Mujeawazea

Mujeawazea
Mujeawazea Extension

August 1953, Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad the then Prime Minister of J&K state, withdrew the draconian system of Mujwazea as the first relief to the majority. Mujeawaza was replaced by khuskhareed through Cooperative department to do away with the middlemen called guldar(Dealers in crop), who used to exploit poverty of the peasant class. 

Only land holders were permitted to import rice from their land holdings in their respective villages to their dwellings in the city against permit for such import.

Others had to face scarcity of rice and had to manage on the government supply against ration card. The ration was too little to suffice for the whole month. Borrowing of rice from one another was a common practice.  

Since raw rice was not allowed to the city, the silk factory workers from the city used to carry empty ‘degchi’ and handover the same to their colleagues from across the Rambagh Bridge. Next day, they would exchange the empty degchi with the degchi filled with cooked rice. Cooked rice had no restrictions.  

In chill cold and pitch dark at 3 AM, with a live lantern, we used to deposit our ration card at the ghat. A pile of cards would get piled up by morning. At times some don would tilt the whole lot and shuffle the order. Somehow, our card was restored at its proper place.

Within the last few decades everything has changed

Demand:A graphic description of the past times and got transported to those streets and roads.

Any reason why the ration distribution was only in the dugalav doongas and the ration was to be transported on shoulder by Kochul ,often carried via the danih machine for the paddy to be converted to rice. This will be free service if you donated the husk and polish ( kum) used for animal feeding. The kuchul will charge 2 Anna's per khirvar, 40 seers (roughly 40 kg).

We in the family used to pay for paddy dehusking ( munoin) as we needed the kum for our cows and sheep.

The ration shops used to have kashur ration and panjaeb ration ( atta and imported rice). We heard of all the taboos for panjaeb toomul and oot.

What a time.

May circulate for feed back and corrections if any.

Mujeawazea Extension:

Those days most of the transportation was through navigation. The soil for giving soil wash to stairs and walls or for building construction used to come on to river ghats in ‘Bahatch’,  Bahatch is shown below at the ghat at mark "A".

 Shali from shali store at Shaheed Gunj was supplied in these Bahatch to different ghats in the city. Doonga (B) was hired for trip to Tulmul and Mogul Gardens. School excursion to Mogul gardens was also arranged in doongas. Generally these doongas for excursion to Mogul Gardens were boarded at Babapora ‘lachie pieth’. "B"

The site  is now  converted into road. Public transport from Habbakadal or Ganpatyar to Zainakadal up to Chattabal was also in shikaras or tongas. Soil carrying Bahchie hunz, Shali  carrying Bahchie hunz, firewood "E"

 carrying Bahchie hunz, Shikara hunz, Doonga hunz ….were all different from one another. One could not cross to the trade of the other. 

From the ration ghat the paddy was carried by ‘kochuel’ under Head Hamal. They were only from milkmen

families. In case of rice supply, the customer had to pay for the carriage and

in case of paddy supply, its carriage was paid by the owner of the rice mill. 

The photograph above shows excursion in a donga "B"

Vegetables, fish, flowers etc used to come from Dal lake floating gardens to Srinagar city through Chunthie Koal and Nalie Maer "C"

 A long and wide platform of logs interwoven was transported from Khanabal Anantnagh to different saw mills through river. "D"