Cold winter ahead

KARGIL, Oct 5 (PTI) — Forced to migrate leaving behind standing crops and animals and returning home with the only productive months of the year over, the local population in the Kargil sector, which bore the brunt of Pakistan’s failed bid to capture Indian territory, has a difficult winter up ahead.

Situated at a 1000 feet high plateau and in direct view of the Sharyal and Twainbum posts of Pakistan, Chanigund, 12 km from Kargil, is just one of the villages which came under heavy shelling in early May, forcing the villagers to flee overnight, leaving behind all their belongings.

When the 500-odd residents of Chanigund returned last week, they found their animals lost, crops dried up or burnt in shelling and houses broken as grim reminders of the war.

Now they have barely a month to rebuild their shattered lives when the approaching winters, with temperatures dipping to minus 35 degrees Celsius, will virtually cut them off from the rest of humanity.

The summer months are generally used by the locals to grow crops, collect fuelwood and fodder and procure rations for winters, none of which happened this year.

"We cannot go up the hills to collect fuelwood or fodder as it has already started getting foggy and the whole place is littered with unexploded shells which can go off any moment," a scared resident Ghulam Abbas told PTI.

An average family needs about 20 quintals of fuelwood and 25 to 30 bales of fodder, all of which is collected from the nearby mountains by trips that take up to four days, Ghulam says, adding this year the villagers have not been able to stock even the bare necessities for winters.

The 700-odd residents of Kharbu village, 24 km from Kargil, have a similar tale to tell.

"The shelling started in the dead of the night on may 12 and the next day we all fled in vehicles arranged by the state government and the army," says school teacher Abdul Musa.

"When we returned on September 30, it was like coming back to a different world. Nothing remained of our homes. Broken houses, rotting carcasses of our animals and burnt fields made us cry," Musa says.

"We can survive the winters this year only on charity or government dole. Otherwise, our lives may be obliterated," he says, adding "on our own, we are struggling to stock up for the winters and rebuild our broken houses, but we are fighting against time with approaching winters."

But Kargil Deputy Commissioner Shaleen Kabra does not share the villagers’ pessimism and believes the administration is adequately geared up to face any eventuality.

"The demand cannot go up due to the war. We have already stocked up 30 per cent extra supplies for winters and there is no way a shortage of any essential item can occur," he says.

The government conducted extensive surveys to assess the exact damage and the village and family-wise reports are already available for anyone to see, he says.

The administration has already procured 18,000 quintals of fuelwood and another two quintals is on its way. Most of this would be kept in reserve and if villagers are forced to migrate in winters due to shelling, it would be adequate for their needs. If everything goes well, we will release it in January next year for normal consumption, Mr Kabra says.

On shortage of foodgrains and fodder, he says "mercifully the crops have been good in other regions within the district and we are buying food and fodder from areas that remained unaffected by the shelling."

The government has also started a scheme of buying cattle from areas like Dras that are experiencing acute fodder shortage and sell the same to areas towards the Zanskar valley that stayed unaffected by the war, he says.

"The one-lakh population of the Kargil region is anyway dependent on public distribution system (PDS) up to an extent of 80 to 90 per cent and with 30 per cent excess stocks of all essentials already available, I do not see how a shortage can occur," a confident Mr Kabra says.

The government is also providing aid to people whose homes and crops have suffered over 50 per cent damage. The worst affected families will be provided nine kg of foodgrains per person per month, 10 lts of kerosene oil per family and Rs 200 per person to every unemployed individual.

In addition, the locals are being given government aid to build bunkers in the entire region. Funds for these bunkers are released in parts based on the progress of construction and they would hopefully help as additional accommodation or storage space for the people, Mr Kabra adds.

Quality education must: Farooq
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Oct 5 — Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has said powers from across the border are trying to destabilise the socio-economic structure of Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking at a function here today, he said the education sector suffered a setback in the state during the past few years.

The Chief Minister underlined the need for imparting quality education to students for imbibing the spirit of patriotism, discipline and dedication.

Dr Abdullah said merely constructing school buildings was not sufficient but it was essential that the entire personality of the students was developed.