News
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Economic blockade causes serious shortages in Kashmir
* 110 Kashmir-bound trucks carrying essential commodities stranded in Gurdaspur
* Geelani calls for shutdown on MondayNEW DELHI: An economic blockade enforced by Hindu nationalists in Jammu has hit the supply of essential commodities in the Kashmir Valley and Muslim majority areas of Poonch, Rajouri and Doda regions of Jammu division. The Oil Tankers Association, led by a Shiv Sena leader, has blocked oil and gas supplies to these regions until the government withdraws an order revoking land transfer to the Hindu cave-shrine of Amarnath in the mountains of South Kashmir. Kashmir, which had been the hub of road works connecting the South and Central Asian regions, was left with just one artery after partition in 1947 – the Jammu-Srinagar national highway – which often gets closed due to bad weather and landslides. Division Commissioner of Kashmir Asghar Samaun on Saturday said there was no need to panic. Officials, however, say the stocks of petrol, diesel and food grains have sharply decreased over the previous week. "There are now just 1.3 million litters of petrol, million litters of diesel both in the army and the civilian go-downs in the Kashmir Valley," a state government official told Daily Times. The civilian consumption of petrol and diesel is 0.1 million and 0.25 million litters respectively every day in the Kashmir Valley. The food grain situation is also quite dismal. Reports said that people have either curtailed or cancelled marriage functions. Officials said they have 2 million quintals of rice, 1.35 million tonnes of sugar and 0.94 million quintals of wheat to last a fortnight. Newspapers in Kashmir allege that Food Corporation of India (FCI), at the behest of Hindu nationalists, has stopped supplying food grains to the Kashmir Valley. Stranded: Reports also said that 110 Kashmir-bound trucks carrying essential commodities have been stranded in Gurdaspur along Punjab-Jammu border for the past week. Drivers who contacted newspaper offices said they were running out of rations and money and the Punjab Police were pushing them to Jammu. Most of the industrial units in Kashmir Valley are also running out of raw material. Even newspapers in Srinagar are running out of newsprint. Kashmir Chamber of Commerce President Shakeel Qalander lashed out at authorities for lacking the conviction to deal with Hindu hooligans. On Saturday, the government provided a security escort to Delhi-bound apple-laden trucks after Kashmir Fruit Growers Association gave an ultimatum of 48 hours to clear the road or they would line up trucks along the Sringar-Muzaffarabad road. Political parties in Kashmir have criticised the attempts by the Bharatya Janata Party and its frontal organisation for the economic blockade. Shut down: Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Geelani has called for a complete shut down on Monday to protest against the blockade as well as attacks on Muslims in Jammu region. He called the situation a repeat of October 1947 events when millions of Muslims were killed and driven to other side of Line of Control. He asked Muslims not to leave their homes. Pro-India Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) has also warned that the unrest over the Amaranth land row had brought Jammu and Kashmir to the verge of disintegration and the situation could spin out of control if the authorities did not crackdown on the protesters in Jammu. iftikhar gilani
Courtesy Daily Times