Published November 18th, 2015 by

Traffic Terror !!!!

A lot is happening, a lot more need be done…

Earlier I had written two write-ups in these columns on April 26th, 2015 and June 17th, 2015, both titled ‘Traffic Terror’ and this third one in the series touches different aspects of traffic nuisance in Kashmir valley and Srinagar city in particular. After much noise the State administration mobilized its traffic management machinery, and even after facing shortage of man and machine made its presence not only visible but to a certain extent effective as well.  For the last few months there is a noticeable change both in traffic regulation and the attitude of people directly or indirectly related with traffic. Two important changes, wearing of seat belts by most of the four-wheel drivers and use of crash helmets by almost all two-wheeler drivers are the two bigger achievements of traffic regulating authorities during this period.  Read More Traffic Terror !!!!

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Published September 18th, 2015 by

Srinagar — The city of joy!

A lot need be done to restore it the beauty…

In late eighties a friend of mine gifted me a book titled ‘The City of Joy’ written by Dominique Lapierre. Treating it as another work of fiction, I did not even turn the pages of this book for months as I am not used to fiction.

But in due course of time title of the book invoked a sense of curiosity within me and I made up my mind to try it. The book unravel the sad and cruel vistas of a smaller city Slum habitation) within a much bigger city and gives you an idea how people even after facing lot of miseries feel contented and live life to its full. They feel satisfied not out of conviction but having no other choice so ‘compulsion’ is the only option. The book left a lasting mark on my psyche.

Now, after more than two decades I find repetition of the same distressing plot, full of pain, misery, offensiveness and uncertainty repeating in my city— the city of  Srinagar— the city some would call ‘city of prosperity’ and others in the annals of history mentioned of it as ‘City of Sun’. During last two decades Srinagar has turned into city of bleakness and the September 2014 floods changed the course of this historic city. It architecture, economic structure, cultural and social milieu has been devastated.  But its people as brave hearts of   Dominique Lapierre’s ‘City of Joy’ express no sign or sense of defeat while pulling their life out of despairing confusion. A year has passed and the scars of aftermath of floods are not only visible but have left a deep and everlasting watermark on the mind and soul of people of this city. Read More Srinagar — The city of joy!

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Floods

Published July 28th, 2015 by

Privatised Education

The scene is getting increasingly gloomier!

Few decades earlier imparting education was the noblest profession and teachers were very often respected more than the guardians. But, unfortunately the once holy profession of teaching has now become a money-spinning business. Over the period of time, particularly during the last three decades both government administered education system and the private run educational institutions have failed miserably in providing value based quality education. Government institutions with adequate infrastructure and well qualified teaching staff were unable to deliver and their results at the end of the academic sessions proved dismal both qualitatively and quantitatively. However, the private sector managed their performance of numbers but their quality of education cannot be termed satisfactory by any standards. Most of the times this knowledge paralysis can be observed only to the level of ten plus two and beyond that it is a level playing field where private sector is unable to compete with the state run education organizations. Read More Privatised Education

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Published June 17th, 2015 by

Traffic Terror!!!

Is there any way out or we are condemned to suffer?

I don’t know whether it goes well with the new city traffic police chief and his bosses or they feel offended by these humble suggestions. But one thing is clear, unless you change the mindset of traffic managers and a paradigm shift in basics of traffic management, nothing is going to change on the ground. The complicated traffic snarls and gridlocks will find no end till the whole scenario is addressed on infrastructural front with strict law enforcement as priority. Traffic management is not a procedure of balancing chemical equations, where the time tested ‘hit and trial’ method can be adopted when everything fails. Changing the city super cop for efficient traffic management every now and then will yield nothing but will add to confusion. Interestingly, some time back the present incumbent had already tried his luck, but failed miserably! Many observers vouch for his dynamism and loads of enthusiasm but at the end of the day it is managerial skill, dedication and impartiality along with a mechanism of well-oiled man and machine that matters the most. Travelling in bullet proof cars with several escort vehicles in tow will change nothing on ground and will never give you an idea of traffic terror and the suffering of commuters and common-man. Read More Traffic Terror!!!

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Published May 20th, 2015 by

Common man in dilemma!

What is happening and what did he vote for….

At the end of a discussion with one of my well-wishers, we concluded, come what may, this land is destined to be governed by none other than politician-capitalist nexus, where there is no role, whatsoever, left for a common man. This can be too harsh a conclusion, but after a long deliberation a small fry of my little standing is convinced that certainly average Kashmiri has no say in managing the affairs of this state.

September 2014 floods exposed the whole gamut of our preparedness to handle the fury. At the end of the day it was only the common man who was hit harder and is yet to reconcile with the aftermath of floods. These floods taught us many lessons and the most prominent of all that Aam Admi was taken for granted. No empathy of real sense was shown towards lesser mortals. Read More Common man in dilemma!

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Published March 29th, 2015 by

My date with SKIMS!

Except one small bitterness the experience was heart-winning.

We have a vast network of healthcare units spread in length and breadth of the state with a huge budgetary allocation. But alas! Much of our healthcare units are decaying. The primary and secondary healthcare system located in countryside is worst hit. These units lack proper management and the tender touch of medical ethics. At block, tehsil and district headquarters too, the situation is not satisfactory. This situation of quandary in our basic healthcare system has impeded the whole referral chain and strained much of our specialized healthcare units mostly located in urban areas.

My personal experience was different and fortunately ended at a positive note. After getting a sound harassment from private healthcare mafia for more than a month a sincere cardiologist true to his medical ethics advised me to have specialized treatment either at SKIMS or somewhere outside the state. We tried our best to go for the second option but my heart gave way much sooner than expected and landed at critical care unit of SKIMS. Surely, SKIMS is the true manifestation of late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah’s visionary leadership; a marvellous conception of specialized treatment center and a potential hub of medical tourism. Out of all the departments’ cardiology department at SKIMS is comparatively in a better shape. Here my blood vascular system was put to advance X-ray guided scanning procedure—known as angiography in medical parlance. True to the apprehensions of the doctor who referred me to SKIMS, doctors decided to go for interventional procedure of angioplasty to ease out the obstructions in my vascular system.

Read More My date with SKIMS!

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