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Governor sees normalcy returning in J&K
Hizb militant among 2 killed
Ministerial reshuffle on the cards
Tributes paid to Indira Gandhi
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Guest Control Order imposed to check extravagance
Jammu, October 31 In a bid to check extravagant expenditure during marriages, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has imposed the Guest Control Order restricting the number of “baratis” to 50 and also ordered that not more than seven non-vegetarian dishes would be served in the party. 
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Governor sees normalcy returning in J&K
Srinagar, October 31 This he said during an hour-long interaction with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence here today. The fencing on the 700 km border had made a difference and mercenaries were no longer getting any local support, he added. The Governor said infiltration had come down, the ceasefire on the border was holding and with this tourism and economic activities had got a tremendous boost. The Parliamentary committee is led by Mr Illiyas Azmi. Among the members of the committee, currently on a tour of the state, are Mr Anand Sharma, Mr Thupstan Chewang, Mr Ramesh Jigajnagi, Ms N. P. Durga, Mr Ganesh Prasad Singh, Mr A. V. Bellarim, Mr Bata Showry Vallabha Neni and Mr Lalit Suri. They are expected to visit Leh, Jammu and some forward areas of the state, an official spokesman said. He said that against 28,000 tourists in 2002, over 1.70 lakh had visited the valley last year. During the past nine months, the arrivals had crossed the 3-lakh mark. Similarly, the Governor said, religious tourism was playing a vital role in the local economy. While over 4 lakh pilgrims visited the Amarnath shrine in south Kashmir during the yatra this year, the pilgrim arrival at Vaishno Devi was expected to touch 60 lakh this year. The Governor also referred to the measures taken to tackle militancy without harming innocent civilians and the dialogue process initiated at various levels to bring about normalcy. The ongoing peace process and the Indo-Pak dialogue had rekindled a hope for lasting peace in the region, the beneficiaries of which would mostly be Kashmiris, he said. When asked what steps were required to bring about normalcy, the Governor said that while militancy had to be handled firmly, economic development and winning over the hearts of people was imperative. In this context, he mentioned Operation Sadhbavna launched by the Army to ameliorate the lot of the poor, particularly those living in the border areas. |
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Hizb militant among 2 killed
Srinagar, October 31 The militant identified as Mohammad Yousuf Sheikh was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Soura on the outskirts of Srinagar last night, the spokesman said. He said the body of Matoo was recovered from the Gadyag-Kandi area of Rajouri district yesterday. The victim was kidnapped by militants on October 29 and was subsequently killed. Militants kidnapped a farmer, Shaukat Ahmed Bhat, from Dangerpora Arihal in Pulwama district last evening, the spokesman said. He said a militant surrendered in Baramula town today and handed over one AK rifle, its six magazines, 237 cartridges and one UBGL grenade to the authorities. The security forces busted two militant hideouts, one each in Rajouri and Udhampur, and recovered nearly 2 kg of explosives, two AK magazines, 22 detonators, 2 UBGL grenades and five hand grenades, the spokesman said. —PTI |
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Ministerial reshuffle on the cards
Srinagar, October 31 In the byelections to four Assembly constituencies in the state, the two main coalition parties, the Congress and the PDP emerged victorious. While the PDP wrested the Batamaloo constituency here, giving a jolt to the National Conference, it retained the Pahalgam constituency, electing the Mufti to the Assembly. The Congress also retained the seats of Akhnoor and Basohli in the Jammu region, which had fallen vacant due to the election of two former ministers to the Lok Sabha earlier this year. There is an upbeat mood in the coalition partners, particularly the PDP led by the Mufti, claiming it to have been the approval of the policies adopted during the past two years of governance. Soon after the results of the recent byelections, lobbying for two Legislative Council seats began with an eye on future changes in the Council of Ministers. The reshuffle in the Council of Ministers, much criticised by the opposition National Conference for its huge size, had been on the cards since the Lok Sabha elections were over. It was mainly because two ministerial berths held by Mr Lal Singh and Mr Madan Lal Sharma of the Congress fell vacant after they were elected to the Lok Sabha from Udhampur and Jammu constituencies. Moreover, the 11-member Peoples Democratic Forum (PDF), one of the alliance partners constituted by Independent members, has already broken. These members who include some ministers, have either joined the Congress, others have been closer to the PDP, while a few others continue to remain Independent. It is also believed that some of the ministers, on the basis of their “poor performance”, may be shown the door, while there has been an imbalance in the strength of members from various coalition parties. After the victory in the byelections, the PDP seems to be secure and may not be requiring the support of the smaller parties, like the Panthers Party of Mr Bhim Singh. The PDP cadres have their eyes set on the issue of filling the two vacancies in the Legislative Council. Some of the contenders include Nizamuddin Bhat, who unsuccessfully contested the Baramula parliamentary constituency this year, Bilal Lodhi, a senior party leader, Sonaullah Dar, Abdul Haq, who lost to NC candidate from the Lolab constituency in the 2002 elections, and Mohammad Sultan Pandipuri. Party sources said it was considering Bhat for one of the seats in the Upper House for his performance in the last Lok Sabha elections from the Baramula constituency. He had lost to A.R. Shaheen of the National Conference by a small margin. The Congress, the main alliance partner, also favours Bhat’s case to “compensate” him for his defeat, which has been due to the presence of its veteran leader, Ghulam Rasool Kar, in the election fray. Kar, who swept a considerable number of votes, had joined the fray much against the wishes of a section of the party leadership. His presence in the Upper House would give the party its representation from a part of north Kashmir, where it is represented on only one of the six Assembly constituencies. |
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Tributes paid to Indira Gandhi
Srinagar, October 31 Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, PCC chief and Rural Development Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed and a number of workers assembled at the PCC headquarters to pay their homage to Indira Gandhi. Replying to questions from mediapersons on the occasion, Mr Azad said it was too early to say anything about the choice of its Chief Minister after the completion of three-year’s term of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Mufti will complete his term on November 2 next year and after that a Chief Minister from the Congress party, will be appointed, as per the coalition agreement. Mr Azad said the coalition government was doing a satisfactory job and the issue would be taken up at the “right time”. He said the government had focussed on dealing with militancy and resolving other issues like unemployment in the state. “We will continue to go ahead with the common minimum programme”, he added. Two youth leaders alongwith their supporters also joined the Congress on the occasion. Habibulla Bhat, son of a freedom fighter and former MLA from Lolab in Kupwara district of north Kashmir was among those who joined the Congress. Several other senior leaders, including former Union Minister, Mohammad Maqbool Dar and
G.M. Mir have recently returned to the party fold. |
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Guest Control Order imposed to check extravagance
Jammu, October 31 These restrictions would come in to force with effect from November 5. It has been ordered that the total number of guests, including relatives of the bride, during a reception of “barat” would not exceed 200, besides 50 “baratis”. However, some relaxation has been given for the parties in which only vegetarian food is served. According to Mr Prithpal Singh Betab, Director, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, during ring ceremonies in which non-vegetarian or vegetarian cuisine is served, the number of guests has been fixed at 50. The bridegroom can invite only 100 guests during a feast organised by them and they can cook only 50 kg of meat and chicken. It has been ordered that only 25 kg and 100 kg of meat and chicken can be cooked during a ring ceremony and reception of barat respectively. Both the bride and the bridegroom families can now host only one feast during the entire marriage ceremony. They shall have to intimate in writing 10 days in advance to the Director, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution about the function. Those serving vegetarian food will be entitled to invite 375 guests, including 125 “baratis”. There shall be no restriction on the number of vegetarian dishes served. The order has been issued on the basis of the recommendations of the cabinet sub-committee that was set up earlier this year following a hue and cry that was raised when the Guest Control Order was revived in May when the total number of guests was fixed at only 200. These restrictions have been ordered to save the middle and the lower class of society from going put under debt while organising lavish parties that have become a fashion now. This was more so particularly in the Kashmir valley where the bride’s parents were supposed to serve more than 30 dishes of meat during a marriage party. |
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