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Hurriyat joint session on April 7 Daughters' Bill major election issue
3 top LeT men killed in encounter
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8000 EVMs to be used in state
Offices in Jammu to close on April 23 Army man shoots two
seniors dead
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Hurriyat joint session on April 7 Srinagar, March 31 The all powerful executive committee of the Amalgam met here today with chairman Ansari in the chair and decided to convene a session of executive, general council, working committee and some prominent citizens on April 7 to discuss the political situation following the second round of talks, a Hurriyat spokesman said. The spokesman said the executive committee, which held parleys with Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani in Delhi on March 27, would also inform the general council about its deliberations with Pakistan High Commission officials and a delegation of Pakistani parliamentarians. Led by Ansari, the delegation of Bhat, Mirwaiz and Lone also met officials from several diplomatic missions in Delhi, including the USA and the UK. The leaders would also inform other members about the talks they had with these diplomats, he added. Besides Ansari, today's meeting was attended by former chairman Mirwaiz Omar Farooq and Abdul Gani Bhat. Bilal Lone, another executive member of the committee, did not attend the meeting as he was still in Delhi. Hurriyat, in the meeting scheduled for next Wednesday, would attempt to forge a consensus on whether to give a call for boycott of the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll in the state as the Amalgam leadership was already under intense pressure from hardline separatist groups and militant outfits for holding parleys with Mr Advani. Describing Advani-Hurriyat talks as detrimental to the freedom struggle, pro-Pakistan militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, in a statement to local media, has asked the Ansari-led Hurriyat to desist from playing into the hands of the government.
A spokesman of the outfit asked the people to pay heed to the boycott call given by hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, describing him as the only true leader of the people of Kashmir. Another militant outfit, Al Umar Mujahideen, also supported the boycott call for the poll. Warning the people to stay away from the election process, the outfit's chief commander Kahlid Javed said Al Umar militants would intensify attacks. — PTI  |
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Daughters' Bill major election issue Jammu, March 31 The coalition partners are taking different stands on the Bill in the Jammu division and Kashmir valley in a bid to woo the electorate. While the PDP of Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed has reiterated in Kashmir valley that the Bill will be passed in its present form, the Congress and the Panthers Party are vehemently speaking against the Bill while electioneering in the Jammu region. Leaders of the Congress while campaigning for two Lok Sabha seats of Jammu are trying to convince the people that the Bill has been put in cold storage. But the PDP leaders, including Ms Mehbooba Mufti, president of the PDP and daughter of Mufti Sayeed, has said in the valley that the Bill was a live and will be passed soon. The Bill has created a vertical divide between Jammu and Kashmir regions. The Congress leaders, particularly Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma, have to do a lot of explaining about their legislators having voted in favour of the Bill in the Assembly. The Opposition BJP is trying to exploit the issue in its own favour by accusing the Congress and the Panthers Party of trying to mislead the electorate by taking a different stand on the Bill in public, while they supported the Bill in the Assembly. However, the Congress is so far apparently the biggest loser as the people are taking the statements of their leaders on the issue with a pinch of salt. The National Conference is also trying to put the Mufti on the mat over the issue in Kashmir valley. The NC leaders, including Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mr Omar Abdullah, in their election campaigns are accusing the Mufti of having succumbed to the pressure of Delhi as a result of which the Bill was not put to voting in the special session of the legislative council. Meanwhile, the vice-president of the BJP, Mr Hari Om, today asked the Congress to make its position clear on the anti-women Bill. The Congress should also make public its views on the statements of Mr Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Finance Minister, and Ms Mehbooba Mufti that the Bill would be passed as it represented the aspirations of the people. He challenged the Congress to withdraw from the coalition in case it was against the Bill. |
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Notification issued
for Srinagar seat Jammu, March 31 The Srinagar constituency comprises 15 assembly segments in Srinagar and Budgam districts. The total electorate of the constituency is 10,53,733, including 4,48,264 women voters. |
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3 top LeT men killed in encounter Jammu, March 31 Three Lashkar militants — two area commanders and a district commander — identified as Pakistanis were gunned down during an 18-hour-long gunbattle with the security forces in the Sanai area of Surankote tehsil yesterday, the sources said. The security forces also recovered three AK rifles with two magazines and 56 rounds of ammunition, one radio set and one matrix sheet from the slain militants, they said. In another search operation, security forces busted terrorist hideouts at Bahuwali Forest Rakh in Jammu district, Thanamandi and Darhal areas of Rajouri district and Surankote tehsil of Poonch, the sources said. During the operations, 22 handgrenades, 150 rounds of ammunition, 20 rounds of cartridges and some household items were recovered, they said. SRINAGAR: The police today seized 30 Kg of RDX from downtown city near Kaka Mohallah, official sources said here. A police party from Nowhatta police station seized the explosives from a deserted place between Malkhah crossing and Kaka mohalla this morning, the sources said. Meanwhile at least three civilians were injured when militants exploded a grenade targetting an Army vehicle at Magam on the Srinagar-Gulmarg road in North Kashmir this afternoon, official sources said. Militants lobbed the grenade towards a BSF vehicle near the Maga bus stand, about 25 km from here, but it missed the intended target and exploded on the road, causing injuries to three pedestrians, the sources said. The injured were immediately shifted to the hospital, they said, adding the ultras fled the scene taking advantage of panic which followed the blast.
— PTI |
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8000 EVMs to be used in state Jammu, March 30 "As many as 7218 polling stations for 63,76,872 voters in three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh have been set up. Nearly 55 per cent of the polling stations have been considered as either sensitive or hyper-sensitive," official sources said yesterday. Each polling station would have one electronic voting machine and about 10 per cent of the total 8000 EVMs to be used for the poll would be reserved for exigency. The Jammu parliamentary constituency would have the highest number of 1824 polling stations, followed by 1657 stations in the Udhampur constituency, they said, adding 1167 stations had been set up in the Baramula constituency. Similarly, 1079 polling stations had been set up in the Srinagar constituency followed by 1049 stations in the Anantnag constituency and lowest 422 polling stations for the Ladakh seat, they said. Jammu district with an electorate of 11,99,477 had the highest number of 1114 polling stations, they said, adding Kargil district with an electorate of 89,697 had the lowest 219 polling stations.
— PTI |
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Rail track poses great challenge UDHAMPUR: The 287 km long mountainous rail track between Jammu and Baramula in the Kashmir valley is posing new challenges to engineers every day. The track is being laid through the turbulent Chenab and the mighty Pirpanjal range. Although the Railways has fixed 2007 as the target for linking Kashmir with the rest of the country by rail, yet there was remote possibility of meeting the deadline because of the difficult terrain. What was the biggest problem was that the J&K Government has not mapped the area between Katra and Qazigund through which about 143 km of the rail track would pass. The railway engineers doing the mapping have many times come across terrorists. The Railways has already encountered many geological surprises while laying the 54 km track between Jammu and Udhampur. The bridge over the Ghambhir nullah had to be relocated as it posed a challenge right from the foundation stage as a deep crack in the earth was detected. Mr Rakesh Chander, Chief Administrative Officer, of the rail project said that the Himalayas being a young mountain, the soil on almost the entire route was weak and special measures were being taken to reinforce it. Moreover, most parts of the route were prone to landslides. A lot of cutting work was involved, as the mountain slopes were very steep. The route falls in the highly seismic zone 4 that was prone to earthquake. It is a continuous search for stable places as lack of access roads was also causing a problem. The first thing that the Railways had to do was to construct over 350 km of approach roads to start the work. Being the only such a long mountainous track in the country, the Railways was expecting to achieve many firsts while accomplishing the job. However, the working season in the mountains is very short as the work comes to a standstill during snow. Mr Rakesh Chander said that the fourth longest arch bridge in the world would be constructed over the Chenab. The longest 90 metres bridge would be constructed over the Jhajjar nullah ahead of Katra. The engineers and labourers engaged in laying the track beyond Katra have to live in tents in the jungle, as there were hardly any inhabited villages around. Beginning from the ground level of 340 metres in Jammu, the rail line would touch the highest point of 2892 metres at a distance of 158 km beyond Charil in Banihal where the Pirpanjal ranges begin. Thereafter, it would gradually descend to 1579 metres in Baramula. It will have 26 stations between Jammu and Baramula. The project was estimated to cost about Rs 6000 crore. Work is proceeding simultaneously between Qazigund and Baramula in the valley. There are no tunnels to be bored in Kashmir, but heavy bridging work is involved particularly across the river Jhelum and its tributaries. The land being in the flood plain of river Jhelum has very soft soil structure with a very high water table. This was presenting a challenge o a different kind. |
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Offices in Jammu to close on April 23 Jammu, March 31 The office of the Chief Electoral Officer would move to Srinagar only after counting of votes and declaration of results of the Lok Sabha elections. The officers deployed on election duty as observers outside the state would also be entitled to draw travelling allowance as and when they moved to Srinagar. The police would escort the employees and convoys carrying office records all along the route. |
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Army man shoots two
seniors dead Jammu, March 31 According to reports, sepoy Pradeep Rao shot subedar G.H. Haldar and sepoy D.S. Rao with his service weapon following an altercation at the highway camp, about 120 km from here. He was overpowered and arrested. A case was registered. |
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