|| WAHEED-UR-REHMAN
Pulwama-one of the venerable district of South Kashmir has been in limelight from past so many years either by variance or by its importance. Pulwama is perhaps, to possess an authentic account of its history from the very earliest period. District Pulwama came into being in the year 1979 and comprises of Eight (8) Tehsils, 331 Villages and four (4) Constituency Development Blocks. The District is one of the appealing spots on the earth, due to its congenial climate, innumerable springs, streams, waterfalls, fragrant flowers delicious fruits and other natural sceneries. Pulwama is centrally located in the valley of Kashmir and is a resting place for Adventure Tourists, since it is full of clean water Streams, Lakes, Magnificent Trees and Mighty Mountains where the air is cool and water sweet. Since past some years, there are frequent shutdowns in Pulwama resulting in the loss of business and thus hampering economic growth of the district.
The recent of Pulwama shutdown which continued almost for sixteen (16) days, resulted into a huge loss to the trade as well as academics. Crossing all these hurdles and running over them, people of the district Pulwama have struggled together with resilience and with a sense of self-efficacy making pulwama District to flourish in each and every field. District Pulwama is not lagging behind in respect of Industrial Development. The growth of industries is going on at a steady pace especially at industrial Growth centre Lassipora where few notable units such as Zum Zum Milk products, Ream leather Tanners, Mir steel Rolling Mills, Milap industry for card board boxes, Kashmir Hatchery M/s Al- Farooq and Em Em enterprises for PVC conduit pipes/ rigid pipes genuine plastics (PVC water tanks M/s Koleen Refrigerators M/s Shakti feed (poultry feeds) are in active production. Besides units which are ready for Commercial Production are M/s Fruit Masters and Golden Apple (CA stores).
The District has the distinction of having the State’s largest Cement Plant viz. J&K Cements Ltd. at Khrew with a capacity of 1200 M tones cement per day. There is a large scale cement unit under the name and style of M/s Trumbo Industrial Limited which has come up with latest technology and first of its kind in the state having 1000 TPD capacity. Moreover two more units M/s Khyber Agro Farms (pasteurization of milk, Curd and Ghee) and M/s Khyber petroleum (LPG bottling plant), are functional in Pampore block. In kakapora block a ply board unit namely M/s S.K veneer is another unit which is worth mentioning. There are also 06 veneer peeling units established in the District. In Tral Block two units viz RCC Cement Pipes and Steel Tubular Poles are worth mentioning.
Two important projects are currently working in the district as of one is State Entrepreneur Development Institute and International Trade Centre at Pampore. Besides having an Industrial dominance, Pulwama is also considered to be the largest milk-producing district of Jammu and Kashmir. The District continues to lead in milk production in the Valley and as per official records, milk production in Pulwama, called Anand of Kashmir, has increased over the years and reached more than eight lakh liters in 2016. The District produces 50 per cent of the Valley’s total milk and tehsil Pulwama alone produces 100 thousand liters of milk daily.
The entire 185 families of Jandwal area produce 1000 litres a day. Apart from feeding the Anantnag, Srinagar- Pulwama milk supplies runs deep down to North Kashmir also. On account of its high milk production, the District is called as “Kashmir’s Dudh Koul”, “the milky stream”. Apple- a vital connection of Pulwama to National Fruit Mandi’s, made the district to stay ‘self-sufficient’. The yield of apples in the District is higher than in any other District in the State. Besides, the District is famous all over the world for the saffron cultivation which is mainly grown in the Karewa lands of Pampore, Kakapora and Pulwama blocks.
The district is also called Rice Bowl of Kashmir for maximum production of rice grains in the J & K state. As for as Education Sector is concerned, the District has highest literacy rate among women, making it the number one District in the whole State. It has a Degree College with highest intake capacity of students and almost 5000 students are presently enrolled there pursuing different courses and degrees. The District has a law college and other educational institutions that usually peopleof area had to move outside the district for pursuing. The students of the District have won many academic laurels, made scientific innovations and also flourished in sports activities. Despite frequent strikes, stone-pelting clashes and curfews in the District, life remains paralyzed during the maximum period of the year, adversely affecting the academics as schools and colleges do not get ample time to complete syllabus, the District threw up toppers in Class 10th and 12th most recently.
The district is also called Rice Bowl of Kashmir for maximum production of rice grains in the J & K state. As for as Education Sector is concerned, the District has highest literacy rate among women, making it the number one District in the whole State. It has a Degree College with highest intake capacity of students and almost 5000 students are presently enrolled there pursuing different courses and degrees.
One student Bushra Amin of Muslim Educational Institute Pampore has secured first position in science stream with 489 marks out of 500, 97.8% in the Higher Secondary Part–II examination conducted by JKBOSE. Another student Nazar Jahangir Bhat, a Student of Government High School Pathan and resident of Talangam Pulwama has secured 472 marks in the annual matric exam with 94.4 per cent. Kamran Imtiyaz Ganaie, 15-year-old orphan boy from Chersoo in Awantipora in Pulwama district, studied in Government High School in the village scored 481 marks out of 500. Kamran had also topped the tests held by Sainak School Mansbal two years ago, and got selected there for 9th standard. These students have brought success and made proud not only to their families and villages, but to whole of Pulwama District. Son of Pulwama, namely Zubair Ahmad Kumar, a Class IX student, designs the model of a hydroelectricity project to generate power for Drabgam village in Pulwama District. While demonstrating the project’s model, Zubair generated 200 watts of power.
Besides the model of electricity generation, the teenager has worked on a number of models, including a moving wash basin, a spade with a lid for digging sand that reduces wastage, a folding ladder for apple harvesting, a fan for blacksmiths that runs on electricity as well as on coke and a ‘samovar’ (pot to prepare tea) that works on electricity as well as on coke. Some of his models have been submitted to the Gyan cell of the University of Kashmir and are under consideration. Pulwama is ahead in sports and curricular activities too. The District got third place in the 12th Bhai Gurbaksh Singh State Korfball Championship, organised by J&K Korfball Association. Politically, the District Pulwama is highly productive and is origin of so many great political leaders.
It is the only District of State Jammu and Kashmir, where PDP showed its supremacy over other political parties in all the constituencies by winning all the seats in the 2014 Assembly elections against their rivals from different political parties of J&K. The Youth Wing of People’s Democratic Party got its frame from the politically fertile Pulwama District. The District has been the domicile place for various great personalities like Mehjoor, Lalded and Habba Khatoon, well known as the legends.
There is no one in the valley who is not inspired with the life style and sayings of these legends. The district has not only engulfed in conflict, but has so many diversities in culture, art and development. I am concluding by Ghulam Ahmad of Mahjoor’s verse, a resident of Pulwama.
The bulbul sings to the flowers: ‘A garden is our land!’ The hyacinth says to the violet, ‘Why are you hiding thus? Come down from the woods to the garden!’ A garden is our land!
Waheed-Ur-Rehman is a native of District Pulwama and is State Youth President of People’s Democratic Party. He can be mailed at: parawaheed01@ gmail.com
