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In this Issue... • Abid Hussain Sadiq, among many J&K youth to make it to the civil services • Ovessa Iqbal makes Ladakh proud • Bridge over Ravi to improve connectivity, boost development • Project sanctioned to boost Pashmina production • Pir Panjal tunnel to be completed by 2012 • Vocational Training Improvement Project • Zoji La tunnel project in the pipeline • Bishen Singh Bedi to train cricketers from J & K • Jammu’s first golf course to be an added attraction for tourists Vol.II, No.7 , July, 2011 Abid Hussain Sadiq, among many J&K youth to make it to the civil services “It is a very positive step because way. The situation here was ex- in our administrative set up in tremely bad, even newspapers Jammu and Kashmir, there are werenʼt available. I used to get very few civil servants from the my magazines couriered from state. So, increasing that number Jammu. But where there is pas- is extremely important, as it is a sion, you can do anything. There state where problems are such were disturbances and it made that only people from the region concentrating on studies diffi cult, can understand them. Residents but with support of my family and from the area in the administration the blessings of well wishers, I would be much better equipped was successful in my attempt,” to handle the situation here,” said he said. Sadiq. “He had the determination that Gulzar Ahmad Wani, Syed Abid he would achieve his goal. Due Abid Hussain Sadiq from Hyder- Rasheed Shah, Sarvjeet Soodan, to turmoil in Kashmir, the youth pora area of Srinagar is over the Mohammad Aijaz, Pooja Hali, Sa- faced setbacks, but now they are moon. meer Sharma, Bhupinder Kumar, on the path to progress,” said He has reason to be happy, as and Ovessa Iqbal from the state Mohammad Sadiq Bhat, father of he is among many candidates have also made it to the civil ser- Abid Hussain Sadiq. from the state to have made it to vices this year as well. A source of inspiration for suc- the prestigious Union Public Ser- Sadiq faced several problems in cessful candidates from the state vice Commission (UPSC) list this his quest to make it to the elite is Shah Faesal, a doctor, whose year. services, but took them all in his father was killed by militants in Abid had earlier qualifi ed for the stride. Kupwara. He braved all odds and state-level combined services ex- topped the All India Civil Services “Where there is a will, there is a amination. Exam in 2009. 2 Ovessa Iqbal makes Ladakh proud Twenty - fi ve - year - old Ovessa “Overall, the journey was like a Iqbal from Ladakh has passed roller coaster ride. First, there the Union Public Service Com- was failure, and then, I got suc- mission exam. cess,” she said. She was ranked 572 in the or- Iqbal thanked her family for their der of merit in the recently an- support. nounced results for the Civil Ser- “I consider the Civil Services to be vices 2010. the best career option. And when Iqbal is the youngest daughter of I told my family about it, they were a farmer and was born in remote extremely supportive. My father Chachoot village in Leh. She said I could do whatever I want- did her schooling in Ladakh but ed and did everything to support moved to Chandigarh to study me,” she said. chemical engineering at Punjab Failing to clear the examination University. twice did not deter her from trying She also urges women in the state After completing her graduation, again, as she felt it was the only to start believing in themselves, she wanted to do something dif- way she could change the lives of as only then, can they succeed in ferent and contribute to society. people in her state. whatever they want to achieve. So she decided to take the civil She believes things will not Iqbal is a perfect example of this services exams. She qualifi ed change in Jammu and Kashmir and, is today a source of inspira- in her third attempt to make her at the grassroots level unless the tion to many women in the state. dream come true. youth is a part of the process. 3 Project sanctioned to boost Pashmina production Bridge over Ravi to improve connectivity, boost development Rapid improvement of infrastruc- use steamers and small boats to ture and road connectivity in the get across. state is on top of the development The bridge will improve connec- agenda in Jammu and Kashmir. tivity and boost tourism and de- It will soon become the third state velopment in the area. in the country and the fi rst in north- The residents of the region are ern India to get a cable-stayed extremely happy with this govern- bridge that will be built on the lines Pashmina is distinctive for its soft- ment initiative. of the Vidyasagar Setu (Kolkata), ness and, it is on Pashmina shawls, Naini Bridge at Allahabad and the “For the people of Basholi and that Kashmirʼs most exquisite em- Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link (Mumbai). nearby areas such as Bani and broidery is executed, sometimes Bhaderwah, itʼs a dream come covering the entire surface. The 592-metre bridge to be built true. We would benefi t tremen- by the Border Roads Organisa- These shawls, which sell for thou- dously from the bridge. Itʼs been tion (BRO) at a cost of Rs.145 sands of dollars, grace the shoul- our demand for a long time and crore, is scheduled for completion ders of celebrities and are coveted fi nally, it is going to be built, said,” by September 2014. by women the world over. Zakir Hussain, a resident of the The Chairperson of National Ad- area. This amazing cultural legacy of the visory Council, Sonia Gandhi, re- state needs to be protected and The bridge would also open up an cently laid the foundation stone promoted. alternative route to the National of the bridge on the River Ravi at Highway 1A and to the Kashmir A part of this effort is a Rs.9.5- Basholi in Kathua district. Valley via Basholi, Bani, Bhad- crore project sanctioned to the The bridge will benefi t the people erwah, Kishtwar, Chhatroo and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Ag- of Basholi and Bani who were cut Anantnag and give impetus to de- riculture Sciences and Technology off from Punjab and Himachal af- velopment of these areas through (SKUAST) by the Indian Council ter the construction of the Ranjit better road connectivity. of Agriculture Research (ICAR) to Sagar Dam. They were forced to boost the production of Pashmina wool in Jammu and Kashmir. Pashmina is a special breed of goat, indigenous to the high altitudes in Ladakh. The much sought after Pa- shmina - legendary for its softness and warmth - is made with the wool of these goats. Each Pashmina fi - bre is about one-sixth the width of a human hair, and one shawl requires about 24 ounces of wool, the an- nual output of about four goats. 4 Project sanctioned to boost Pashmina production Forty tonnes of the wool comes from around 1.6 lakh Pashmina goats. Pir Panjal tunnel to be completed by 2012 The yield per goat is low, about 100 The Pir Panjal tunnel – Indiaʼs and also has a three-metre-wide to 250 grams of wool, while in other longest railway tunnel that con- road running parallel to the tracks countries, farmers produce around nects Qazigund with Banihal - will inside. 700-900 grams of wool from a sin- be completed by 2012. gle goat. The rail network, declared a Na- The 11-kilometre-long tunnel is tional Project in 2002, offi cially Currently, India produces 50 tonnes part of the 340-kilometre-long called the Jammu-Udhampur- of Pashmina wool, about one per railway project that will link the Katra-Quazigund-Baramulla link cent of the worldʼs total production Kashmir Valley with the rest of the (JUSBRL), will provide an all- of 15,000 metric tonnes. Chinaʼs country. weather means of transport. The share is 70 per cent and Mongoliaʼs only road link via the Jawahar Tun-Tun- 20 per cent. It is being built along a route dot- nel, which connects Kashmir and ted with diffi cult geological fea- The project aims to boost produc- Jammu regions, is often blocked tures, such as rocky surfaces, tion beyond one lakh kilograms. due to heavy snowfall. deep gorges and steep inclines. Low rates of animal productivity, a WorkWork on the railway link, said to be “The construction of the main tun- static population and high disease the most diffi cult project in the sub- nel had started in March 2006. prevalence are seriously hampering continent, is extremely challenging Since a lot of work like electro- Pashmina production. as the terrain passes through the mechanical, safety and signal Himalayas, crosses major earth- Plans have been made to increase and telecom work is left, which quake zones, and experiences the involvement of scientists, villag- requires a lot of time, we are ex- extremes of temperatures as well ers who rear Pashmina goats and pecting that we will complete this as inhospitable terrain. those who work in the shawl indus- mission by the end of December try to achieve this goal. 2012,” said Samdesh Shrivas- It is the biggest project to be un- tava, project in-charge of the Pir dertaken by the Indian Railways The Livestock Products Technology Panjal tunnel. since Independence, and it is the Division of SKUAST has already only mountain railway in India to started work to raise production in The tunnel boasts of state-of-the- be built on broad gauge.