The Other face of Shopian
Militancy Graph Down
Multiple Activities For Constructive Engagement Of Youth
Bisma Nazir
The hill district of Shopian in south Kashmir has earned name for two things. The
highly fertile Shopian is known for quality apples all across the country. The
apples produced at Shopian are indeed among the best across the world.
Unfortunately, Shopian is also spoken about in terms of terrorism and terror-
related incidents. Undoubtedly, indoctrination is high in Shopian district.
The encouraging part is that the graph of militancy in Shopian has gone down
owing to the diminishing support from the general public. The handlers of the
militants are desperately looking for soft targets to create fear among a section of
people in the district. That is why there are isolated civilian killings in the district.
Good Performance On Socio-Economic Indicators
This apart, Shopian district is doing well on socio-economic indicators. There is a
plethora of activities going on in the district, and people are hugely benefited by
these developmental activities.
The general public in the district appreciate the improved road connectivity
across the district. Every big and small road in the district has been black topped.
People in the administration say that it is for the first time that the developmental
works are going on without any discrimination or political interference. Youth
engagement is the main focus.
There are many activities going on for the constructive engagement of youth in
the district. Shopian is perhaps the only district in Kashmir valley where
construction work on three indoor stadiums is going on full swing. The indoor
stadiums are likely to be commissioned in the beginning of 2023.
Focus On Sports, Entertainment
While giving a detailed account of the youth centric activities in Shopian district,
SP Shopian Ms Tanushree, IPS, told Kashmir Central that the focus is on sports
activities and entertainment. “A girl namely Jasiya Akhter from Shopian is a
national level cricketer who plays in IPL for Women. There are more than 10
youngsters from Shopian district who are playing at national and international
level in different categories. Shopian boys and girls are exceptionally doing well in
martial arts.” SP Tanushree added that Shopian police are organizing the inter-
district women tournament soon.
On the question of women empowerment, SP Tanushree said that women in
Shopian district are enthusiastically enrolling for self-help groups. It is heartening
to see these groups reaping benefits of various centrally sponsored schemes. “We
are keen to help the women of the district to be economically independent,” she
said.
The next area of priority for Shopian administration is to provide constructive and
meaningful entertainment for the youngsters. The objective of the district
administration is to ensure that the youth do not get drawn to wayward activities,
and they align the youth with the progressive outlook.
Mini Cinema Hall Hugely Popular In Shopian
A mini cinema hall has been made functional in Shopian town, which was
inaugurated by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on October 22. We Kashmiris
love watching movies, and hence youngsters have been provided with the
opportunity to watch movies on the big screen.
The cinema hall has capacity of 60 seats, and all seats remain occupied
throughout the shows. “People have been watching movies on small screens. It is
not that they are coming out to watch movies for the first time. However,
watching the movies on big screen is fascinating for the youth,” SP Tanushree
said.
She said that engagement of youth in constructive activities is very important,
particularly in an area which has seen a lot of disturbance during the last 30 years.
“We are duty bound to provide every kind of support to our youth for their
betterment and upliftment. Our sincere efforts are to save our youth from
destructive thought processes. Thankfully there is overwhelming response to the
initiatives taken by the UT Administration for the larger good of our people.
Challenges are there but the determination and conviction to work for the
welfare of the people makes things easy for us,” said SP Shopian.
