J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Sikhs told not to take hasty decision
Jammu, March 5
Representatives of various Sikh organisations held a meeting here today and gave a call to the Sikhs living in the valley not to take a hasty decision which would go against their interests and against the interest of the country.

A roadside vendor tries bangles on a Kashmiri Muslim woman at a market place on the eve of Id in Srinagar on Monday.  — Reuters photo

Bad roads behind rise in mishaps
Jammu, March 5
Bad roads, rickety buses and lack of enforcement or traffic rules has led to a rise in road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir. During the past three years 3,000 people have been killed and 20, 000 wounded in as many as 16,610 road accidents.

Varsity teachers hold dharna at Jammu
Jammu, March 5
Work in Jammu University was today affected after members of the executive committee of the University Teachers Association staged a dharna in front of the Administration Block. Teachers shouted slogans in protest against the inordinate delay on the part of the university authorities in fulfilling the commitments made to the association.

Revenge rape sparks tension
Jammu, March 5
A Dalit woman was allegedly raped by five persons of another sect of the community at Sindh Manglore village late last night to avenge the recent “abduction” of one of their girls, leading to tension in Hiranagar town of Kathua district.

Sikhs told not to take hasty decision
Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 5
Representatives of various Sikh organisations held a meeting here today and gave a call to the Sikhs living in the valley not to take a hasty decision which would go against their interests and against the interest of the country.

Senior leaders of various groups like the Akali Dal, the Sikh Students Federation, the Sikh Sangat took stock of the situation arising out of the growing threats to the minority community in the valley. The representatives appreciated the role of the members of the majority community in maintaining communal harmony.

At the same time, the meeting took cognisance of the fear among the Sikhs and appealed to the majority community and all other political parties to join hands to ensure the safety of the Sikhs.

It expressed concern over the “continued discrimination” against the Sikhs and said it was unfortunate that they had no representation in the state legislature. It said capable persons belonging to the community should be given representation in statutory bodies.

Sikh leaders criticised the government for giving a raw deal to the Sikhs by denying them jobs in government departments and admission to professional colleges.

It announced the formation of a 15-member working committee comprising presidents and secretaries of all Sikh organisations. Col Amarjit Singh Mehta (retd) was appointed President of the committee. Mr Basant Singh, Mr Mohan Singh Kala and Mr Jagmohan Singh were appointed Vice-President, General Secretary and Secretary, respectively. The forum will work under the guidance of Mr Harbans Singh Azad, a former minister, Mr Harbans Singh, Labour and Employment minister and other senior leaders. 

Bad roads behind rise in mishaps
M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 5
Bad roads, rickety buses and lack of enforcement or traffic rules has led to a rise in road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir. During the past three years 3,000 people have been killed and 20, 000 wounded in as many as 16,610 road accidents.

More than 106 security personnel were killed in these road accidents. Most deaths took place when the buses or vans in which the jawans were travelling rolled down on the 300 km long Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

Rash driving under the influence of liquor has contributed to the accidents which are higher in Jammu region than the Kashmir valley. Official figures reveal that in Jammu region 1545 persons have been killed and over 16000 injured in 1088 road accidents in the past three years. During the same period, 730 people were killed and 5666 injured in 4002 road accidents in the Kashmir valley.

Official sources confirmed reports that the number of vehicles in terms of population and area in the state had reached a saturation point. During the past three years 63,000 new vehicles, buses, cars, trucks and other light vehicles have been added to the already heavy fleet. The total number of vehicles registered in the state is about three lakh.

The steep rise in the number of vehicles is not in pace with road development works which have remained tardy. As a result of an acute cash crunch, the state government has not been able to renovate, expand and rebuilt roads, especially in hilly areas.

Most of the hilly areas are connected by bad roads which also accelerate the rate of accidents when passenger vehicles with mechanical faults operate on such routes. Experts say more than 30 per cent of the road accidents have been the result of failure in brakes or instant mechanical fault. Another reason is overloading. Passenger buses and matadors are overcrowded and the drivers find difficulty in negotiating curves and alignments. 

Varsity teachers hold dharna at Jammu
Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 5
Work in Jammu University was today affected after members of the executive committee of the University Teachers Association staged a dharna in front of the Administration Block.

Teachers shouted slogans in protest against the inordinate delay on the part of the university authorities in fulfilling the commitments made to the association.

The dharna was organised to focus the attention of the state government and the university authorities towards several demands which had been pending for the past several years.

The association demanded grant of promotion under the career advancement scheme from the date the teachers became eligible for such promotion as per the guidelines of the UGC. It also demanded increase in the retirement age of teachers up to 62 years as per the guidelines of the UGC and enhancement in the accumulated earned leave period to 300 days.

The association president, Prof Virender Gupta, while addressing the squatters said all democratic and peaceful means had been adopted but the university authorities paid no heed to their demands which included removal of pay anomalies that took place after the grade revision in various faculty posts, treating the staff of Continuing Education on a par with the other teachers of the university and reservation of seats for the wards of the university employees in postgraduate courses.

Professor Gupta announced if the demands were not fulfilled within a reasonable period of time the teachers would intensify their agitation by boycotting the teaching work and conduct of examination. This was endorsed by the executive committee of the association.

The association also expressed concern over the way the university authorities allowed the state government and the political and bureaucratic agencies to erode the autonomy of the institution and demanded an end to this phenomenon.

Revenge rape sparks tension

Jammu, March 5
A Dalit woman was allegedly raped by five persons of another sect of the community at Sindh Manglore village late last night to avenge the recent “abduction” of one of their girls, leading to tension in Hiranagar town of Kathua district.

It said a group of five entered the house of Dalit Thuda Ram late last night and beat him up. They locked him in a room and allegedly gangraped his wife.