J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Cong blames NC for promoting regionalism
Jammu, February 12
Despite chilly winds the pre-poll campaign in Jammu Lok Sabha constituency has started gaining momentum with parties addressing six to eight rallies a day.

Shun gun for talks, Swami tells APHC
Jammu, February 12
The Centre will initiate talks with the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) provided it stopped aiding the gun culture and joined the national mainstream. This was stated by the Union Minister of State for Home, Mr I.D. Swami, after addressing series of pre-poll rallies in support of the BJP candidate, Dr Nirmal Singh, at a news conference here today.

 

14 labourers die as truck falls into Chenab Jammu, February 12 At least 14 labourers working with the Border Roads Organisation were killed when a Beacons truck, in which they were travelling, rolled down into the Chenab river at Chanderkot in the Batote area.

Guns fall silent on LoC at pir’s wedding
Krishnagati (LoC) J&K, February 12
Sounds of booming guns and bangs of mortars that people living along the Line of Control are used to has taken a back seat momentarily. The beat of dholaks’ rent the air near the LoC here, since it was the marriage of a revered pir (saint) yesterday.

J&K to launch Project Hangul
Jammu, February 12
The Jammu and Kashmir government will launch shortly a comprehensive project to preserve Hangul, a rare specie of deer mostly found in the mountainous ranges of the Kashmir valley.

Central team visits migrant camps
Poonch (Jammu), February 12
Following a Supreme Court directive, a fact-finding team of the Union Home Ministry has visited camps in Poonch district, housing migrants from border areas, to check the facilities being provided to them.

Cong blames NC for promoting regionalism
M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 12
Despite chilly winds the pre-poll campaign in Jammu Lok Sabha constituency has started gaining momentum with parties addressing six to eight rallies a day.

The Congress campaign was led by Mr Sat Mahajan, a senior leader from Himachal, who along with Mr Balwan Singh and Mr Puran Singh addressed more than six rallies in Marh and Domana Assembly segments today.

Mr Sat Mahajan and other Congress leaders lambasted the BJP and the National Conference for their failure to tackle terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Mahajan said only the Congress had the strength and strategy to throw up leaders like Beant Singh who carried out a successful campaign against terrorism in Punjab.

The Congress campaigners criticised the National Conference for accentuating regional discrimination and sowing seeds of communal polarisation in the state. He said vote for the Congress would mean vote against terrorism and communal forces.

The Panthers Party candidate, Prof Bhim Singh, has made it a prestige issue to win the poll and aided by another good orator, Mr Harsh Dev Singh, the duo has been covering each pocket of the constituency which has 20 Assembly segments and the largest electorate of over 15 lakh.

As far as the National Conference is concerned the pre-poll campaign has been entrusted to party legislators and ministers who have been camping in their respective Assembly segments for wooing the voters. The Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, is well start the campaign in next couple of days as there are eight days left for the polling.

The Congress campaigners have termed it a poll fixing plan on the part of the National Conference and the BJP on the plea that the National Conference, after having won over senior Congress leader, Mr Janak Raj Gupta, was trying to split the Congress vote bank by resorting to unfair practices.

However, the National Conference leaders have categorically denied the charge and announced that the entire election process in Jammu Lok Sabha constituency would be free and fair.

For the BJP the presence of several union Ministers including Mr I.D. Swami, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, has helped the party to gain support from voters in several areas in the constituency.

The presence of the PDP and the BSP in the poll fray has made the Congress and the National Conference uncomfortable. While the National Conference fears that the PDP may split the traditional NC vote bank in Poonch and Rajouri the Congress leaders are apprehensive of the mood of the voters belonging to the scheduled caste and the backward classes who, over the past one decade, have sided with the BSP.

Though the BJP had won the Jammu seat in 1998 and 1999 with a comfortable margin its going this time is not an easy affair. If the party continued to be a disjointed organisation, despite patch-up between the loyalists and the dissidents, its house could be rocked either by the Congress or the National Conference.

Shun gun for talks, Swami tells APHC
Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 12
The Centre will initiate talks with the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) provided it stopped aiding the gun culture and joined the national mainstream.

This was stated by the Union Minister of State for Home, Mr I.D. Swami, after addressing series of pre-poll rallies in support of the BJP candidate, Dr Nirmal Singh, at a news conference here today. Mr Swami lambasted the APHC on the plea that it continued to be confused over the issues. He said if the APHC wanted to hold talks with the Government of India, it should shun violence and lay no preconditions for parleys.

Explaining the element of confusion among the Hurriyat leaders the Union Minister said at times they talked of participating in the elections and on other occasions they started toying with the idea of setting up their election commission. Mr Swami said such dubious policy would not help the APHC. He indicated that setting up separate election commission was not going to help to start a dialogue.

In reply to a question, he said the BJP-led NDA government had forged alliance with the National Conference so as to make the Central Government strong. But, at the same time, “we hold separate view points.”

Referring to the problems of the border migrants in Jammu, Mr Swami said the Centre had released separate funds for them and the government was contemplating to do more for mitigating their distress. He, however, avoided dishing out those specific programmes for the welfare of migrants from border areas on the plea that that would amount to violation of the poll code.

During his pre-poll rallies, Mr Swami stated that Pakistan President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, had not implemented the assurance he had made in his address to the nation in January last. He said had he translated his words into action, there would have been a meeting ground between the two sides. Since he has not done so there was no question of withdrawing additional troops deployed on the border.

Mr Swami claimed that the BJP-led NDA Government was strong enough to root out terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and it was the duty of the Jammu voters to strengthen the BJP.

14 labourers die as truck falls into Chenab
Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 12
At least 14 labourers working with the Border Roads Organisation were killed when a Beacons truck, in which they were travelling, rolled down into the Chenab river at Chanderkot in the Batote area.

According to the police, 13 labourers died on the spot while one, Nand Lal, was injured and later hospitalised. However, the latest reports said Nand Lal too succumbed to his injuries.

Those killed on the spot were identified as Gulab Shah, Javed Ahmed, Bushan Kumar, Mohan Lal, Shadi Lal, Bishan Das, Romesh Singh, Vijay Singh, Jia Lal, Sudesh Kumar, Sham Lal, Romesh Kumar and Budhi Singh. 

Guns fall silent on LoC at pir’s wedding

Krishnagati (LoC) J&K, February 12
Sounds of booming guns and bangs of mortars that people living along the Line of Control are used to has taken a back seat momentarily.

The beat of dholaks’ rent the air near the LoC here, since it was the marriage of a revered pir (saint) yesterday.

All pathways were leading to the venne of the wedding, Salotri, near the Krishnagati LoC in Poonch district. People have faith in the pir, who had performed many miracles in the border belt for the past several decades.

Salotri, located in the picturesque dense woods surrounded with multiple peaks, is the home for Muzaffar, popularly famous as Pir Baba, in the border belt of Poonch-Rajouri.

Over one lakh persons had converged at the venue, even as people were making beelines through the razor-thin mountainous pathways continuously throughout the day.

“We have made the journey on foot from the upper reaches of Mendhar to attend the wedding of our revered pir”, said Noor Din Gujjar, a follower, who was heading towards the venue along with the members of his family carrying gifts.

Like Noor family, most of the people, particularly Gujjars and Pharis of Rajouri and Poonch districts carried gift items, including clothes, milk, ghee and ornaments for the bride of the pir.

Truck, bus and tractor-loads of people had arrived at a place on the Jammu-Poonch national highway, from where they had to walk a few hundred metres to the wedding venue. It was an amazing spectacle.

Not only this, the BSF and Army people had also thronged the venue as invitees and their vehicles were carrying people to the venue. “The 47-year-old pir had a directive from the almighty in his dreams that he should get married,” one of the pir’s followers said.

The pir got married to a Salotri widow, mother of two children.

It was surprising that Pak guns fell silent during the marriage ceremony. A few days ago, it was bangs of mortars, or even artillery and booming guns that were heard in these border belts continuously. PTI

BSF jawan killed in Pak firing

Jammu, February 12
A Border Security Force jawan was killed and a civilian injured in the firing by the Pakistani troops in the Samba and RS Pura sectors in Jammu division, a BSF spokesman said here today.

BSF jawan Kulbir Singh was killed in the firing from across the Indo-Pak border in Mathi Choru area of the Samba-Hiranagar sector.

A civilian, identified as Bakshi Ram, was wounded due to Pakistani troops firing at Chanana camp in the RS Pura sector yesterday, he said adding the Ram was later admitted to a hospital where his condition was stated to be stable after surgery.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani troops continued small arms firing in various sector along the international border and LoC in Kathua, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts of the division since yesterday, official sources said here.

The Indian troops also retaliated and the intermittent exchange of firing between the two sides continued till this morning.

SRINAGAR: A former Hizb-ul Mujahideen militant was killed in Anantnag on Tuesday.

Official sources said unidentified gunmen kidnapped former Hizb-ul militant Mushtaq Ahmad and, later, killed him. UNI, PTI

J&K to launch Project Hangul

Jammu, February 12
The Jammu and Kashmir government will launch shortly a comprehensive project to preserve Hangul, a rare specie of deer mostly found in the mountainous ranges of the Kashmir valley.

Tailored on the pattern of Project Tiger and Project Elephant, the national-level conservation programmes, project hangul envisages conducting a census of the species, its habitat management and creating awareness about the threat to the fast-dwindling animal, “the pride of the valley”, a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Ashok Jaitly was told here last evening.

The meeting, which discussed broad details of the project, was informed that the Forest Department would formulate and undertake the project.

Mr Jaitly called for a multi-disciplinary and a pragmatic approach for preserving hangul and said the personnel concerned should be trained to manage the animal’s habitat.

For creating adequate awareness among the people, especially the younger generation, he said setting up of the nature interpretation centres could go a long way in achieving desired goals.

He said the project should be conceptualised properly to achieve long-term gains in increasing the population of hangul in the valley.

The Chief Secretary also sought effective enforcement of wildlife laws.

The wildlife sanctuaries could be of immense tourist attraction for the nature lovers who had been thronging the valley, especially from abroad, for years. That would be good for Jammu and Kashmir’s economy too, he said.

He also sought formulation of a project for wetland development that is the destination of varied species of migratory birds round the year. “This has been the glory of Kashmir that has to be preserved and promoted at all costs,” he said.

The hangul population has increased in the valley over the years and the available statistics suggest their number at about 483 in the Dachigam national park, over 100 in Sonamarg and a few in Kishtwar area as well. PTI

Central team visits migrant camps

Poonch (Jammu), February 12
Following a Supreme Court directive, a fact-finding team of the Union Home Ministry has visited camps in Poonch district, housing migrants from border areas, to check the facilities being provided to them. The team was taken around the 12 camps in the town by the District Development Commissioner, Mr Ejaz Iqbal and the SSP Mr Kamal Saini, yesterday.

There are 13 migrant camps in the district, 12 of which are in Poonch town and one at Tehsil Headquarters, Menorah, housing 21,947 persons.

The team expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made by the administration, official sources said, adding that it also issued directions to the commissioner. PTI