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Ration for poor passed on to terrorists
Hurriyat leaders, Pandits talk peace
Remove hoardings of Pak President, |
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Qazi Yasir joins People’s Conference
Srinagar, July 19 Giving a boost to the Hurriyat moderate faction, Mirwaiz of South Kashmir Qazi Yasir today joined the People’s Conference and said he would pursue the agenda of his father Qazi Nissar Ahmad and Abdul Gani Lone. Water instead of petrol for Army, 7 trucks impounded
Islamic varsity soon: CM
Drass is sub-division
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Ration for poor passed on to terrorists
Jammu, July 19 No actual survey appears to have been made to ascertain the number of BPL families and different departments were making conflicting claims. The Planning Commission of India has also taken serious view of the fudged figures that have been prepared by different departments. During recent raids on terrorist hideouts, particularly in Doda, Poonch and Rajouri districts, the security forces recovered a huge quantity of ration. The ration was reportedly supplied by the FCI to the BPL families in the far-flung areas. During Operation Sarapvinash in the Hill Kaka area of Poonch, the Army recovered more than 2,000 quintals of ration from various hideouts of terrorists. There were allegations that not only officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department but also the transport mafia responsible for siphoning off the government ration. The vigilance department has registered a case in which ration worth more than Rs 40 crore meant for the Antoyadaya and BPL families in the Marwah block of Doda district was misused. Against the nearly 20,000 population of the block, the authorities were drawing ration for a population of about 56,000 every month. The same was the case with most of the kerosene depots that were thriving on illicit trade. One of the data complied by the state government claimed that there were 7.86 lakh BPL families in the state. Another document claimed that 57 per cent of the households were BPL. Another department put the figure at 3.98 per cent. Piqued over these figures, the planning commission has pointed out that how can one reconcile 57 per cent on one hand and 3.98 per cent on the other? “It seems that none of them is correct”. According to yet another figure released recently by a minister, the number of BPL families in the state was 6,04,369. Interestingly, within a couple of days another minister put the figure at 7.36 lakh. The commission observed that it would be futile to continue pumping money into the state for poverty alleviation programmes without having a realistic estimation of poverty in the state. It observed that a modest attempt at analysing the implementation of various rural development programmes provided a “very sad” picture in terms of accountability and fund utilisation. It said a disturbing feature of rural development interventions in the state was the implementation mechanism adopted for the major poverty alleviation programmes and schemes. “It seems that instead of helping rural poor to come out of the poverty trap, these interventions have further drifted them into it. The amount of money pumped into various development programmes should have resulted in complete rural poverty.” |
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Hurriyat leaders, Pandits talk peace
Srinagar, July 19 The first ever meeting to discuss the issue was held between about 50 Kashmiri Pandits representing different shades and the top leaders of moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference at its party headquarters here today. This followed a series of meetings of the APHC representatives led by Saleem Geelani at different places in Jammu and elsewhere outside the state recently. Both sides have agreed to continue the dialogue for the return of Kashmiri Pandits to their homes in the valley. Over two lakh Pandits migrated from the valley with the start of militancy 16 years ago. The next meeting is proposed to be held at Jammu, by the end of August which would be followed by another meeting in Delhi. The moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has taken the initiative after the leaders returned from the PoK and Pakistan where they met various leaders in June. This group had also taken the initiative of meeting the central government and had had two rounds of talks with the NDA government. Its meeting with the UPA Government is awaited, even as both sides have agreed to continue the dialogue process. After the day-long meeting the APHC chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said: “Kashmiris’ return to the valley with a deeper sense of security and dignity unmistakably requires a favourbable environment, for which the APHC along with all other sensible elements will endeavour to discharge their duty as effectively as is possible and the Pandit intellectuals will, on their part, also contribute towards the forward movement as handsomely as is needed. “That participants support the ongoing dialogue process between India and Pakistan with a view to resolving all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, thus ensuring a lasting peace in the region. In this regard the involvement of the people of Jammu and Kashmir will further consolidate the process and help build bridges of goodwill, mutual trust and above everything else the understanding required under the circumstances. “That an appeal will be made to all sections of society in jammu and Kashmir to throw their weight behind our efforts, so that the movement forward is translated into reality”. Except for some of the prominent organisations of the migrant Kashmiri Pandits, at least 50 representatives from different organisations of various shades attended the day-long meeting. The Migrant Pandit leaders included Mr R.L. Bhan of the Migrant State Apex Committee and president of the AIKS, Mr K.K. Khosa of the Batte Sabha, Mr C.L. Pandita of the Naw Saun Kashmir, Mr Bhushan Lal Bhat, a former NC MLC, and Mr Anil Dhar of the Hindu Education Society. The APHC leaders included the Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mr Abdul Ghani Bhat, Moulvi Abbas Ansari and Mr Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi. The Kashmiri Pandit representatives observed that a system of safe return of the Pandits to the valley was required. “We do not want to come at the instance of the government”, said Mr Bharat Bushan Bhat of the All Migrant Coordination Committee. He said it was not proper to come to stay in the migrant’s colonies under construction by the state government at three places, Sheikhpora in Budgam district, Tulamulla in Srinagar and Mattan in Anantnag district. He said the construction of three colonies in 16 years reflected the lack of sincerity of the government for the return of Pandits. He told The Tribune that the situation in the valley at present was not congenial for the return of the Pandits and expressed the hope that it could be possible within a period of two to three years. |
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Remove hoardings of Pak President, says BJP
Jammu, July 19 In a statement here today, the Vice-President of the state unit of the BJP, Mr Hari Om, said that state government had itself installed hoardings that had pictures of General Musharraf. He said such hoardings were an affront to the self-respect of the Indian nation and a deliberate insult to the brave soldiers who had been fighting Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. Mr Hari Om wondered as to why such hoardings were installed in the main bazaars of Kashmir when General Musharraf and his ISI were engaged in stepping up terrorist activities in the state and also providing training and arms to the misguided youth to ambush the Indian soldiers and kill innocent civilians. Such hoardings in Srinagar indicate that the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre has recognised Pakistan as a potent factor in the state. This was not acceptable to the BJP that stood for complete integration of the state with rest of the country. He also demanded that the Centre should initiate action against the PDP chief, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, for “openly preaching” secession and demanding economic independence from New Delhi. Mr Hari Om urged the Governor, Lieut-Gen (retd) S.K. Sinha, to send a detailed report to the Centre about such happenings in the valley. |
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Qazi Yasir joins People’s Conference
Srinagar, July 19 “I see my entry into the People’s Conference as a spiritual union with my father and late Lone sahib that we are able to fulfil the aspirations of the people,” Yasir said at People’s Conference headquarters here. Yasir, whose father Qazi Nissar Ahmad was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the mid-1990s, said he would work for a larger coalition of the people. Welcoming the Mirwaiz into the party-fold, People’s Conference chairman Sajjad Gani Lone said Yasir, along with his uncle Qazi
Amanullah, would be entrusted with important assignments in the party after its working committee meeting. On the resolution of Kashmir issue, Lone said India and Pakistan had “exhibited a lot of flexibility and Kashmiri leadership should follow suit. We cannot remain rigid as it would isolate us”. He, however, stressed that Kashmiris should be part of dialogue process for resolving issue.
— PTI |
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Water instead of petrol for Army, 7 trucks impounded
Jammu, July 19 A spokesman for the Army said here today that the Army authorities at Leh had seized seven tankers carrying water instead of petrol and diesel from the Himachal Pradesh and Srinagar routes. Men of the Army intelligence reportedly got the information that certain transporters carrying the fuel from the Ambala depot sold these supplies to certain people and then loaded the tankers with water. The Army is purchasing these commodities for winter stocking at Leh and Siachen before the roads closed due to snow. The Army authorities laid a trap before these tankers reached the delivery points. A massive search was conducted along the arterial route and the Leh market. During the search, seven tankers filled with water instead of diesel were seized. The spokesman suspected that there was a nexus between certain officials of the Indian Oil Corporation, middlemen and transporters. |
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Islamic varsity soon: CM
Srinagar, July 19 This was announced by the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who is also chairman of the State Wakf Board here yesterday. He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating Bibi Halima College of Nursing and Medical Technology set up by the Wakf Board. |
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Drass is sub-division
Drass, July 19 Khadim Hussain Munshi assumed the office of the first Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM) of Drass, with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed inaugurating the newly-constructed SDM office here in the presence of a large gathering of people. The Chief Minister, addressing the gathering, said he had fulfilled his promise of granting the subdivisional status to
Drass. |
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