Doda killings: No men to carry bodies
JAMMU, July 30 — The relatives of those killed were asked to carry the bodies from the hilly villages to the road point where the doctor could perform the post mortem before they could be cremated. What is surprising is that no senior government authority has visited the villages where the militants carried out the massacre.

Ousting families for shopping plaza
JAMMU, July 30 — On the one hand the state government is keen to create conditions for displaced families to return to Kashmir and on the other it plans to acquire valuable assets of Kashmiri Hindus.

BJP for Doda as disturbed area
JAMMU, July 30 — The BJP president, Mr K.B. Thakre, today said that there was no need for the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, to resign in the light of the recent massacre in Doda district.

4 jawans killed in Pak firing
SRINAGAR, July 30 — At least two Army jawans and two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed and a woman injured in heavy shelling by Pakistani troops in Kupwara and Baramula Sectors today.

2 more Amarnath pilgrims dead
SRINAGAR, July 30 — Two pilgrims on their way to the cave shrine of Amarnath died during the 32-km trek from Chandanwari to the cave today taking the toll in this year's yatra to 10.

Slow work on Udhampur rail line
The execution of the 53.2 km long Jammu-Udhampur railway line at a snail's pace is causing anguish to the people of Udhampur district. The people are sceptical over the early completion of this project in the 20th century, as the speed with which its execution is going on is likely to take at least five to six years more for completion.

11 scribes allegedly involved in militancy

SRINAGAR, July 30 (PTI) — Based on a statement claimed to have been made by a militant, the Jammu and Kashmir police today alleged that 11 journalists, non-journalists and videographers of mass media had been ‘’directly and actively’’ involved with various militant outfits in the valley.

The allegation was made by the Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir Range, P.S Gill, at a hurriedly called press conference, to which many news organisations were not invited.

A spokesman of the Kashmir Press, a representative body of local English and Urdu newspapers and periodicals, dismissed the police allegation as being aimed at ‘’maligning the Kashmir press’’.

Mr Gill said a self styled publicity chief of outlawed Hizbul Mujahideen Abdul Lateef Bhat, who was arrested by special operations group recently, had stated during interrogation that 11 journalists, non-journalists and videographers had been working actively with various outfits in the valley.

However, he said, some of the outfits they represented are now defunct.

The Kashmir police chief said the arrested militant was directly in contact with the Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander Syed Salahuddin and deputy supreme commander Burhan-Ud-Din Hijazi on wireless and telephone in Pakistan from here.

A spokesman of the Kashmir press said allegations were made to make the press toe the government line and refrain from highlighting human rights violations allegedly committed by the Special Operations Group and other security forces in the valley.

He said the Kashmir press has decided to report events honestly without succumbing to any pressure from any quarter.

Doda killings: No men to carry bodies
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 30 — For constable Jiwan Lal, life has become hell after he lost his father and two brothers in the recent massacre of eight persons at Sarawana village in the Kishtwar area of Doda district. Jiwan Lal is posted with the 12th Battalion of the Jammu Kashmir Armed Police at Manigam in the Ganderbal area of Srinagar. He had reached his village on July 26 to complete the ritual connected with the 10th day ceremony of his wife who had died natural death.

He was depressed a lot as his two children Gobind (6) and Subash (3) had lost their mother. The 10th day ceremony was to be performed on morning of July 28. It could not be performed as during the early hours of that morning, a group of militants barged into his house. They killed his father and two brothers and injured him and his sister. Jiwan Lal is in Kishtwar hospital with a bullet wound in his thigh.

He and others are in tears, not only wailing for those killed but also lamenting over the torture they have to face in completing the formalities before the dead were cremated. The relatives of those killed were asked to carry the bodies from the hilly villages to the road point where the doctor could perform the post mortem before they could be cremated. It is pathetic when the villagers have to carry the bodies on their shoulders to the nearest road where the doctor was waiting to carry out the post mortem. For the relatives of the eight persons killed in Sarawana, the problem became complicated because there was no male member available to carry the bodies down the slopes. The doctor was summoned and carried under security cover to the village. Half way between Kishtwar and Sarawana, the doctor became uneasy because of fatigue. He refused to travel to the village. It was later decided to bring the bodies nearer the place where the doctor had reached. The matter was resolved last evening and the bodies were cremated.

The entire area gives a picture of a ghostly region where the silence is broken by gunfire from the militants. As the party of newsmen were trying to capture the gloomy scene where people looked scared and desperate, the roar of the gunfire could be heard from a long distance.

What is surprising is that no senior government authority has visited the villages where the militants carried out the massacre. The villages are situated in the remote hilly belts where there are no landing facilities for helicopters or it is not safe to fly the copters with militants moving on the hilltops with sophisticated weapons.

The Union Home Secretary, Mr B.P. Singh, tasted the resentment of the people when they blamed him and other central government leaders for not fulfilling their commitments. They even referred to the recent visit of the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and said he too had promised security cover to the people but "nothing has been done and we have been left to the wolves".

As part of the anger, president of the Kishtwar tehsil unit of the BJP Rajinder Singh along with all the unit leaders have resigned. They said that since the BJP government had failed to secure their lives, it was better that they joined the National Conference.

When this issue figured during the meet-the-press programme here today, the BJP president, Mr K.B. Thakre, said, "They may be annoyed. We will persuade them and remove any misunderstanding". He, at the same time, stated he had not yet received the resignation letter.

Other senior BJP leaders and workers belonging to the Jammu region are equally annoyed with the way the central government has handed the situation in Doda and other areas of the region. Some local leaders feel that more workers may leave the BJP.

Meanwhile, no relaxation was given in curfew in Kishtwar for the third day today. The district authorities convened a meeting of senior citizens in the town where it was resolved to maintain peace and communal amity at any cost. The district administration assured the people that in case there was no incident of violence, relaxation in curfew restrictions would be given tomorrow.

Official sources said that the situation was under control but tense as the people were under the grip of scare.

Ousting families for shopping plaza
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 30 — On the one hand the state government is keen to create conditions for displaced families to return to Kashmir and on the other it plans to acquire valuable assets of Kashmiri Hindus. This may even force families which have not migrated from the valley so far to leave.

At a meeting in Srinagar on July 8 to review the working of the Housing and Urban Development Department, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah took several decisions, including the decision to acquire land under two petrol stations and a palatial house on the fashionable Maulana Azad Road for construction of a modern shopping plaza.

The two petrol stations and the house are owned by Kashmiri Hindus. Interestingly, none of the three owners have migrated from the valley. The owners feel that they are being singled out for this drastic action which could deprive them of their means of livelihood. They say the property belonged to their ancestors and they have not encroached upon government land.

Inside reports say the Chief Minister has been taken for a ride by one of his Cabinet colleagues who had felt hurt when a Kashmiri Hindu purchased Bengal Motors. The minister, too, wanted to buy the same for expanding business. The minister is said to have influenced the Chief Minister.

What is further intriguing is the fact that the building housing the Congress headquarters has not been acquired because it belongs to an association headed by the Minister for Housing and Urban Development.

The government plans to build a shopping plaza on one side of Pratap Park where already a big shopping centre exists on the other side.

The aggrieved families have decided to approach the Chief Minister after he returns to Kashmir from London. They have already approached several ministers.

BJP for Doda as disturbed area
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 30 — The BJP president, Mr K.B. Thakre, today said that there was no need for the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, to resign in the light of the recent massacre in Doda district. He said there was no question of "withdrawing" from the commitment the BJP leaders, including Mr Advani, had made from time to time about dealing with militants with a firm hand.

Answering questions at meet-the-Press programme organised by the Jammu Press Club here today, Mr Thakre said within four to five months one would find a distinct change in the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre had decided to strengthen the security forces and equip them with sophisticated weapons.

The BJP was in favour of declaring Doda district a disturbed area. When asked why there had been a delay in doing so, he said certain formalities were to be completed and the decision had to be taken after studying various pros and cons.

Mr Thakre said Jammu and Kashmir "is an integral part of India and not an inch of this territory will be bartered away. "The only dispute was regarding Pakistan-held Kashmir, he said and added that it was part of India and "it should be given to us".

India had committed a blunder by taking the case of Pakistani aggression on Jammu and Kashmir to the United Nations and the then Congress government had given a chance to internationalise the Kashmir issue.

He blamed Pakistan and other international agencies for trying to destabilise India by launching a proxy war against India in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan continued to provide moral and material support to the infiltrators. This proxy war had resulted in severe suffering among the Hindus and Muslims in the state. It had destroyed the economy of the state, especially the tourism industry. He, however, saw a positive change in the security situation in Kashmir. The change was possible after the people cooperated with the government in isolating the militants.

Mr Thakre added that there was not 100 per cent normalcy in Kashmir but the situation was improving. He gave a clean chit to Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, for the bold steps he had initiated against the pro-Pakistan elements. There was no reason for him (Thakre) to disbelieve Dr Abdullah for what he was saying against Pakistan and its supporters.

He admitted that incidents of subversive violence, including killing of innocent persons, continued in parts of the state, especially Doda district.

The BJP chief said he was aware of the multifarious problems India faced and in the light of the security threat from across the border, "we have kept the nuclear options open".

There was no question of India signing the CTBT in the present form as it was discriminatory. After India's nuclear tests, the CTBT draft had to be modified, he added.

4 jawans killed in Pak firing

SRINAGAR, July 30 (UNI) — At least two Army jawans and two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed and a woman injured in heavy shelling by Pakistani troops in Kupwara and Baramula Sectors today.

A defence spokesman said Pakistani troops opened unprovoked artillery and mortar shelling all along the border in Kupwara and Baramulla Sectors early this morning.

Two Army men and two BSF personnel were killed and a woman was injured. He said heavy shelling by Pakistani troops in Kargil Sector was on since morning.

The spokesman said Indian troops also retaliated but the casualties on the other side were not known

2 more Amarnath pilgrims dead
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, July 30 — Two pilgrims on their way to the cave shrine of Amarnath died during the 32-km trek from Chandanwari to the cave today taking the toll in this year's yatra to 10.

Those dead have been identified as Raman Loone (47) from Ludhiana and Billoo Surinder (45) from Sangrur in Punjab, sources here said.

The reports said that Raman Loone had a cardiac arrest around 12.30 pm near the holy cave shrine, Billoo Surinder fell down near Panjtarni. He received multiple injuries and succumbed to these while being shifted to the nearest halting station of Panjtarni by BSF men.

Slow work on Udhampur rail line
From Ramesh Gupta

UDHAMPUR: The execution of the 53.2 km long Jammu-Udhampur railway line at a snail's pace is causing anguish to the people of Udhampur district. The people are sceptical over the early completion of this project in the 20th century, as the speed with which its execution is going on is likely to take at least five to six years more for completion.

Work on this project was resumed in 1983 from the Jammu side soon after the foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, and till now a 13 km long rail track from Jammu to Bajalta village has been completed in 15 years. Although execution work from both sides on the remaining track from Bajalta to Udhampur has been launched for the past four or five years by the railway authorities but the tempo of work is slow and major works on the line still await construction. At present, three main impediments have stood in the way of execution of the project. These include, suspension of execution work on the 2.5 km long tunnel near Kishanpur in the wake of the death of a contractor. Work on two big bridges over the Tawi and Dudar Nallah also await execution. Execution work on the bridge over Dudar Nallah has, however, been resumed but with slow speed. Only one pillar of the bridge stands constructed while other major works of the bridge still await execution.

In view of these main impediments the execution of the Jammu-Udhampur rail project is likely to get delayed. The cost of the railway project taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 54 crore is likely to touch more than Rs 300 crore till completion due to escalation in cost of material and wages of labourers. Despite the assurance of four Prime Ministers with regard to early completion of the project, the people are not expecting early completion of the project. They have demanded that till the completion of the Jammu-Udhampur rail line and arrival of train in Udhampur, a railway ticket reservation counter should be established at Udhampur for the convenience of people in general and armed personnel in particular.

The Central Government has also given its approval for extension of the railway line from Udhampur to Baramula which would cost Rs 2500 crore. The survey work from Udhampur to Katra and Katra to Qaziqund stands completed while from Qaziqund to Baramula will be completed this year. The railway authorities are contemplating resuming work on the Udhampur-Katra rail line during the current year. The 25-km-long rail line comprises 10 km of tunnel.

The Centre has allocated Rs 75 crore for the entire Jammu-Srinagar railway line for the current year. Of this Rs 21 crore has been provided for the Jammu-Udhampur railway line while the rest of the amount will be spent on construction of the Udhampur-Baramula railway line.

It seems the Jammu-Udhampur rail line which is progressing at a snails pace cannot be completed at the proper schedule of time and is likely to come up when the entire Udhampur-Baramula railway track attains completion.