M A I N   N E W S

50 kg RDX seized, 15 die in J&K

Srinagar, June 28
The Jammu and Kashmir police today seized 50 kg of RDX from a militant hideout and averted a possible tragedy with the timely detection of an IED in the state, where 15 persons, including 11 militants were killed and three others injured, an official spokesman said.

The RDX haul along with IED and 60 rounds of ammunition were seized by the police during a specific raid on an abandoned militant hideout at Chardet-Pakhli in Udhampur district of the Jammu region today.

He said the police detected a powerful explosive device on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway near Gulabbagh in Anantnag district. The device was immediately removed and later neutralised by experts.

A police spokesman said two foreign mercenaries associated with the Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JUM) were killed and a local militant arrested in the Kashmir valley.

The foreign militants, one of whom was identified as Shabir Ahmad, were killed in a joint operation carried out by the army and special operations group at Mori-Machil near the Line of Control in Kupwara district of North Kashmir last night.

The Army also arrested a militant, Ghulam Hassan Mir of Al-Barq from the Watergam area in Baramula last night.

Meanwhile, another militant of Al-Barq, Swariya, alias Qasim, of Biyarikote village in Kupwara surrendered before the police and handed over a rifle, three magazines, 90 rounds and eight grenades to the authorities.

The official spokesman said a panchayat member was shot dead by militants inside his house at Magdhar-Sumber in Doda district last night. His son was also injured in the shooting. PTI

MIGRANT CAMPS-IV
A Tribune Special
Down but bubbling to come out
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 28
They are a group of 20 youngsters, all committed to court misfortune with a vengeance. Eleven years of forced exile from the homeland have not yet served to rob these youth of their grit and courage to face desperation with a smiling face. That is how even in this gloom, which has seemingly become their destiny, they have already initiated the process of resurrection.

Quietly perched in the corner of a small tenement in the Nagrota displacement camp for Kashmiri Pandits at Jammu, these 20 youngsters, who fall in the age group of 10 to 19 years, keep busy planning the future course of their days. On their agenda these days is a very significant task which they pursue like a religious rite. They are working to convert this small tenement, where they meet everyday, into a full-fledged gymnasium. This gym will serve to further mental growth of wards of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits living in the Nagrota camp.

For anyone visiting this bubbly lot, weighing the significance of their effort to evolve a deserted room as a gym, is not an easy job.

The very concept behind this idea, as explained by Vikas Hangloo, a 19-year-old boy from the camp, is laudable. “The Kashmiri Pandits have always been known and recognised as a highly-intellectual community. That explains how they have survived a mishap of this order. Although the elders are patient and forbearing, the children cannot easily adapt to the tough conditions they face in the camps. In this gymnasium, which we are building, we will instruct the children to preserve their physical energy so as to fight mental strain. We cannot see them going astray. We want to develop them physically.” Sunil, another boy from the camp, adds: “The children have a lot of free time at their disposal. They tend to loiter around in the absence of anything constructive to do. We will provide them with the means of letting out their frustration. This will be a small place where the children can come and relax for a while.”

The words touch the heart, and naturally so. Coming from children who are facing tough times at the migrant camps, they mean a lot. One is further overwhelmed to see how they are going about the task of installing a gymnasium to allow other kids to spend their quality time there. These youngsters have worked like labourers to dig up the entire room and erect small slabs and benches therein. Sanjay Hangloo (19 years) says the team is spending about eight hours daily in order to give the required shape to the gym.

In another corner, 16-year-old Ashwani Bhat is busy filling up two discarded boxes of Lactogen Milk with cement. When asked by this Correspondent what he intends doing with them, Ashwani replies, “I will join the two boxes with an iron rod and convert them into a dumbbell for the gym. I have to make 10 more. I also have to purchase springs and some bigger weights.” Many other youngsters can be seen putting a slab between two discarded bedsides. “This will serve as a bench for the gym,” says 11-year-old Anil Matoo.

For giving final touches to the hand-made gym, the group is setting aside some money on a monthly basis. Sunil Hangloo (18 years) says: “This money will be used to purchase things which cannot be made manually.” Rakesh Pandit, another team member, adds: “These days the colleges are closed. So we have a lot of time. We have to finish off the work during the holidays. That is why we are saving money. Each one of us contributes according to his monetary capacity. Many of us have also taken up odd jobs here and there.” With the money being saved, these children will arrange the levelling of the room floor and installation of jogger and stepper.

That is not all. The youth at Nagrota base camp have also set up a front by the name of Rising Star Youth Front, which has about 100 members. According to Dalip Singh, vice-president of the Front, “Our activities include maintenance of the temple at Nagrota camp and clearing up of garbage dumps. We also have a fund where each member contributes on a monthly basis. This fund can be used by any migrant family in times of an emergency situation.”