Jammu, April 6
The recent decision of the Central government to hike the rental for the land hired or requisitioned by the armed forces has not made the fruit growers in the state happy, who say the rental announced is too meager for an orchard that generates an income three to four times of the revised rent.

They demand that a new revision of the rent should be done and the affect should be given from the date when the land was occupied by the armed forces.

Speaking to The Tribune over phone, president of the All Jammu and Kashmir Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association Ghulam Rasool Bhat said, “The Union government has played a trick with us; by increasing rent from Rs 1,575 per kanal per annum for an apple orchard to Rs 10,000 per kanal per annum sound good, but only a fruit grower knows that this is nothing as compared to what the orchard in that piece of land generates annually.”

“On an average the income from an apple orchard spread in one Kannal of land varies between Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000, whereas Rs 10,000 is nothing as compared to what the fruit grower used to get,” Bhat said.

“For an apple orchard to mature and bare fruits it takes more than 20 to 25 years, but the damage that has been caused to these trees by the armed forces haven’t been compensated to the fruit growers, they need to be compensated for that also if the government is really serious in providing succor to the poor people of the state,” he added.

Meanwhile, people in the state have termed the hike in rental of the land as an election card being played by the Congress-led state and central government.

However land owners in and around Jammu whose land has been hired by the Army has ‘welcomed’ the decision. “The decision of hiking the rent of land from Rs 1,125 to Rs 3,381 for single crop, it’s a welcome decision of many such families,” said Bishan Dass, a farmer of R.S Pura sector of Jammu region.

Srinagar, April 6
A majority of journalists working in Kashmir have none of the protections and covers recommended by media bodies and United Nations.

This was discussed at the two-day workshop organised by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), a non-government organisation working for media's cause world over.

Sukumar Muralidharan, program manager, IFJ, South Asia, said the FJI had recommended that media organisations should give regular training to journalists working in conflict areas like Kashmir. He said journalists could minimise risks by working in a way that decreased threats and vulnerability and increased their capacity to tackle them.

He said media and insurance cover, training and protective gears to cover violence was needed for journalists in places like Sri Lanka, Palestine, Kashmir and other conflict zones. “You should know that life is paramount and should not be risked for a good story or photograph,” he said.

Jacqueline Park, director, Asia Pacific, IFJ, said journalists should keep distance from security forces as well as militants and not side with them.

Sunanda DeShapriya of the International News Safety Institute, said military often showed the attitude of “either with us or against us” and failed to understand the need of media's neutrality. He cited various examples where journalists were murdered in Sri Lanka. “Media should be united for a common cause. This is important to deal with forces opposed to freedom of expression,” he said.

Jammu, April 6
A 10-year-old girl was made to marry a man more than three times of her age in Kathua district of Jammu region.

But this is not all. The bridegroom, who was asked to allow the girl to stay with her parents for few years till she attains marriageable age, came back to his in-laws’ house after few days of wedding and repeatedly raped the girl in a field.

Ankita (name changed), a Class IV student, was married to one Rinku, a resident of Palsi village of Basoli in Kathua district few days ago.

According to the villagers, the marriage that lasted for four days was attended by a large number of people and none of the relatives objected to the marriage. As per sources, the ‘barat’ procession that started from village Basoli to Bandota was given a warm welcome by the family members of the girl.

The sources informed that as the girl was minor, her parents had requested the bridegroom to allow her to stay with her parents for few years till she attains marriageable age, to which the groom side agreed upon.

However, according to police sources, a few days later the husband arrived at the girl’s house and forcefully took her to a nearby field and repeatedly raped her.

“Her parents were not at home when the incident took place and after they came back, she narrated the whole incident to her mother, who in turn lodged a complaint at Munsif court in Billawar,” said a police source.

The court registered girl’s statement under Section 164 and 156. On directions of the court, the police arrested the accused and registered a case of rape under Section 376.

When contacted, SSP Kathua J.P. Singh told The Tribune, “The case was first registered with the court and it was forwarded to us from there, the police immediately swung into action and arrested the accused and presented his challan in the court.”

He said, “Due to poverty and ignorance, the incidents of child marriage do take place in remote areas, whenever we come to know about it we stop the marriage and arrest the people.

Just few days ago we stopped one such marriage. However, the need is to spread awareness amongst the masses to stop these marriages.”

Meanwhile, informed sources told The Tribune that the accused had given a huge sum of money to the parents of Ankita for the marriage.

“It was not only a case of child marriage, but also a case of selling one’s child, there was a deal and money was given to the parents of the girl for the marriage,” informed a source.

He said, “This incident was reported as the parents of the girl had imposed an embargo on the bridegroom for not sending their daughter with him, however, in many such cases where money gets exchanged nobody bothers and they allow the groom to take their minor daughter with him.”

Jammu, April 6
The state, which has the potential to attract Rs 27,800 crore of investment in the next five years, could become a hub for investors. Thus, it will be able to export Rs 13,000 crore worth of goods and create around 25 lakh new job opportunities in the state.

This has been stated in a report titled “Jammu and Kashmir striving for industrial revolution” released by the associated chambers of commerce and industry of India (ASSOCHAM)

The report which was released by ASSOCHAM president Venugopal N. Dhoot in Jammu today said the state had a vast potential for agro-based and bio-technical units.

Speaking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the report releasing function Venugopal said, “The most promising areas in which the state can attract investment from outside include food processing - agro-based industries, floriculture, handicrafts, leather processing and leather goods.”

He added, “Besides, sports, forest-based industries, processing of aromatic plants, herbs, bulk drugs, hosiery units can be established in the state.”

He said Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had extended a helping hand to bring in investment in the state.

“We have requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to extend an extra package of Rs 5,000 crore for raising the infrastructure for investments in the state,” Dhoot said.

The report also stated that the state had immense opportunities in hydropower generation, handloom and handicraft exports, gems and jewellery and development of tourism.

Qazigund, April 6
"We feel we are cheating these poor kids in the name of education.” This is an honest admission from head teacher of a government school in Nagras village, Nasir-ul Haq, when asked how one teacher could properly teach over 50 children of classes 5, 6, 7 and 8 packed together in a single room.

If the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led government has got unprecedented aid to revamp education and health sectors in Kashmir villages, the results are definitely not visible at many places.

Travelling across villages in Qazigund, which is the gateway to Kashmir and is 75 km off Srinagar, The Tribune found the state of infrastructure in a deplorable condition in villages, especially those inhabited by the poor and weak sections of society.

If in Nagras village, three teachers are teaching students of nursery to class 8 by clubbing them together in two rooms available to them, in the nearby village of Nagbal, the owner of a room, from where the government school is being run, has asked authorities to vacate his premises. “He says the rent is too low and students are too many for his small place,” Md Ismail, a villager, said.

Nazir Ahmed Didar says officials never visit these villages to see the state of affairs. The health sub-centre in the village is closed and nobody knows why one person employed there has not turned up. “Hardly any villager goes there as there is little availability of medicine,” Md Aziz says.

Sartaj Madni, who is a ruling alliance MLA and represents some of these villages, told The Tribune that the government was carrying out infrastructure work and there were teething problems. The lack of importance accorded to education in a state, which ranks among one of the bottomline states, becomes more painful as in many schools students studying under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) have been bunched together with regular students studying in higher classes for want of space.

“We teachers are blamed for poor results of the students. But those who know the conditions in which these kids study would not blame us,” Nasir says.

Didar says a number of families withdraw their children from schools as they believe they would be of little help of them. In these villages, linked by dishevelled, narrow kachcha roads, only poor send their kids, he says, and when they see the quality of education there they think it's a waste of time. 

Udhampur, April 6
The National Conference (NC) has started an aggressive campaign from Bhalesa - the hometown of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad - to corner the coalition on its failure to provide even basic amenities to the inhabitants of the Bhaderwah constituency represented by the Chief Minister himself.

The NC leadership has reasons to start the campaign from Azad’s native place as the party has been desperately trying to remove the “misconception” about its “understanding” with the Chief Minister.

In its campaign, the NC leaders directly attacked Azad and blamed him for the Bhalesa’s backwardness to give a clear message to the common masses that the party had no understanding with Azad.

“Unlike the 2006 byelections, when our party had given a walkover to Azad by not fielding its candidate against him, this time we want to give a tough fight to Chief Minister on his home turf,” a senior NC leader told the Tribune, while disclosing reasons for starting the campaign from Bhalesa. He said in the 2002 elections, the party failed to get secure votes from this belt, so it is now concentrating on Bhalesa area.

The NC had not fielded its candidate against Azad when he had contested the election from the Bhaderwah seat to enter the legislative Assembly after becoming the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Azad was member of the Rajya Sabha when he became Chief Minister in November, 2005.

The NC leadership has already given a green signal to its candidate, Aslam Goni, to start the election campaign from Bhaderwah. Goni, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2002 Assembly election from this seat, had completed a week-long extensive tour of the Bhalesa area and addressed a series of public meetings at Malikpura, Batyas, Bagli, Sora, Chilly Pai, Batoli, Gali, Hadal, Bhalla Chilly and Senu villages.

While addressing rallies in these villages, NC leaders said Bhaderwah had remained backward, which is hometown of Azad. Underdevelopment, rampant corruption, nepotism and unemployment are some of the issues on which the NC has been trying to corner the ruling party in Bhalesa.

Udhampur, April 6
Stranded passengers on the Doda-Bhaderwah road, joined by a large number of locals, today held a massive demonstration against the authorities, engaged in the widening of the 30-km road. They alleged that the road blockade had become a routine affair due to the casual approach adopted by the authorities concerned.

The road was closed on Saturday due to heavy rainfall and landsliding. In spite of, the road being closed for 12 hours, the authorities have failed to remove the blockade and restore the movement of traffic. A large number of passengers were stranded on both sides of the road. This morning, some passenger vehicles left from Jammu for Bhaderwah, which further congested the already choked traffic on the road.

Irked over the non-serious attitude of the authorities, stranded passengers resorted to shouting slogans and demanded removal of blockade to restore the traffic. They were joined by the locals who alleged that government agencies engaged in the widening of the road seemed to be non-serious in completing the work.

It was only after the protest demonstration that machinery was pressed into service and the blockades were removed.