Jammu, November 30
Going by the two terrorist attacks within a month in Srinagar, including the one at Qamarwari yesterday, the security forces feel that the coalition government, which had been clamouring for removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Srinagar, should read the writing on the wall.

A quiet Srinagar afternoon on November 29 was shattered by the familiar sounds of gunfire. Three well-armed motorcycle-borne terrorists were gunned down by the police while one policeman lost his life in the encounter. This happened on the outskirts of de-militarised Srinagar.

“Terrorists had once again shown their presence for the second time in a month as if to remind the world that militancy was still alive and kicking in Kashmir,” said sources in the Army.

The clamour to remove bunkers and thin out the police, paramilitary presence from the urban areas had compelled the Omar Abdullah government to give in.

Though it appeared to be a well-considered decision, the latest incident has raised many questions.

“While it may have pleased a few hardline separatists and their ISI handlers in Pakistan, but what about the common man in the valley,” said the sources.

With the state capital shifting to Jammu, the reduced security and visible absence of the security forces had raise uncertainties, fear and doubt in the minds of the population during the long winter ahead

The sources said the November 29 incident could not be wished away as an isolated one. Hopefully, it is not a precursor to many more such incidents. to follow.

It has clearly demonstrated the presence of hardline terrorist elements lurking inside cities and towns.

It is a known fact that with the onset of the winter, terrorists choose to seek safe havens inside urban and semi-urban areas.

Raising queries on the Qamarwari incident, an Army officer said the three ultras tried to storm Srinagar even at the risk of being recognised. It would be foolhardy for them to come in contact with the security forces. But why were these terrorists trying to move in Srinagar around mid-day and that too fully armed, he asked.

May be a serious incident was averted but there is a clear writing on the wall that reducing security is not the answer, he said.

Sources in the police and intelligence agencies maintain that it may have been imprudent to thin out security forces from the urban areas. But political compulsions had compelled Omar Abdullah to convince New Delhi in the aftermath of the visit of the all-party delegation. There is also talk of removing the AFSPA from Srinagar. How will the authorities justify their decision if there are a few more incidents like Qamarwari, questioned a police officer. The police can’t let its guard down as this may be just be the tip of the iceberg, the officer cautioned. 

Srinagar, November 30
While asking the people to desist from strikes, Minister for Rural Development, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Sagar has said the tendency has destroyed the economy of the Valley to such an extent which would take decades to recover the economic losses. He said certain elements were trying to subvert the developmental agenda for their petty political consideration causing miseries and hardships to the people.

The Minister was speaking at a public gathering at Tral, Pulwama, yesterday. MLA Tral, Mushtaq Ahmad Shah (PDP), District Development Pulwama, Director Rural Development Department and senior officers of the district administration attended.

Reactivating the importance of dialogue in solving various vexed issues, Sagar said the persons who believed in cult of violence had also understood this fact. He said violence had not solved any issue and it was to the medium of talking with each other that various issues had been solved globally and history stands testimony to the fact.

The Minister said those parties who were forcing people to observe strikes were in fact the real enemies of them as by virtue of resorting to unprecedented facts, tourism, educational and other related sectors have suffered colossal losses which would take decades to recover. He said the people have to distinguish between their enemies and well wishers taking into account these parameters.

The Minister and the MLA Tral jointly distributed Rs 89.24 lakh among 512 IAY beneficiaries of the Tral and Pampore blocks of Pulwama district.

MLA Tral, while praising the coalition government for its all-round developmental activities, said the people should also understand this fact and come forward and help the government in its endeavour.

New Delhi, November 30
A study has found that a weed, commonly known as ‘kurthaharl’ is posing a severe pollination threat to the nearby fruit trees such as plums and pears in the Jammu region by attracting a large number of pollinator insects, including honeybees, to its comparatively high-sugar nectar-rich flowers.

This can have serious impact on production from these fruit-growing trees in the long run if weed is not removed during the flowering season, says researcher DP Abrol from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Jammu in his study from February-March in 2008 at Udheywalla, just 5 km from Jammu city.

Besides a high sugar content, the weed has other advantages over the fruit trees such as a long flowering period and high flowering density.

“Bee abundance was recorded from the beginning to the end of flowering till the petal fall. For this purpose, 15 branches were marked in five trees and the number of bees visiting each was counted. The number of flowers visited by a bee and the time taken to do so were also recorded, following their movements as long as possible,” says the study published in Current Science. Based on data obtained from five such observations, the number of flowers visited per minute as well as nectar sugar concentration in the flowers of both (weed and fruit trees) was calculated,” the study says.

Flower nectar is primarily comprises sugars, which provide energy for the potential pollinators. Pollination is a prerequisite for fertilization which allows the flower to develop seeds. While some flowers will develop seeds as a result of self-pollination, others need help moving pollen from one flower to the pistil of another with the help of wind and insects.

The study revealed that honeybee species such as apis dorsata F., apis mellifera linn., apis cerana F. and apis florea F. were the most abundant flower visitors and comprised more than 80 per cent of the total flower-visiting insects.

“Interestingly, the simultaneously growing weed attracted a large number of bees compared to flowers of fruit trees such as peach, plum and pear. This may be attributed to the fact that the weed had a long flowering period stretching from February to May compared to the fruit trees which have their two-month flowering period from February. — PTI

The city of temples is also know as the city of protests because of regular protest demonstrations by students and social organizations. Bandh calls are frequently given by various political parties.

The bandh calls or chakka jams increase the common man’s woes as they are subjected to a lot of inconvenience but who bothers bout the man on the street.

Jammu, November 30
Despite having huge potential in the state, efforts of the government to tap eco-tourism remained only on paper because no sincere efforts were made it this regard. For the past six years, the government has been claiming to tap eco-tourism, but its half-hearted efforts failed to yield encouraging results.

Two days ago, Minister of Tourism Nawang Rigzin Jora once again stated that exploitation of eco-tourism was must for promoting economy of the state. He stressed on the need of formulation of a well-knit strategy through coordination of various departments in the direction. The Minister was speaking at a symposium at Jammu University. He said eco-tourism development needs integrated approach, adding that the locals have to play a pivotal role in the regard. He said the community participation in promotion of eco-tourism would also go a long way for exploiting eco-tourism in the state known for its natural and scenic beauty world over.

The Minister said the government would constitute a committee of experts to recommend measures of promotion of eco-tourism. He said eco-friendly products have already been introduced for various tourist spots for use by visitors. He said the government was providing incentives for development of eco-friendly infrastructure at various tourist destinations, adding that the development of log huts and paying guest houses concept was being encouraged in a big way. In this connection, he referred to construction of eco-huts in Dera-ki-Gali in Poonch and Gurez.

Notwithstanding the statement of the Minister, successive state governments have failed to tap potential of eco-tourism in the state despite being this would boost the economy of the region in a big way. A couple of years ago, the government had sent a proposal to the Union government, but the same was rejected as it was termed as vague and without identification of specific sites. In the proposal, the state government had identified over a dozen sites for eco-tourism, but the Union government had approved only half of the sites.

Failure of the government to get encouraging results from its efforts to tap eco-tourism has numerous reasons. First of all, the authorities concerned lack experience in the regard and secondly, the lack of coordination among different departments. There must be coordination between tourism, forest and environment departments for tapping eco-tourism.

Officers of the departments concerned were sent to different parts of the country to conduct on-the-spot assessment and survey of the areas which tapped eco-tourism. Despite this exercise, the state has failed to effectively tap eco-tourism.

Srinagar, November 30
A meeting of Deputy Commissioners and SSPs of various districts of Kashmir division was held under the chairmanship of Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Dr Asgar Samoon here.

The meeting, among others, was attended by the IG, Kashmir, SM Sahai, and it discussed various matters related to general public and civil and police administration in detail. The Divisional Commissioner emphasised the need for promoting police and civil administration and people relations.

He said the civil administration and the police should collectively work for the development and welfare of the people.

Srinagar, November 30
A grand Shah-i-Hamdan Conference was organised by Bazm-e-Hamdania, Jammu and Kashmir, here yesterday, in which a galaxy of Islamic scholars, Ulemas and writers paid homage to Sufi saint Mir Syed Ali Hamdani, popularly known as Shah-i-Hamdan. Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Bashir-u-Din Farooqi presided over the conference.

The patron of Bazm-e-Hamdania, Moulvi Khurshid Kanangoo, Moulana Syed-ur-Rehman Shams, Dr M. Aslam Andrabi, Moulana Ghulam Rasool Hami, Khawaja Farooq Renzushah, Moulana Mohammad Toyub Shah Kamili, Moulana Abdul Haq Owaisi, Dr Bashir Ahmad Nehvi and Tariq Ali Mir of Kashmir Uzma presented their papers.

Highlighting the contribution of great Sufi saint Shah-i-Hamdan in the Valley, the speakers said he spread the message of love and brotherhood across the Valley and changed the scenario of humanity of the population of Kashmir. They said Shah-i-Hamdan, who came from Iran with a mission of love and brotherhood to Kashmir, not only spread the Islamic teachings, but also provided employment opportunities by creating handicraft art among the people of the Valley that raised their life standard.

The speakers also paid rich tributes to Shah-i-Hamdan and said his contribution would be remembered till eternity and people should follow his teachings based on Islamic ideology, brotherhood and spirituality. They said his teachings have given a boost to the Sufism in Kashmir and had made its roots more strong than ever.

The scholars, Ulemas and other renowned personalities, who were present in large number, expressed their opinion that thoughts of love and brotherhood inculcated by Shah-i-Hamdan in Kashmir were required to be highlighted. The scholars were of the opinion that the entire Valley, particularly Shehri-Khaas, is always been blessed by great spiritual Aulia Kirams (spiritual personalities). The new generation is required to be made aware of their great contribution in forming society and making this place abode of knowledge and spiritual thoughts.