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| RSS-controlled SAYSS has ditched everyone in Jammu | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, June 10: The Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (SAYSS) was formed on July 1, 2008. It was formed by the RSS. Its objective was to educate public opinion against the official decision that took back from the Shri Amarnath Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) that piece of land at Baltal that had been diverted to it for creating more facilities for the Shri Amarnath Yatris by the May 26, 2008 government order and force the government to reverse the decision. The people gave the fullest possible cooperation to the SAYSS leadership. They not only participated in the SAYSS-sponsored activities, but also organized on their own umpteen demonstrations all of which were impressive affairs. They donated crores and crores of rupees to make the movement a success.
The agitation, which was started on June 28 in the real sense of the term, continued till August 31. In the process, more than 10 persons lost their lives, hundreds of other suffered fatal injuries and a couple of persons lost their eyesight. Besides, hundreds of people were booked under various charges. The people of Jammu observed a complete shutdown for more than 48 days, including the 38-day long continuous bandh. During this period, all the business activities remained suspended; financial institutions, including banks, remained closed; and the ATMs remained non-functional. But the people, including vendors, small tea stall and dhaba owners, highway dhaba owners, auto and taxi drivers, bus and truck drivers, vegetable growers and sellers, small farmers, daily-wagers and petty clerks did not raise any hue and cry. They participated in the agitation with great enthusiasm during all these days of massive agitation -- agitation against he fundamentalist and regressive forces and the pro-fundamentalist authorities, including Governor N.N. Vohra.
The agitation, which was coupled with complete shutdown across the Jammu region, created a situation under which it became difficult to procure goods of daily use, including ration, milk and vegetables. But not a single incident of food riot took place anywhere in the region. Nobody regretted support to and participation in the movement. The participation of women, children and elders was on an unprecedented scale. The contribution of the business community, lawyers and advocates and rural population was spectacular.
The people of Jammu suffered huge, huge losses. As per the September 8, 2008 memorandum submitted by the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry to the Commissioner/Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, J&K Government, suffered a loss of Rs 9,980 crores. The tourism trade, including hotels, lodges restaurants, cinemas and other related activities, suffered a loss of about Rs 3,050 crores. The agriculture sector suffered a loss of Rs 750 crore. 50,700 traders suffered a loss of Rs 1,150 crores. Industry suffered a loss of Rs 4,050 crore and the transport and automobile sector suffered a loss of Rs 980 crores.
It needs to be underlined that what happened in Jammu in 2008 had never happened anywhere in India, not even during the Indian independence struggle. The number of jail-goers in Jammu province was more than .8 million, including over one lakh women and over one lakh children. Such was the situation that the people boycotted all the official functions organized on August 15. On the other hand, thousands and thousands of people participated in the SAYSS-sponsored programmes on the Independence Day. Such was the situation that no non-BJP and non-JKNPP leader could dare to come out of his/her house during the agitation days. (To be continued)
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