Environment and Women Rights are the two top most issues highlighted in the following two messages
Restoring the glory of Detoriating Dal Lake:
This refers to the timely and detailed obituary on the deteriorating condition of Dal Lake. This is a timely warning, but for whom? Neither our politicians nor do our crusaders of Azadi care about the environment. In fact history shows that they were overtly or covertly involved in the pollution of Dal. Corrupt bureaucracy represented by LAWDA, and others have cashed on every aspect of Dal.
However, despite the fact that Dal has shrunken from 75 km to present 11-15 sq km, it is nature which resuscitates it with the help of sub-terrain on hydrology which emanates from Himalayan ranges of Kun/Nun, a Brankton Glacier forming the outer circle of the lake. It is followed by the inner circle of glacier of Harmukh, Chanderwari, Hari, Gulal, Sar followed by Gangabal and Sheshnag besides river Jehlum. In 1966 springs oozing within were 17 in number which were reduced to 7 in 2007. At present discharge of silt is at 80,000 tones, nitrogen 244 tones and phosphorus 156 tones, resulting in the ammonical nitrogen cover of 1.50 mgl followed by chemical oxygen demand at 40o mgl in the Dal Lake.
The underground flow of glacier through creeps shall sustain Dal till an honest politician and bureaucrat takes the control of preserving it for our future generation. During my recent European tour to various universities and laboratories I have carried samples of Algae with me and I am proud to report that bio-fuel experiment has been successfully carried out on these parasites, details of which shall be disclosed soon.
Haji Abdul Majid Butt
Geo Scientist
Ellahi Bagh, Buchhpora, Srinagar
Battered womanhood:
This is in reference to a very emotional write up on battered womanhood. The writer made a very sincere attempt to expose the double standards of our society that glorifies woman in theory but in practice treats her nothing more than a machine.
Ours is the society where man can possess and dispose her off like a personal property. It is a very unfortunate reality that our society is by and large very insensitive to the issues of women, although the touching account of the doctors, who were so compassionate to that woman, is still there to leave us with some amount of optimism.
Need of the hour is to recognize the place that a woman deserves in our society and give her the rights she deserves. At the same time our men folk should be more receptive to the problems of women so that they can identify with them in a better way. We should extend all possible moral and social support to such woman who suffers with such biological disadvantage.
Shazia Saleem
Student, Government Woman’s College
M A Road, Srinagar
(Two letters in the Greater Kashmir)