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| Jammu being deliberately discriminated against to promote tourism in Kashmir | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Aug 15: Jammu province, which is peaceful and where social and inter-communal relations are very cordial, is, like Kashmir, beautiful. Bulk of the geographical are of Jammu province is mountainous and, hence, highly salubrious. It, like the Kashmir Valley, which remains disturbed most of the time and where the leadership always plays a negative, in effect, anti-India games, has beautiful streams, springs, lakes, meadows, Valleys and waterfalls. It can be compared with any of the European countries. Just visit the mountain areas of the Jammu province and you will see for yourself how beautiful the Jammu province is.
But who cares for Jammu. There is none in the state government as well as the central government who is prepared to take any step aimed at promoting tourism industry in the Jammu province. After all, Jammu is Jammu and not part of the Kashmir Valley. The only duty of Jammu is to contribute every year to the state exchequer over 75 per cent revenue and suffer discrimination of worst form. Everyone in the state government and central government wants to pump into Kashmir millions and millions of the hard-earned Indian rupees every year so that tourism industry is developed there and the people there become more and more prosperous with each passing year. Perhaps, the concerned authorities in the state and at the center believe that any attempt on their part to promote tourism in the Jammu province to help the people of the area regenerate their socio-economic life would add to the so-called alienation of the people of Kashmir or any action on their part to develop tourism in the Jammu province might hurt the so-called special psyche of the people of Kashmir.
The negative and discriminatory attitude of the authorities in the state and at the centre has become unbearable. The reasons are not far to seek. The most important reason is that nearly ten million tourists, including pilgrims from across the country and even from outside the country, throng Jammu province every year with great enthusiasm, as against only a couple of lakhs tourists who visit the Kashmir Valley, where the militants and anti-India always enact anti-India acts to frighten everyone other than the people belonging to one particular religion. In other words, it is Jammu, and not Kashmir, which is visited more by the tourists.
The need was to create the required infrastructure in Jammu, including good roads, to cater to the fast-growing needs of the tourists visiting Jammu province in general and the city of temples and the Holy Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi in particular. But, no, the authorities in the state and the union capital would not do that. Instead, they would dismiss Jammu province with contempt and pump in more and more funds into the already rather developed Kashmir Valley. Even those who represent Jammu in the state council of ministers would watch these anti-Jammu policies as mute spectator fearing that any attempt on their part to raise their voice in favour of Jammu would be denounced by their masters in Srinagar and New Delhi. Since their one-point agenda is to share power at any cost, they think it prudent to allow the authorities to hit the people of Jammu below the belt and neglect Jammu.
A reference here to just a couple of examples showing indifferent/discriminatory attitude of the authorities in the state and in New Delhi towards the demand in Jammu for promotion of tourism industry in the region would be in order. These examples would help people determine the extent to which the Jammu province has been ignored as far the tourism sector is concerned. Leave aside the neglect of Jammu in political and administrative spheres; in employment, education and health sectors; and so on.
For example, the Union Government has, at the behest of the state government, approved Rs 1100 crore project for Dal Lake, Rs 386 crore for Wullar Lake and Rs 2500 crore for the Jhelum River conservation and beautification project. This is not the first occasion that the Union Government has announced such a huge financial package in order to further develop the already rather developed tourism industry in the Kashmir Valley. New Delhi has been announcing such financial packages since decades. Where this money has gone everyone knows.
On the other hand, the Jammu province's the otherwise beautiful and natural Mansar, Dalsar and Surinsar lakes are decaying at an alarming speed because the protection, development and beautification of these lakes is not on the agenda of the authorities. Only a sum of Rs, say, 500 crore would be enough for protecting and beautifying these lakes. But the authorities would not sanction this amount. Why because these are located in Jammu province. The River Tawi, also called Sura Putri, is also decaying, but the authorities have no money to save this ancient river or to beautify it. It's only lip service. Mubarak Mandi, the seat of power of the Dogras, is in a dilapidated condition. What about the cable car project in Patnitop, and even Jammu? There are only vague assurances and nothing more than that. No concrete action on the ground.
All this establishes that the authorities in the state and at the center have no place in their scheme of things when it comes to Jammu province and that they are always guided by the interests of the Kashmir Valley, which has been posing a live challenge to India and which has been witnessing onslaughts on the Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs. The authorities need to review their tourism policy taking into consider the tourism potential in Jammu province. They should spend more in Jammu because more tourists visit this province. |
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