In this particular case, as I have written quite a bit about the old bridges and the river, I wanted to present views as they are and not as I want them to be. And there is going to be some more of such. Kashmiris outside already have either a B&W view or an Eastman Color view of the place. We need to see the place for what it is.
Agree.
My grandfather often says that houses near the river (including our ancestral house) in Srinagar were almost like slums. Looking at these, I can see why.
When i saw photos from Fateh Kadal i felt something was missing, but could not figure it out. Looking at Photos from Zaina Kadal the same feeling bugged me. Tube light finnaly came on…. What happened to all those boat people whose house boats used to line both banks of river. I fear a beurocrates role here. Please do update on this. Truth be said, to me river looks naked without them. Thanks for these. This IS home. only one bridge down the river. Dinesh
Those poor people have been uprooted. There's a lot of politics and a bit class bias involved. It is tragic that in name of 'beautification' an entire way of life has been altered by calling it encroachment and "eyesore". Instead of boats on the side, you can now see cars running on the side of these historic ghats. A way of life has ended. No one can now live on the river in those boats at these locations. But, traveling by boat on Jhelum is going to be more regularised.
Bureaucracy and government in all their wisdom have put the blame of pollution on Boat people ignoring the fact that most of the untreated trash of the city ends up in the river. During this trip, I got to see a lot of things on ground about this issue. Maybe I will do a detailed post sometime soon. The issue is similar to what happened to tribes in central India once the government claimed ownership of forests.
The uprooting would have been understandable if the economic condition of those people had improved and they had decided to move to land. Instead they have now been relocated to various 'boatmen' colonies with plots and a small cash handout. Given that their economic situation will only worsen because their ancestral trades are dying, unless the long term social and economic prospects of these people are not secured, their places may in a few years end up as slums on land and then they will probably be moved again, pushed further under the glossy sheet of development.
-0-
Here's the plan that the government is following: Check
Sad, very sad. One of my best freinds in school was a boat guy.Despite the tangible poverty,every boat house i been to ( not the tourist / fancy type but in which actual people used to live) was neat as a pin on inside. Read Govt. plan for this, i wonder what is the plan for removing hundredes of banglows that have come up on encroached land of Dal and other lakes of valley. This is genocide of a civilization. Nothing less. Dinesh
Wow! The water looks filthy! This is why I prefer the black and white pictures
In this particular case, as I have written quite a bit about the old bridges and the river, I wanted to present views as they are and not as I want them to be. And there is going to be some more of such. Kashmiris outside already have either a B&W view or an Eastman Color view of the place. We need to see the place for what it is.
Agree.
My grandfather often says that houses near the river (including our ancestral house) in Srinagar were almost like slums. Looking at these, I can see why.
When i saw photos from Fateh Kadal i felt something was missing, but could not figure it out. Looking at Photos from Zaina Kadal the same feeling bugged me. Tube light finnaly came on…. What happened to all those boat people whose house boats used to line both banks of river. I fear a beurocrates role here. Please do update on this. Truth be said, to me river looks naked without them. Thanks for these. This IS home. only one bridge down the river. Dinesh
Those poor people have been uprooted. There's a lot of politics and a bit class bias involved. It is tragic that in name of 'beautification' an entire way of life has been altered by calling it encroachment and "eyesore". Instead of boats on the side, you can now see cars running on the side of these historic ghats. A way of life has ended. No one can now live on the river in those boats at these locations. But, traveling by boat on Jhelum is going to be more regularised.
Bureaucracy and government in all their wisdom have put the blame of pollution on Boat people ignoring the fact that most of the untreated trash of the city ends up in the river. During this trip, I got to see a lot of things on ground about this issue. Maybe I will do a detailed post sometime soon. The issue is similar to what happened to tribes in central India once the government claimed ownership of forests.
The uprooting would have been understandable if the economic condition of those people had improved and they had decided to move to land. Instead they have now been relocated to various 'boatmen' colonies with plots and a small cash handout. Given that their economic situation will only worsen because their ancestral trades are dying, unless the long term social and economic prospects of these people are not secured, their places may in a few years end up as slums on land and then they will probably be moved again, pushed further under the glossy sheet of development.
-0-
Here's the plan that the government is following: Check
Sad, very sad. One of my best freinds in school was a boat guy.Despite the tangible poverty,every boat house i been to ( not the tourist / fancy type but in which actual people used to live) was neat as a pin on inside. Read Govt. plan for this, i wonder what is the plan for removing hundredes of banglows that have come up on encroached land of Dal and other lakes of valley. This is genocide of a civilization. Nothing less. Dinesh