SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2015 INTERNET EDITION : www.dailyexcelsior.com/magazineNot upto expectations .....Page 4 An odyssey into common man’s world.....Page 3

Dr.Banarsi Lal and Dr.Shahid Ahamad

Reasi is a hilly district of Jammu and Kashmir which is located around 72 kmaway from Jammu and is at 1528 meter above mean sea level. Its population is 3,14,714 as per 2011 census. It was carved from Udhampur district on 1st April,2007.This district is surrounded by Udhampur, Rajouri, Jammu, Ramban and Shopi-an districts. This district of Jammu and Kashmir is world famous because of ShriMata Vaishno Devi Shrine. Every year millions of devotees visit this holy shrine topay homage. The Chenab River passes through this district which is another cen-tre of attraction in the district. Salal Power Project has been constructed over thisriver and this generates around 690 MW power. Reasi district of Jammu and Kash-mir is the abode of Mata Vaishno Devi and blessed with vast biodiversity. Reasi isone of the oldest towns of the state. It was the seat of the erstwhile Bhimgarh state,said to have been established by Bhim Dev somewhere in the 8th century. It remainedan independent principality till 1822 when Gulab Singh, the then King of Jammuconsolidated small states. Upto 1948 Reasi was the district of Jammu province butin the first administrative reorganization of the state undertaken in 1948 major partof the then district Reasi was merged with Udhampur district, while some areabecame part of district Poonch presently Rajouri.

District Reasi is the hub of tourists' spots. The district is blessed with number ofreligious places and devotees across the globe used to come here every year topay homage. There are numerous religious spots in the district. Following are someof the important destinations for the tourists in Reasi district:-

VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine is the most important religious spot in the districtwhich attracts millions of pilgrims every year. Vaishno Devi shrine is located in thelap of the Shivalik hills which is around 13 kms away from Katra which is one of theprominent towns of Reasi district and is around 45 kms from Jammu. The divinepower of Mata Vaishno Devi attracts the devotees across the world. It is said thatwhoever comes to Mata Vaishno Devi and prays with true spirit and full dedication,his/her aspirations are always fulfilled. The Shrine is world famous pilgrimage cen-tre in the state. It has been managed by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board since1986.It is the epicenter of religious spots in the district. The Shrine Board takes careof all the devotees of the pilgrims in every possible way. There are beautiful hotelsin Katra city where the pilgrims can stay as long they like. The beautiful Shivalik hillsand natural beauty of the spot really added the enthusiasm among the pilgrims. TheShalimar garden situated at Katra also added charm to the beauty of city.

SHIV KHORI

Reasi town is also famous for this ancient cave of Lord Shiva. This spot depictsthe natural formation of Shivlingam and is one of the most important caves of LordShiva in the state. The cave is around 150 mts long and 4 ft high natural Shivlingam.The cave gives the divine feelings to the devotees. It is said that 33 crores of deitiesexist in the cave. This spot is around 55 km away from Reasi. Generally whoevervisits at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine also visits this spot. This spot is also managedby the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and every effort is made for the smooth holyvisit of the pilgrims. A big fair is organized by the district administration on Shivratrifor three days. A large number of devotees visit this place every year across theglobe.

DERA BABA BANDA BAHADUR

Dera Baba is another important place situated in Reasi district. It is around 25km away from Reasi. Baba Banda Bahadur Singh was a famous saint warrior ofGuru Govind Singh who fought with the Mughals. This shrine has an arrow, a swordand some weapons given to Baba Singh by Guru Govind Singh. A Gurdwara on thebank of Chenab River has been made which gives living memories of Baba BandaBahadur. He has rigorously worshipped at this spot. This place is considered as amajor pilgrimage center for the Hindus & Sikhs devotees. People from all over theworld used to visit this for pilgrimage throughout the year. In the month of April a

big fair is organized on Baisakhi festival and people from the nook and corner of thecountry participate in it. Baba Jatinder Paul Singh Sodhi Ji who is the 10th descen-dant of Baba Bahadur family is the main organizer of this Gurdwara and gives ser-mons to the devotees for the enrichment in their spiritualism.

SALAL HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT

Salal Power Project is also a source of attraction for the tourists in Reasi district.Its construction work was commenced in 1970.The main objective of the project isto electrify and provide electricity for domestic and commercial use. It is surround-ed by the mountains and is around 23 km away from Reasi. Salal Hydroelectric Proj-ect is constructed on the Chenab River which passes through Reasi district. Theproject generates around 690 MW of power. U.P, J&K, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, H.P.Chandigarh & Rajasthan get the electricity through this project. This is a very charm-ing place and the tourists' enthuastically visit this spot.

BABA AGHAR JITTO

Baba Aghar Jitto is a shrine which has been made on Katra-Reasi main road atvillage Aghar Jitto which is around 6 km from Katra. Baba Aghar Jitto was a greatdevotee of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. Baba Jitto was a farmer who sacrificed his lifeto get his due share of agricultural crop from Jagirdar Bir Singh who denied him togive the committed share. After that he became famous among the farmers com-munity. This place is also source of attraction for the pilgrims from all over the world.On this spot Baba Jitto statue has been constructed and natural source of water isreally the centre of attraction. Every year a big fair is organized by the district admin-istration at this spot and large number of people participate in this fair and payrespect to Baba Jitto.

BHIMGARH FORT, REASI

Bhimgarh fort generally said to be Reasi fort has been constructed at an altitudeof around 150 meters from the surface level near Reasi town. It is located on the

North West side of Jammu. This is an historical fort which was initially made withclay and later on reconstructed by Maharaja Rishipal Rana by using the stones. Thisfort was named after the second Pandava brother Bhim and it signifies his strengthand appearance. The fort is built on a hilly spot near the bank of River Anji. Thisplace is also a source of attraction for the tourists in Reasi district.

BABA DHANSAR

The holy place is situated around 15 km away from Katra near Karua village. Itis said that in ancient times, there was a demon who was residing there and com-mitting crimes on the people. The villagers sought the help of Baba Dhansar whois said to be the son of Vasudev. It is said that Baba Dhansar prayed to Lord Shivafor the help of the people. Lord Shiva listened the prays of Baba Dhansar and killedthe demon. The major attraction of Dhansar, however, is the spouting spring whichemerges from the rocks and flows into the adjacent forest.

SIARH BABA

This holy shrine is situated on the bank of the Chenab River and is around 6 kmfrom Reasi town. Siarh Baba is known for its natural waterfall from a height around400 ft. which is a mainly a centre of attraction for the tourists. People from distantareas used to visit this spot enthuastically every year. This is a very nice spot to vis-it especially in summers because of the pleasant cool atmosphere. People heretake the holy dip in the water pool. There is also an ancient Nag temple. Peoplehave immense faith on Siarh Baba shrine.

NAU DEVIAN

This spot is situated about 15 km from Reasi on Reasi Katra main road. Theshrine has naturally formed nine pindies which symbolize the nine avtars of MahaShakti. There are certain natural water pools where the pilgrims can have the holybath.

A hub of tourist spots

Ayodhya Nath Kerni

Udhampur is the third largest city after two capital cities of J&K State located atLat 33.55 long 75.11 elev 2500. The population of entire district is estimated tobe approximate six lakhs and of the city more than one lakh. The city is famous forflowing of Devika, a holy stream and also called as Devak Nagri. There has beenconsiderable increase in the population of the city for past few years owing to vari-ous factors such as inflow of village people by settling down permanently and evenstaying in rental houses mainly for the education purposes of their children. As thetown is expanding, its civic amenities are also increasing. Presently, the town facesnumerous problems which have to be addressed at the earliest.

Due to heavy increase in the number of vehicles particularly cars; the non avail-ability of parking space is the glaring problem of the city. The multi storey parking isrequired to be constructed at different points in order to avoid long snails of traffic.The general bus stand is also not spacious and needs shifted some where on Nation-al Highway as in the case of most of the cities through out the country. The internalroads are also required to be upgraded. The road leading to railway station is exten-sively damaged and immediate repair is necessitated. Some portion falling betweenSaken Bauli and Sangoor village needs to be aligned de novo due to steep gradi-ent. The lanes and drains of the city are also awaiting attention.

Devika stream flows through the western part of the city. Owing to heavy con-structions on the banks of Devika, all drains, nullahs and other wastes of the city aredischarged into it without any treatment. Other non biodegradable wastes of all huesare thrown into the stream making it filth ridden. Despite provision of protection wallson both the banks, heaps of debris is dumped into stream. Throwing of filth anddebris in to stream must be stopped to maintain the sanctity of the stream. The num-ber of drains, nullahs that are pouring filth of the area starting from Housing Colonyto city into Devika are causing a severe threat to the sanctity of divine stream. Aware-ness among the residents of Udhampur needs to be raised in this regard. The meas-ures like avoiding to throw house hold waste has to be adopted. The stream at pres-ent is waterless and there is no source of supply to the stream. The existing pollut-ed water seen at Devika ghat is the out come of wastage. In case the polluted wateris diverted from beneath the Taxi stand by creating a separate small channel to oth-er side of Devika ghat and only rain water is allowed to flow through ghat area, thesanctity shall be maintained. The dug wells are required to be created at Devikaghat and the bottom of concreted kunds has to be removed. There are possibilitiesof finding new natural aquifers. This way clean water could be provided to manydevotees coming to Devika ghat particularly on festivals. The devotees can have thedip of such sacred water. Valuable suggestions from general public would also beuseful in this regard. Arrangements made in the past have not been proved useful.It is brought out by the aged people that previously natural water was available atDevika ghat. Presently also there are bowlies on both the banks of Devika ghat hint-ing towards the ground water table. The digging of bore wells may bring good resultsand water could be stored in kunds to bring the pristine glory of the past.

As far as beautification of parks is concerned, barring few parks in Housing Colonythere is only one park called as Bhagat Singh Park located in the heart of city. Thispark also needs maintenance and guard to keep up the cleanliness. The parks inHousing Colony also need maintenance. An adequate electrification is needed in allthe parks. The existing fountain in Bhagat Singh Park needs to be set right and moremodern decors may be provided. Some dust bins are provided by the Municipalitybut number needs to be increased. The steps must be taken to raise the conscious-ness among people not to throw garbage outside and make the proper use of DustBins. Municipal Council may make the arrangement to clear the dust bins in time sothat they may not over flow with garbage.

There is a tranquil hill called Gangera located adjacent to Housing Colony blessedwith all the natural bounties and dwelling on a panoramic location. The hill is set inscintillating beauty of cheer trees. The bridle path rather a road if provided from twopoints viz a viz Housing Colony and Jakheni may facilitate the considerable numberof citizens going for a walk. The tourism potential has to be exploited and infrastruc-ture created with expertise advice at such sites. Timely maintenance and repairs arerequired to be carried out in existing stadium.The stray animals must be stopped entering the market area with a view to keep

the area clean. The plantation drive be taken up vigorously and due care for thegrowth be undertaken with the help and co-operation of the locals. Ornamental plantsbe given preference.

The heritage spots may be highlighted to boost up the tourism in the district. Atourist guide map should be displayed at the railway station citing the spots likeSudhmahadev, Mantalai, Krimachi temples, Devika Shiva temple and the like. Thismay help to divert heavy number of visitors coming to Mata Vaishnoo Devi to visitthese spots. Advertisements in leading news papers may be published.

Ajaz Sumberia, an eminent social activist states that there must be someimprovement in providing Healthcare facilities in District Hospital Udhampur. Thenumber of staff may be increased equally with a will and favorable attitude to be cre-ated towards patients. The institution may not function as merely a referring author-ity only. To promote Swachh Bharat Abhiyan it is imperative that more toilets are pro-vided in Hospital for patients and attendants. He further suggests that more subjectsmay be taught in Satellite Campus of Jammu University functioning at Udhampur.As regards to the employment avenues for local youths are concerned the opportu-nities may be afforded in private sector such as big construction companies engagedin construction work of roads, tunnels etc.

Lekh Raj Sharma, a senior citizen is of the view that J&K SRTC buses may beprovided from railway station/bus stand Udhampur to heritage sites such as ShivKhori, Patnitop, Sudhmahadev, Mantalai, Mansar and back. The transport systemfrom railway station Udhampur to the city be strengthened . Hemkund Express may

be extended to run from Udhampur to facilitate large number of devotees visitingHardwar. In view of increase in traffic over head bridges and flyovers may be con-structed at busy points.

Rajguru a social worker is of the opinion that articles displayed by the shop-keepers on the periphery of Gole Market should be banned. The foot path is almostcovered by hanging of articles. This results in inconvenience to walk over the con-structed path and one has to move on road which obstructs vehicular traffic also. Healso stresses the need to make the best use of dust bins and garbage which maynot be thrown in drains as it causes blockage and over flow particularly during rainyseason. He further reiterates that selling of substandard items like eatables and fruitsetc should be stopped by enforcing frequent checking and inspections by the con-cerned. The sanctity of Devika may be maintained.

Bharat Chowdhary a shopkeeper Main Bazaar states that there is non avail-ability of parking space and vehicles are parked haphazardly. The parking shouldbe constructed keeping in view the increased traffic and future requirement.Encroachments at Lambi Gali and Main Bazar need to be removed. Both way traf-fic be allowed in Main Bazar as single way traffic is adversely affecting the business.In view of prevailing situation it is felt that identity of outsider vendors like kulcha sell-ers etc must be established. As far as possible locals be permitted to sell such likeitems. To strengthen the security arrangements of the city the verification of tenantsmay be carried out before allowing a house to let.

A TOWN BESET WITH WOES

A panaromic view of Udhampur town. -Excelsior/Krishan Kumar

Dera Baba Banda BahadurBaba Aghar Jitto Vaishno Devi Shrine