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Spurt in Intrusion Bids
Vice-Chancellor of Central University
Silkworms die prematurely, farmers at their wits’ end
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Inter-district Recruitment Bill
Water crisis in Kandi areas
Amandeep Murder Case
Recruitment in SKUAST
Operation Sadbhavana
Nod to Leh’s Annual Plan
Tanya, Renuka win first prize
in painting contest
Pak SIM seized from passenger of LoC bus
Govt urged to adopt no work, no
pay policy
Shabnam’s wait for job
Jawan hurt in IED blast near LoC
Cops transferred
Father’s wait for justice
Domestic Violence
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Spurt in Intrusion Bids
Jammu, May 3 It may be stated here that there has been a spurt in intrusion bids and truce violations by Pakistan recently, the Ballard border outpost in Samba and Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district being the latest ones. “More than 100 ultras trained in guerrilla warfare have been moved to various launch pads across the border and hence the threat of intrusions is there,” sources in the BSF told The Tribune. Though they have not been kept at classified launch pads, intelligence inputs say there are more than 100 militants in groups close to the border waiting to intrude, they said. The sources further said though the time and place where the ultras would attempt intrusion was not known, their positions were known. “At the same time, we can’t cross the border to take them head on because of international conventions,” they added. Several times in the past the movement of vehicles of the Pakistan army carrying militants in the dead of the night after failed intrusion bids had been observed by the BSF, they said. The BSF has the operational responsibility of 229-km long international border where the Army is the second line of defence. “The fresh development has put extra pressure on the BSF because we never know from where and at what time the invisible enemy will try to intrude into our territory,” said the sources. They, however, pointed out that unlike the 229-km international border the 749-km LoC had a heavy deployment of the Army, besides 15 battalions of the BSF. In the wake of the recent developments, the BSF has deployed all its battalions on the border to effectively thwart any Pakistan-sponsored misadventure, the sources added. In a bid to effectively foil such attempts and keep 24-hour surveillance on the border the BSF has acquired sophisticated weapons and gadgetry. “We are acquiring more weapons and other equipment, but we can’t divulge their specifications because it neutralises our efforts,” said a senior BSF officer. Protest against truce violation Jammu, May 3 The Pakistani troops had violated the mutually brokered peace deal at the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district on May 1. “ We held a flag meeting with them (Pakistan Army officers) last evening at a forward post and conveyed our point, but as usual they were in a denial mode”, Brigadier-General Staff of the 16 Corps, Brig Gurdeep Singh, told The Tribune. Official sources said though the Pakistan Army officers denied their involvement in the latest misadventure, the Indian Army officers made it amply clear to the former that any misadventure in future would be taken seriously. They said the Pakistan troops again blamed militants for the misadventure. |
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Vice-Chancellor of Central University
Jammu, May 3 Agnishekhar, along with some political and non-political organisations, has raised a banner of protest against the proposed appointment of Prof Amitabh Mattoo as the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Central University Jammu. Agnishekhar’s move has not only led to resentment among the displaced community, but also invited its wrath. Most of the community members resented the Panun Kashmir’s action, as they felt politicking about the highest seat of learning was unhealthy and unethical trend, which needs to be Some community leaders have an apprehension that this action of the Panun Kashmir may sow the seeds of anti-Kashmiri Pandit community sentiments. AN Vashnavi, president of the All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference, said, “I do not know on what basis the Panun Kashmir leader has opposed Mattoo’s proposed appointment as Vice-Chancellor. It is the prerogative of the Union government and should be left to it.” Vashnavi said Amitabh Mattoo was an internationally acclaimed intellectual, who had brought name and fame not only to the community in the field of education, particularly as the Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University, but also to the entire state for which he was given Dogra Rattan Award. Similarly, HN Jatu, president of the All India Kashmiri Pandit Conference, said, “Who should be the VC of Central University Jammu is an issue between the government and the people of Jammu. The representatives of the Kashmiri Pandit community should not interfere in the matter until people of Jammu seek our help.” Dr AN Sadhu, president of the Kashmiri Pandit Sabha, also expressed similar views. Surrinder Ambardar, a political analyst, said, “By giving such statements, they are trying to create a gap between the Dogra community and the Kashmiri Pandit community, but they will not succeed.” Condemning the action of the Panun Kashmir, Vir Saraf, president of the Roots in Kashmir, described the move as anti-Kashmiri Pandit community and against its interest in the Jammu region. Meanwhile, some Kashmiri Pandit youths held a protest today at Muthi to express their resentment against the “divisive policies” of the Panun Kashmir. Subash Zutshi, a private employee, who was leading the protesters, alleged Agnishekhar was trying to create a wedge between the Kashmiri Pandit community and Jammu people. However, Agnishekhar said, “Whatever I am doing is for the welfare of my community. I do not want second exodus of Kashmir Pandits from Jammu.” “We have opposed Mattoo on the political and ideological basis and we think he is more of an interlocutor and diplomat. He talks about self-rule, autonomy and negotiation. He has never talked about the welfare of the Kashmiri Pandit community.” He alleged that the Central government, the state government and some vested interest groups wanted to create a gap between the Dogra and Kashmiri Pandit communities.
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Silkworms die prematurely, farmers at their wits’ end
Jammu, May 3 To keep the circle going, Sushma works as a domestic maid in some houses and eagerly awaits the harvest season. The cocoon produce used to fetch her enough money to pay off debts of the grocer, chemist and roadside cloth shop in this sleepy village Lamberi in Nowshera. However, she has run into deep trouble, as she won’t be able to pay her debts. The modest dream of her son getting promoted to Class IX, besides getting a new school uniform and books this month will also remain unfulfilled due to the financial crunch. Sushma had invested Rs 3,000 in planting mulbery and buying silkworms. She had been taking care of every thing painstakingly and was expecting income anything between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 this year. She is not the only dejected silk farmer, there are many other marginal farmers in Nowshera tehsil of Rajouri district who rear silkworms as a cash crop for additional income. The scorching sun has dashed their hopes, as sericulture experts believe the sudden rise in temperature has caused the premature death of silkworms. Among others, Rajouri has the distinction of the highest producer of cocoon. Last year, the district produced 230 MT of cocoon and this year the department was expecting an addition of 50 MT in the total yield. “Still we are expecting an increase of 7-8 MT in the total produce of the district. As the crop has started maturing, marketing will start in June,” said sericulture development officer, Rajouri, ML Chadyal. He added “due to unexpected rise in temperature, the produce will be lower than our expectation. Lesser moisture in mulberry leaves means the weight of the cocoon will accordingly be light.” Though he denied any reports of silkworms perishing, the officer said: “If the Agriculture Development Department starts an insurance scheme, they can also begin the exercise.” He, however, said the department, which falls under the administrative control of the Agriculture Development Department, was mulling over the implementation of an insurance scheme.” Tehsildar, Nowshera, Devinder Pal is yet to receive any formal complaint. “We have reports that silkworms have perished in many villages like Manpur, Tanaka, Bajnore, Gagrote, Baryala and Kalal but there is no written complaint from silk farmers.”
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Inter-district Recruitment Bill
Jammu, May 3 A large number of persons gathered under the leadership of advocate Vibodh Gupta, president of the Rajouri Poonch United Front, also held a massive protest at Gujjar Mandi on the arrival of Minister for Public Health and Engineering (PHE) Taj-Mohi-ud-Din at Rajouri today. While addressing a public meeting, Gupta said, “The present government has murdered the wishes of people of Rajouri and Poonch districts by passing this Bill. The Bill has badly affected these two districts, which have the highest number of Scheduled Tribes and OBC people.” Among other present during the protest were Farooq Khan, Chowdhary Firdosh, Molvi Akram, Bharat Bhushan Vaid and Koushal Gupta. Meanwhile, during a public rally last evening, when the members of the front were planning their future course of action, some unidentified people attacked the chairman of the front, Annam Chowdhary, near his house, said Ravinder Raina, spokesperson for the front. He further said Chowdhary, his security guard and driver were also injured when a group of nearly 20 persons attacked them. On the other hand, Kewal Krishan, SHO, Rajouri police station said, “The protest was peaceful. No one was injured in yesterday’s incident. It was a verbal clash only and a DDR has been lodged in this regard.” He said Annam Chowdhary suffered some bruises on his face and nothing more. The police is investigating the matter.
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Water crisis in Kandi areas
Jammu, May 3 Comprising 19 panchayats and 40 villages, Majalata tehsil of Udhampur district bordering Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts is confronting an acute shortage of drinking water as most of the natural resources have been depleted due to the prevailing dry conditions. For the last one year, the residents of this tehsil have been appealing to the authorities to make some arrangements for water supply, but to no avail. “We are forced to take some extreme steps as the authorities are non-serious in solving the problem of drinking water,” said RS Pathania, a prominent social worker who pointed out that after the depletion of natural resources, the authorities have not taken any step to make any alternative arrangement. He said the residents had decided to take on streets and block the highway to awake the authorities from deep slumber. “People have repeatedly been demanding deputing of one water-tanker exclusively for Majalta for ferrying water to the arid areas, but the requests seem to have fallen on flat ears and the stiff-necked authorities are yet to move,” he said. The residents here solely depend upon natural resources for drinking water, and after depletion of these resources this Kandi belt plunged into unprecedented crises as there is no alternative arrangement for water supply. Due to lesser rainfall, groundwater levels have plummeted to an all-time low and natural water sources, hand pumps, wells and bowlis have dried up creating a worst water crisis in the area. The authorities have earlier announced to lift water from the Mansar Lake to quench thrust of people of Majalata belt, but the water level in this lake has also gone low drastically so pumping of water has been stopped for the time being. Interestingly, some hand pumps have been installed in some areas of this tehsil, but a majority of these pumps are running dry due to lowering of the water level. It is widely alleged that hand pumps were installed without proper survey conducted by the department of ground water resources.
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Amandeep Murder Case
Jammu, May 3 The judge further directed him to furnish an undertaking before the trial court that he would not leave the jurisdiction of the court and would not influence witnesses or intimidate the complainant. The accused is facing trial under Sections 409/120-B, 201/34 of the RPC read with Section 3/25 of the Arms Act. The said trial is being jointly faced by him with accused Jatinder Singh and Royal Singh, who have been charged with offences under Section 302, RPC, read with Section 34 and 323 of the RPC in the same FIR. The incident relates to August 29 last year when accused Jatinder Singh, who is the son of Nagar Singh, along with Royal Singh, fired at deceased Amandeep Singh in his house, who later succumbed to his injuries in Delhi on August 30. The weapon of crime was said to be a desi pistol (katta), which was recovered on the disclosure of accused Jatinder Singh from a flour mill where he had concealed it. The pistol was deposited in malkhana of Gandhi Nagar police station, Jammu, the same day. The petitioners conspired with the investigating agency headed by the then SSP Manohar Singh to ensure the disappearance of the original weapon of offence and replace it with a non-functional weapon. |
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Recruitment in SKUAST
Srinagar, May 3 Contrary to its mandate, which include advancement of learning and undertaking the extension education to benefit the rural people of the state, Tarigami, in a statement, said for the past seven years, SKUAST was face-to-face with academic erosion, mismanagement and malpractices. Besides several clandestine and arbitrary orders issued in violation of the set norms of the academic council, Tarigami has averred that no competent professionals have been assigned the job of deanship. “To prevent any restrictions from reports of the Crime Branch regarding illegal recruitments, every effort is on to tailor these reports by utilising university resources and offering back-door appointments to kith and kin of the officials concerned,” the MLA Kulgam has maintained. Taking a strong exception to the manipulated purchase committees formed in SKUAST to acquire luxurious unproductive items like expensive flooring, furnishing, furniture, home and electrical appliances, Tarigami has said the purpose with which this highest seat of agriculture research was environed had narrowed down to the embezzlements. The CPM state secretary has demanded a thorough inquiry into the appointments of hundreds of back-door ad hoc entries that have been later on confirmed, ignoring talent and merit of the deserving candidates. He had further appreciated the inquiry that was ordered by the Minister for Agriculture into the illegal promotions given to junior agriculture officers. He has also demanded a stern action against the two erring senior officers who were held responsible for the illegal promotions, by an inquiry conducted by Verghese Sameul. “I also demand the recovery of Rs 2.43 crore of the state exchequer which were drawn by the out-of-turn promotees on account of arrears of pay and fixation of pay in higher pay scales from the date of issue of the illegal order to January 29, 2010,” Tarigami stated.
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Operation Sadbhavana
Srinagar, May 3 Zenab and Hawa could not use their feet as they had been suffering from some disease since early childhood. “Though the two sisters were getting a lot of sympathy, they were dejected as they did not have any friends and could not go out to play and roam about like other kids,” said an Army officer. The father of the girls was not in a condition to provide proper medical care to them and was under depression. “Their father would carry them to village fairs but could not do that all the time as he was extremely poor. Besides, he had to look after the rest of the family,” said the officer. The father, who is a peon with the local horticulture office, once heard the General Officer in Command of the 8 Mountain Division say that the Army was doing various activities for the betterment of the locals. “After hearing the GOC, he approached the village nambardar to request the Army on his behalf for some assistance. The nambardar approached the Army and his request was accepted immediately,” said the Army officer. A team of specialist Army doctors was rushed to their house and the girls were checked and put on physiotherapy. They were also given auxiliary crutches. “Zebun and Hawa are now quite self-sufficient and can move around on their own. The 8 Mountain Division under Operation Sadbhavana is now sponsoring them for further medical opinion and treatment,” the officer said. Both girls are now happy. There is a ray of hope in their eyes. The Army has given them various books to read, a carom board and other items to play with. They can now walk to the village and back, which was once a dream for them.
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Nod to Leh’s Annual Plan
Leh, May 3 However, the LAHDC is yet to receive the ceiling allocation for this year from the state government. The Chief Executive Councillor (CEC), Tsering Dorjey, who chaired the council meeting said: “ The LAHDC has sent the Annual Plan at the ceiling of Rs 87 crore for approval of the state government.” The general council also decided to levy an entry fee on vehicles entering the district.For small vehicles, the entry fee will be Rs 25 each and for heavy vehicle it will be Rs 50. The council noted the construction of roads and bridges being done for the past two to three years was nearing completion at the stipulated time due to use of more machines over the manual labour. The CEC said it had been made mandatory for class A contractors to have compressor which had also paved the way for speedy work in the difficult and rocky terrain in the district. Opposition leader Rigzin Spalbar said the demand for machines like earthmover was increasing. |
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Tanya, Renuka win first prize
in painting contest
Jammu, May 3 The topic of the competition was “Stop Pollution, Save Environment” and about 200 students participated in it. The participating students painted on different themes like air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, global warming, deforestation and energy crisis. In the junior category, Tanya Mehra, Nikhil and Abhishek got the first, second and third prizes, respectively. The consolation prize was bagged by Sonia Bhalla. Similarly, Renuka won the first prize in the senior category, while Naina Mehra and Monika Meenia received the second and third prizes, respectively. Twinkle Sharma got the consolation prize. Chairman of the organisation Vikas Sharma was the chief guest on the occasion. He gave away awards to the meritorious students and appreciated the students for their performance. Sharma said, “It is our prime responsibility to save environment and all of us should contribute in checking pollution.” Principal of the school PB Kapoor appreciated the efforst of the organisation in creating awareness over degrading environment. Besides teaching faculty and students, others who attended the function included Rekha Sharma and Ranjana Sharma, general secretary and vice-chairman of the YMP, and vice-principal KL Koul. |
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Pak SIM seized from passenger of LoC bus
Jammu, May 3 The police said during the search of the luggage of Abida Parveen, a passenger of the Poonch-Rawalakote bus, a SIM was found, but there was nothing wrong in it, the police said. Satish, SHO, Poonch police station said:” The SIM card has been seized and statement of the woman has been recorded. We are verifying it, but so far nothing wrong has been found”. He added the woman had come to meet her relative, Mohmmad Iqbal of Harni village in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district. |
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Govt urged to adopt no work, no
pay policy
Jammu, May 3 In a statement, founder president of the organisation RR Khajuria stressed on the government not to succumb to pressure from any quarters. It said the government should not roll back its earlier decision of slapping ESMA on striking “If the government wants to encourage work culture, it should remain stick to the policy of no work, no pay,” he said. He also hailed the government’s decision on formulating transparent transfer policy, besides decentralisation of powers in its departments. “Such decision will put an end to the political and bureaucratic corruption to a significant extent,” he maintained. |
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Shabnam’s wait for job
Jammu, May 3 Three days after the Darbar, a government job promised to Shabnam, wife of a former militant, Shafaqat Mohi-ud-Din Kuchey, not only remains elusive, but also the DIG, Jammu-Kathua range, Farooq Khan didn’t meet the family today. “On the last day of Darbar in Jammu, the DIG had assured us that my wife, who had earlier served for almost four-and-a-half years as a Special Police Officer (SPO) and left the job after a militant attack,would be provided a job. But today when we visited the DIG’s office, he did not meet us”, said Shafaqat. “We reached the office of the DIG around 11 am today and waited for him for more than three hours, but were repeatedly told by an attendant that the officer was busy in a meeting”,he said and asked “If the government doesn’t want to help us, why did it give us false assurances or promises ?”. Shabnam, who had earlier jumped before the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s cavalcade at the Civil Secretariat, today told The Tribune that everyone was giving them false assurances. She said:”We are under threats from the militants and have little sources of income. We will not go to the DIG’s office again. If they had assured to give me a job, then they should fulfill the promise”. Repeated attempts to contact DIG Farooq Khan failed. |
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Jawan hurt in IED blast near LoC
Jammu, May 3 “Sepoy Daleep Singh was injured in the IED blast. He was immediately airlifted via a chopper to a hospital in Udhampur,” Brig Gurdeep Singh, Brigadier General Staff of the 16 Corps, said. Official sources said the suspected militants had planted two IEDs in Kanga Nallah in the Balakote area. Though no one was injured in the first explosion, Sepoy Daleep Singh received injuries in the second explosion, they said. Sources said the blasts were triggered via remote controls. |
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Cops transferred
Jammu, May 3 Meanwhile, sources said two DSPs and two police post in-charge have also been transferred.
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Father’s wait for justice
Srinagar, May 3 The body of 16-year-old Bilal Ahmed Mir was found hanging in an abandoned house, near Nishat, on April 28 and since then his father has been going from one police station to another in search of justice. “We live in a rented accommodation in Bemina and on April 27, Bilal told the landlord that he was going somewhere.But when he did not return in the evening ,we went to a nearby police station and lodged a report,” Ghulam Mohammed Mir, father of the deceased, told The Tribune. He said the next day, ‘someone’ called on the cellphone of one of the friends of Bilal to say that the boy was in the Botanical Garden in Nishat. “We rushed to the place where the police had arrived and a large number of people had gathered.A policeman took us to a nearby abandoned house where we found Bilal hanging from the ceiling,” Mir said, and added the body bore several marks of injury,indicating that the boy was first tortured and then hanged to death. The family alleged the police was doing nothing to solve the crime and apprehend the culprits. “We don’t know who killed our son and why he was killed.What we demand is that the police must investigate the case thoroughly and punish the killers,” said one of the relative of the deceased. A senior police officer said a case had been registered and investigations were on. No much could be said at this moment, he added. Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased held a demonstration here in protest against what they alleged the slow pace of investigation.
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Domestic Violence Srinagar, May 3 “Domestic violence in the valley is on the rise, so the commission has decided to start village adalats,” said Hafiza Muzaffar, Secretary, SCW, yesterday during a state-level consultation and training on “the exacerbation of gendered abuse in conflict zones”organised by the Human Rights Law Network - Kashmir unit. She said cases would be taken up on the spot and all efforts would be made to provide immediate relief to the victims. “Domestic violence is increasing and women are responsible for it. They consider themselves inferior and aren’t aware about legal and Islamic rights. Besides, there is a lot of ignorance and illiteracy in the rural areas.” “Gender is culturally constructed identity,” said Prof Hameeda Nayeem, University of Kashmir. She added, “Women bear and rear child. Because of this fact, they are given a subordinate role in the society throughout the world.” Prof Hameeda argued that on the one hand, woman is considered subordinate to man and on the other, she is considered to be a symbol of communal honour. She said rape victims were depersonalised, adding, “Politicians take the political mileage out of rape.” Advocate Shakeel Sarwar said, “Honour crimes, gendered abuses are as old as the human history. The social and moral fabric of society is completely devastated. Honour crimes have something to do with mental make- up of the people.”
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Desperate to push armed militants into the state, Pakistan has reportedly moved more than 100 militants to various launch pads across the 229-km long international border, mostly in plain areas of the Jammu region.
The Rajouri Poonch United Front observed a black day against the ban on inter-district recruitment and blocked the Abdullah Bridge in Rajouri today.The protesters holding black flags shouted anti-government slogans for banning inter-district recruitment in the state and blocked the bridge for almost an hour from 11am to 12 noon.
Jammu, May 3
