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Tuesday,
January 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Promises
galore, yet no action Cabinet
expansion postponed again Four
injured in grenade attack House
damaged, 24 sheep killed in Pak shelling |
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An elderly Kashmiri couple going for Haj pilgrimage bid farewell to their relatives in Srinagar
on Monday. Jammu
State Morcha’s stir threat Fire
destroys building
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Promises galore, yet no action Jammu, January 6 This has caused disappointment as people had high hopes from the coalition government, especially from Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Under the CMP the government is committed to establish various commissions, including the accountability commission, the delimitation commission and the finance commission. So far a Bill seeking establishment of the accountability commission has been adopted by the state legislature. However, the constitution of the commission, its head and members, is yet to be decided. There has been hardly any move to set up a delimitation and state finance commissions. Instead the government has appointed Mr Hasio Passan Drabu, a noted economist and editor of Business Standard, as Economic Adviser to the government. The state is in the grip of severe financial crunch. While the annual budget allocations are around Rs 2,250 crore the expenditure on the employees’ salary and pension has touched Rs 3,700 crore a year. As such a finance commission was needed to be set up to recommend measures to the government for toning up its economy when the base for additional taxation in the state was narrow. Another promise made in the CMP is reassimilation of the Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel into the police. No doubt the role of the SOG has been restricted in anti-insurgency operations, it continues to be a separate entity. The coalition government had promised to rehabilitate surrendered militants and release detainees against whom there were no serious charges While the rehabilitation of the surrendered militants had been delayed owing to the cash crunch, the Centre had put spikes in the plan of releasing the detainees. Soon after taking over as the Chief Minister on November 2 Mufti Sayeed had initiated moves to set free political prisoners and instructions had gone to the police not to rearrest those who were either on parole or on bail. But the terrorist strike on the two temples in Jammu set alarm bells ringing in Delhi and the Chief Minister was blamed for encouraging such incidents by having released some militants. After the Mufti explained the matter the Centre agreed to appoint its nominee to the screening committee and so far the man had not yet taken up the assignment. As far as the non-implementation of POTA was concerned, as provided in the CMP, no arrest had been made under the Act after the coalition government was formed in the state. However, the credit for the non-implementation of POTA should also be given to the Abdullah regime, which weeks before the Assembly poll in September-October had directed the security agencies not to arrest anyone under POTA. As far as the government’s commitment to take up the matter with the Centre for including Dogri language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India is concerned no formal letter has been sent to Delhi. The matter was raised by the erstwhile National Conference government but there was no response from the Central Government. Women in Jammu and Kashmir await measures which could ensure their empowerment as had been promised in the CMP. A senior government functionary said, “We are engaged in the exercise of fulfilling promises made in the CMP. The delay has been caused by the delay in the Cabinet expansion and the establishment of the coordination committee.” He said a nine-member coordination committee had been set up and the Cabinet expansion was to be carried out within next one week. |
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Cabinet expansion postponed again Jammu, January 6 He said it was on the request of the Congress leadership that the Cabinet expansion was postponed. He explained that since top Congress leaders, including the PCC chief, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, were busy with the Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi Mr Azad would not have been available for the oath ceremony of his party colleagues. Mr Azad wanted to be in Jammu on January 6 but was asked by the AICC President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to stay in Delhi for taking part in the CWC meeting. The expansion will now be held probably next week, according to reliable sources. It is likely to be a 30-member ministry in which the Congress is likely to have 12 to 13 seats, followed by PDP’s 10, Panthers Party two and six Independents. Meanwhile, the first meeting of the coordination committee, headed by Mr Azad, will be held here tomorrow. |
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Four injured in grenade attack
Srinagar, January 6 Militants hurled a grenade at a security force vehicle at Magam bus stand at around 1 pm which failed to hit the intended target resulting in injuries to four civilians who were passing by. The condition Of all of the injured was stated to be out of danger. Meanwhile, a policeman was injured in an encounter with militants last night at Sogam village of Kupwara district in north Kashmir, the sources said. Militants managed to escape under the cover of darkness. Militants yesterday lobbed a grenade at a security forces vehicle at Kulgam bus stand in Anantnag district, injuring 39 persons including four jawans. Meanwhile, executing its diktat banning “unislamic” sale of addictives, militants today shot dead a alcohol dealer in the city. Militants shot at Abdul Hamid Shiekh, who had a shop at Aloocha Bagh, at Solina in Civil Lines area here, official sources said. He was admitted to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. Militant outfits have imposed a blanket ban on the sale of addictives like alcohol and cigarettes and have threatened people dealing in them with dire consequences.
PTI |
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House damaged,
24 sheep killed in Pak shelling Jammu, January 6 They said Pakistani troops targeted some villages in Laam with mortar shells yesterday, forcing Indian troops to retaliate. While the exchange of fire was continuing, a Pakistani shell fell on a house at Laroka village and damaged it. A nearby shed also caught fire and the 24 sheep in it were burnt alive. Meanwhile, minor exchanges of small arms fire along the International Border took place at a few places in the
R.S. Pura and Samba sectors last night. PTI |
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First batch of Haj pilgrims leaves Srinagar, January 6 The pilgrims, to be flown directly to Jeddah from Srinagar Airport, assembled at the tourist reception centre of the city early in the morning from where they were taken to the airport in special buses, the sources said. The special flight carrying the pilgrims left for Jeddah at 11.20 am, they said. Special arrangements had been made for the convenience of the pilgrims at the airport, including foreign currency exchange and changing into the “ahram”, a length of unsewed cloth which the pilgrims have to drape around themselves upon landing in Saudi Arabia. Jammu and Kashmir Bank had opened special foreign exchange counters where the pilgrims could obtain currencies in dollar and euro denominations, they said.
PTI |
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Jammu State Morcha’s
stir threat Jammu, January 6 In a joint statement the Morcha leaders, including Prof Virender Gupta, Mr H.B. Khajuria, and Mr Tilak Raj Sharma, said 20 years ago the Wazir Committee had recommended the creation of three more districts of Reasi, Samba and Kishtwar, but so far the successive governments had not cared to implement the report. The Morcha leaders said the demand of district status for Sunderbani, Billawar, Hiranagar, Ramban and R.S. Pora had surfaced and “we have promised to create 15 districts in case the Jammu region, which has six districts at present, was given statehood status.” They urged the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, to carve three new districts. |
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Fire destroys
building Srinagar, January 6 The cause of fire was not immediately known. There was no report of any casualty in the fire.
UNI |
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