Kashmir Life
A fading trot
Hamidullah Dar
Once a popular mode of transport connecting cities and towns in the valley, the Tonga or horse-cart has lost its sheen over the years – mainly due to proliferation of automobiles and in part due to apathy of authorities
While in Srinagar the Tonga has bitten the dust, in suburbs and towns, the vintage mode is still available. A horse driving a cart with the whipping driver standing in front and at least five passengers on the seats is partly visible on the streets in suburbs.
Although government tried to remove the Tongas from roads in towns owing to their obstructive speed and unusual stoppage, instead deciding to compensate the Tonga drivers by providing them vehicle permits and monetary benefits, the drivers are hardly impressed.
Once a popular mode of transport connecting cities and towns in the valley, the Tonga or horse-cart has lost its sheen over the years – mainly due to proliferation of automobiles and in part due to apathy of authorities
While in Srinagar the Tonga has bitten the dust, in suburbs and towns, the vintage mode is still available. A horse driving a cart with the whipping driver standing in front and at least five passengers on the seats is partly visible on the streets in suburbs.
Although government tried to remove the Tongas from roads in towns owing to their obstructive speed and unusual stoppage, instead deciding to compensate the Tonga drivers by providing them vehicle permits and monetary benefits, the drivers are hardly impressed.
Politics of poverty
Former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig struck out his name from proposed BPL list in
Of Marriages and More
by Arshad Malik
The other day I was at a marriage ceremony. It was an average function by Kashmiri standards but for me it was...
Dreaming Europe
A South American footballer is changing football scene in Kashmir. For a start, he plans to send two young footballers to a Spanish club....
Lal Ded’s Shame
As the world celebrates Mother’s Day, Shazia Yousuf and Shazia Khan visit Srinagar’s biggest maternity hospital, Lal Ded, to find the treatment met to...
Shameem, A Pioneer Of Electoral Politics
Naeem Akhtar
His contribution to journalism, oratory, wit, repartee and literature are recounted regularly and they never sound like stale or repetitious. But one aspect of the late Shameem in my opinion remains understated. That is his contribution to making votes relevant in real sense to the electoral politics. And, his role in doing that and creating a consciousness about it is without doubt pioneering.
A long way to go
If occupancy is a criterion, Kashmir train service can be called a success, but limited runs by one train through stations poorly connected with main towns is more of an inconvenience than a facility. Hamidullah Dar reports.
Kashmir train service has proved economic for commuters when local transport fares are surging, but lack of facilities and proper connectivity to stations makes the travel long and cumbersome.
To 1500 passengers who use this train daily from Islamabad station to Srinagar and back, the journey gets upsetting once they step out of the train.
A ten rupee ticket for 50-kilometres seems a trifle but add five rupees from Islamabad station to main town and six rupees from Nowgam to Srinagar, it equals the bus fare for the journey. The buses, at least drop commuters in the city.
A CBM Hijacked
Lured by waived custom duties, Delhi based traders are trying to infiltrate Cross LoC trade meant only for the two sides of Kashmir. Hamidullah Dar reports.
The cross LoC trade in Jammu & Kashmir is experiencing a ‘hijack’ by traders from Delhi. That is at least what traders from Kashmir were contesting, forcing the custodian officer of Trade Facilitation Centre at Salamabad in Uri to send back 33 vehicles to Chakoti TFC on May 6.
The barter trade initiated between the two parts of Kashmir last year exempts traded goods from customs duty. Experts say that these tax concessions are luring the Delhi based traders to exploit the opportunity while keeping the locals at bay.
Monumental occupation
From troopers to traders, monuments in Kashmir are encroached by one and all. HAROON MIRANI reports on the plight of heritage sites facing rapid...
Defeating The Cripple
While seeking permission from his parents for spending a night at his uncle’s house, Javed had little idea what destiny had in store. That...
Interlacing mulberry silk
A breakthrough in carpet weaving technology in Kashmir is set to revive the ailing silk industry besides enabling Kashmir to trade in high end...
The Other Sheikh Abdullah
Naeem Akhtar
Around the time in 1905 Sher i Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was born in Srinagar,
Around the time in 1905 Sher i Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was born in Srinagar,
Marriage of convenience
A number of Kashmiri men unable to stand in the local marriage market are getting poor Bengali brides, who find grooms without dowry a...
Procurement bias hits Valley units
With the PDD procurement wing stationed permanently in Jammu, Valley based electric equipment units have faced hurdles. Now before the wing could be shifted...
Face of resistance
From an ordinary woman striving to trace her son picked up by troops, Parveena Ahanger turned into champion of civil rights for all such...
