The Tribune – Inclusive government Omar style, Jammu & Kashmir Cabinet meets near Line-of-Control

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 30. In an effort to reach out to people in far-flung areas of the state, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today visited Teetwal in Kupwara district on the Line of Control (LoC).

The Chief Minister drove to Teetwal after chairing a Cabinet meeting at Tangdar. As Teetwal village is located 16 km from Tangdar, Omar inspected works and took stock of the road stretch connecting the two areas.

Incidentally, Teetwal was badly affected by the earthquake that had shaken the remote area in October 2005. The Kishenganga river also flows through Teetwal and parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“Inclusive development with focused attention on remote areas has been underlined as an important concern in the development policy of the government. The transfer of power and authority from the secretariat to the village level and involvement of people in decision-making is the government’s endeavour,” Omar said while interacting with locals of Teetwal village.

After receiving feedback on the state of the health, road communication, water supply and education sectors of the area, Omar promised to take up the issue of upgrade and improvement of the road between Tangdar and Teetwal at the “highest level” in the Central Government. The road is at present under the supervision and execution of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

He said issues related to improvement in the telecommunication and telephone services would also be taken up with the Centre. Omar passed directions for the creation of a facility centre at the Teetwal crossing point. He also directed for resolving land issues related to the establishment of Degree College, Tangdar.

The District Development Commissioner was directed to identify land for a sports field at the nearby Karnah area. In Teetwal and Tangdar, Omar met various deputations of Gujjars, Auqaf Committee, panchayat members, local Congress committee, transporters, traders, labourers and Bar Association members. Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather accompanied the Chief Minister during his visit to Teetwal.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120531/main3.htm

The Tribune – Pakistan denies travel permits for PoK

Darshan Bharti

Poonch, April 13. The much-touted Poonch- Rawalakote bus service, “Rahen Milan”, which had brought cheer to lakhs of divided families on both sides of the Line of Control, is fizzling out due to lack of interest from the Pakistan side.

Over 6,000 applicants have been awaiting their turn to go across the border for the past five years.

Since the beginning of the bus service in 2005, thousands of people from Rajouri and Poonch districts have been applying for travel permits.

But after a wait for over three years, thousands of divided families have lost hope of meeting their relatives again as the Pakistani authorities have been continuously denying travel permits to Indian divided families. There has been no delay on the part of the Indian authorities, which has enabled hundreds of PoK travellers to visit areas across the border.

Mohd Matloob Khan of Chandak says: “I had applied for a permit to visit PoK to meet my relatives in 2007. In spite of repeated visits to the passport office and the agencies concerned, I have been unable to secure a permit. I have lost all hopes of visiting PoK.”

Mohd Nazir, a resident of Gursai, Mendher, says: “I applied for a permit in 2008 and have been making rounds of the offices concerned but to no avail. My relatives from PoK have visited here twice during this period.”

“The bus service was started amidst much fanfare with the hope that all divided families will be able to meet again. Mufti Sayeed, the then Chief Minister, had promised to establish meeting points on both sides of the LoC to facilitate meetings between families once a month.

He had also announced that the permit system would be made hassle-free and the DC would be empowered to issue permits and extension thereof to travellers. But nothing has come out of the assurances so far,” says Riaz, a resident of Harni, Mendher, who has been awaiting permit for the past three years.

Initially, two routes were opened in Poonch district – Tatta Pani and Chakkan da Bagh – allowing 30 passengers in each of the two buses to travel. The number was subsequently increased to 60.

The Tatta Pani road was, however, washed away forcing the authorities to shift the bus service to Chakkan da Bagh. This raised the number of travellers to 120 per week from Chakkan da Bagh.

At the start of the service, over 200 passengers used to travel from this side to PoK. With Pakistan authorities denying permits to Indian travellers, the number has gone down to just around 15 passengers per week. At times, not even a single permit is issued to Indian travellers.

Families lose hope

After a wait of three years, thousands of divided families have lost hope of meeting their relatives as the Pakistani authorities have been continuously denying travel permits to them. There has been no delay on part of the Indian authorities.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120414/main7.htm

The Tribune – Bridging divide on the Jhelum

Jupinderjit Singh, Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 25. For many years, Altaf Mir (50) has stuck to a daily routine. He walks down to the banks of the Jhelum near Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and stands there gazing at the gushing waters of the river.

“The water brings with it the fragrance of my motherland, Anantnag, where I was born,” he says, pointing towards the Indian side of Kashmir. His misty eyes have just one dream in them – to travel to his homeland.

Across the border in Tangdhar in India, Mubina Begum (55) looks at the same river, hoping to reunite with her younger brother, Javed, who had crossed over to Pakistan in 1989. “I wish I turn into a drop of water and along with this river flow to the place where my brother is,” yearns Mubina’s elder brother, Izaz Ahmed.

Jhelum, which originates from VeriNag in Srinagar, acts like a natural barrier and a virtual Line of Control between India and Pakistan at many places. But for Altaf and Mubina and many other families separated for decades by the long-running conflict between India and Pakistan, it is also the river of hope.

These families want to move freely back and forth to meet their near and dear ones on the other side of the border. This hope and also the suffering of staying away from your loved ones is aptly reflected in VITASTA (another name for Jhelum), a short film made by two journalists – one from India and another from Pakistan.

In a first ever initiative of its kind, the duo – Pawan Bali and Mohammad Urfi – overcame constraints of language, communication, apart from traditional barriers, to come up with the film, which was virtually edited online via SKYPE.

“Jonathan, Director of Conciliation Resources, introduced us in 2010 over phone. As direct calls between Indian and Pakistan were not allowed, we struggled to be in touch with each other,” says Bali.

“Our plan was to travel along the Jhelum. I started from VeriNag, the source of the river in the Valley, and he started from a dam on it on the Pakistan side. The idea was to shoot some footage on the way and meet at the LoC. I reached there, but Pakistan authorities didn’t allow him to meet me,” recounts Bali.

The scribe said she was struggling to understand Urdu and Urfi wasn’t comfortable with English. “When nothing worked out, we turned to Skype to remain in touch and even edited the film online. It was eventually in August 2011 that we met in Dubai in a conference organised by CR and gave final touches to the film,” says Bali.

Talking to The Tribune, Urfi says the film doesn’t touch upon the causes and reasons of the divide. “We have shown the human side of suffering and hope that things move on between the countries.”

The film shows real-life scenes of divided families meeting each other in Poonch in Jammu and Tangdhar in Srinagar.

“At Tangdhar, people from both countries come on the opposite banks of the Jhelum. They wrap their letters on stones and hurl these at each other. It is pity that in this age of communication, they have to rely on this method of remaining in touch.

We hope our film brings the two countries closer,” says Pawan and Urfi.

Funded by a UK-based NGO, Conciliation Resources (CR), the film was screened at a conference of UK parliamentarians in London and in PoK Legislative Assembly early this year. It is yet to be screened in India. However, the film has found its way on the YouTube and already has many hits.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120326/main6.htm

Also visit :

http://www.c-r.org/featured-work/journey-through-river-vitasta