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Monks 'Dilemma
Monks' Dilemma
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adequate here. The rich here send their wards to Srinagar to study science subjects to subsequently join medical or engineering and other courses.
After college hours we are busy collecting wood for three to four months long winter when entire area and our houses remain covered with snow."
Shree, "You are all educated and should know the value of medicinal plants you are collecting to be burnt as fuel. The government arranges supply of wood free of cost from forests in other areas."
All girls joined in chorus loudly and said that was very meagre and not sufficient. Shree was impressed by the girls and told them, "We would help any deserving girl or boy for any higher study anywhere. I am giving you the address and E-mail of our Trust. I also want to caution you that the population should not be allowed to grow unrestricted. If it is not done you will be destroying more and more of the medicinal plants. You should send a strong representation to the government for putting up here a processing and manufacturing plant for medicines here. This will provide enough revenue to enable people here to purchase fuel wood and much more. You should also get solar energy and biogas plants."
Priya asked the guide to take them to other places having some different varieties of plants. He took them to Sanko where there was a very good forest nursery. Priya was delighted to find over thirty medicinal plant species being raised there. She collected the specimen from the nursery. They returned to the guest house, took lunch and went to their rooms to relax.
Next day they left early. Priya gave avomine tablet to each. It was a steep climb on serpentine mountainous road. Reaching Hambotingla pass at the height of 13202' they stayed for some time to have a look around. From here it was downward drive. In the valley there were lush green terraced agricultural fields where crops of maize etc. could easily be identified. The road was running parallel to river Indus flowing through a narrow valley speeding fast, its crystal clear water splashing and breaking against stony, rocky obstacles into snow white waves shining bright in the caressing rays of the sun, splitting them in rainbow colours as a prism. Passing through Lalum, Silum and other villages they reached Darchik. Priya saw a good forest area. They stopped there for her to identify, document and collect specimens of plants of her interest. She was surprised that the climate in the valley here was salubrious and congenial for plant growth. There were Mallotus and other such species which she saw in the Doon valley. It was like an oasis in the vast and barren wilderness of cold desert. They went up to Garskhon and Yalodra but did not come across any such luxuriant patch of rich biodiversity as at Darchik. Leh was only a hundred kilometres from here but it was not in the project area of Priya. They returned to Kargil late in the evening, took dinner and retired to bed.
On return journey they stopped for the night at Srinagar and next day travelled by road to Jammu and went straight to Katra the base camp for going up to the famous cave shrine of Vaishno Devi.
They were advised to start early morning for the shrine on foot or a pony. They decided to go on foot. The climb was
