3 5Vol: 4 | No.: 5 | June 30, 2011 Lab newspaper of Media Education Research Centre for private circulation only

Adil Shah

“This residential colony you see here was once a lake! I used to come here for boating and fishing.”

This is probably what a father would tell his son about Dal Lake some 50 years down the line. Ac-cording to the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAW-DA),600 kanals of lake have already been transformed into land.

A survey conducted by national newspaper ‘The Tribune’ in 2006 reveals the area of Dal Lake has re-duced from 58 sq km to 11.05 sq km.

Environmentalists attribute the shrinking to a host of reasons includ-ing illegal constructions and filling of the lake. Floating gardens, locally known as Raads are made for culti-vation but are later solidified to cre-ate land masses.

Nazeer Ahmed , 34, owns many

floating gardens in the lake where he cultivates vegetables before sell-ing them on Ashai Bagh bridge. “We create floating gar-dens by first sowing reed beds and then filling it with grime from the lake and also with silt. In a matter of 1-2 years , the gar-den is hard e n o u g h to walk on and cultivate vegetables,”says Nazeer Ahmed.

Floating gardens are a part of the habitat of the lake. They are said to act as natural filters

and help in maintaining ecological balance in the lake. However, these

natural floating gardens have now become tools for en-

croachment by the lake dwellers.

“ T h e floating gar-

dens are potential threat to the lake .They can be used as a ma-

jor tool for filling the

lake and the caving in on

the shore lines. The dwellers have

proprietary rights on the lake, but are not permitted to fill

the lake.” says Irfan Yaseen, Vice

Chairman LAWDA .Mohammad Sultan, 42, culti-

vates cucumbers and gourds on a piece of land in the middle of the lake. This piece of land has been cre-ated by filling floating gardens with earth and silt.

“We are aware of the fact that the lake is shrinking and we are one of the primary causes for it. But we cannot ignore the fact that there are around 7000 people living in Dal Lake whose livelihood is solely dependent upon these floating gar-dens,” says Mohammad Sultan.

Vice Chairman LAWDA claims that laws are in place and are en-forced strictly. Any kind of attempt to fill the lake are being dealt with an iron fist. “Lawda is strictly moni-toring the lake and its peripheries; such is the strictness that even re-pair work is not allowed, leave alone new constructions.”

Floating Trouble!

Floating gardens tools

for Dal encroachment

The floating gardens are potential threat to Dal

Lake. They can be used as a major tool for filling the

lake. The dwellers have proprietary rights on the

lake, but are not permitted to fill the lake.

Saffron growers question role of Pampore research unit

Srinagar short of 1500 sweepers

MERCTIMES 2

KU Special Cell aims to make disabled students

independent The hardships during his stu-

dent days made Syed Moham-mad Shaheel realize the need

to have a special cell for the physically challenged persons like him in Kashmir University. Shaheel did his Bachelors in Law from the university in 2007-08. Thereafter, he joined Rehabilitation Council of India in New Delhi where he studied courses related to rehabilitation of disabled persons. On his return to Val-ley in 2009, Shaheel proposed to set up a special cell for such students and the university authorities obliged. Shaheel now heads the cell, helping the disabled students in pursuing their post graduation at the varsity. In an interview with Qayoom Madni, Shaheel talks about the role and significance of the cell. Q: How did the idea of Special Cell come to you?SM: I had worked with organizations like Rehabilitation Council of India. There is also a provision in University Grants Commission that each university should have a special cell for physically challenged students. Besides, I was having similar problem so I was very much aware about the difficulties a physically challenged student faces.Q: What purpose this cell serves?SM: We hold admission counseling for the physically challenged students. We provide scholar-ships and also help them in exams. The cell also makes arrangements for their hostel accom-modation.Q: Some of the Law students claim that they were giben only half of the total ad-mission fee back as scholarship.SM: Yes, it was due to previous year’s unrest. The students were at home at that time and the funds got lapsed. However, this year we will give them the outstanding amount.Q: Physically challenged students are victims of depression. How do you help them to come out of that?SM: Yes, there is a social stigma that they fear to go in public. We arrange special counseling sessions for them and our focus remains to incline them towards education. Our ultimate aim is to make them independent in the society.Q: Have you held any special session for the new entrants of the university?SM: When physically challenged students come here we give them instructions how to get help from the cell. Mostly it is done on telephone so that students remain in touch without the need to visit us. Earlier, we were having a special session after Friday prayers, but due to some rea-sons it did not continue. Regarding the new students, we have not held any special session yet.Q: Students say they were assured that they will be provided basic training for vocational courses. What happened to that?SM: We cannot conduct such courses on our own. We are subordinates to other departments in this regard. Though higher authorities are sensitive to the issue, yet more is needed to be done on their part.Q: Students demand that cell should come up with yearly performance report of these students in a shape of a booklet. What do you think about that?SM: We have financial problems. Until and unless we get funds, we cannot do it.Q: Students wish they should be relieved from complexities and should not be treated at par with normal students?SM: I think besides physically challenged students general students should also be relieved from complexities .Each department should ensure that students should not suffer to go here and there. The basic concept of e-governance is that students should get all the details in the department.Q: What about the transport facility for these students?SM: I am myself suffering from lack of transport facility. A van was sanctioned with my efforts. However, higher authorities took it otherwise. Now the vice chancellor has agreed to provide transport facility to these students within the campus and in one or two months it will be available.

Waseem Khazir

It took him 20 years of hard labour in order to save money for Hajj pilgrimage in 2009. Eighty-year-old, Haji Muhammad Ramzan of Aali Kadal, wants to go for second pilgrimage.Ramzan collects scrap for a living. For years, he has been

searching for scrap, selling it to scrap dealers and saving the money for the Holy pilgrimage.

When he was young, Ramzan used to work as a labourer for Pandit traders at Maharaj Gunj.

“I could hardly earn my living and no family was willing to mar-ry off their daughter to me,” he says.

As the turmoil started in 1990’s, many pandit families left Kashmir. The migration also affected his livelihood and he was left jobless.

He started collecting various types of junk on roadsides. “I found collecting junk much easier than labour in old age.”

“I started earning five times more money. I made up my mind to perform Hajj, no matter how long it was going to take.”

In order to save money, Ramzan even started going door to door in the neighborhood for daily meals until he found enough money for the pilgrimage.

The people always received him warmly whenever he approached them for food. His neighbours also helped him complete the official formalities.

“Whenever he used to come to my shop, I always paid him more than the market value of the scrap since I was aware of his noble purpose,” said Haji Ghulam Nabi, a local scrap dealer.

Such was his longing for the holy place that at the time of his scheduled departure from Mecca, Ramzan went into hiding in a ho-tel bathroom.

As he did not return on due date, his neighbours in Srinagar grew suspicious. They sought the help of deputy commissioner, who in turn contacted officials in Saudi Arabia. Ramzan was traced after three days.

When asked why he still collects scrap, Ramzan replies, “I want to perform another Hajj. I may not live that long, but still I want to do it.”

When 80-year- old man collected scrap to perform Hajj pilgrimage

MERCTIMES3

Mukeet

As against the requirement of 3600 safai karamcharis (sweepers) Srinagar Munici-

pal Corporation (SMC) is having only 2100 sweepers to keep the city clean and there is only one dumping site to dump the entire solid waste.

Shortage of the safai karamcha-ris is one of the reasons for Srinagar city to be ranked as the fourth dirti-est city in India in a survey conduct-ed by Urban Development Ministry last year.

Besides shortage of manpower, there is also dearth of trucks for transportation of waste. The avail-able fleet is inadequate to catre to the demands of the city spread over an area of 279 sq. kms. Garbage is lifted from 575 temporary collec-tion points before being dumped at Syedpora Achen, the lone dumping site in the capital city. The landfill is spread over around 600 kanals of land.

Just 600 kanals of land for a yearly solid waste of 174105 metric tons of solid waste speaks volumes of the poor waste management in Srinagar.

From 11.16 lakhs in 2005, the population of Srinagar city has in-creased to more than 20 lakhs. The number of Municipal Wards has also been increased from 24 to 68. The quantity of solid waste gener-ated per capita per day is calculated at 480 gms based on a NEERI study undertaken for the city for 2004-05. The total quantity of solid waste generated per day is 477 MT

Heaps of garbage can be found on roadsides at various places in the city including Rawalpora op-posite government high school, Ha-wal near Islamia College, Residency road near Polo view opposite Mu-ghal Darbar restaurant and Boule-vard near Buchwara Link road.

The local business community has been complaining of the unat-tended garbage. One of the shop-keepers in the Boulevard area, Mu-dasir Joo said, “Heaps of garbage dumped on roadside gives foul smell and creates problems for the people including tourists, who frequently visit Dal Lake.”

Muneer Ahmad Mir, a shop-keeper at poloview, said in summer

Srinagar short of 1500 sweepersSMC going for outsourcing of city sanitation

Mukeet

People of Saidapora, Achen have long been demanding shifting of Srinagar’s lone landfill from the area citing many problems rang-ing from foul smell to threat of diseases.

“We are facing many prob-lems because of this dumping site. It is impossible to move out of our houses because of the foul smell coming from garbage dumped at this site,” said one of the local residents, Abdul Majid Dar.

“Although government had promised to close the dumping site and even signed an agree-ment in 2008 to move it to some other place within a year, no ac-tion was taken in this regard on ground,” he said.

Muhammad Sultan, another resident, said most people in the area complain of throat, chest and skin infections.

“Due to this dumping site, we are being socially boycot-ted to the extent that our sons mostly remain unmarried as no

one is ready to marry off his/her girl in a family of this locality. We appeal government to reha-bilitate us at any alternate place in case government is not in the position to shift the dumping site as promised.”

When contacted Srinagar Municipal Corporation Commis-sioner, Sheikh Mushtaq Ahmad said, “SMC has started work for the construction of walls around the dumping site so that people living around the place do not face any undue problem. Work is also in progress for the develop-ment of scientific management cells for proper treatment of solid waste at the dumping site.”

Mushtaq said SMC has purchased 400 kanals of land around the dumping site and has compensated people whose land was acquired.

“SMC cannot shift this dumping site because of the re-cent High Court decision which clearly says that SMC can not resort to dumping garbage at any other place and also because of its proximity to city,” he said.

Achen residents demand shifting of landfill

due to rise in temperature, these dumps give out foul smell as the safai karmacharis do not clear the garbage early morning, but come only during peak hours.

“The situation becomes worse when the garbage gets piled up during prolonged hartals or cur-fews.”

OFFICIAL SPEAKS:According to Solid Waste Man-

agement Officer of SMC, Man-zoor Ahmad Tarray the existing strength of ‘safai wallas’ is not suf-ficient for 100 per cent collection of waste on door-to-door basis and sweep the city roads which consist of 174 km stretch of main roads and 860 kms of other roads.

“This shortage obviously af-fects the overall waste collection and road sweeping performance of SMC. More than 380 metric tons of refuse and garbage are generated per day in Srinagar city. The cor-poration is providing better sanita-tion and is trying its best to arrive at the public expectations,” said Manzoor.

“At present 60 per cent of total waste generated is being collected and this is as per national stan-dards comparing the infrastructure and manpower available with SMC for this purpose. For collection and lifting of the city waste from inte-riors at ward level, hand carts are being used to collect the waste and take it to collection points.”

In order to overcome this prob-lem, SMC has floated tenders to outsource sanitation of the summer capital in phased manner after am Urban Development Ministry re-port rated Srinagar as the fourth dirtiest city in India.

SMC Commissioner, Sheikh Mushtaq Ahmad said, “Outsourc-ing of sanitation has started in phased manner and tenders have been invited for outsourcing in 13 out of the 68 wards falling in mu-nicipal limits.”

“This will be done in phased manner and we’ll encourage pri-vate entrepreneurs to come for-ward,” he added.

Mushtaq said Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has assured all sort of administrative help to im-prove the sanitation ranking of Srinagar.

SMC Commissioner cites HC order to stay put

MERCTIMES 4

Zehra Shafi

Reposing faith in Kashmiri youth as the best human resource of the state, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah assured his government sup-

port to them to crack the civil service examination. Omar was speaking at a seminar-cum-work-

shop on civil services held at SKICC Srinagar on June 18. The seminar was organized by Ascent Group of Tutori-als to create mass awareness among the youth of Kashmir about civil services.

Citing examples of Dr Shah Faesal, who secured first position in IAS 2010 ex-ams, Omar told the gather-ing of civil services aspirants, “You are second to none in your capacity and ability to qualify these exams.”

The chief minister advised students to opt for their favorite streams and work hard to achieve their goals and dreams.

Sharing his personal experience, he said, ‘‘My fa-ther wanted me to be a doctor or engineer, but I always aspired to be a politician.’’

The vice chancellor of Kashmir University, Prof

Talat Ahmad was also present in the seminar besides some guest lecturers and former civil service officers of the country.

“Civil services examination is the mother of all competitive exams,” said Ravindram of Varji Ram Institute New Delhi. He stressed upon the students to work on personality development and

have self-confidence. Calling for proper channeliza-

tion of valley’s talent, Prof Talat said, ‘‘Kashmir has a very rich culture of lit-erature but only thing we need to do is to channelize it in the right direction.’’

Students from various education-al institutes showed overwhelming response to the event. “It is a good ini-tiative by the organizers. It will help us to prepare for civil services in a better way,” said Saika Hamdaani.

Saika has already qualified pre-lims and Mains in KAS examinations and is awaiting the interview.

Another student, Shabeena Gul came all the way from north Kashmir’s’ Bandipora district to partici-pate in the seminar. “Couple of years back we were unaware of these competitive exams, but now by con-ducting such seminars, students are getting more in-formation about the exams helping them prepare in a better way,” she said.

Riahana Maqbool

As more and more women work shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts, the notion of their role being restricted to the four

walls of the house stands dispelled. The perception of the working women being unable to give enough time to their family is also changing.

Infact, some social scientists are of the view that children of working mothers are not only more active but also perform better than those whose mothers are not working. They also believe that the more and more men prefer a wife with whom they can connect both emotionally as well as intellectually.

Hamida Mir, Associate Professor of Physics at Government Degree College Baramulla, remains busy with teaching, writing research papers and or-ganizing seminars. However, she likes the time after evening which she spends with her family.

“Though my work is very important to me, I personally feel spending quality time with family should be top priority as it is essential for a woman to give share of her time to her family,” says Hamida.

Researches in the west have established that a working mother strengthens a daughter’s interest in choosing a career. They also believe that the pay cheque provides some of the extras in life for working mothers, like a regular dinner out, nice vacations or extracurricular activities for the kids.

“She develops a greater competence and is more confident about what she can achieve. And once she has achieved appropriate education, she is all set to go out and work,” says Dr. Shaheen, a psychiatrist.

Psychiatrists say that most men today under-stand that a woman works not to compete with him but to channelize her creative energy positively. This not only helps them to connect emotionally but also intellectually. Having a job puts a woman on equal footing with her husband and protects her in case the marriage ends.

“It’s not just that women like to spend time with their families, but they also look forward to have them at home in the evenings and on week-ends. The modern educated women who have opted for a career, more of choice than necessity, are better able to combine the two roles,” says Dr Saba, a gynaecologist.

However, housewives argue that it is not al-ways smooth-sailing for working women as it can be extremely demanding at times. The hectic, over-exhausting days at work can make these women victims of job pressures and depression resulting in the anxiety for children and family. “The working mothers pamper their children by buying them everything they demand. This is the compensation they provide for the time which they usually spend at their workstations,” says Dilshada, a housewife.

Yasir Hamid

Despite having four middle schools functioning in the village, Mamoosa Pattan is still lacking a high school.

As a result, students after passing from these institutions face lot of hardships while admitting themselves in different schools of neighbouring villages (Sherpora, Lalpora and Sherabad).

All these institutions are far from Ma-moosa (Sherpora- four, Lalpora five and Sherabad five-and-a-half kilometres). Due to lack of transport facility, students have to cover the long distances by foot.

“I have to travel a distance of eight kilo-metres by foot on daily basis to and fro from the school,” said Ishfaq Ahmad, a ninth class student, studying at Government High School, Sherpora.

The difficulties faced by students are increased in adverse weather conditions es-pecially during rains and hot days. As if it was not enough, plight of the students was worsened from the past one year as one of the institutions (Government High School Lalpora) closed admissions for the students coming from Mamoosa citing limited infra-structure and over crowdedness.

When contacted, District Education Planning Officer (DEPO), district Baramul-la, Abdul Ahad said Mamoosa does not ful-fil the criteria required for upgradiation of any of the middle schools to secondary level.

“The distance between Mamoosa and the nearest high school is not feasible. The nearest high school should be atleast five kilometres from an area before it can be sanctioned a separate high school of its own. The nearest school to Mamoosa (Govt High School Sherpora) is just 4 kilometres so it does not fulfil the criteria,” said Ahad.

Students are suffering because of this one kilometre distance.

Ahad said they cannot help Mamoosa until the concerned Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) submits physical report for upgradia-tion.

According to locals, when Chief Min-ster, Omar Abdullah visited Mamoosa in April last year, he had promised that one of the schools will be upgraded to second-ary level, but there was no implementation on ground and Mamoosa still yearns for a High School.

Mamoosa students suffer for

want of High School

CM pledges support for civil services aspirants

Women juggle between work and home

MERCTIMES5

Saffron growers question role of Pampore research unit

Besides the alleged failure of the re-search unit in helping them, the con-struction work on the land meant for

research is also a cause of concern among the local growers.

Owing to the ongoing construction, less space has been left for the much needed re-search activities. Construction material can be seen strewn all over the research land.

The Karevas that once produced up to 16 metric tons of saffron per year yield only six metric tonnes annually.

Farmers expressed their resentment over the “callousness” of authorities.

“They are constructing buildings on the land meant for saffron research. Why is the government sleeping over this violation when they have banned any such construc-tion? In fact there’s less land left for the re-search now. This is an absolute mockery of the system,” said a local resident, Showket Ahmed.

When asked whether the construction work is hindering the research process by

making less land available for research purposes, Dr Nehvi said, “The purchase of another 15 to 20 kanals of land is under consideration and the same will be done once the funds are released by the state rev-enue department.”

Abid Shafi

Set up a decade ago at Dussu village of Pampore area, the saffron sub-station of Sheri Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST)

has failed to make its mark in the field of research in saffron production.

Spread over 13 Kanals of land, the station was set up in 2002 with the aim to improve yield of saffron crop, but nothing substantial has been achieved so far.

Saffron cultivation is the main source of income for the local people. However, according to many researchers, the use of conventional methods of cultivation is leading to low productivity of the crop.

Saffron growers expressed their disappointment with the work of the researchers. “This research station has been here for a long time now, but we haven’t really reaped any dividends yet. It is disappointing that no breakthrough has been achieved so far,” says Ghulam Ahmed, a local saffron grower.

The local residents also complain about not being in-vited to seminars held by the authorities saying that they are not being made aware of the new practices in saffron farming.

“There is a communication gap between farmers and the authorities of the research station,” says Mushtaq Wani, another saffron grower.

“Seminars and briefings are held frequently, but none of us are invited. Even if they do, they call a few chosen ones, which doesn’t serve the purpose,” he adds.

Dr Firdous Ahmad Nehvi, agricultural expert at SKUAST saffron research sub-station says, “We haven’t contributed a lot. However, the farmers don’t implement any new practices developed by the research centre without any financial assistance.”

Construction creeping into cultivable land

MERCTIMES 6

Yasir Hamid / Syed Hamid

Students’ Welfare Trust (SWT) organized a one-day State Level Teachers’ conference

on ‘Islamic perspective of Education’ in the auditorium of SP Higher Sec-ondary School Srinagar on June 22.

“The aim of the conference was to highlight the advantages of Islamic concept of education over the existing western system of education,”according to the orga-nizers of the conference.

Eminent persons who spoke on the occasion included Dr. Shiekh Showkat Hussain, who teaches Law at Kashmir University; Dr Ghulam Qadir Lone, author and renowned Islamic scholar; Reyaz Ahmad Shah, research scholar of Islamic Studies. Teachers from different districts of valley participated in the debate on the theme.

Shah, who presided over the de-

bate said, “Islam defines education as a sacred mission totally based on honesty.”

He said Islamic education was based on universal principles of justice. “It caters both to the moral and ethical as well as professional development of individuals leading to establishment of a stable society,” he said.

He also asserted that the con-flicts in the present system emerge as a result of “elimination of the ele-ment of sacredness from education”.

Speaking on the topic “Islam and Education”, Dr Ghulam Qadir Lone spoke about the real meaning of education in Islam. He highlight-ed the contribution of Islam for the propagation of education in the past.

“Education in Islam means that an individual should recognize his Creator,” he said, adding, “It does not mean rising of physical status and standards only but aims overall

development to create spiritual hu-man being.”

Pointing to the drawbacks of modern system of education, Lone claimed “Modern system of educa-tion gives end products like engi-neers, doctors teachers etc, it fails to produce a person with humanity.”

Lone, who has authored a book titled “Contribution of Muslim sci-entists in Medieval Ages” deliberat-ed on the achievements of Muslims in various branch of Science said.

Dr. Hussain talked on “Islami-sation of Knowledge” and the obsta-cles in its way.

He said that Islamisation of knowledge was a synonym for Ijti-haad in the field of education.

“This means that Quran and traditions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) must form the basis of in-ference in all matters in which Muslims seek guidance of Shariah (Islamic Law) including education,”

Showkat said. “Islam encourages understand-

ing every innovation in a proper con-text,” he said.

Hussain said that Islam looked for adjustable aspects to prevail in its thought process- accept what is Islamic and reject un-Islamic.

He said that obstacles coming in the way of Islamisation of knowl-edge crop up mainly from extreme “dogmatism” of Ulemas and rulers. “Ulemas plunge into physical sci-ences and tend to Islamise things there. Rulers tend to mould educa-tion system according to their own interests,” he said.

The conference was organized by SWT in collaboration with Is-lami Jamiat-e-Talaba. President of IJT Shabir Ahmad Falahi and Sec-retary of Student’s Welfare Trust Omar Khalid were present on the occasion.

Conference held on ‘Islamic Perspective of Education’

Ashiq Sofi

Kashmir University hosted a blood donation camp to celebrate World Donors Day.

The blood donation camp was orga-nized at department of student’s welfare in collaboration with Jammu and Kashmir state AIDS control society, health depart-ment and Hussaini Blood Bank and Relief Society.

The camp was inaugurated by Minis-ter of Health and Family Welfare, Sham Lal Sharma, National Rural Health Mis-sion Director Dr Yash Pal Sharma, Vice-Chancellor Kashmir University Prof. Talat Ahmad and Dr Saleem -ur- Rahman were present on the occasion.

While addressing, Sharma said,” blood donation is the noble cause and efforts should be made to encourage people to do-nate blood voluntarily and save precious lives”.

Kashmir University VC said,” such hu-mane activities should be encouraged and made a regular feature in the campus. And we all should make a pledge that we make sincere efforts in this cause.”

Professor Talat Ahmad said,” the stu-dents should shoulder the responsibility of creating awareness among people of the growing social problem like gender inequal-ity and female feticide. The female popula-tion in the state has plummeted to 859

from 941 according census 2011”.“It is better to serve society and hu-

manity. As the subjects of conflict state it is our responsibility to donate blood for the injured and wounded”, said Shehla Arif.

“I had a desire from the very begin-ning, to serve the community .Blood dona-tion is a very noble cause it can add days to life of a person who is in need of it. I appreci-ate the department of Students Welfare for this righteous deed of serving the masses,” said Quyoom MERC student.

“The Hussaini Blood Bank and Hus-saini relief centre has been serving the community for last three decades. They organize medical camps at Amarnath, Makdoom Sahib, Kheer Bhawani, Chatti-Padshaw and Hazratbal. Till June of 2011 they have donated 1700 pints of blood to SMHS Hospital. They were the first to reach Waltengo for rescue and relief in 2005 earthquake,” said Syed Zaffar Rizvi chairman Hussaini Relief Committee.

Dr Arshid Hassan,SMHS Hospital said,” Kashmir Hospitals usually have to face blood shortage because voluntary donation is very less and many precious lives are lost due to blood shortage. Stu-dents in particular and people in general should voluntary donate blood as it helps them in two ways, it helps in generation of new blood cells and many important tests for deadly diseases are done like Hepatitis B & C, HIV, VDRL.

Blood donation camp held at KU

Stray dogs on prowl in KUOfficials taking steps to check ‘infiltration’

Rohail Sheikh

Dog population in Kashmir University is increasing by the day, posing threat to students and teachers in the campus. The university authorities, however, claim

they ensure that the stray dogs are kept at bay.After some reports published in local dailies about the

dogs present in Kashmir University, the varsity administra-tion swung into action to check the entry of dogs from main gates. They also went for fencing at some other places where there was possibility of “infiltration” of dogs into the campus.

“There is a strict watch on the movement of dogs in the campus and they are even chased away from the campus,” said PRO Kashmir University, Showket Shafi.

Stray dogs pose threat to students, particularly in morning and in the evening. Students feel scared to move outside their hostels because of the sense of “insecurity” caused by the dogs.

“I was welcomed by a pack of dogs in the lawns of my de-partment. I was fortunate to escape their bite. The second en-counter with them was in the dining hall of Sheikh-ul-Alam-boys’ hostel after they (dogs) had managed to sneak through rear entrance in June,” said Nadeem Parray, a student of His-tory Department.

When asked whether the university had launched any drive against the dogs, PRO Shafi said, “We have not launched any drive for killing dogs inside the campus. If we had to do it we would have started it two years back. We, however, try to keep them away from the campus.”

MERCTIMES7

Fazil Butt

Much to the concern of local artisans and art lovers, machine-made shawls from Punjab are being sold in the name of Kashmiri handi-crafts by some unscrupulous traders bringing bad name to the world fa-mous brand.

“These traders are giving a bad name to Kashmir by maligning its precious art. We lodged a complaint against such traders, but the au-thorities always turn deaf ear to our grievances,” said former president of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Muhammad Amin Tramboo.

According to Ishtiaaq Ahmad,

another senior member of KCCI, our ancestors were known for their honesty and dedication due to which Kashmiri handicrafts were appreci-ated world wide. “We ourselves are responsible for its present state. Today handicraft traders are com-pelled to sell Amritsar based shawls

in the name of Kashmiri brand,” he says.

Ishtiaaq adds that in the age of technology the handiwork has lost its relevance. “Today industries in Punjab copy the design of Kashmiri handicrafts and the same are sold in the name of Kashmiri handi-

crafts to tourists and even Kash-miris. Such handicrafts are cheaper than handmade ones and are pro-duced more quickly, attracting more customers. It also gives them more profits than the handmade ones.”

Talking about Kashmiri Pash-mina, Ishtiaaq says, “It still stands in its pure form because its custom-ers, though very rare, recognize it.” “Despite its high cost, it was a cul-ture that a mother would pass it to her daughter on wedding and the process would go on. But now ev-eryone including tourists want it at cheap rates for which the machine made handicrafts have replaced the hand made ones.”

Machine-made Amritsar shawls sold under brand Kashmir

Aamir Manzoor

Asix-day course on ‘Mechatronics’ , first of its kind in the valley, was held at Ghandi Bhawan of Univer-

sity of Kashmir. The workshop was organ-ised by the Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Technology in collabora-tion with Department of Mechanical Engi-neering, National Institute of Technology.

The course was inaugurated by Vice Chancellor, Kashmir University, Prof Talat Ahmad.

While interacting with the partici-pants, Prof Talat said, “Students have to use the instruments and gadgets and should have free access to our laboratories.”

He said the practical knowledge of things helps in making the base of the students strong. “Real knowledge comes through practical work,” he said.

The course is an amalgam of mechani-cal engineering, electronic engineering and digital controls. “The course is aimed to make students knowledgeable about the latest trends in electro-mechanical world,” said organising secretary and senior facul-ty, Department of Electronics, Mohammad Tariq Banday.

Students from various institutions participated in the course and are looking forward for the further such courses. “The course is a good attempt and it is the best way to keep pace with the latest technolo-

gy,” said a mechanical engineering student from Bihar, Prashant Kumar.

“Such workshops not only consolidate our mechanical positions but give us fur-ther opportunities to the new concepts like digitisation and electro-mechanical tech-nology,” he said.

The course, according to the faculty, is aimed at finding new ways of technological research and implementation. “The modern world is facing an electronic boom. This workshop of six days is to teach partici-pants the use of electronics in mechanical field,” said Banday.

Scholars from G.G.S College of Modern Technology Punjab, Shri Mata Vishno Devi University Katra, NIT Srinagar, Islamic University of Science and Technology and SSM College of engineering participated in the workshop.

“The workshop tells us about the real technology which is dominating the scene at present,” said an electro-mechanical scholar Rajiv Kumar.

Students also expressed their satisfac-tion with the workshop and called for more such programmes in future.

“This workshop was very insightful for, in fact it drew me out from the conventional thinking of engineering,” said a student from SSM, Abid Ahamd.

“More such workshops must be held for Kashmiri students so that he can compete outside the valley.”

Mechatronics workshop held at KU Ahsan Ul Haq

Baskin-Robbins, the largest ice-cream speciality store in the world, has opened its outlet in Srinagar.

The Srinagar franchise, situated at Sangarmal shopping com-plex, claims that it will be offering ice creams throughout the year.

“Baskin-Robbins will be the only ice cream shop in city, which will remain open throughout the year,” said the manager, Baskin-Robbins, Srinagar, Junaid Shadad.

People are already thronging the shop to lick flavours like Strawberry, Blue Bubble Gum, Mango, Orange and Kaju as well as gulp milk shakes and mango shakes.

“About 300 people visit us every day to taste the flavours of Baskin and Robbins,” said one of the sales men at the shop.

Baskin and Robbins is a global chain of ice-cream parlours founded by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in 1945. It has over 6,000 stores worldwide in 35 countries.

Although no specific technique is used for the preparation of ice-creams that will be available for winters, attracting customers during the chilly winters will be a tough task for the franchise.

“As winters in Kashmir tend to be very cold, it will be very dif-ficult for people who are engaged with the ice-cream business to attract people to buy ice-creams,” said Shahid Dar, a customer from Shopian.

Some people are happy with the opening of the shop because otherwise they had to visit other states of the country to taste these mouth-watering flavours.

“I am very happy that the Baskin Robbins has opened in Sri-nagar,” said Shahid Hamid Khan, a resident of Maisuma.

“We used to find these flavours in New Delhi,” he added.Others, however, whine about high prices charged at the shop.

A single bowl of Blue Bubble Gum ice cream costs Rs 54. “The price of the ice-creams is too much for us to buy,” said Sal-

eem Yousuf Shah, a student of NIT Srinagar.“I prefer to go to other places like Boulevard, Chinar Park or

Zabarwan Park because the facilities like music, view of Dal Lake, the environment are missing here.”

Baskin-Robbins delights City ice-cream lovers

MERCTIMES 8

Patron: Vice-chancellor Prof. Talat AhmadEditorial team: Mir Usman, Sheikh Saleem, Adil Mushtaq.

Chief Editor:Dr Shahid Rasool, Editor: Muslim Jan, Sub-Editor : Suhail Ahmad, Graphic Designer: Aga Shahie-mail: editor.merc@gmail.com

The opinions expressed in the write ups are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy of MERC Times or the department of Media Education Research Centre

Suheem Ahmad

Students from different schools, colleges and other institutions participated in

an event of making paper bags to raise awareness about the hazards of polythene among the people.

The event titled “Let’s Paper Bag”, held at Institute of Hotel Management- Rajbagh, was or-ganized by One Young Kashmir (OYK), a youth organization.

“Through an interactive and fun way of making paper bags, we aim to create awareness and in-crease consciousness about the ex-istence and use of paper bags,” said

one of the organizers, Irtif Lone.The event

focused on re-ducing poly-thene in Sri-nagar city.

“ P a r t i c i -pants got old n e w s p a p e r s from their home and crafted bags out of them to send a message of Eco-friendly Kashmir,” said another orga-nizer, Zuhaib Qureshi.

The participants expressed their enthusi-asm about the event. “It was a wonderful experience to be the part of the event. I feel proud to con-tribute my time for Eco-friendly Kashmir,” Iqra, a participant said.

Plastic bags are one of the most prevalent

types of litter polluting environ-

ment. “Paper bags are degradable and can be recycled while poly-thene bags are non-biodegradable which pollutes the environment,” a participant, Aamir said.

The purpose of the OYK team is to unite different sections of so-ciety to bring a positive change in the society. “We are from diverse backgrounds. Students, working professionals, entrepreneurs etc sit together and focus on social, cultur-al environment and economic ini-tiatives,” said a group of organisers.

The event concluded on a mu-sical note with the performance of Roshan Illahi (MC Kash), Zero Bridge band and Irfan Bilal.

OYK organizes ‘Let’s paper Bag’Young Kashmiris stand up for polythene-free Valley

Umer Farooq

Shabir, Asif and Shoaib are in their late teens and often meet at a graveyard in Sanat Nagar locality of Srinagar to smoke far from anyone’s notice.

When asked about the harmful effects of smoking on health, Asif says, “Death is in the hands of God.”

“This is my lone partner who has never left me,” he says as he points to a burning cigarette in his hand.

“It burns for us in just Rs 2.50,” he adds.Shabir chips in. “If he (Asif) is such a good

advocate of smoking and if it (smoking) is really worth it, why doesn’t he encourage his younger brother to smoke.”

Asif only responds with a smile.For Shabir smoking has become more of ad-

diction than choice. “In my childhood days, I used to collect left over bits of cigarettes in a local play ground and smoke. I hesitated to go to a shopkeeper asking for a new cigarette. Now I smoke heavily and I can’t leave it (smoking) even if I wish to. I keep promising myself not to smoke again only to break it later,” he says.

Peer influence is regarded as one of the reasons for the habit of smoking among younger people, and Shabir is no different.

“In the company of friends it is really difficult to resist smoking,” he says.

“I feel very unhealthy. With smoking I feel

I can’t control myself and that feeling is really irritating,” he adds.

The increase in the number of smokers, par-ticularly among youth, has emerged as a major concern among people in the valley. According to oncologists, the number of cancer cases is in-creasing in Kashmir valley, with many of the lung cancer cases related to smoking.

“Till 2000 heart diseases were considered to be the number one killer disease followed by lung can-cer, now lung cancer has taken the lead,” says Dr. Sheikh Aijaz Aziz, who heads the Oncology depart-ment at SKIMS, Srinagar.

“Esophagus and stomach cancers are the other most commonly found cancers in the valley,” he says, adding that most of them are related to smoking.

“On average, I see 10 to 15 cancer patients every day, most of which are related to smok-ing,” says Dr Aziz.

Ghulam Nabi (name changed) is under treat-ment for lung cancer at SKIMS.

“I worked as a daily wager in PDD. I used to lift and erect poles on my own, but now I can’t even lift myself,” he says.

“I was having Rs 60000 as savings but I had to spend the entire amount on cancer therapy. I don’t have any money left now and the treatment is pretty costly. I can’t afford to keep my family here. Last time when I spoke with my mother over phone I asked her about my children and wife and she broke down. I also couldn’t stop myself from crying.”

Smokers find hard to give up

Jibran Ali

To revive the traditional theatre of Kashmir, J&K Film Makers and Artists Cooperative Limited (JK-FMAC) organized a 10-day Kashmir Comedy The-atre Festival at SKICC, Srinagar. The festival was inaugurated by Governor Shri N N Vohra on June 25.

Speaking on the occasion, Vohra hoped that the series of comedy plays would help bring back smile on the faces of Kashmiri people. “Over the past years, people of the valley have forgotten to smile, but this is the time for them to smile again,” he said.

The play namely ‘Local Taxes Extra,’ written by Dr Sohan Lal Koul and directed by Ayash Arif, was performed at the inaugural function.

The organizers informed that 10 plays related to different sections of society shall be staged dur-ing the 10-day festival. “We are also going to orga-nize a similar festival in Jammu later this year,” they said.

On the occasion, the Governor also released a book titled, ‘Theatre Akh Tarruf’ written by Ashok Jailkhani, Additional Director General, Doordarshan.

Among others present on the occasion were first lady Usha Vohra, Director Informa-tion Farooq Renzu , Deputy Director General Doordarshan Dr Rafiq Masoodi and Justice Bashir Khan.

JKFMAC holds Kashmir Comedy

Theatre Fest