Kashmir’s ‘Pencil Village’ Losing its Mark as Govt Orders Land Transfer to CRPF.

For years Kakapora Oukhoo situated in south Kashmir’s Pulwama has been known for making pencils and exporting raw material called ‘slats’ to more than 100 countries. Also the village is known to produce 60% of India’s pencils. 

But now the ‘Pencil village’ losing its edge as the government has ordered the transfer of their land for the construction of CRPF camp.

The land adjacent to the factories and neighbourhood grows excellent soft poplars that end up as pencils in the hands of schoolkids. 

The neighbouring villages of Mawran, Niihama and Wundakpora grow huge poplars that feed the machines at Okhwoo. The poplars and pencil raw material have shot the village to fame.

Almost a year ago, the village made Headlines in several leading media organizations after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a mention of the ‘Pencil Village’ in his radio talk show ‘Mann Ki Baat.’

However, the village has been protesting against the transfer of their agricultural land for the construction of CRPF Camp, for over a month now.

 They had staged a protest against the decision of transferring 80 kanal of land to the CRPF on November 01, itself.

Later, they had also staged a protest on November 13, where top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had assured the protesting villagers that they would find a solution by taking the party’s central leadership into confidence to overturn the government’s decision, after which the protesters had dispersed peacefully.

 “Where will the residents of Kakapora Oukhoo go, if the CRPF camp is set up there? It’s agricultural land and our livelihood is wholly and solely dependent on it,” said the protesting residents.

The protesting villagers said that the administration is snatching their livelihood. “Is this the Naya Kashmir that Modi says has developed? We are 800 families in the village who are on the verge of losing livelihood,” they said.

Abdul Ghani, 85 said the two kanal land is his only sustenance for a family of 10. “None of my family members are employed in government or private services. They cultivate paddy, mustard, cattle fodder throughout the year to make ends meet. If this land is snatched from us, we will starve,” he rued.

He said his father used to irrigate the land that CRPF plans to use for building a camp. “Now if the land is taken away, we have nothing to depend upon.”

Land Transfer

It is pertinent to mention that on October 28, the Administrative Council (AC) under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, approved the proposal of transferring nearly 524 kanal and 11 marlas of land for the construction of CRPF camps in Kashmir. The land has been identified in 5 villages of Shopian, 3 villages of Pulwama, and 3 villages also from Anantnag district.

In Pulwama district, 80 kanal of land have been identified for transfer to the CRPF in the Oukhoo village of Kakapora, 24.16 kanal in Kadlabal Pampore and 60 kanal in Koil village.