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| Counterpoise to Jammu's Just Aspirations -- III | | Kashmiris say valley is ignored, demand Special Task Force | | NEHA
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Dec 29: Those in Kashmir who have demanded the constitution of a Special Task Force for the Valley say that "Kashmir has a very poor infrastructure in terms of road connectivity." In other words, they seek to convey an impression that Jammu province is superior to Kashmir in terms of road connectivity. They are absolutely wrong. It's Jammu province that is very poor in terms of road connectivity.
The figures as contained in the Report of the Task Force on development of Jammu and Kashmir lay ware the disparities between falsehood and the ground situation and indicate the extent to which the State Government has ignored Jammu in this very vital sphere. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had constituted this Task Force way back in 2006. According to it, the total road length in Kashmir in 2006 was 7129 kilometers and the road length in Jammu was 4571 kilometers. In other words, the road density km / sq km in Kashmir and Jammu was 310.4 and 138.7, respectably. It's no wonder that most of the towns and villages in the Jammu's mountainous and hilly areas are inaccessible.
Take, for instance, the story of road connectivity in Jammu province as revealed by the Task Force. It revealed that the erstwhile Doda district in Jammu province, which had a land area of 11,691 sq km, had road length of 613 km. This means that per sq km road density in Doda district to which former Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, belongs was just 5.2 km. In Poonch district, the per sq km road density was 13 km as it had a land area of 1,674 sq km and road length of 217 km. As for erstwhile Udhampur district, the per sq km road density was 15.8 km as it had an area of 4,550 sq km and a road length of 719 km. In Rajouri district, the per sq km road density was 19.4 km. This district had a land area of 2,630 sq km and road length of 511 km. As for Kathua district, it was 29.5 km. Kathua had an area of 2,651 sq km and road length of 782 km. The erstwhile Jammu district was somewhat lucky. Here the per sq km road density was 55.8 km. The land area of Jammu district was 3,097 sq km and the road length 1,729 km. All this shows neglect of Jammu province in the sense that the per sq km road density in this province, which contributes more than 70 per cent revenue to the state exchequer every year, was as low as 5.75 km.
The position of Ladakh was even worse. Here the per sq km road density was 3.7 km. It may be noted that the Leh and Kargil districts had land areas of 45,110 sq km and 14,036 sq km and road length of 1,164 km and 676 km, respectively.
On the other hand, in Kashmir, the per sq km road density was as high as nearly 49 km in 2006, as against the Jammu's 5.75 km and Ladakh's 3.7 km. It is not an exaggeration. The erstwhile Anantnag district had a land area of 3,984 sq km and 1,328 km of road length. That means that per sq km road density in this district was 33.3 km. In the erstwhile Pulwama district, the per sq km road density was 62.8 as it had 1,398 sq km area and 878 km road length. The per sq km road density in the erstwhile Srinagar district was 64 km. It had a land area of 2228 sq km and road length of 1425 km. Budgam district, like Pulwama and Srinagar districts, was highly privileged. In this district the road density per sq km was as high as 81.8 km as it had an area of 1,371 sq km and road length of 1,122 km. As for erstwhile Baramulla and Kupwara districts, the per sq km road density was 33.9 km and 34.6 km, respectively. The Baramulla district had 4,588 sq km of land area and 1,553 km of road length and Kupwara district 2,379 sq km of land area and 823 km of road length. (Development of Jammu and Kashmir Growth Generating Initiatives, Government of India, New Delhi, November 2006, p. 14). Both these districts were inhabited mostly by non-Kashmiris, including Paharis and Gujjars. (To be concluded) |
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