Leh women become self-reliant

Leh (Jammu and Kashmir), (ANI): Many self-help groups in Choshut village of Leh are working on various social issues to help women become self-sufficient.
Shashi Self-Help Group, one of the oldest self-help groups in the region, had started with only six members and now at present, there are more than 15 women members working in the group.
Shashi self-help group is actively promoting local handicrafts. The group is also conducting workshops and giving training to women of different villages. The group is also promoting local handicrafts at the district level and at the state level.
“We are working for the last five years in this village and we have seen a lot of improvement in the lifestyle of the villagers. Nowadays, we are educating villagers about the health and hygiene. Our self-help group is working with various government agencies to improve our village standards as compared to other villages in the region,” said Amina Khatoon, president of Shashi Self -Help Group.
The group also help women to make decorative home items. These handicraft goods are sold in the Leh market and income earned is later used for the benefit of the society.
The group is finding it difficult to get raw materials for handicrafts, as it is not available in the Ladakh region.
“I learned to make handicraft goods from my friend from south India. I was there for a year and later I joined self-help group in my village. Later, I became an instructor of the group. At present more then 15 women of the group were trained to make handicrafts, from where they can earn some income. Here in Ladakh, we can’t get raw materials for making handicraft goods. We are looking for the alternative source from where we can get raw material here in Leh,” said Zara Bano, Instructor of a self-help group.
The self-help groups are also working on several social issues such as keeping the entire village and schools clean. The groups are also helping government health workers during their visits to the village, such as during pulse polio drive and educating villagers to improve their living standards. (ANI)

rail in leh !!!

The ambitious and strategically crucial project to link mountain-locked Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir with rest of the country by
train has moved a step closer to fructification with the Railways finalising the feasibility report in this regard. The first rail link is proposed to be between Leh and Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh and six passenger trains and nine goods trains are planned on the 498 km-long section. "The feasibility report of Leh-Bilaspur rail link project is almost ready and it will be submitted to Railway Ministry shortly for scrutiny. After the scrutiny, the report would be sent to the Planning Commission before being sent to Parliament for final approval," said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the feasibility study. The project is strategically crucial as it is part of India's efforts to improve infrastructure in the border region considering that China has already built a rail link to Tibet. China has also improved connectivity with Pakistan via the Karakoram highway which runs close to the Indian border. The proposed Leh rail project came up for discussion at the Army Commanders' Conference here recently in the context of improving supply lines along the border like China has done. According to the study, the Leh-Bilaspur project, which is estimated to cost about Rs 22,000 crore, 6,000 passengers are expected to travel daily in the section, once the line is operational.