Gujjars deprived of 'due concessions'
JAMMU, Dec 25 — Gujjars continue to be a disgruntled lot over what their leaders call the failure of the state government to give them concessions they are entitled to after they were declared a Scheduled Tribe by the Union Government about a year ago.

Ten killed in valley

SRINAGAR, Dec 25 (PTI) — Ten persons, including seven militants, were killed in various military-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since last night.

Two militants and a civilian were killed and two persons, including a jawan, were injured in an encounter with security forces at Goosu in Pulwama district yesterday, an official spokesman said here today.

Two assault rifles were seized from the slain militants, he said, adding that two militants were also apprehended. In the exchange of fire, two houses caught fire and were gutted.

Two hardcore militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen were killed when they tried to escape from the clutches of security forces during the process of removing the arms and ammunition from a hideout in Aloosa-Bandipora village of South Kashmir.

A large quantity of arms and ammunition, including six assault rifles, two sniper rifles, a universal machine gun, a rocket launcher, a 60 mm mortar with 25 bombs, 21 IEDs with remote control switches, were seized, he said.

Two militants were killed in two separate encounters with security forces at Sangla and Damara in Poonch district of the Jammu region yesterday. Two rifles were seized from them.

He said another militant was killed in an encounter with the police near Damaha Gali in Kupwara district yesterday.

Militants shot dead one person at his house in Dodaj village of Rajouri district last evening. Unidentified persons killed a woman at Panjgalli village near Narkote-Reasi in Udhampur district of the Jammu region yesterday.

The spokesman said one militant of Tahreek-ul-Islami surrendered to the Jammu and Kashmir police in Baramula district yesterday. He handed over one pistol, its two magazines and 15 rounds of ammunition to the authorities.

Two hideouts of militants were smashed by the security forces during search operations at Bramari in Kupwara district and in Ranbir Singhpura district of the Jammu region and recovered 31 hand grenades, a flame thrower, 10 kg of explosives, a remote control device, a pistol and two pencil bombs, he said.

Gujjars deprived of 'due concessions'
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Dec 25 — Gujjars continue to be a disgruntled lot over what their leaders call the failure of the state government to give them concessions they are entitled to after they were declared a Scheduled Tribe by the Union Government about a year ago.

According to several senior Gujjar leaders, who prefer to remain unidentified, the state government has not yet taken any step in carving out Assembly constituencies to be reserved for the Gujjars.

They claim that their population in Jammu and Kashmir has crossed 10 lakh and therefore deserved at least 14 reserved constituencies in the state. In this context, they refer to the sizeable population of the Gujjars in Poonch, Rajouri and Anantnag districts, and in the Assembly segments of Kangan, Ganderbal, Kokernag, Phalgam and in the upper reaches of Udhampur district.

Another irritant is the delay on the part of the state government to recommend to the Chief Election Commission the revision of the electoral rolls in the 87 Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.

The last revision of the electoral rolls in the state had been done in 1988 and since then, two summary revisions had been carried out which failed to enrol eligible candidates.

They are also seeking that the intensive revision be carried out during the winter when the majority of the Gujjars are back from mountain pastures and settled at their places of origin.

The leaders plan to hold a convention soon in Jammu where the future course of action would be adopted. They say Gojri should be included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.

They feel their fundamental, political and economic rights have been jeopardised by Kashmiri-speaking people.

Fog paralyses air, rail services in J&K
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Dec 25 — The current foggy spell, which has engulfed the entire border state of Jammu and Kashmir and its neighbouring areas, has paralysed rail and air services to the winter capital and to Srinagar since December 16.

As a result of the thick fog, air services from Delhi to Jammu have remained suspended, except once, since December 16 flights between Delhi and Srinagar and from Jammu to Srinagar were suspended during the past seven days in a row.

According to the Indian Airlines authorities, "We do not want to take any risk when the visibility range is not beyond 5 metres."

During the past nine days the pilots tried to land twice on the Jammu airport but failed as the entire airport was "lost" in a thick layer of mist.

During all these days has been a pathetic tale for the passengers and their relatives. These passengers would everyday report at the airport in Jammu with the hope they would be able to fly to Delhi or Srinagar but after three to four hours' wait, had to return dismayed because the flights could not operate. Those who were to receive passengers at the airport too had to meet the same inconvenience.

In the past one week, there have been more than 200 cancellations of air tickets and the passengers preferred to travel by buses, taxis or trains to Delhi. They preferred to travel to Srinagar by buses and taxis. Taking advantage of the position, the taxi and bus owners have inflated their rates.

The biggest inconvenience has been faced by passengers travelling to or from Jammu. From different stations 20 trains operate on the Jammu line and out of them more than 12 are daily trains. During the past one month the train services to and from Jammu have been erratic. First it was owing to cracks in the railway track between Delhi and Ambala that caused inordinate delays in the arrival and departure of trains. Now it is because of fog that the train services stand paralysed.

One week's record collected at the Jammu railway station has indicated that the time schedule for the arrival and departure of all up and down trains has been upset by four hours to 12 hours.

Northern Railway officials said when two or three trains arrive late, it upsets the schedule for other trains. Also, due to the heavy mist all along the track right from Delhi to Jammu, the drivers have been asked to go slow. The speed has been curtailed by 50 per cent as "we are not prepared to take any risk when the visibility is so poor that the headlights of the trains do not cross even the 10-m distance."

The Railways enquiry remains awfully crowded with passengers eager to confirm the departures and arrivals of different trains. The result is that either for most part of the day the enquiry telephones are kept off the hook to avoid attending to repeated calls or they remain engaged for a long time. Even consistent dialling three phone numbers yields no response.

According to the agencies engaged in tackling militancy, infiltration and arms smuggling from across the border, fog has thwarted anti-insurgency operations. At several places in the Jammu sector, Uri, Kupwara and Kargil, the thick mist has kept most of the border routes and cliffs veiled in mist. At times, the security agencies have found the solar lights installed on this side of the International Border ineffective during the fog.

Intelligence agencies do not rule out the possibility of groups of militants having sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir in recent days, taking advantage of thick fog. Even when the temperature in several border areas right from Kargil to Uri and from Uri to Poonch has dropped to -6°C to -30°C, the security forces have been ordered to maintain round-the-clock vigil to check infiltration and arms smuggling. On heights above 9,000 feet, the security forces have been provided with kerosene bukharis and those deployed on lower levels have been given coal bukharis to keep themselves warm.

Abdullah extends X-mas greetings

JAMMU, Dec 25 (PTI) — The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Farooq Abdullah, who is currently in London, has greeted the people of the state on the occasion of Christmas.

In his message, the Chief Minister said Christmas, like other national festivals teaches the humanity promoted the spirit of universal brotherhood, love, compassion and tolerance.

He said, "Christmas is a part of our composite social and cultural ethos and is another example of unity in diversity."

The Governor, Mr Girish Chander Saxena, the Transport Minister, Mr Bashir Ahmed Kitchloo and the Minister of State for Food and Supplies, Mr Ajay Sadhotra also extended their greetings on the occasion.