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Jammu waits for Sialkot road
to open
Now potholed road to
Muzaffarabad
Traffic suspended on J&K highway due to
landslides
He drove the bus, now walks down memory
lane
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3 militants among five killed
Cong wins 10 seats in Rajauri
3 councillors resign in J &K
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Jammu waits for Sialkot road
to open
Jammu, February 17 However, eyebrows are being raised by a section of people over the reopening of the road links with Pakistan, as they fear that the exercise would open floodgates for the return of those who had opted to migrate to Pakistan and the occupied areas of Kashmir during partition of the country in 1947. The political parties have started interpreting the development in their own ways. Interestingly, both ruling coalition partners are trying to take credit for the reopening of the
Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road link. The BJP has expressed fears that terrorists and unwanted elements might enter J&K through this road as it has been decided to allow the people to cross the LoC on the basis of simply an entry permit that would be issued by some designated officer. Fears are being expressed that with the Resettlement Act being in place in the state, many persons might prefer to return here from Pakistan to reclaim their properties that were being controlled by the Evacuee Property Department. The Act provides for reclaiming those properties which had been left behind by the persons who migrated to Pakistan and the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir
(PoK) at the time of Partition. It is being pointed out that the number of the families that were divided between Kashmir and PoK was much higher in Jammu than in the Kashmir valley and as such the
Jammu-Sialkot road should have been reopened alongwith the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road. However, observers feel that the Centre had been keen to reopen the Srinagar link with PoK to make it an example of its
Kashmir-focussed policy. But although this has raised hopes for the opening of
Jammu-Sialkot road link, allegations of yet another discrimination with this region have also started coming in. A sum of Rs 1.20 crore is learnt to have been earmarked for widening of the
Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, but the no decision has been taken about the road between Jammu and Sialkot which is being used by the UN observers daily to go from one country to the other. Meanwhile, Peerzada
Sayeed, PCC president and Rural Development Minister, today said the road had been opened due to the efforts of Ms Sonia Gandhi and the Central government. He said it has been the effort of the Congress to have friendly relations with the neighbouring countries. Reopening of the road would help normalise relations between the two countries. Dr Nirmal Singh, president of the BJP, has accused the Congress-led UPA Government of dancing to the tunes of USA and helping the Pakistan cause in J&K by taking the decision to allow the Pakistanis to enter Indian territory simply with an entry permit. This indicates that votaries of a porous border have succeeded in their game plan. Dr Nirmal Singh said the BJP is not opposed to the idea of people-to-people contact and added that it was during the tenure of BJP-led NDA regime that a number of steps had been taken in this direction. |
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Now potholed road to
Muzaffarabad
Srinagar, February 17 With the 171-km bus service between the two halves of Kashmir finally a reality, the authorities are rushing to start preparations for D-day on April 7. However, many officials argue that the time is “too short to meet the deadline”. “The last bridge on the road that leads to the other side of the border is still to be laid. We have laid the Red bridge (Lal
Pul) which lies ahead of Uri, but the last bridge on the road from our side is still to be laid,” said a senior Army official at Uri. The road from Srinagar to Baramula is a fully macadamised wide highway. But the winding 47-km stretch after that from Baramula to Uri is not wide enough, though it is fully macadamised. And officials say the real problem is the 16-km stretch ahead of Uri. “The 16-km stretch from Uri to the last stop on our side is not even fully
metalled. There are potholes in the road and a lot of repairs are still to be done on this stretch to make it traffic worthy,” said an official. Giving details, Uri engineer Abdul Aziz said: “There are four bridges on the road from Uri to Uroosa village which is the last village on our side. First is the Jabla bridge, which is in fine condition. Then comes Lal
Pul, which is also in good shape. The third bridge is the Uroosa bridge. The last bridge which the Army calls the ‘OP bridge’ is still not passable. It is to be remade. It is a bridge in no-man’s land. Half of the bridge falls on the Indian side and the other half on the Pakistan side.” Seven km ahead of Uri is Salamabad village where a customs check post would come up. A survey to identify the place was completed last year when senior officials from New Delhi visited the area. —
IANS |
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Traffic suspended on J&K highway due to
landslides
Srinagar, February 17 He said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the arterial road, had pressed into service its men and machines to make the road traffic-worthy soon. However, BRO has asked authorities not to allow traffic on the road without consulting it. Authorities had earlier today allowed vehicular traffic to move from Jammu towards Srinagar. Only light passenger vehicles were allowed from Srinagar to Jammu despite inclement weather around the Jawahar Tunnel area. However, all Jammu-bound light passenger vehicles were stopped between Zig and Qazigund after getting information of landslides near Ramsu, a traffic department spokesman said. Heavy snowfall in the Qazigund and Banihal sectors along the highway since last night made the road slippery. About 6.6 cm of snowfall was recorded at Jawahar Tunnel and Qazigund till 11.30 this morning while Banihal, 125 km from here on the highway, recorded 7.6 cm snowfall. Batote has also been experiencing snowfall and rain since last night, the spokesman said. Shimla: The cold wave has further tightened its grip in the state following heavy snowfall in the higher regions and rain in the lower areas of Himachal Pradesh. Icy winds swept the state today despite a bright sun shine. The unprecedented and prolonged spell of intermittent snow and rain has upset the normal life not only of humans but also of wild animals in the state. Animals and birds in large number are migrating to the lower areas in search of food. Many are falling prey to hunting and poaching activities. Senior officers of the forest department in many areas seem to be silent spectators to the large scale poaching particularly in Chuhar, Chachiot, Gohar, Janjehli, Bagsiad and Thunag areas despite a complete ban on hunting, a report from Mandi said. In the wake of official indifference people of the remote Roolang village of Lapas panchayat in Chuhar valley rose to the occasion and set up a wildlife protection committee which has assumed power to catch hunters and impose fine on them and later to hand them over to the forest department or police officials. Some animals trapped in the reservoir of HPSEB at Barot were reportedly saved and sent back to the forest by the villagers on Tuesday. —
UNI /PTI |
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He drove the bus, now walks down memory
lane
Srinagar, February 17 The announcement during External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh’s visit to Islamabad that the bus service would be resumed from April 7 has prompted Mr Bhat to take a walk down memory lane: on the road he once traversed between India and Pakistan. “I fondly remember those wonderful days. I would start at eight in the morning and sometimes return before sunset. Often, we preferred to spend the night in Muzaffarabad. One essential duty entrusted with the driver of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service those days was delivery of mail,” Mr Bhat recalled. At 76, he still drives the taxi he owns. Asked if he would like to drive once again on the route from here to Muzaffarabad, Mr Bhat said, “I will definitely do that if permitted. But the great thing would be if I am allowed to drive the bus from here to that place, be it purely for nostalgia sake.” He says the road from Srinagar to north Kashmir Baramula town, which formed a major stopover en route, was fairly good. “But the road became a little tedious once the bus left Baramula. The road went alongside the Jhelum whose course became faster after the river left the Baramula. “Once we crossed the ‘Lal Pul’ (Red Bridge) the road became gentler and wider. But all said and done it was an all weather road. No snowfall, no landslides, it remained open for the entire year,” he said. Retracing the route, Mr Bhat said the cultural differences became palpable once you crossed the bridge on the Jhelum and went into the territory at present known as Pakistan-administered Kashmir. “There was a total change once you crossed the Lal Pul. From language to dress and food habits, there is nothing common between Kashmiris and the people living in Muzaffarabad. “But there were no tensions. No wars to be fought for territory, no race for racial superiority. It was not because a bus drove from here to Muzaffarabad. Those times were generally better,” Mr Bhat said pensively. There were many personal high points. The one commodity his friends and relatives often wanted from Muzaffarabad was the tobacco from Peshawar. “Its aroma was unforgettable. It was a gift my friends loved,” he recalled. And the one adventure he enjoyed in Muzaffarabad was going to the ‘Talkie’. “I went into a cinema house for the first time in my life in Muzaffarabad. It was some movie about a dacoit being chased by a hero. But the magic of the silver screen worked. I would always make it a point to enter the ‘Talkie’ whenever I stayed for the night in Muzaffarabad,” he said. He has one grouse though. Why did India and Pakistan take so long to open a road that would bind hearts and remove bitterness. “Chalo Der
Ayad, Durost Ayad (Anyway, it is better late than never),” he said on a philosophical note. —
Indo-Asian News Service |
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3 militants among five killed
Srinagar, February 17 Militants kidnapped and later hanged to death Azad Ahmad Sheikh at Dreeri Nullah village in Pulwama district today. A Defence Ministry spokesman said the security forces killed two militants of Al-Bader, including a “Battalion Commander” at Dalroo Handwara village in Kupwara district late last night. The encounter ensued after a search party was attacked by the militants with automatic weapons and grenades, he said. Two AK rifles and ammunition were seized from the deceased militants, he said and added two houses were also damaged during the clash. The security forces shot dead another militant at Rafiabad in an encounter early today, while a civilian, Mohammad Maqbool Malla, was also killed in the shootout, he said. However, residents took to streets and protested against the killing of 70-year-old Malla. The demonstrators, who blocked the main road and observed a hartal alleged that Malla was killed by the security forces in his house. Militants shot at and injured Mubeena at Drangbal Pampore last evening, Mubeena was rushed to hospital where her condition was said to be out of danger. — UNI |
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Cong wins 10 seats in Rajauri
Jammu, February 17 In the 17-member Poonch Municipal Corporation, out of the eight results declared so far, Congress won six seats while the NC and the BJP have won one seat each. The polling was held today under tight security arrangements. The counting of votes was taken up immediately after voting was over. — UNI |
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3 councillors resign in J &K
Srinagar, February 17 Nissar Ahmad Dahal and Shabir Ahmad Khanday, who were elected to the Shopian Municipal Committee in Pulwama district on the Congress ticket, announced their resignation, official reports received here said. Aisha, wife of Abdul Khaliq Ganai, who was elected unopposed to the Beerwah Municipal Committee, also announced her resignation through a newspaper advertisement today. Though they have not given reasons for their resignations, officials said they had tendered resignations in view of threats held out by militants to kill those who took part in the civic elections. —
PTI |
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