WE THE PEOPLE
Jammu Region Dominates Kashmir Valley Both in Education And Tourism Sectors
Hence People Demand Regional Balance In These Sectors To Ebb Down Simmering Discontent
By: Mirror News Service
Srinagar: In our last two Series, we have been highlighting the discrimination faced by the valley of Kashmir in the key Developmental Sectors as compared to Jammu. The story emerges more grim as the all important Sectors like Education and Tourism have not progressed according to the expectations in Kashmir, while as in Jammu region they have prospered at a fast pace.
Currently, the Jammu region outsmarts the Kashmir valley in terms of the overall literacy rate. The Jammu district has higher literacy rate than Srinagar, while as the low literacy rate districts lie in the Kashmir Valley. According to the survey conducted by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics some time back, Jammu district, despite the calls of discrimination by certain quarters, leads the way in the education picture and has registered a handsome increase in literacy rate.
The Jammu district has achieved a rare feat compared to other districts of the State, registering currently about 83.06 percent literacy, , as per the survey. The district also tops the list when it comes to female education with 68.55 percent.
Srinagar comes at third place, behind Samba district. While Samba has 82.59 percent male literacy, Summer Capital of the State, registers 74.94 percent.
According to the survey, the far flung districts of the State including the Kupwara and Doda also registered encouraging figures even though these are behind the other districts. And we find the low literacy districts in Kashmir. While Kupwara district of the Kashmir Valley registers 49.84 percent, the Doda district of Jammu region has achieved 64.53 percent literacy rate.
Budgam district which constitutes the central part of the Kashmir Valley has also currently a poor literacy rate of about 50 percent.
Owing to turmoil and State apathy, the Tourism of Kashmir has also suffered very badly as compared to Tourism Sector of Jammu.As it is known Kashmir and Tourism are more often taken as synonymous terms. As the valley of Kashmir is rich with scenic natural beauty that has no other parallel in the world. It is rightly called 'paradise on earth'. Cradled in the lap of splendid mountains of the Himalayas, Kashmir is the most gorgeous place on earth. On visiting the Valley of Kashmir, Jehangir, a renowned Mughal King, is said to have exclaimed: "If there is paradise anywhere on earth, it is here, it is here, and it is here."
On the contrary, a single religious shrine of Jammu gets more tourists than Kashmir Valley. Surpassing all previous records, the authorities at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi registered over 82.05 lakh devotees who visited it in Trikuta hills in Jammu in 2009.
Although experts and masses do state that conflict like situation for over two decades has certainly been the biggest reason behind the debacle of all important education and tourism sectors in the Kashmir Valley, while in the Jammu region these sectors have performed exceedingly well. .(To be continued)
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