Ignorant Patil causing more damage in Jammu & Kashmir

The inefficient and ignorant handling of the Amarnath Land Issue in Jammu and Kashmir by Home minister Shivraj Patil has caused more damage than any other factor. Patil, inadvertently, infused life into the ‘economic blockade’ by stating that his government would compensate any losses the fruit growers in the valley may have suffered.
Soon screaming headlines ‘Compensation in Valley, Bullets in Jammu’ were all-around. This single statement shows how little he understands the ground realities in the state. On the merit of this statement only he deserves to be removed from the job. But the present Union Government in Delhi is more a combination of power brokers than a body of mature leaders with effective statesmanship.

Contradicting himself
During the Srinagar leg of their two-day visit, the all-party delegation was informed that there was indeed no blockade of the Valley. Officials informed that 178 trucks reached Srinagar on Sunday and 423 trucks crossed Jammu.
Patil concurred also by saying: “There is no economic blockade. Traffic is plying as usual from the Valley to Jammu and Punjab and back.” Another statement from his ministry repeated this on Tuesday. “There is no obstacle in the way of movement of fruit and other items. Therefore, there is no reason for agitation on this issue.”.
But at the same time, Patil also said that the Centre was willing to compensate the losses of fruit growers. “The highway will be kept open and efforts would be made to transport fruit to markets outside the Valley. If this is rendered impossible, the government will make purchases; CRPF will buy and distribute fruit to school children. If growers still suffer losses, the Centre will compensate.”

The reality
The truth, however, is that this is not the peak fruit season. Additionally, very little fruit has been ruined and as the government is pointing out repeatedly, trucks have been moving in and out of the Valley. By contradicting himself, Patil managed to put much fuel in the fire.
This was the last thing the Congress-led government needed. Not only was the suspicion about government’s intensions reinforced, but in Jammu, Patil became the embodiment of the ‘discriminatory practices’ of the Centre.
Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti has maintained that they have not undertaken any blockade of the Valley nor would they consider making such a move. Samiti’s knows that an economic blockade would give separatists a handle to attack the movement with.

Sinister designs
In the run-up to the Hurriyat-sponsored ‘Muzaffarabad chalo’ march, authorities organised for the effective transportation of the major portion of the produce at the main fruit mandis, including Srinagar, Parimpora and Sopore. As many as 90 trucks were pressed for the purpose.
But separatists like the Hurriyat or the PDP, have other designs.
A sizeable delegation of traders was invited to meet the home minister. However, the meeting never took place as the traders had to wait for more than two hours and they were unwilling to do so. This reluctance to participate in the talks or allow authorities to load the trucks to transport the fruit out of the Valley has been attributed to the political affiliations of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce president Mubin Shah. Mubin Shah is a pro-Hurriyat leader and as expected his writ does run among traders.