 |
Thursday,
May 3, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
|
Militants threaten BRO
men 4 militant hideouts
busted Ceasefire challenge to police:
DGP J&K talks:
PDP, BSP take opposite
stand DISTRICT DIARY |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Militants threaten BRO
men Jammu, May 2 Even the state department connected with the construction of roads and bridges has been cautioned against undertaking any development activity. Reports said in the remote areas of Kupwara, Budgam and Anantnag, militants have imposed a ban on the construction or repair of roads and culverts. At least 10 BRO men have been injured in IED blasts in recent weeks. Official sources said foreign mercenaries have unnerved the labourers attached with the BRO by threatening them with elimination if the work on the construction and maintenance of Surankot-Poonch road. Several labourers have informed the BRO authorities about it and for several weeks work on this vital road strip had been suspended. Besides threat of physical elimination, the militant have threatened to blow up bridges and culverts if the BRO resumed work on the construction of some road strips damaged owing to wear and tear and on account of weather-related problems. The BRO has employed 10,000 labourers and spend between Rs 5 crore and Rs 6 crore per month on the construction and maintenance of vital roads and highways and on snow clearance operations during winter. It is the men of the Beacons who have been responsible for keeping the road communication system intact for troops and for civilian transport services. With the state government financial resources getting dry, several important roads have been transferred to the BRO for construction and maintenance. In fact the 400-km Jammu and Srinagar-Baramula-Kupwara highway has been under the BRO for repair and maintenance. Similarly the strategic Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch highway is also being taken care by the BRO which has already widened it. According to official sources, two factors are responsible for the militants to issue threat to the BRO men. Firstly, the militants do not want roads in remote areas to be constructed and developed which could improve mobility of troops and other security agencies. Secondly, they do not want the labourers to get gainful employment. Once the locals are employed with the Beacons or with any other government agency, they may not be forced, on economic grounds, to act as porters for the militants. Recently activists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba directed contractors and suppliers, registered with the MES, to pack up and leave the valley. The Lashkar activists wanted them to stop executing any supply order or construct barracks and other shelter sheds for the troops. A group of contractors some of them non-Muslims, called on senior APHC leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and requested him to intervene. Mr Geelani had a word with the leader of the Lashkar and it was decided that the contractors belonging to the areas outside the valley should complete their assigned work within the current financial year and then leave. The enforcement of the ceasefire has made it difficult for the unarmed BRO men to work on projects because they do not get support from the security agencies which do not want to be blamed for violating the ceasefire. |
|
4 militant hideouts busted Jammu, may 2 Militants fired at a joint patrol party of the police and Army in forest area near Surankote yesterday. The troops returned the fire and in the ensuing gunbattle, three militants were killed, they said, adding that some arms and ammunition, including one AK-56 rifle, were seized from them. In another incident, two civilians lost their lives in cross-firing between militants and security forces in the Hari Budha area of Surankote yesterday. One militant was killed in a retaliatory action during night of April 30 near Surankote. The body was recovered yesterday, they said. The slain militant has been identified as Abu Zarar, who was a member of the “suicide squad” of the Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit. Reports from Rajouri said two militants of the LeT, belonging to Sawalpilikh in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, were shot dead during an encounter. The recoveries from them included two AK rifles, five AK magazines, 104 AK ammunition, four hand grenades and a pouch full of clothing and eatables. The security forces also busted four hideouts of militants in these districts and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition, they said. SRINAGAR: Three persons were killed while security forces arrested a militant in the Kashmir valley since last evening. Official sources said two unidentified bodies were found at Bandipora while militants shot dead one person at Sopore. They said security forces arrested one militant at Pahroo in the Central district of Kashmir today. An AK rifle and two magazines were seized from him.
PTI, UNI |
|
Ceasefire challenge to police:
DGP Jammu, May 2 Presiding over a meeting of Jammu and Kashmir Ex-Servicemen League here yesterday, he complimented the forces for facing the challenge with courage. He said 10 years ago the state was not fully trained to tackle the militancy. But, he said now the situation had changed and the state police force had been performing their duties with excellence with the active cooperation of the people. He suggested that their must be regular interaction between the police officers to understand their difficulties. The police, he said, had been providing all possible assistance and information to the security forces in combating militancy. Mr Suri said the village defence committees (VDCs) were being established in Jammu and Kathua districts to protect the life and property from subversive elements. The police is being armed with SLRs and also gun licences will be issued to the people for self defence. He said encroachments on roads and other places would be removed with the assistance of the revenue authorities. The president of the Jammu and Kashmir Ex-servicemen League, Maj. Gen (retd), Goverdhan Singh Jamwal said the major issue was how to protect the state from militancy. He said the police had more responsibility to protect the people, state and the country. He commended the state police for doing an excellent job in fighting militancy in the state. He said many people were ready to join the VDCs and the ex-servicemen have lent a helping hand in this task. |
|
|
J&K talks: PDP, BSP take opposite
stand Jammu, May 2 The vice-president of the PDP, Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beg, told newsmen here today that the Kashmir issue would defy a solution unless the APHC leaders were prompted and encouraged to participate in the talks. He said that involvement of Pakistan in the parleys was essential because Islamabad was party to the dispute. Mr Beg made it clear that under the Tashkent and Shimla agreements, it was mandatory for India to hold talks with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. Talks in the absence of the APHC and Pakistan would prove a meaningless exercise. He, therefore, suggested to the government to allow the APHC team to visit Pakistan. Contrary to this, the BSP president, Sheikh Abdul Rehman, said that since the APHC was not a representative of the people of the state, its leaders’ involvement in the proposed parleys was not necessary. He said the APHC had no following and support in Jammu and Ladakh regions’. He questioned Shabir Ahmed Shah’s claim of representing the interests of various segments of the people in the state. “Who is Shabir Shah?” he asked, adding that the government should open talks with mainstream political leaders who were the genuine representatives of the people of the state. Mr Beg also accused the National Conference ruling party of having institutionalised corruption in the state. He said “Corruption has touched new heights under Dr Farooq Abdullah’s regime.” |
|
DISTRICT DIARY Udhampur Further, natural sources of water like springs and ponds shall also have no water due to which there will be no drinking water for local inhabitants. The government is conducting a survey of the district which reveals that more than 90 per cent area has been hit by drought. Farmers have raised a hue and cry at certain places, demanding relief and supply of free ration as they fear starvation. * * * Udhampur has been declared Town Area and development of the town is being done under the control of the Administrator, who is functioning as Chairman of Town Area, whereas it should be administered by an area committee, which should be an elected body. Elections of the Town Area Committee have not been conducted by the government for the past more than 21 years and as such departmental officers/officials are looking after the affairs of the town. There is no elected representative in the committee. As a result development of the town is suffering. Lanes and drains remain dirty and full of filth. No place has been demarcated for parking of vehicles. The town has only one park, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park, which remains dirty. There are some lanes which require repair, but no attention is being given to these. The town is expanding everyday but the authorities are not increasing the strength of the staff for the task of keeping the town clean. Heaps of garbage can be seen at some places. New localities have been established but without lanes. Dr Farooq Abdullah, Chief Minister, Jammu and Kashmir, had announced that the Town Area Committee was being accorded the status of a municipality and elections would be conducted. The matter is still pending and under consideration of the government. Till then alternative arrangements are required to be made by the Administrator for keeping the town clean. * * * The bus stand in Udhampur does not have enough space to accommodate the increasing number of buses, although the capacity for accommodating buses has been increased by demolishing the booking office. Hence, the bus stand remains jammed and passengers face problem in engaging coolies or autos. Passengers who come from Doda, Bhaderwah, Ramban, Banihal, Gool, Reasi, Katra, Jammu and Kathua feel inconvenienced as they have to catch buses or Matadors plying on other routes to reach their destinations. There is no proper arrangement for drinking water or toilets. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
