Tag Archives: Manzoor Ahmad

How businessman Manzoor Wangnoo restored Khushal Sar Lake of Kashmir

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Srinagar, JAMMU & KASHMIR:

Manzoor Wangnoo leading school Children during an environmental campaign in Srinagar
Manzoor Wangnoo leading school Children during an environmental campaign in Srinagar

About two and a half years ago when Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo, a prominent businessman of Kashmir  was asked by the anchor during a television show that he must say in 20 seconds what inspired him to work for saving and restoring Kashmir’s water bodies, he replied “Ehsaas”.

His reply explained how realization and concern on seeing the water bodies of the Valley shrink and gets degraded due to human greed and official negligence became the key to his massive efforts to awaken the public and undertaking the work to restore the Lakes to health.

He remembers visiting the 1.6 km by 0.6 km Khushal Sar Lake located on Srinagar outskirts in February 2021 for the first time. “It was in bad shape, choked with solid waste and smelling foul”, he told Awaz-the Voice at his office in Kashmir Mahal Resorts in the Nishat area overlooking the Dal lake.

“When I told the residents that it needs efforts to clean up the lake, they laughed”, he said, as he was accompanied by his team of volunteers of the Nigeen Lake Conservation Organisation (NLCO), established in 2000. He remember his three counsins – Latief, Riyaz and Muzaffar also joining him from the beginning of his campaign. 

NLCO started with cleaning up the Nigeen Lake, and is currently focused on Khushal Sar, Manzoor Wangnoo recalled the oft-quoted couplet from India’s 20th century famous Urdu poet, Majrooh Sultanpuri (Asrar-ul-Hassan Khan): Meein akela hi chalaa thaa janibe manzil magar’; Loag Saath aatey gaye aur karwaan banta gaya”.“That actually happened”, he said.  The target of cleaning Khushal Sar was completed in 100 days under the “Mission Ehsaas” (phase 1), which began on February 21, 2021. With the help of SMC (Srinagar Municipal Corporation) and other agencies, NLCO removed “3000 truckloads of muck from the Lake till date”, Wangnoo said.

Wangnoo with local resident at Gilsur bridge

“Now this (Khushal Sar) is not a dustbin”, he said and appealed to the Government to provide a drainage system and demarcation on the lake peripheries. The traditional navigational route, Zadibal-Sazgaripora in the lake was restored in phase 2 of “Mission Ehsaas” last year. Wangnoo said that the lake was orphaned and had been neglected for the past 30 years.

Without the efforts of the Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA), which keeps Nallah Amir Khan clean, the restoration work of Khushal Sar and Gilsar would not have been possible, Manzoor Wangnoo said. The authorities have prevented solid waste from flowing into the twin water bodies. He also praised successive Divisional Commissioners for supporting his work.

He called for a “competent authority” to take responsibility of the lake’s conservation, though J&K Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) looks after Dal Lake. “It (Khushal Sar) needs complete attention”, Manzoor Wangnoo told Awaz-the Voice, as phase 3 of clearing the muck began earlier this year.

“The mission received an encouraging response”, Wangnoo said and referred to its mention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Mann Ki Baat last year. Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha also expressed his “gratitude” to Wangnoo at least on three occasions in the last two years. “The idea of cleaning the Khushal Sar was of a prominent businessman of Srinagar city, Manzoor Ahmad, and the cleaning process was started with the help of the administration coupled with the efforts of the locals. It is a great example of public participation,” Sinha commented on one occasion.

“People in the vicinity (of Khushal Sar) have started to realize the importance of the conservation of the water body. Administration lent its support for the cause, especially SMC has been there to collect the waste from day one”, he commented.

The restoration of choked Khushal Sar to its pristine glory is not the first venture undertaken by Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo, who has established his business in carpet and Kashmir handicrafts over the last nearly five decades. The 70 years old businessman, who was educated at Tyndale Biscoe School and S P College, Srinagar, learned the trade from his father in his early childhood.

Wangnoo in his office

As a businessman over the decades, what concerned him was the need “to create awareness regarding environment and saving water bodies of Kashmir, endangered by pollution”. Thus, he constituted a local NGO, Nigeen Lake’s Conservation (NLCO) in 2000 for the restoration of water bodies. “I took the challenge to restore the glory of the lake with the active participation of peoples… it aims to save the (Nigeen) lake from becoming a cesspool”, he said.

“This is our (team’s) identity wherever we go with efforts of saving the environment”, the devout Muslim pointing towards his white round cap, commented. “NLCO has taken on the role of a watchdog organization, to check vandalism, create awareness about the importance of conservation of water bodies in particular and the environment in general”.

Speaking of challenges, Manzoor Wangnoo said “land mafia and encroachers tried their best to stop us. But when three people, administration and NGOs – join hands everything becomes possible.”

After several years there was a sea change in the Nigeen Lake as “the people became aware of the importance of the pollution-free lake”, he said. Wangnoo has also contributed to helping the 2005 quake-hit people of Uri and Tangdhar by constituting Kashmir Welfare Trust and in the education sector by setting up Bilaliya Educational Institute.

Educational Institute, Srinagar

Nigeen Lake is connected via a narrow strait flowing beneath the Ashai Bagh bridge on the Lal Chowk-Rainawari-Hazratbal road. It is further connected to Khushal Sar and Gilsar through Nallah Amir Khan.

While he was continuing with his mission “to help enrich the quality of life of the community and preserve ecological balance and heritage through a strong environment conscience”, the October 2005 earthquake posed another challenge to him.

With the support of the concerned persons to deliver, he initiated the relief measures in the quake-hit areas of North Kashmir, which led to the formation of Kashmir Welfare Trust (KWT), an NGO to undertake the relief operations. The KWT, which initiated with the adoption of 69 earthquake victims from Tangdhar in 2005 has set up the Bilaliya Educational Institute in Srinagar where 1900 boys and girls are today enrolled. Also, it’s one of the leading schools in Srinagar.

He proudly says that some of the students of the school have shown excellent results with scoring distinction in the board examinations.

It Trust has also contributed to the relief and rehabilitation of the 2014 floods in Kashmir.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz The Voice / Home> Stories / by Ehsan Fazili, Srinagar / June 26th, 2023

Meet Shariya Manzoor: The boxer girl from Kashmir

Amazing Feats, Sports, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , ,

Nehama Village (Pulwama) Kashmir, JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Shariya Manzoor displaying a medal she won during a competition. | Photo by arrangement

Twenty-year-old Shariya Manzoor from a restive region in Kashmir is a boxer whose passion for combat sports has earned her laurels. Her dream is to make it to the Olympics. 

Srinagar :

 A 20-year-old girl from South Kashmir’s Pulwama has brought laurels to her district—which is considered a hotbed of insurgency in Kashmir—by bagging a gold medal in youth games All India National Championship 2021.

Shariya Manzoor, a resident of Nehama village in Pulwama told TwoCircles.net that she and her family are extremely happy with her feat and she dreams of making it to the Olympics.

She is perhaps the first female boxer from South Kashmir and wishes to train many girls from the region.  

Achieving her goal wasn’t a cakewalk for a girl belonging from a restive region. She said she had to shed “blood and sweat” to make it possible. 

“Being a girl from Kashmir, there aren’t many platforms to explore sports and achieve success in it. During my journey, I realized why it is difficult for females to take part in sports, especially combat sports,” she said. 

Manzoor is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree from Government Degree College Pulwama. She, however, hopes to becoming a boxing champion.

Her father Manzoor Ahmad is a farmer and pools money from his pocket to support her daughter. 

“She has played in different parts of the country and every time, I had to arrange money to send her. The government doesn’t help her financially,” Ahmad said. 

A father of four daughters, Ahmad says it is very difficult for him to let her daughter follow her passion. 

“We live in a conservative society. Every day I had to hear from my friends and neighbours asking me not to send my daughter to play this sports,” Ahmad said.

But Ahmad doesn’t pay heed to their comments and says he wants her daughter to follow her passion.

Apart from fewer opportunities in sports for women in the region, Shriya said that she had to fight hard against “patriarchy” and “break the taboo.”

“A girl is seen in a different way when she chooses sports as her career. People stare at her when she is practising. I believe if a girl has to move forward in her career, she has to avoid and stay clear of these things,” she told TwoCircles.net.

She said that whatever she has achieved was not possible for her without the support of her family. “If your family is with you and supports you, nothing can stop you from achieving your ambition,” she said.

Boxing was her childhood passion
Manzoor has been passionate about boxing since her childhood. However, in absence of infrastructure and coaches, she had to face tough challenges in pursuing her passion. 

“When I chose boxing, there was no one to guide me. I used to practise at my home alone but I always wanted to be trained professionally,” she said.

Manzoor has won six medals at the national level, which include a medal she won at the Federation Cup and another one from the Youth All India National Championship 2021.

She doesn’t have anyone to guide her in this sport at present and takes training from a coach who is not from boxing background. 

“He is a Mixed Martial Art (MMA) coach but I take some tips from him,” Manzoor said. 

She travels over 13 kilometres every day for coaching and practices for over three hours. 

“I have to spend over Rs 4000 every month as travel expenses and my father gives me this money,” she added.   

She says she doesn’t have any idol but wants to become an idol for other girls in the region who want to pursue a career in sports. 

Manzoor said she faced hurdles and challenges all along her journey. “But I had faith in myself and Allah,” she remarks. 

Manzoor has won six medals at the national level, which include a medal she won at the Federation Cup and another one from the Youth All India National Championship 2021.

She has also won medals in the national Thang Soo Doo championship. “I have also won a silver medal at the state Taekwondo championships and participated in the belt wrestling championship,” she said. 

On 13 September 2021, Manzoor was facilitated with the “Kashmir Young Leadership Award” by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha during the Kashmir Leadership Summit here at SKICC Srinagar.

As many as 46 young achievers from various fields including health, education, sports, adventure sports, social work, journalism, environment conservation, Art, Music, Women empowerment, etc were awarded on the occasion.

Auqib Javeed is a journalist based in Kashmir. He tweets at @Auqib Javeed. 

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Auqib Javeed , TwoCircles.net / January 26th, 2022

The nihari kulcha you must have if you’re in Lucknow

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Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH :

While in Lucknow’s Chowk area, the quickest way to sate hunger is with a plate of Raheem’s nihari kulcha.

Raheem nihari kulcha, Umar Raza, Azam Hussain

(What’s for Breakfast? (Above) Bilal Raheem Ahmad (in blue) at Raheem’s

When Umrao Jaan was being shot in the early 1980s, the cast and crew of the Rekha-starrer film would visit Raheem’s regularly. “I was too young then, so I don’t have any memory, but my father told me that the entire cast ate at our restaurant on more than one occasion and Farooq Shaikh had loved the nihari,” says Bilal Raheem Ahmad, one of five brothers who run the restaurant now.

At 8 pm in old Lucknow’s Chowk area, Raheem’s hotel is one of the busiest spots in the area. Most customers thronging the restaurant, in a basement near the Tehseen mosque, are there for the nihari kulcha — meat stew with baked flatbread. The nihari, which is traditionally a breakfast dish, is available all day at Raheem’s. In the alley leading to the restaurant, one can smell the kulchas being baked on the tandoor from a distance. After entering the basement, the aroma changes to that of slow-cooked meat.

Raheem’s nihari kulcha.

Bilal says the delicacy has always been the bestselling item at his restaurant, which was started by his great grandfather Haji Abdul Ghani in around 1920. The family belongs to old Lucknow’s Chowk area. The restaurant started selling the nihari kulcha in the 1940s under Haji Abdul Ghani’s son and Bilal’s grandfather Haji Abdul Raheem, after whom the restaurant is named. “It was Raheem sahab who invented the ghilaf kulcha which is served with the nihari,” says Bilal, 48, who generally sits at the restaurant’s counter every day from 5.30 pm to 11 pm.

After Haji Abdul Raheem, who ran the restaurant till 1983, the restaurant was taken over by Raheem’s father Fakruddin, who managed it till 2000, after which Bilal and his four brothers — Manzoor Ahmad (60), Mohammed Usama (47), Mohammed Shuaib (40) and Zaid Ahmad (37) — run it.

“The word ghilaf means a cover. The ghilaf kulcha has two layers which makes it so special. The upper layer has flour, ghee and creamy milk, while the lower layer has flour and yeast which makes the kulcha rise. The nihari is cooked overnight, for 6-7 hours, on very low heat over wood,” says Bilal.

He says, one of the most important aspects of his restaurant is the tehzeeb (etiquette). “We never return a customer without serving them. There are several madrasas for the poor near our restaurant. My grandfather Haji Abdul Raheem had written two points in his will — one was that we must always serve the poor and, second, that we will never ever compromise on the quality of the food. We are doing everything to follow his orders and hence, did not open a single branch,” says Bilal with a smile, while he returns change to 14-year-old Owais, who studies at the Furqania madrasa next to the Tehseen mosque.

The madrasa student says he comes to the restaurant almost every second day. “I get my own tiffin box and get one kulcha and some nihari for Rs 20,” says Owais, who belongs to neighbouring Barabanki district and stays at the residential madrasa.

The mutton nihari and two kulchas are priced at Rs 148, while the buffalo nihari and two kulchas for Rs 83. The paaya nihari, both mutton and buffalo, comes for an additional Rs 20. In between serving the evening crowd karara (crispy) kulchas, Habib Ahmad (62), who has been working at Raheem’s for the last 45 years, says, “The paaya nihari is mostly made with meat from the calf area.” The restaurant also sells mutton biryani for Rs 300 with four “big” pieces of mutton. Another bestseller is pasanda. A plate of nihari and two kulchas used to be sold at Rs 1.40 in the early 1980s when Habib started working there.

Bilal says, till date, the restaurant buys raw spices and uses them only after getting them cleaned and ground. “Our nihari has around 95 types of spices. We put them in a potli (bundle) and drop them into the nihari when the cooking starts. The recipe was given to us by our father, who got it from his grandfather Haji Raheem sahab,” says the co-owner. The meat used to make the nihari is bought daily. No artificial ingredients are used, and “it is only cooked in a copper deg (cauldron) with kalai (a layer of tin) on the outside. The kalai is a must for slow cooking. It doesn’t let the food burn,” he says, with a wry smile, before adding, “I can’t tell you what our spices are.”

Waiting for their “wholesome meal” at the restaurant are childhood friends — Umar Raza (44) and Azam Hussain (42) — both tailors. but Raza is getting annoyed by the delay, their order — two plates of steaming hot paaya nihari with a sprinkling of green coriander and chilli on top and one kulcha each — finally arrives and they start guzzling the food. They say they have been coming together to the restaurant for the past 15 years. “It is a filling meal which is the secret to our great health,” says Hussain, pointing to Raza’s bulging tummy.

Bilal says, people from “far-off” places come during Ramzan, when the restaurant remains open from iftar (meal eaten to break the fast) to sehri (pre-dawn meal before the fast). “Ramzan is when Lucknow and Chowk has the highest number of visitors. All the tables are occupied through the evening and nights,” says Bilal, adding that the next generation will continue to serve the food the way it has been served for almost a hundred years.

This article appeared in the print edition with the headline ‘A Plate of Sunshine’

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Eye / by Asad Rehman / October 13th,2019