Pickles help war widows survive

A small pickle unit, raised by the Army Wives Welfare Association at Gurha Slathian village in district Samba of Jammu and Kashmir, has brought hope to many women and war widows there.

The village, situated on the banks of a large pond, has a rich and ancient history of being a seat of several rulers of this erstwhile small Dogra kingdom of Jammu Kandi (dry) belt. Ruins of the palace still exist at some places around the village.

This village was home to, at least, five military commanders and about 70 per cent of the men in this village and adjoining hamlets are in Army and police. The area is hilly and rain-fed and has low scope of agricultural activity.

A brainchild of local resident Rajinder Singh Slathia , a retired Army official, this unit has been supported by the AWWA with the objective to provide support to the local women.

The supply of pickle is made to several Army units located in Samba, Kathua, Jammu and Udhampur districts. About 20 per cent of the stuff is now being sent in the civilian market at Jammu and Samba.

Seema Majumdar, president AWWA, 92 Brigade, located in Samba, who nursed this small project with the initiative of 20 JAKRIF inaugurated this village industry in February this year. It went one step ahead to arrange two weeks training for the nearly 70 women of the area through the state horticulture department.

Now, about 30 trained village women are associated with this fauji pickle unit. Some of them are engaged in packing and procuring packing material/containers from the Jammu, Pathankot and Delhi.

Pushpa, who lost her husband a decade ago is grateful to the unit for the support it gave her to earn some money to bring up her two children. "We do not have any land for farming and the loss of the only earning member was a catastrophe. But the unit helped me survive it," she says.

"We work for a few hours and get between Rs 50 and 70 per day. Raw material like mango, lemon, chilies, galgal and amla are readily available in the area," says Darshana Devi, a beneficiary of the pickle unit.

Initially, some money was raised to run this unit, apart from some support from the AWWA, but now it has become self sufficient. The product being manufactured is of a very good quality and approved by the Western Army Command AWWA.