Jammu, January 31
The Transport Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, at a Cabinet meeting today “snubbed” the Chief Secretary, Mr Vijay Bakaya, on the issue of delay in fixing seniority of doctors on divisional basis.

It is learnt that the two had a tiff on the issue when Mr.Sharma took exception to the delay in the implementation of the decision of the government.

Repeated efforts to reach Mr.Sharma failed, as his mobile phone remained unanswered.

Sources said the tiff was on the delay in preparing separate seniority lists of doctors of the Jammu and the Kashmir divisions.

Mr.Sharma became angry when the Chief Secretary informed him that the delay was because of certain technicalities and the seniority was being scrutinised minutely.

It is learnt that Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who was presiding over the Cabinet meeting pacified Mr.Sharma.

The government had recently decided to maintain a divisional- level seniority list of doctors and also of the faculty of the two medical colleges as the doctors were generally did not accept inter-division transfer.

The medical college at Srinagar was facing de-recognition by the Medical Council of India because of shortage of faculty. Two departments in the medical college have already been de-recognised.

Jammu, January 31
Dr Nirmal Singh, President of the state BJP, has accused the Hyderabad-based Maulana Azad National Urdu University of discriminating against the Jammu region by opening a regional centre at Srinagar where the number of students was far less than here.

In a statement here today, Dr Singh urged the Vice-Chancellor of the university to intervene and shift the regional centre here.

He pointed out that against about 100 students registered with the study centre at Srinagar, nearly 10,000 had got themselves enrolled with the study centre here.

He accused the Registrar of the university of discriminating against the Jammu region.

Jammu, January 31
The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet today gave a nod to the contract for construction of the Rs 255 crore Moughal road that would link Poonch district directly with the Kashmir valley.

The Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, decided to grant the contract to Hindustan Construction Company for building the stretch of the road between Bafliaz (Poonch) and Shopian (Pulwama) at a cost of Rs 214.4 cr.

The Moughal rulers used the bridal road to reach the Kashmir valley. Now it is being widened for vehicular traffic.

Construction of the 83.9 km-long road has been included in the Prime Minister’s reconstruction plan.

The cost of the road will be shared equally by the state and the Centre.

The competent authority has approved the construction of the road through a sanctuary. The work on the road will be completed in three years.

The Cabinet also approved the construction of a Rs 32.2 cr excise and sales tax complex at Lakhanpur.

It was decided to enhance the temporary move allowance of employees, who are part of the annual move of offices between Jammu and Srinagar, from the existing Rs 275 to Rs 550.

The Cabinet banned the purchase of timber by government departments from private timber depots.

Mr A.K.Angurana, on his return from Central deputation, has been appointed Principal Secretary, Higher Education.

The Cabinet upgraded the posts of DIG and superintendent of the prison 
services.

It also approved the creation of a post of OSD in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat that shall subsist till Mr V.S. Ramachandran holds it.

Jammu, January 31
While many Kashmiri Pandits have favoured an interaction with the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman, Maulvi Umar Farooq,who would be visiting Jammu for a couple of days from February 3,those belonging to established organisations of the migrants have no plan to meet the Kashmir Mirwaiz.

The Action Committee on return of migrants, headed by Mr Jetender Bakshi, has palnned a series of meetings with Kashmiri separatists, academics and common people in the valley to prepare ground needed for the return of migrants to their ancestral villages and homes.

Mr Bakshi’s NGO has had series of meetings with cross section of people and political leaders from the Kashmir valley.The action committee members visited Kashmir twice and held discussion with prominent leaders during the last year.

In Jammu the meeting with Maulvi Umar Farooq on February 3 would be part of the series of meetings the committee members had with valley-based leaders in the winter capital.

However,leaders of the All-State Kashmiri Pandit Conference and Panun Kashmir, headed by Dr Ajay Chrungoo have no plan of meeting the Kashmir Mirwaiz.

General secretary of the All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference, Mr H.L.Chatha, said today “three months ago Maulvi Umar Farooq had sent his emissary, Mr Salim Geelani, to us for setting the stage for sustained interaction with APHC Chairman.”

Mr Chatha said “I told Geelani that we would be willing to hold discussions with the Kashmir Mirwaiz if he condemned publicly killing of Kashmiri Pandits by militants since 1989 and assured us that the talks would be held within the ambit of the Constitution of India.”

He said “during the past three months I have not heard anything either from Mr Geelani or from Maulvi Umar Farooq.Hence the question of holding talks does not arise.”

Dr Ajay Chrungoo said “we have not been invited to the meeting one NGO had organised with Maulvi Umar Farooq.” He said “we do not have any connectivity with the Kashmir Mirwaiz and hence holding talks with him without fixing an agenda was out of question.

Dr Chrungoo said that “talks on the return of migrants with separatists is going to be a meaningless exercise because they (separatists) too have to move about under security cover.The security scenario has not witnessed any marked improvement which could encourage Hindus to return to the valley.”

Srinagar, January 31
A militant was killed in an encounter with the security forces at Branwar in Badgam district today, an official spokesman said here.

The encounter ensued after a search party was attacked by the militants, the spokesman said.

One AK rifle and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militant, he added.

In a separate incident, militants shot at and injured Jalal-ud-Din at Zurpora Bijbehara in Anantnag district.

Meanwhile, Javid Ahmad Dar, who was shot at by militants at Bijbehara on January 29, died in the hospital today. — UNI