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Open letter to PM from Ground Zero in Kashmir

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Prerna Koul Mishra
Prerna Koul MishraNov 01, 2014 | 12:19

Open letter to PM from Ground Zero in Kashmir

Dear Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

A little over two decades down, history is already repeating itself in Kashmir.

When three lakh Kashmiri Pandits were displaced to live a life of ignominy in tents, not many squeaked, nor did the world stop to stare. Delhi couldn’t have cared less. The rebel media was still in its infancy and human rights activists were focused where the money was. Ironically, not even the holier than thou Hindu brigade was pained into action.

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But today, in an era of an active Central government, an articulate media, and explosive activism, I believe things would have been different. But alas! We have moved on to insurgency and elections already, turning our backs to the ugly hardship of a flood-hit Valley.

At ground zero, the chill that is setting in can only travel down one’s spine if you know Kashmir winters. One look at the people struggling to plug the cracks in their houses, mend the blown away rooftops and hold on to crumbling walls; cleaning the silt from their lives and you know they are once again left fending for survival. Children of a lesser God...

Here are the mental notes taken from conversations with the non-elite (the ones you could not meet during your Diwali visit), on what ails the soul of present-day Kashmir.

Relief from the Centre is flowing in, yes. But for a family struggling with a dilapidated roof and cracks across the house, a cheque of Rs 3,800 is a rude joke.

The 50kg of ration promised shrinks to 30kg in the hands of the flood victims, feeding at best just corruption. This right under the administration’s nose. Locals are complaining but does anyone care?

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The construction industry has chanced upon a business opportunity. Prices of everything including sand, cement, bricks, have shot up. There is no restriction on consumer-unfriendly trade practices.

Non-native labour has long left the Valley, so if you are desperate to get even one room up and ready for winter, pay double the market price for labour. “Insurance has paid them handsomely, we are just asking for a fair share", is what vultures in the Valley believe. And may we ask, what about those who could not afford insurance, can they afford to live beyond the flood?

Children seem to have suffered the most in the trauma, having lost social security (living with any relative who can afford to keep them while parents fend for stability) and of course, nearly two months of the academic session. Some schools are back in action but parents are too sceptical about the hygiene conditions to send their children just yet. And I imagine, elections being announced, means more disturbances, in the run up to the polling.

Needless to say, health facilities have fallen on their face and the relief medical centres have long packed up. The Valley, which has been notorious for spurious drugs trade, is now ailing in further scarcity.

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Anyone who has experienced winter in the Valley would know how shortage of LPG and kerosene plagues life. So imagine the plight this winter when they are bereft of even four full walls.

And all this is short-term. For the long haul, Kashmir needs an environmental audit to prevent future disasters.

Will someone get to the task of reviewing the flood channels and the politics of local MLAs stalling the administration from taking measures to save the city (I was told a local MLA stood with thousands of protesters to stall government from opening a flood channel at Kandizal). Did someone take action against the man who interfered with disaster management?

The newly-constructed railway tracks send the flood waters back into the city as the flood channels are too narrow to handle the onward flow of the water. Blunders of planning but still standing threats for future! Is someone listening?

Mr PM, it is anyway a battle on Ground Zero in Kashmir and if peoples' expectations that have found an anchor in your visits are belied, there is no way the war can be won.

People will come out and vote for change in November only if they see it. This is the opportunity to tend to old scars and heal the fresh ones – a window as strategic as the Kabali Hamla in 1947 – when Kashmir saw the benefits of accession with India.

 

Last updated: November 01, 2014 | 12:19
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