In this Issue...

• Abid Hussain Sadiq, among many J&K youth to make it to the civil services

• Ovessa Iqbal makes 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

• tunnel project in the pipeline

• Bishen Singh Bedi to train cricketers from J & K

• ’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 , 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 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. . He braved all odds and state-level combined services ex- topped the All 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 . 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 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 and that Kashmirʼs most exquisite em- Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link (Mumbai). nearby areas such as Bani and broidery is executed, sometimes , 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 district. Valley via Basholi, Bani, Bhad- crore project sanctioned to the The bridge will benefi t the people erwah, , Chhatroo and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Ag- of Basholi and Bani who were cut 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 with - 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-- of Pashmina wool, about one per railway project that will link the Katra-Quazigund- link cent of the worldʼs total production 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 , 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. the Ladakh region by improving nu- art safety and design features, trition by controlling motility rates, modern harvesting techniques and de-hairing techniques. The valleyʼs Pashmina shawl indus- try is totally dependent on the wool derived from the Pashmina goats of Ladakh, which is spun into world- class shawls in Srinagar. Around 35,000 to 45,000 people in the state are associated with its pro- duction. 5 Zoji La tunnel project in the pipeline

Vocational Training Improvement Project ITIs are the training grounds for on activities that lead to enhance- skilled manpower. The govern- ment in the overall reach and ment has launched a programme effectiveness of the vocational to improve the quality of training, training system. upgrade training infrastructure, Under this scheme, 10 ITIs were syllabi and introduce new trades taken up for upgradation in the to help ITIs emerge as centres of state: Jammu and Srinagar in the excellence. The Union Government is consider- fi nancial year 2006-2007, Anant- ing plans to construct a tunnel at the This is being done through three nag, Baramulla, Doda in 2007- 11,578 feet high Zoji La Pass on the schemes. One of them is through 2008 and R.S. Pura, , 475-km-long Srinagar-Leh National the upgradation of ITIs through Kupwara, , Kishtwar in Highway to improve connectivity in 100 percent funding by the central the fi nancial year 2008-2009. Jammu and Kashmir. government. Under this scheme, The third scheme deals with 37 existing ITIs have been mod- Recently, Defence Minister A. K. upgradation of ITIs through the ernized in Jammu and Kashmir Antony said Jammu and Kashmir Private Public Partnership (PPP). and one new ITI for women has would continue to receive the ʻut- It was launched in 2007-2008 been established. The seating ca- most and undivided priorityʼ in the and 22 ITIs in the state were pacity has been increased from development of infrastructure that covered. 4364 to 6200 and a total of Rs.33 would ensure accelerated econom- crore has been spent. The objective of the Vocational ic progress and added that feasibil- Training Improvement Project is ity studies are being carried out for The second one is run with World to improve the employment out- a tunnel across Zoji La and Z-Morh Bank assistance and is designed come of graduates from the voca- to improve quality and relevance in the state. tional training system, by making of training at ITIs, train instruc- the design and delivery of training Zoji La, which means “Path of Bliz- tors and also promote systemic more demand responsive. zards”, lies on the lower depression reforms and innovations, focusing of the Himalayan range, and, is located about 102 kilometres east of Srinagar. It is the main pass on the route that connects Ladakh and Kashmir, and is the second highest pass after on the Srinagar- Leh National Highway. In winter, due to heavy snowfall on this pass, the highway is blocked and Ladakh remains cut off from the rest of the country from Novem- ber onwards for about six months.

6 Zoji La tunnel project in the pipeline

Bishen Singh Bedi to train cricketers from J&K Former Indian cricket captain “I want a message to reach the Bishen Singh Bedi is all set to children that we are not playing train cricketers in Jammu and cricket just for fun. W Wee will give Kashmir. it a competitive shape and we will try to win all the tournaments , the President of that we take part in the future,” the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Bedi said. It can only be reached by air in the Association and Union Minister The roping in of Bedi is one winter months. for New and Renewable Energy, among several initiatives taken introduced Bedi at a function in The snow depth at places on the by the state government to give a mountain is 50 feet and clearing it Srinagar recently and said his boost to sports and to strengthen off the mountainous highway is a engagement would help the team sports-related infrastructure. challenging task. It takes at least improve its standing at the nation- two months for the Border Roads al level. The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Organisation (BRO) to clear the Association (JKCA), the top gov- highway in the Zoji La area. “He will give one month training erning body of the game in the each to players in Srinagar and state, is keen to give a boost to The Beacon Force of the Bor- Jammu. He will prepare our play- cricket. The launching of the T20 der Roads Organisation (BRO) ers for all cricket levels, junior lev- Jammu Kashmir Premier League, is responsible for clearance and el to the Ranji trophy level,” said the setting up of the stateʼs fi rst maintenance of the Srinagar-Leh Abdullah. cricket academy with the assis- Highway. tance of the Board of Control for The Srinagar-Leh route allows eas- Bedi played 67 tests and 10 one- Cricket in India (BCCI) and the ier operations as compared to the day internationals for India. He will renovation of the Sher-e-Kashmir Manali-Leh Highway that has three train cricketers of all age groups cricket stadium are some of its re- passes-Rohtang, Baralacha and in the state. cent efforts. Tanglang-La-which are located at a greater height than Zoji La and remain snow-bound for a longer period. Tourism, crucial to Ladakhʼs econ- omy, is dependent on the Srina- gar-Leh Highway and is affected by six-months of inaccessibility through roads. Improved connec- tivity through the proposed Zoji La tunnel will certainly give a boost to Ladakhʼs economy. 7 Jammu’s first golf course to be an added attraction for tourists Jammu got its fi rst golf course re- cently. Chief Minister inau- gurated the fi rst phase of the Rs.41 crore Sidhra Golf Course on the banks of the River Tawi in the cityʼs outskirts. About Rs.21 crore has been spent so far to develop nine of the proposed 18 holes of the international golf course, which is spread over an area of about 1400 kanals. “With so much scenic beauty sur- rounding the golf course here, I think this is the best in the plains of the country. I donʼt think there is any matching golf course in the plains,” claimed Abdullah. The second phase of the golf course would be completed by the end of next year and shall have a clubhouse with a swimming pool, health club and three artifi cial lakes. Jammu is a stopover for over eight million pilgrims who visit the Vaish- no Devi shrine. A majority of tourists heading to the Kashmir Valley, pass through this city. It is hoped that the Sidhra Golf Course would act as an added attraction for tourists. The government is keen to promote sports tourism, and Sidhra in Jam- mu, is being developed as a sports township. Plans include a proposal to establish a tennis academy and to construct a cricket stadium, said Abdullah, adding that these would encourage both tourists and sports lovers to visit the region. Tourism acts as the cornerstone of stateʼs economy and vigorous efforts are on to revive its past glory.