Er P L Khushu
On April 20, an Army vehicle passing through Bhimber Gali and Poonch in the Rajouri sector was fired upon, by unidentified terrorists, likely through grenades, which lead to the death of five soldiers. Five personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles deployed for counterterrorism operations in the area lost their lives in the incident, the Army said. Poonch terror attack: ‘How many more,’ asks wife of slain Ludhiana soldier Mandeep Singh. The attack is suspected to have been orchestrated by the Jaish-e-Mohammad, said sources. The possible involvement of the same militants behind the attack in Dhangri village in which seven people were killed in January is also being probed. Where is the normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir as is being claimed? It is a million dollar question. Are Pulwama’s being repeated. Such an attack occurring near the border should have been met with full armed force against the preemptors of this terror attack which comes from Pakistan. This situation deserved a situation like that of a mighty martial surgical strike on the terror hubs located in our enemy country’s hidden locations that is Pakistan. The terror attack was done on the concluding day of the holy Ramzan. Ruthless and barbaric acts of such vultures who have no religion, are doing so in the name of Islamic Jehad, supposed to be a byproduct of the terrorist aiming religious Islamic cult. They are maligning the holy teachings of Islam, with long beards on their vulture like faces, which represent the ghosts of devastation in them. But the bigger demons of these demonic ghosts are located across the border. How long to bear its brunt and why. This event is a war like situation for the country, when our five army jawans have been killed by the cowards of Islamic terror. Who does not know the present condition of Pakistan as a country, when its economy is in deep peril? They are running helter shelter with a begging bowl for monetary help across eth globe. There is an internal political unrest in Pakistan, when presumably the army might take over the rule any time. Pakistan is staring in to an economic abyss with the rupee in free-fall, inflation soaring and energy running short. IMF team’s visit to this country recently to discuss unlocking a vital loan programme did not conclude any help to this debt ridden country. The IMF now says that it wants not just the government but all political parties on board for a deal. Given the bad blood between Prime Minister Shebhaz Sharif and his predecessor, Imran Khan, who’s angling to return to power in looming national elections that may be a tall order. Khan has conceded Pakistan needs the bailout. But the IMF may still be skeptical given that the ex-cricketer torpedoed the last IMF package by backing out of his word to slash subsidies. The point to convey is that Pakistan being in deep trouble financially, politically and strategically is still on the boil to disturb peace and tranquility in India by its peevish and childish approaches of using terror as its tool against India. Presumably, Kashmir dream is a regular hallucination with which Pakistan is obsessed. The Pakistan army through its ISI wing is bent to make it a point of unsuccessful events, for it to invade India through the proxy war of terror. It is doing so by utilizing the services of some misguided youth of Kashmir, in the name of Jehad and thus show these young misguided young people that Kashmir will be a part of Pakistan or will attain Independence. There is a saying that if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Pakistan as a beggar this time is still not learning through its mistakes committed in the then west Pakistan now Bangladesh and Afghanistan cost it heavily, when Pakistan was divided in to two countries and Afghanistan is now ruled by the Jehadi’s themselves. Probably such often repeated terror strikes and militant skirmishes in Kashmir will cost it heavily by again splitting Pakistan again in at least two more countries like Baluchistan and Sindh, when the uprising of the people of these locations want ceremonious separation from Pakistan. Last not the least the ISI and the military set up of Pakistan need to see the alarm signs on the horizon of world corridors, when India is a mighty country now recognized world over as a deciding world power. Should ISI or the army rulers of Pakistan continue to use its ugly tools of proxy wars like the terrorists attacks and the uncalled for border violations, in Kashmir, it will do so to its ultimate peril. Better said than done. India needs now to show the mirror to Pakistan in this regard by taking strong military actions against it, so that the disturbed and unstable situations created through the terrorists acts in Kashmir ever since 1990, gets restored and peace and tranquility is brought back in Kashmir. More silence on this count by the government of India, after the abrogation of Article 370, may not be misunderstood by the enemies of India, both within and outside Jammu and Kashmir. More so it is now the need of the hour for an appropriate development of Jammu and Kashmir, which has received serious setbacks in this regard due to constant disturbance in the peace and better strategic conditions for development of Jammu and Kashmir, in particular in the valley of Kashmir. Though undoubtedly enough development has been done and is being done in Jammu and Kashmir by the present governance of Jammu and Kashmir with a mighty financial support from the government of India, yet, its fruits can be more sustainable and effective once the Terrorism is completely wiped out from Jammu and Kashmir. It can be achieved only through a strong willed action against Pakistan through the arm of military force as enough is enough now. Pakistan will not behave without such an action. Let it be accepted that conditions in Jammu and Kashmir are not perfectly normal as is being claimed through loud statements, particularly in Kashmir. It is the wearer who knows where the shoe is pinching, which is a famous saying in this regard. This situation of instability in Kashmir is better known to Jammu and its people who have suffered adversely due to the Terrorism in Kashmir for no fault of theirs. With the infusion of Terrorism in Kashmir valley, the position of Jammu division too became vulnerable for no fault of the people of Jammu. It spread to border regions of Jammu mostly in the Doda belt. Its vulnerable impact on the economy of Jammu has been sizeable. Lot of population from Kashmir migrated to Jammu with the onslaught of terrorism in Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits migrated in a sizeable number to Jammu. So is the case with some Kashmiri Muslims and Sikhs too. Jammu people gave all of them shelter without any riddance, sometimes at the cost of their own comforts. In fact due this extra influx of people from the other regions, Jammu should have been given more priority in its development and allotted more funds for the development of Jammu. As against this a continuous discriminatory stand was adopted towards Jammu. It has otherwise a long back history, when due to the garnering of majority seats in the legislative assembly, through irrelevant reasoning, no person other than that from Kashmir could become the chief minister of the state. That is how the administrative set up of the authority of power took a shape, which ultimately led to regional imbalance between the regions of Kashmir and Jammu. Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir further made the situation more complex for Jammu when Jammu has a tremendous potential for tourism development and has abundant charming tourist’s spots which could be exploited for the development s of the tourism sector in Jammu. Just a max factor was added to Jammu in this regard like Patni Top tourist spot, when huge funds under central government schemes for tourism were utilized only in Kashmir. To cite the areas of development in the Jammu division for tourism development, it is necessary to mention here that If Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg are considered as heavens on earth, as for as Kashmir Valley is concerned, Bhadarwah valley is no lesser a paradise as for as Jammu division is concerned. Bhaderwah is a lovely cool valley as the valley of Kashmir is. Its perpetual natural beauty and scenic status has made it to be called as ‘Chota Kashmir’. This Splendid Springing Valley is a beautiful valley situated at a distance of about 200 km from Jammu. If developed to the standard rationale of appropriate tourism standards, it can easily invite the foreign tourists in abundance, particularly for adventure tourism. It has enough potential to cater for the recreational tourism for the domestic and local tourists as well. The notable places for tourism development in Bhaderwah are Chinta Valley, Padri, Jai Valley, Seoj Meadow, Bhal Padri etc. Chinta Valley is situated 6500 ft above sea level is a picturesque valley in Bhaderwah bounded by thick coniferous forests. The valley is surrounded by several tourist spots including Thuba which is located across the Chinta Nallah. It is superb location for adventure tourism as also recreational tourism. Padri have beautiful landscapes and lies on the ensuing Bhaderwah-Chamba road at a distance of about 40 Kms from Bhadarwah. The landscape runs in a vast area when it is an ideal location for adventure sports like Snow-skiing in winters and Paragliding in summers. It is also highest Pass on Bhadarwah Chamba road. Jai is a green Valley which lies on the North East of Bhadarwah town about 32 Kms. away connected to the town by beautiful Bhadarwah-Jai Link Road. This Valley has a large area under its command when a river known Jai River divides it in two meadows. This Jai nallah is popular for Trout Fish Culture. It is the ideal place for winter sports and trekking in the cool blue waters of this mountainous location. Seoj is flanked by a beautiful river on its west which emanates from hills surrounding Kailash Kund. The landscape across the river is replica of the beauty of Pahalgam, whereas on the eastern side there are long stretches of grasslands. On the south is the sacred Kailash Kund, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. On way to Kailash Kund, there is unique landscape at Shankh Paddar. It is to just mention about some of a few spots in this range of mountains known as Pir Panchal range and its off-shoots which includes Doda, Poonch and Rajouri districts too, when there are numerous other tourist spots in this belt like Lal Draman (Doda), Bhal Padri (Bhalessa), Chatergalla pass (Bhaderwah), located on Bhaderwah-Bani-Basohli Road passing through Chatergalla pass, which is the highest pass in the area, among other such scenic beautiful tourist spots in this region. Tourism potential in Jammu in some other locations like Rajouri and Poonch districts too is also available, where enough of tourism development potential is available in spots like Dera-ki-gali, Noori-Chamb, Kotranka etc. All these spots can provide good opportunities for adventure tourism of sorts. Adventure tourism offers an excellent option for undertaking a large number of activities such as, mountaineering, trekking, skiing, rafting, canoeing, mountain biking etc. The aspect of development of adventure tourism destinations shall have to be the main thrust in the areas as mentioned above as these locations are the choicest locations for such a kind of tourism in Jammu division. The most popular and best established among these are trekking, mountaineering and river rafting. Chenab River offers a best choice for river rafting in Jammu division. With the coming up of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Tunnel, at Chinnai linking Jammu to Srinagar and Doda district etc, an easy road access is now available to reach these spots quickly and safely. The existing Patnitop tourist resort is a perfect place to experience nature at its picturesque best and widest. It is a famous hill station in the Udhampur district of Jammu & Kashmir. It is a well developed tourist spot presently in the Pir Panjal range. In mid winter this tourist spot is covered with snow, thus providing opportunities for various winter sports etc. Terrorism in Kashmir has become a big bottleneck in names sake only for the development of the areas of vast potential tourism development in the areas of Jammu as mentioned above. It is expected that terrorists acts in Kashmir or the borger escalations will not become the excuses for the development of tourism sector in Jammu. Simultaneously sufficient and adequate steps need to be taken to eradicate the Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir by adopting a tough posture towards Pakistan and its ISI wing though military actions . Enough is enough now.
(The author is a Chartered Consultant Civil Engineer, passionately attached and devoted to
his motherland – Jammu & Kashmir).
