SOLVING KASHMIR 7

 

SURFACE COMMUNICATION

1.            Roads.    Major roads in the state are  :-

   (a)        Jammu-Srinagar

   (b)        Jammu-Poonch

   (c)        Jammu-Kishtwar

   (d)        Srinagar-Uri

   (e)        Srinagar-Karen

   (f)         Srinagar-Tangdhar

   (g)        Srinagar-Gurais

   (h)        Srinagar-Leh

   (i)         Leh-Partapur

   (j)         Leh-Darbuk-Chushul

   (k)        Leh-Upshi-Manali

   (l)         Mandi-Loren-Tosha Maidan

   (m)       Kishtwar-Dukum

   (n)        Bhadarwah-Chamba.

2.            Railways.    Railways are restricted to Pathankot – Samba – Jammu -Udhampur axis. Work is on to extend the railway line beyond Udhampur.Train runs in parts of the Vale presently- with the tunnel commissioned through massive Pir Panjal Range-an engineering feat in itself !

3.            Airfields.   The major airfields in J&K are Jammu, Udhampur, Srinagar, Leh, Gilgit, Chilas

Mangla and Skardu.

4.            Landing Strips.   Landing strips available in the region are Kargil,  Chushul, Rajouri, Naushera and Katra. 

  DEMOGRAPHY AND POPULATION CENTRES

1.            General.    For ease of comprehension, the regions have  been divided into the following four zones.

   (a)        POK (including Northern area).

(i)           Population.   As per the 1992 census –     2.656 million. Almost 100 percent of the population is Muslim. 91 percent of the total population is rural and 09 percentage is urban. In POK, a large percentage are Gujjars who remain on the move for better pastures along-with their herds of cattle and sheep.

(ii)          Density of Population.   The density of population is 199 persons per sq kilometer as against 149 persons per sq kilometer during 1981.

(iii)          Literacy Rate.   The literacy rate was recorded as 28.3 percent in 1981 census but was estimated at 43 percent in 1992.

(iv)          Population Centres.   The major population centres are Muzaffarabad, Bagh

Poonch, Mirpur, Kotli, Gilgit including Gilgit Wazarat, Skardu, Hunza and Chilas

   (b)        Ladakh.         

(i)            Population.   Majority of the population is Buddhist. The total population is merely 134372 divided as under :-

(aa)      Leh District                 -  68380

(ab)      Kargil District             -  65992

  

(ii)           Density.   The density of population is extremely low. In Leh district the density is only 02 persons per sq kilometer, and Kargil district has 05 persons per sq kilometer. The religious composition is as under :-

   (aa)      Buddhist                     -     50.88 %   

   (ab)      Muslim                        -     46.05 %

   (ac)      Hindu                          -     2. 83% 

   (ad)      Sikh                            -     0.24 %

(iii)          Literacy Rates.   In Leh literacy is 25.16 percent. Female literacy is 12.09 percent. In Kargil of the 18.85 percent literate, only 3.14 percent females are literate. In both the districts only 2.72 percent are graduates or above, majority being below primary level. Overall literacy rate in Ladakh is 22.06 percent. Ethnically the people of Leh district are closely related to Tibetans. The main spoken language is Ladakhi. Buddhist cultural norms prevail in Leh district. In Kargil people speak ‘Shina’ or ‘Bhatia’ or a mixture of Pahari-Shina-Bhatia. The religion here is ‘Twelver Shia’ which is quite distinct from that of the valley but akin to the people of Baltistan (under Pak occupation).

   (c)      Kashmir Valley.  The valley is divided into six districts as under:-

              

   (i)         Srinagar.  Srinagar district has three urban centres. Srinagar Township is the largest. The other two satellite townships are Badamibagh and Gandarbal. For all practical purposes they now form part of Srinagar town. Srinagar is thickly populated and the centre of all political and economic activities in the valley.

   (ii)        Anantnag.  Anantnag district of Southern Kashmir valley has eight major population centres.These are Anantnag town, Bij Behera, Kukernag, Mattan, Pehalgam, Tral, Achabal, Qazigund.    

              

   (iii)       Pulwama.   Pulwama district is in the South West of Srinagar. It has four small towns namely Pampore, Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam.

   (iv)       Badgam.  Badgam district is adjacent to Srinagar. It was carved out of the Srinagar district. Charari Sharief is the only township in this district.

   (v)        Kupwara.  Kupwara district lies to the North West of Srinagar. This district was created out of old Baramulla district some years ago. The famous Lolab valley is in this district. It has two main towns, Kupwara and Handwara. It has Karnah Tehsil in Tithwal sector and Keran sector along the Line of Control. Various Galis or high and steep mountain passes enter Kupwara district from POK.

   (vi)       Baramulla.     Baramulla district is situated along the main Srinagar-Uri highway and the river Jhelum. It has the following major townships- Baramulla, Sopore, Bandipur, Pattan, Gulmarg, Uri.

   (vii)      The religious composition of the population is as under :-

               (aa)      Muslim                        - 94.06%

               (ab)      Hindu                          -   3.95%

               (ac)      Sikhs                           -   1.05%

               (ad)      Buddhist                     -   0.06%

   (viii)     Density of Population (Approximate).  The highest density in J&K is 318 persons per sq kilometer in Srinagar district. The average is approximately 165-200 per sq kilometer.

   (ix)       Literacy Rate.  About 23.36% population is literate and only 12.54% females are literate. The pattern indicates that the majority is educated only upto the primary level.

   (x)        Language.  Kashmiri and Urdu are commonly spoken. Gujjars and Bakerwals speak `Pahari’ or a mixture of many languages.

(d)          Jammu Plain.   This plain which is locally known as Kandi lies along the Pakistan border between Ravi and Chenab rivers. This plain which is 8 to 24 kilometers wide  has two districts of Jammu & Kathua. This is the second most developed region of the State after the Kashmir valley; and its opening in to the Indo-Gangetic plains distinguishes it from other areas of J&K. It has important industrial complexes all along the railway track which connects Jammu main with Pathankot.  The railway line has recently been extended upto Udhampur beyond the Jammu plains but is not fully operational. District wise details are as under :-

   (i)         Jammu District.  Major population centres are Akhnoor, Arnia, Bishna, Jammu Town,      Ranbir Singh Pura, Samba, Vijaypur, BD Bari.

                    (ii)      Kathua District.   Major population centres are Basoli, Hiranagar,      Kathua,                         Lakhanpur, Parole.

                         (iii)       Udhampur District.  Major population centres are Katra, Ramnagar, Riasi

Udhampur, Rehambal.

(iv)      Rajouri District.  This area is hilly and covered with extensive pine forests.          The major population centres are Naushera, Rajouri, Thanamandi, Sunderbani.

(v)      Poonch District.  This is a mountainous area located on the lower slopes of the Pir Panjal Range in the sub Himalayas region.

(vi)    Doda District.   This region is located at an elevation between 2,500 to 4,500m. It has bare, steep mountain slopes with tree-clad tops. It is prone to seasonal snowfall.  This area borders the Pir Panjal Range and provides various routes into the Kashmir valley over the passes or Galis in this region.  The  area  is  underdeveloped and agricultural activities are restricted to short open season. Settlements are sparsely distributed and people living  in  higher reaches of the mountains are migratory in nature. The main population centres of the district are Banihal, Bhaderwah,    Batot,  Doda,  Kishtwar,Ramban.

(vii)  Demography.  The total population of Jammu division according to 1981   census was 27,18,113. The religious composition is as follows :-

               (aa)      Hindus                        - 66.68%

               (ab)      Muslims                       - 29.60%

               (ac)      Sikhs                           -  3.68%

               (ad)      Buddhists                    -  0.04%

  

(viii)        Density (approximate).  305 persons per sq kilometer in Jammu District. Density in Doda District is only 36 persons per sq kilometer. Average density in Jammu division is between 100-160 persons per sq kilometer.

(ix)          Literacy Rate.  In Jammu division only 30 percent are literate. Female literacy is even lower- 23.13 percent. The literacy pattern shows that the majority of literates are educated only upto the primary level. Jammu District has the highest literacy rate – 42.85%.

(x)           Languages.   Main language is Dogri.  Punjabi is also spoken. People in areas like Poonch, Rajouri, Bhaderwah and Kishtwar use various Pahari dialects.

(NOTE: THERE MAY BE SLIGHT VARIATION IN THE ABOVE FIGURES)