WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2011

DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU

Excelsior
Established 1965
ith adequate arrangements of security and spot facilities, this year's pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Baba Amarnath in the Himalayas has commenced with full reverence. Pilgrims are vying with one another to steal the march and be the first to have the darshan of the holy lingam. All aspects related to the pilgrimage like temporary shelter, free catering service by philanthropist organizations, medical aid, and transport facilities have been taken care of. Security along the entire National Highway from Jammu to Baltal and onwards has been beefed up. It will be noted that the Governor who is the Chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board made several visits to key points to be assured that all arrangements are in place. Besides him, the DG, Police also made it sure that every aspect of the pilgrimage was taken into account. So far nearly 2.5 lakh pilgrims have registered their names for the pilgrimage and they have been issued necessary documents. Additionally, the traffic department has taken some salutary steps to make the journey of the pilgrims more comfortable. For example, the vehicles of the pilgrims have been exempted from road toll which is usually two thousand rupees per vehicle. A separate lane has been created at Lakhanpur check post to ease the entry of the vehicles into the state territory. Otherwise these vehicles would have to fall in line and make long queues that would have meant loss of good deal of time. Voluntary organizations have opened free kitchen at various points along the route. All these arrangements indicate that the Government is now seriously addressing the event as it should and is not running away from its responsibilities. The Shrine Board is the nodal agency through which all facilitating arrangements flow. It is heartening to know that after three summers of turmoil, resentment, accusations and counter accusations, beginning with the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board row of 2008, the overall atmosphere of the pilgrimage has returned to normalcy and nothing untoward is going to happen till it concludes on 13 August. The number of pilgrims is increasing year after year and this factor is of significance when looked at in terms of logistics entailed thereupon. The region through which the pilgrims move is of great scenic beauty and of superb ecological purity. It is of much importance that pilgrims keep in mind the ecology of the region and take all possible measures to maintain the pristine purity of the track and the region. The pilgrims should voluntarily propose measures of keeping the environs clean and without pollution. Throwing away along the path the litter like polythene bags, empty bottles, crumbs, wasted food stuff, torn shoes and sandals, and other disposables is unacceptable. They can put these in a big polythene bag and deposit that in the bins provided for the purpose. Toilets have been provided and these need to be used and flushed and kept clean. Cleanliness is part of pilgrimage and the pilgrims should make it a deliberate resolve to keep the environment clean. Lastly, while the pilgrimage to the holy cave has been provided major facilities by the Shrine Board and the Government, and thus have won the thanks of the pilgrims, we should suggest the Shrine Board to consider that Jammu is the virtual base for the commencement of the annual pilgrimage to Amarnath ji. As such, Jammu base camp should be commodious enough to accommodate the large number of pilgrims. Each year the number will be increasing and the base camp has very limited accommodation. Before a crisis situation happens, the Shrine Board would be well advised to purchase a fifty kanal piece of land in the peripheries of the city of Jammu, and raise on it the requisite structure that would serve as the base camp for the pilgrims to the holy cave in years to come.

daily

Greek economic crisis and India Synergy between Tourism and Eco-tourism
By Dr Satish Misra risis in Greece continues as the next tranche of a 110 Euro billion bailout package remains undecided. On surface, inability of the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund to clear the decks for the loan payment to enable Greece to avoid defaulting on its debt is posing a serious challenge to the international economic order. Greece would have to meet the conditions imposed by the EU and IMF. The debt ridden Mediterranean state would have to approve a new five-year package of painful economic reforms in next two weeks or would have to miss out on a 12 billion Euro aid tranche to avoid bankruptcy. Adoption of economic reforms would result in slew of austerity measures which would be painful to the common men and women. The Greek Government is already facing public anger. Unions and grassroots activists are already up in arms against the government and there have been fissures in the ruling PASOK party. Irrespective of the outcome of the present Greek crisis, the problem is much deep-seated. According to The Economist newspaper, present crisis in Greece threatens the whole project of European integration. The project was sought to be completed by creating a monetary union without laying the fiscal and political foundations of the EU. At the root of it, there is a conflict between the rising expectations of the people and the constraints of the present economic system. The problem faced by Greece is not restricted to one country as many European countries are waiting for the crisis to strike them. Portugal, Spain and Ireland are said to be next in the row. International economic

Yatra begins

architecture which was created by the Bretton Woods System, created after the Great Depression of the early 20th century which had engulfed the world economy in the preceding years of the World War II, is facing a serious crisis as developments in some of the European countries suggest.

levers of financial powers. But even before the US or the European Union could fully or even partially recover from the lows of the economic depression, political instability in the Afro-Arab world has accentuated the continuing economic instability across the world.

At the root of it, there is a conflict between the rising expectations of the people and the constraints of the present economic system. The problem faced by Greece is not restricted to one country as many European countries are waiting for the crisis to strike them. Portugal, Spain and Ireland are said to be next in the row.
International economy is faced with its existentialist crisis and international market indexes are in continuous swirl. Pertinent question is whether this crisis is temporary or is going to last long marking the end of the reining financial and monetary arrangement. Institutions like the IMF, World Bank and to that extent EU need either total overhauling or require complete restructuring as they are unable to meet new economic and political realities. Global economic meltdown of 2008 was just a beginning. It had sent shivers down the spines of major developed economies as growth stagnated and affluent life style challenged. It took over two years for turbulence to calm down but periodical shocks continue to challenge the wits of those who sit on the control of It is now internationally acknowledged that China and India have contributed significantly to bring back the international economy from the brink of collapse after the global meltdown but there are serious challenges. In todays globalised world in which national economies are getting increasingly intertwined, even Beijing and New Delhi cannot insulate their economies from upheavals in any part of the mother earth. Yes, it is true that India and China, because of the size of their respective economies, would be able to meet the present challenges relatively easily though in two different ways but road ahead has many obstacles. Indian markets have been experiencing turmoil with BSE index witnessing a downward

trend for last couple of weeks. This has been both because of domestic as well as international factors. Notwithstanding the rise and fall in share markets, Indian economy would be able to move on the growth path but its pace would definitely be affected by regional and international developments. One of the main requisites of economic development and growth is political stability not only within the country but regionally and internationally as well. It is here that both India and China are going to face numerous hurdles. While the current political turmoil in the Afro-Arab world has created uncertainties, developments in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal are not very conducive to economic growth. Apart from the political crisis in the Middle-East and South Asia, new set of socio-economic and socio-political are confronting the global order. Newer forms of communication have contributed significantly to sharpening of focus on issues of human rights and democracy. In todays world of rising aspirations and their continued denial, there are serious threats to international stability and in absence of timely intervention the world may slip into a chaos. These are challenging times ahead as the international global order is crying for a change. Political class has bigger responsibilities on their shoulders. This applies both to political leaders of the developing as well as the developed world. They can no more afford to follow the beaten path. The present situation is not of either-or and not even neithernor and that is why it is imperative to take a comprehensive review of the present international economic order for creating conducive conditions for the birth of a new order which is just and equitable. [NPA]

By Jeet Dogra he International nodal agency for tourism i.e. United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) gives the definition for tourism as tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within place visited. As far as the tourism-international and national scenario is concerned, it is the sector which is growing at a rapid rate especially from the last two decades. As per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum, India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd overall on the list of the world's attractive destinations while the Indian Travel and Tourism Industry is ranked 5th in the long-term (10year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019. In India, tourism is viewed and promoted as a development paradigm by the governments and it also considered as a major sector for economic as well as social

Tackling the high speed corruption

By S K Rekhi ow strange it sounds that the Government has asked the ministers, All India Civil Service Cadre Officers besides some others to declare their assets when Anna Hazare joined by some influential people from the civil society, carrying the voice of suffering masses, made them (the Govt.) to realize that they have failed to perform their duty. The Govt. taking such steps under pressure suggests that it wants to convey that it is making very serious efforts to curb the menace of corruption and amassing of wealth by unlawful means and that they are losing no chance to bring transparency and accountability in the functions performed by the ministers and the IAS, IPS Officers. Had it been true then why the Lok Pal Bill got dragged to a stage where the slogans of Anna Hazare and Baba Ram Dev joined by some prominent members of the civil society got support from all corners of the country? Corruption, as we all know, has been institutionalized in our systems. After winning the freedom we started losing the moral values, common man's security, rule of law and above all the sense of duty towards the nation and the society. Mahatma Gandhi, sometime, before his death had said in an Indian National Congress session, that

n an informal interaction the Chief Minister said that his Government was working in consultation with the Union Home Ministry on a plan of rehabilitating the militants who had gone over to PoK for training in militancy and are now willing to return to their fold in Kashmir. The Chief Minister disclosed that the prospective returnees were being profiled under the order of the government so that their employment keeping their skills in mind could be facilitated. The decision of rehabilitating the militants back in Kashmir has already been taken by the State Government and endorsed by the Union Home Ministry. It will be in the larger interests of the State and particularly peace initiatives in the State if these militants decide to lay down their arms and return to the fold and live the straightforward life of ordinary citizens. That the Government would extend its support and largesse to them is also understandable. But experience has shown that many of these who pretended to return to the peaceful life have misused the relaxation provided to them by the Government. In some cases the arrested criminals have been the people from among this category of pardoned and rehabilitated militants. Normally we say a wolf may lose his teeth but not his nature. It is a long exercise to make them adjust to nonviolent civil life though it is not altogether impossible. It would be in fitness of things that the Government engages these rehabilitated militants in various social activities where they receive the remuneration for survival and at the same time they get deeper and deeper into healthy social commitments. First thing they need would be to wriggle out of the stigma of militancy. Second thing is their social acceptability. True, as militants they might have received euphoric applause from the more volatile sections of society. But the truth is that as a former militant turned peace loving civilian, they will have to do a lot of exercise to get accommodated in the rank and file of civil society. For example the Government could open reading rooms all over the sensitive places in the state where the rehabilitated militants would hold classes of ordinary youth educating them on the need to think of positive politics in Kashmir and the need of shunning violence as a cult. Their experience as a militant ending up in returning to the fold will have much impact on the youngsters who are still goaded into militancy by external agencies.

Profiling militants

political corruption has started in India and just after some time the infamous Jeep scandal case created uproar in the Parliament. This is what A. G. Noorani a prominent critic of the Govt. writes in his book "The Minister's Misconduct". He writes as to how the monster of corruption started gripping our earlier years of democracy. Babu Rao Patel and R K Kranjia, two tall journalists also brought to light some scandals during the said period but unfortunately this started happening because of the weak opposition which besides creating some committed institutions of national importance gave boosting to corruption and gradually it engulfed all the fields of human activity except those where the possibilities were little or where it could not penetrate because of style of working of then constituents of the then steel frame administration which started fading away with the weight of some politicians who wanted and encouraged the committed Babus of the top cadre. Ever increasing corrupt practices and activities kept on encouraging the negative human values in our society and with the passage of time personal/family interests of most of the politicians, some next generation officers of the All India Civil Service Cadre joined by the opportunist business shots took the place of national and

social interests and that is what we have badly been trapped in the character assassination. Corruption in our system is the most accepted way of life, so for as a common man knows. He believes that instead of going to police, court or big bosses of anticorruption fora it is better to pay the rasoom (conventional charges) and get the things done. We have the anticorruption laws in place and more are in the pipe line, as announced by the Govt. but unfortunately a common man has very little faith in all the institutions including media even. The only hope and faith is our higher judiciary the saviour of this bleeding democracy. People sometimes think that the opposition parties which day in and day out call the ruling parties as corrupt, anti-people and antinational, may prove cleaner and better but the history has proved that when they come to power, they are no better. People link the corruption with exchange of currency notes, gold, land and building etc. for some undue favour done but actually it is far beyond that. The corruption free mind cannot be influenced by any greed, lust, fear or the man made powers and which will always be willing to sacrifice anything or everything for doing his/her duty justly, honesty and without any sort of bias whereas a corrupt mind has arguments to justify the unlawful, immoral,

anti-people and anti-national activities for personal and other narrow gains. Percentage of the people who are caught committing offences under the relevant enactments for personal gains is very low and the percentage of conviction, for various reasons, is very very small. It is impossible to completely eradicate the corruption but it can surely be reduced if very serious endeavors are made at all levels by educating the people about use of the RTI Act, by protecting and rewarding the whistle blowers, by creating the rapid enquiry and redressal cells at the sub district level, by inviting comments of the local people about performance of the important functionaries and by creating the all powerful institutions like Lok Pal and Accountability Commission the structure whereof is being framed by some eminent lawyers, members of the civil society and the social activist Anna Hazare. The Govt has accepted 34 points out of 40 proposed by the civil society members for inclusion in the Lok Pal Bill and the remaining six of utmost importance and to make the Lok Pal Bill inclusive of what the people in general want the same should also be included as the politicians have their own interest. Anna Ji can boast of what an Urdu poet has said:Mein To Nikla Tha Akela Janebe Manzil Magar Log Saath Aate Gaye Aur Qafila Banta Gaya.

growth. No doubt that tourism plays its role as a backbone for most of the countries but one cannot ignore the adverse impacts of tourism on the environment and the socio-cultural. Moreover, several tourism destinations are facing increasing pressures on their social and economic structures as well as their natural environments. Although, tourism sector can generate high income and is known for its multiplier effects but inflation and economic leakages also come along with it. To earn the high economic yield from tourism, its infrastructural and superstructural impacts are underestimated. In our country, tourism heavily flourishes on environmental and natural resources, besides the biodiversity. The primary responsibility should be to protect these bio-diverse places. Ecotourism is the vital type of tourism while the term ecotourism was given by a marketing agency that was promoting Costa Rica as a rainforest destination way back in the early 1970s. Because of the ill-effects of tourism, the need to develop a certain form of tourism that was sensitive towards the environment and was felt to the local community. After 1970s, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has seen ecotourism as a niche market. The several international and national organizations see ecotourism as sustainable development and it also helps to ensure the sustainable and responsible use of environmental and natural resources. Ecotourism has been formulated and studied as instrument for sustainable and equitable tourism by various international organizations like United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines ecotourism as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people. In India, ecotourism also means to protect areas of ecological values like the national parks, wildlife sanctuaries etc. and in short it assumes as nature based tourism which include both sustainable and responsible tourism. In our country, there is a conflict between tourism, community and conservation because of the motive of high-income generation attitude of tourism service providers. They are less concerned with practicing the concept of sustainable and responsible tourism development. Basically tourism is linked to people and heavily rely on them for their overall survival and hence the role of local community or host community is vital. The immediate need to minimize the social impact and environment impact should be prioritized by the authorities so that there should be no hurdle between practicing the responsible tourism. In Jammu a two day workshop from April 6 to 7, 2011 on the topic Practising Responsible Tourism was jointly organized by the Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI), J&K Tourism Department and World Wide Fund (WWF) Green Hiker and it was supported by Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA), India Chapter. On the first day of the workshop, the people from the central and state tourism ministries highlighted the importance of responsible and sustainable tourism and also discussed the role of ecotourism in it. This was the first step with in our region to sensitize the people regarding the ill-effects of tourism and the ways to minimize these effects for better greenfull tomorrow. Several academicians, experts, scholars and students within and outside the state attended this workshop. The next two workshops will be organized in Srinagar and Leh region in the near future to aware the local people regarding the importance of conservation of biodiversity. There is direct relationship between tourism and ecotourism and the survival of both depends each-other. The tourism industry can highly contribute in sustaining the ecotourism and if ecotourism will flourish, the tourism will also flourishes; in short both compliment each-other perfectly. The need of the hour is to educate the local communities as well as the tourists, service-providers, consumers and the people on in decisionmaking seats, students who study in the schools regarding the benefits of practicing the responsible environment practices. Its the high time to act now and do some constructive work and try to contribute in sustaining the environment.

Attachment of teachers
Sir, The schools in the state are suffering due to shortage of staff is a well known fact. The shortage has been aggravated due to a number of reasons which include attachment of teachers who wield considerable influence in offices. These officials are not interested in teaching rather prefer chair in offices. This hampers working in the schools and affects teaching learning process to a great extent. The schools also suffer due to deployment of teachers for conducting census operations in the country. The Knowledge Commission of India had expressed its reservation on deploying teachers for conducting polls and other such process in the country. It is also observed that the Education Department does not carry out periodical promotions in the department. There are many posts of lecturers vacant in various higher secondary institutions in the State. These posts are not filled on priority basis, rather kept pending for a pretty long time. This has created stagnation in the department and is affecting the academic atmosphere of schools. The Government should take cognizance of these facts for overall betterment of schools. Yours etc... Vinay Sharma Samba

Contractual Vs Permanent
Sir, To meet the shortage of staff in various departments and educational institutions, the Government engaged people on contractual basis. This enabled the Government meet the twin objectives of providing employment to unemployed youth, and overcoming financial constraints. However, these permanent employees have been meeting raw deal from the permanent employees. The contractual employees are asked to do all jobs which permanent employees do not want to do. At times whole of the work- load is placed on the contractual's shoulders. This treatment is developing a disturbed personality in these employees. They are feeling helpless, voiceless and an inferiority complex among them. If the trend continues in this manner, it may devastate them psychologically. It is requested to the concerned authorities to look into this aspect, and set up a grievance cell where contractual employees can seek redressal of their grievances. One important thing, I would like to mention of is the case of those contractual employees who have not yet completed the mandatory service of seven years but are in job for last 5 years and have crossed 37 years of age need to be regularised. It is also requested that the Government frame a policy viz-a-viz contractual employees. Yours etc... Gagandeep Singh Research Scholar Raipur Satwari, Jammu

No consensus on Women Reservation Bill

Sir, It is very disappointing that the All party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar failed to evolve a consensus on the Women's Reservation Bill with two of its major opponents-the SP and the BSP staying away. The Bill pending since past 14 years has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha last year but it couldn't reach the Lok Sabha as political parties have no unanimity on the issue. If the parties again failed to reach on consensus, it will certainly be a set-back to women empowerment in the country. The women who constitute one half of the population of the country are still shackled in slavery and servitude. They are still subjected to harassment, and exploitation. Unable to find a proper forum to raise their voice, they fail to get due representation in various social and political organisation. As a result, they face many hurdles while seeking redressal of their grievances or demanding their due in nation-building process. Yours etc... Preeti Salgotra Jammu