished. in it. The authorities also plan to create artifi cial wetlands Rouf-ul-Hassan, Deputy Inspector General of Police in and around the Dal Lake. (DIG) and in-charge of the recruitment rally in Kash- mir, said the rally was for the unemployed youth of The artifi cial wetlands would act as bio-fi lters Kashmir. and release the water into the lake after natural fi ltration. “This rally was organized to select constables for different departments in the district, including Pul- Around 40,000-50,000 tons of material, including silt wama, Shopian, Awantipora, Anantnag and Kulgam. and nutrients are added annually to the lake, reducing We are conducting a ground test of interested youth its depth and boosting the growth of weeds. from these districts,” added Rouf-ul-Hassan. “So, we are reviving the old wetlands that are present Unemployment is a major problem in Kashmir, es- in the hinterland, and, we want to develop certain pecially in the border and militancy prone areas. wetlands that can treat the nutrients that come from Such recruitment rallies will help provide employ- the upper catchments, due to which the weeds grow, ment to educated unemployed youth in the valley. Drive on to conserve and the water quality is affected,” said Saba Saleen, a technical expert of LAWDA. “There is a lot of unemployment in the Kashmir Val- Dal Lake Since April this year, LAWDA has carried out 80,000 ley, and that is why, I have come here to get into cubic meters of de-weeding and 12,000 cubic meters the police force,” said Bilal Ahmed, an unemployed of dredging respectively in the lake. However, due to youth. The state government is sparing no effort to revive the presence of nutrients, the weeds grow at a fast Another youth said he wanted to join the police so the glory of the Dal Lake. pace. that he could help his community. It recently launched a drive to clean Chuntkul, an Offi cials entrusted with the Dal Lakeʼs conservation “I want to help my community and that is why I have outfl ow channel of the lake, which was choked with have completed surveys and have identifi ed come here to get selected in the police force,” said garbage, and was obstructing the smooth outfl ow of vulnerable infl ow channels that bring silt into the Gulzar Ahmed, an unemployed youth. lake water into the River Jhelum. lake. Jammu and Kashmir Police has emerged as a major draw for youth looking for jobs in the state. This clearly indicates that calls to shun the khaki Lakes and Waterways Development Authority These wetlands are expected to be ready by March force have not worked with the youth who want to (LAWDA) machines have been deployed to remove A special three-day recruitment rally held recently for 2011 and the desired results are expected within serve the public. weeds and garbage from the channel. three months after their creation. the post of constables in Jammu and Kashmir Police

2 3 The Mughal Road still has several monuments like Heritage monuments remnants of fortified Mughal inns that reflect the Kashmir promotes IT glorious days of these places when they served as camping sites for royal Mughal caravans and their to be renovated along armies while heading towards the Kashmir Valley Mughal Road four centuries ago. One such monument is the Shadimarg Sarai (inn) that was built by Emperor Jahangir in the early part of the seventeenth century, and served as an impor- Tourism Department officials in Jammu and Kashmir tant stopover for travelers. plan to renovate heritage structures and monuments dotting the famous Mughal Road to promote heri- “We want to tell the government that this (inn) should tage tourism. be repaired. It should be renovated. It should be re- paired so that tourists can visit it,” said Rangil Singh, The 84-kilometer-long road, which is Kashmirʼs a local resident. shortest link to the rest of the country, is now being reopened and projected as a modern engineering Khurshid Qadri, an official of the state Archaeology marvel. Once completed, it will again link Kashmirʼs and Archives Department, said renovation and res- In Jammu and Kashmir, information technology is a summer capital Srinagar to the districts of Poonch toration work would commence soon. sunrise industry and has the potential of becoming a and Rajouri. It passes over the Pir Panjal mountain “It is a historical route. These inns are assets on the major player in facilitating economic growth and con- range at an altitude of 11,500 feet. route. Whosoever travels on this route would like to tributing to transparent and effective governance. Currently the 300-kilometer-long Jammu-Srinagar visit these inns too. The Shadimarg Sarai is not the The state government is aware of the enormous po- Highway is the only concrete road linking the valley only inn. There are many inns on the route. There tential of IT in the regionʼs economic development. with the rest of the country. are many small structures on the route that we will have to repair and maintain to promote cultural tour- The University of Kashmir has decided to establish an The Mughal dynastyʼs third emperor, Akbar the ism,” said Qadri. advanced IT center on its campus in Srinagar, to pro- Great, used the Mughal Road to conquer Kashmir mote development of the software industry and boost in 1586. Emperor Jahangir, Akbarʼs son, died on this The government has conducted surveys and plans to employment opportunities for students. road at the Chingus Sarai near Rajouri while return- restore the glory of the historical road and monuments and heritage structures along it to attract tourists. ing from Kashmir. The center would impart training to IT professionals to ensure that the software industry in the region de- velops rapidly. The hi-end training would not only en- Kashmir emerging as attractive medical tourism hub been credited with performing the maximum number able them to get excellent jobs anywhere in the world, of intra-discal procedures in the world. but also make it possible to establish software units An increasing number of foreign patients are flocking to India “They come here because we have the record of locally. for treatment. A study has indicated that the countryʼs medical doing the maximum number of intra-discal proce- “When students pass out from here, they are simply IT tourism market is growing by 30 per cent a year and will be dures in the world. They think that we are more ex- graduates, but with these courses, they will specialize worth about USD two billion by the year 2012. perienced in this. So, instead of choosing the Unit- in a particular field, and that, will enable them get jobs ed States and the UK, they prefer Kashmir,” said in different fields and various companies,” said Nadia, Doctors in Kashmir believe the state has a pool of cost-effec- Dr. Tramboo. tive medical facilities and qualified healthcare professionals, an IT student. and great potential to be a medical tourism hub. “We found Dr. Rouf Tramboo. We came across him University authorities plan to develop infrastructure for and his website and saw the amount of procedures this course. According to a study, a cardiac surgery in the Kashmir Val- being done. In America, the facilities and everything ley costs around 50 thousand to one lakh rupees. The same were fantastic, but those guys did not seem to have “For the IT industry, there should be separate infra- operation would cost 3-5 lakh rupees in a private hospital in inherent knowledge, not having done many proce- structure. We have identified five areas in which we New Delhi and 30-40 lakh rupees in America. dures. So, I found out that Dr. Rouf Tramboo has are building infrastructure over a period of two to three Doctors say that areas that could be promoted for medical done the most operations and the most number of years so that IT professionals who come out of col- tourism are neurology, plastic surgery, haematology, rheuma- procedures. It was not just about the facilities, we lege, their employment is ensured,” said Merajuddin tology, angiography, cardiac surgery and angioplasty. came here for professional help, and that is how we Dar, Director of Information Technology and Supports ended up here,” said Eluvia, a patient from South System at Kashmir University. The valley has seen an increase in the number of patients Africa. visiting for treatment of various ailments. The Centre would enable software professionals to Medical tourism would benefit the state immensely. keep themselves abreast of developments and pro- An Iraqi national, Ali Jabir, underwent disc replacement, while It has the potential to generate revenue and employ- duce their products according to the latest technolo- Nafez from Jordan, underwent ʻdisc material removing prac- ment. gies. ticeʼ without surgery at a private medical institute. Experts believe that the Kashmir Valleyʼs Kashmir is now all set to catch up with the information Among the many medical practitioners offering inexpensive pollution-free atmosphere and natural beauty is a technology revolution that has earned billions of dol- procedures to foreign tourists is Dr Rouf Tramboo, who has positive for medical tourism. lars for the rest of the country.

4 5 Restoration of Chattabal Weir to New tourist centre opens its doors in Srinagar boost river transport A new tourist center has been set up in Srinagar to With peace and normalcy steadily returning to Jam- boost tourism. mu and Kashmir, which has been described as a ʻParadise on Earthʼ, holiday and adventure tourism Located on the outskirts of the city, the state-of-the- activities like whitewater rafting, skiing, ice skating art centre houses 46 residential rooms, a fitness cen- and sailing are gradually making a comeback. tre, a shopping mall, a food court, a conference hall and a mini-amusement park. The Department of Tourism in the state is actively It also has Internet and foreign exchange facilities for working to improve tourism infrastructure in the re- tourists, besides a rock climbing wall to attract ad- gion. venture enthusiasts flocking to Kashmir. “The tourist center is certainly a positive step. There Tourists visiting the centre can also relish a variety of are wonderful facilities available for tourists here. delicacies and enjoy the natural beauty of mist-cov- There are many services. Tourists can get all infor- ered pine trees and hillocks in the Valley. mation and foreign exchange. Since it is located near Srinagar, away from the hustle bustle of the city, it is The centreʼs best feature is its close proximity to the quite peaceful and serene. From that point of view, it airport and railway station. is a brilliant step to boost tourism,” said Owais Shah, “For tourists, it will be very beneficial. The advantage an hotelier. they would have is that the highway is very close to The centre has been built at a cost of Rs.115.9 mil- the centre. It is located less than a mile from here. lion. Moreover, the airport is also close by. It is just eight kilometers away. So, connectivity is very good,” said Residents of the area believe the new centre will The restoration of the historical structed a guesthouse at the site. Manzoor Ahmad, the centreʼs project engineer. help generate both business and employment. Chattabal Weir along modern But over the years, the magnificent lines will enable the water level structure was damaged and lost its to be maintained and allow all utility. It has now been restored at Residents of Ladakh celebrated season navigation to be restarted Losar celebrated in Ladakh a cost of Rs.100 million. the New Year festival of Losar re- through the River Jhelum in Sri- cently. nagar. Residents of Srinagar expressed out evil spirits. And, at the end of month of Tibetan lunar calen- happiness with the restoration of However, the celebrations this it all, the torches are thrown out- “Through the effort of the gov- dar. the weir. year were subdued in the wake of side the town to bid farewell to the ernment, the Chattabal Weir has the huge loss of life and property old year and to welcome the new Legend has it that in the sev- been restored. The water level is “If we talk about the benefits of the caused by a massive cloudburst one. enteenth century, King Jamy- full, and, we are thinking of giv- Chattabal Weir, water transport is in and around Leh in August. ang Namgyal, decided to lead ing permits for water transport. the main thing. Earlier, it served “We observe this whole thing The ʻLadakhi Losarʼ is being cele- an expedition against Baltis- Water buses and water taxis will as an important route for naviga- called ʻMethoʼ and we prepare tan during winter. He was be available for transport,” said brated in Ladakh and Sikkim, but tion purposes. But later, as the fireballs. People from different advised that any expedition Taj Mohi-ud-Din, the stateʼs Min- as you are aware, Leh was re- river was dry, there was a risk of villages come out in groups and before the New Year would ister of Public Health Engineering houseboats being damaged. Now, cently affected by floods. So, we walk through the market playing be inauspicious. Namgyalʼs (PHE), Irrigation and Flood Con- this problem has been solved, as are not celebrating it on a large with fire balls,” said Kunzang. solution was direct and sim- trol. the water level is good. The ex- scale because of the loss of lives Religious places, including mon- ple - he advanced New Year posed riverbed looked shabby, but and property caused by floods Weir literally means a dam across asteries, stupas and residential celebrations by two months, with improved water flow, it is now here,” said P.T. Kunzang, Gen- a river to raise the level of water houses were illuminated on the looking quite good,” said Mushtaq eral Secretary, Ladakh Buddhist establishing a tradition that upstream or to regulate the flow eve of Losar. People visited mon- Ahmad, a resident of Srinagar. Association, Leh. people still follow, celebrat- of the stream. asteries and near and dear ones ing Losar on the first day of Experts say the low level of the People celebrated the festival in on the occasion. The Chattabal Weir was built be- the eleventh month of every water was also a potential threat a simple manner. tween 1903-1907 by British en- As per the Tibetan calendar, the year. for the outbreak of waterborne dis- gineers posted in the Kashmir Metho, the fire festival that is a Losar Festival generally com- eases. Losar is the most elaborate of Valley. It was used to manage the part of pre-Losar celebrations, mences a week prior to the Gre- all the socio-religious events riverʼs water levels in Srinagar began late in the evening. In this The state government began res- gorian New Year and celebrations of Ladakh, involving the en- and for river transport. toration work on the weir in 2009. ritual, people take part in a pro- continue till the end of January. cession with flaming torches, tire population of the region. The location of the weir was so Its completion is expected to give which passes through the streets Unlike other Himalayan regions of The rites and rituals are a picturesque that the irrigation and a boost to tourism. of villages and bazaars of Ladakh. the country, the Buddhists of La- mixture of Buddhist and pre- flood control department con- People chant slogans to chase dakh celebrate Losar in the11th Buddhist religious practices.

6 7 Bhaderwah fast evolving as tourist hotspot

Bhaderwah is a verdant valley located about 200 kilometers from Jammu and situated at a height of 5500 feet. Towering mountains and deodar-clad hills surround it. It is often compared to the Kashmir Valley for its scenic splendour and is also known as Chota Kashmir (Little Kashmir). Bhaderwah is emerging as one of the favourite tourist destinations in the state, attracting both In- dian and foreign tourists in large numbers. Snowy peaks, frozen lakes, ski slopes, pine forests and fresh water streams are among the main at- tractions. Last year, around 30,000 tourists visited Bhader- wah, double the number that visited the region a year earlier. According to offi cial sources, all guesthouses, ho- tels and tented accommodations were completely booked in the region. The Assistant Executive Engineer of the Bhader- wah Development Authority, Fayaz Mehta, said: “Our tented accommodations in the upper reaches of Bhaderwah were booked. It was a good season and tourists enjoyed glaciers, hills and rivers in the region, and were very happy. “The arrangements in Bhaderwah were very good for tourists in terms of hotels and hospitality,” said Vinod Kumar, a tourist from Bihar. The state government is working towards improving tourism infrastructure in Bhaderwah with the aim of getting it on to the international tourism map.