[Reader-list] What Mughal Road didn ¹ t that shrine land-transfer plans did - Kavita Suri

[rashneek kher]

Dear Sonia,

They did...but with a pen

just that no one heard because they did not create ruckus,block streets,burn
tyres and CRPF pickets....did not have the power to pull down a
government...

Awwazon ke bazzaron main khamoshe pehchanne kyon...

Best

Rashneek


On 6/30/08, S. Jabbar <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> It's interesting that all this is coming out now.  I had no idea about the
> 10,000 trees cut to make way for the Mughal Rd or the Markhor sanctuary
> being threatened. Both are reasons enough to rethink the project, even
> though I feel the people of Rajouri & Poonch need a second link to the
> outside world to end their isolation that have made them 2nd class citizens
> of J&K since 1947. The Mughal Road project has been going on for quite
> sometime now, it's strange that Dr. Singh, Agnishekhar et al did not raise
> their voices earlier... Or did I miss something?
>
>
> On 6/30/08 1:21 PM, "Aditya Raj Kaul" <kauladityaraj at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The Truth Behind
>
>
> *What Mughal Road didn't that shrine land-transfer plans
> > did*
> **
> http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&id=210771&usrsess=1
>
>
> >
> Kavita Suri
> JAMMU, June 29: Three years ago, when the then chief minister of
> > Jammu and
> Kashmir Mufti Mohammed Sayeed decided to revive the centuries-old
> > Mughal
> Road in the region, no one in Kashmir even uttered a single word on
> > the
> massive destruction of environment in Pir Panjal mountain ranges of
> > the
> Himalayas.
>
>
> The revival of the old Mughal Road which was once used by the
> > great Mughals
> to travel to Kashmir from Lahore and its subsequent
> > reconstruction ordered
> by Mufti Sayeed not only witnessed destruction of over
> > 10,000 trees and 26
> wild life sanctuaries but also fragmented the habitat of
> > the
> highly-endangered wild Markhor goat. India is estimated to have a
> > total
> population of only 300-200 of this species, which is found in
> > southwest
> Kashmir's Hirpora, Lachipora and Limber wildlife sanctuaries falling
> > on
> Mughal Road.
>
>
> Surprisingly, all the political parties remained silent over
> > the issue of
> degradation of environment and destruction of the wild life
> > sanctuaries due
> to the work on the Mughal Road.
>
>
> But when the Jammu and
> > Kashmir government recently decided to transfer 40
> hectares of forest land at
> > Baltal and Domail for the proposed camping sites
> located on the right side of
> > the Sindh River for the purpose of constructing
> temporary shelters for the
> > Amarnath pilgrims, the political parties in
> Kashmir have opposed it tooth and
> > nail on the pretext of environment
> degradation.
>
>
> The issue had deeply
> > polarised the entire state. Politicians and other
> organisations in Jammu see
> > it as a deliberate move to suppress Hindu
> identity and communalisation in the
> > region. "When 10,000 trees were cut and
> the habitat of the wild Markhor
> > destroyed for the reconstruction of the
> Mughal Road, no one said anything but
> > when SASB wanted to set up temporary
> shelters for two months only, there was
> > an uproar," Dr Nirmal Singh, member,
> national executive & former state
> > president of the BJP said.
>
>
> The PDP, National Conference and other parties
> > were playing with fire by
> communalising the whole issue of the Amarnath Yatra
> > and opposing the
> decision to transfer 800 kanals of land to SASB for creating
> > facilities for
> pilgrims, he added. To prevent environmental destruction due to
> > the work on
> the Mughal Road, a Kashmir-based NGO, Bio-diversity Conservation
> > Trust had
> gone to Supreme Court arguing that construction work would affect
> > the
> region's biodiversity and the movement of wild animals, especially
> > the
> Markhor goat.
>
>
> The Wild Markhor is on IUCN's Red List of highly
> > endangered wild animals and
> is also named in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife
> > Protection Act, 1972, and the
> Jammu Kashmir Wildlife Protection Act, 1978
> > (amended in 2002).
>
>
> But in the case of SASB, the transfer of 800 kanals (40
> > hectares) of forest
> land was no issue at all. The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board
> > had assured the
> government that it would take all possible environmental
> > safeguards in
> consultation with the State Pollution Control Board to ensure
> > that no damage
> is caused to the ecology of the area. "The SASB camping sites
> > did not
> involve any area of Thajwas Wild Life Sanctuary, which is located on
> > the
> left side of River Sindh. The Shrine Board had to use
> > prefabricated
> structures for the camping purpose of the pilgrims and would not
> > have gone
> for construction of permanent structures," the Jammu and Kashmir
> > chief
> minister Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad had pointed out.
>
>
> Raising a few pertinent
> > questions, Dr Singh asked as to why no hue and cry
> was raised when the Mufti
> > government transferred over 5,000 kanals of forest
> land to Baba Ghulam Shah
> > Badshah University at Rajouri which also affected
> the environment badly. No
> > one uttered a single word then.
>
>
> "Besides, Sharda Peeth university project
> > was scuttled whereas government
> gave free land to Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah
> > University project and also free
> land was transferred to Islamic University at
> > Awantipora in South Kashmir,"
> adds Dr Agnishekhar, president, Panun Kashmir.
> > People in Jammu believe that
> all this points to the complete cleansing of the
> > last vestiges of Hindu
> presence in the valley.
>
>
> "The protagonists of this
> > vicious tirade dub the holy Amarnath Yatra as a
> cultural invasion of Kashmir
> > affecting its ecology, cultural identity and
> demography. Whatever ecological
> > damage Kashmir has suffered is as a result
> of illegal felling of trees by land
> > mafia in connivance with corrupt
> administration over the years," said Dr
> > Agnishekher adding the systematic
> reclamation of water bodies and continuous
> > flow of waste materials into
> lakes like the famous Dal lake and uncontrolled
> > construction activity has
> resulted in much more ecological damage than the
> > Amarnath pilgrimage.
>
>
> "An environmental impact assessment report to the Jammu
> > and Kashmir
> Pollution Control Board regarding the Mughal Road clearly said
> > that it would
> cut through 67 hectares of the Hirpora sanctuary disturbing the
> > habitat of
> the Markhor. The cutting of many trees would have a cascading
> > effect on the
> associated biota. Besides, traffic on the road may cause death
> > of many
> animals that utilise verge habitats or try to cross the road. The
> > presence
> of motor vehicles may introduce the potential for contamination of
> > soil, air
> and water adjacent to the road and in the case of surface water,
> > well beyond
> the immediate surroundings. Chronic contamination may become a
> > problem for
> animal species, especially those at the top of the food chain.why
> > there was
> no public outcry then," asks Dr
> > Agnishekher.
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-- 
Rashneek Kher
Wandhama Massacre-The Forgotten Human Tragedy
http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com
http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com