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Afzal Guru Death Row
Demand for new administrative units gains momentum
KPs’ return to Valley |
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Mela showcases Kashmir handicrafts
Minister opens Kupwara fruit & vegetable market
JAMMU DIARY
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Afzal Guru Death Row
Jammu, September 6 In February last year, Guru had sought early disposal of his mercy petition on the ground that solitary confinement was worse than death. “Though pardon is supreme, those involved in attacking the sovereignty and integrity of the country should not be spared so as to set an example for others of their ilk,” says Praveen Kumar, a student of Jammu University. Those guilty of killing innocent people should not go scot-free and hence be sent to the gallows without further delay, he adds. Echoing similar views, a former police officer says though the President reserves the right to take a final decision, citing a backlash in Kashmir if Guru is sent to the gallows is simply not acceptable in a democratic country. “If you allow mercy to the Parliament attack mastermind then you will be sending a message to other criminals that they may also get away with serious crimes,” he says. It may be stated that Kashmir-centric political parties in the state feel that Guru’s hanging would set Kashmir on fire. However, another Jammu University student, Shefali Raina, feels that Afzal Guru should be given life imprisonment saying, “Life imprisonment is more agonising than capital punishment. For the rest of his life, he should be confined to the four walls of a prison. By adopting a weak-kneed approach we will be giving a wrong signal to the enemies of our country, she says, adding that nothing is supreme than the country. A political pundit of the state says Afzal Guru, Ajmal Kasab, assassins of Rajiv Gandhi and others of their ilk are alive only due to the democratic set up of our country. “Had there been an authoritarian government in the country, such dreaded criminals would have been sent to the gallows by now,” he adds. It may be mentioned here that irrespective of the pulse of majority in the capital city, if a motion seeking Guru’s clemency is put to vote in the Assembly session, the ruling National Conference and the opposition PDP have the right numbers in the 87-member House to pass the resolution the way Tamil Nadu Assembly has done in the case of the assassins of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The Case Afzal Guru, a medicine and surgical instrument dealer in Jammu and Kashmir, was awarded capital punishment in 2002 after his cell phone number was reportedly found from the slain terrorists who attacked Parliament on December 13, 2001. The Supreme Court had upheld the sentence a year later in 2004. Afzal’s execution was scheduled for October 20, 2006, but was stayed after his wife sought clemency from the President
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Demand for new administrative units gains momentum
Jammu, September 6 While the residents of three hilly tehsils of Kathua district - Bani, Basholi and Billawar - have started campaign for creation of hill district, inhabitants of the Triath area of Rajouri have constituted a committee to intensify struggle for getting tehsil status. Similarly, residents of Ramgarh of Samba district have also raised the demand of tehsil status for their area. Such demands have been gaining momentum mainly in the backward hilly areas where people have to face problems due to geographical location. Residents of Triath, which is part of Kalakote tehsil, recently decided to intensify the ongoing struggle for getting the tehsil status. They pointed out that for many years, they had been demanding the teshil status, but their demand was ignored by the successive governments. Girdari Lal, a resident of Traith, said former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, during his visit in the area, had promised to fulfill their demands, but nothing has been done. He pointed out that for petty administrative works, they have to go to Kalakote and only the creation of a teshil will solve this problem. Residents of Sunderbani, which is part of the Rajouri district, have stepped up their demand for getting subdivision status for their area. During the visit of the Bleoria Commission members, the all-party delegation of Sunderbani had demanded district status. The delegations argued that being a central place between Jammu and Rajouri districts, Sunderbani is most suitable place for getting district status. “Our demand is for district status, but for the time being subdivision status must be given to Sunderbani so as to solve problems of the residents of this backward belt,” Rajesh Sharma, a member of the all-party committee said. Residents of Nowshera, which is also part of Rajouri district, are also demanding new development blocks to accelerate developmental activities. Residents of three hilly tehsils of Kathua district have already started a campaign to get district status. Residents of Bani, Basholi and Billawar pointed out that developmental activities in these areas would be accelerated after getting the district status. A committee comprising of representatives of different political parties has already been constituted to intensify the stir for getting district status. The committee constituted by the state government to recommend the creation of new administrative units has submitted its report, but these recommendations are yet to be made public. It is believed that report would be tabled in the coming Assembly session after which, the demands would further gain momentum. Development Issue
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KPs’ return to Valley
Jammu, September 6 The meeting, which was chaired by Minister for Revenue and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla, is understood to have also mooted an idea of talking to Kashmiri Muslim leadership and to bring them into confidence so that Kashmiri Pandit migrants, who traditionally believe in composite culture, should not feel any awkward situation as and when asked to return to their roots. Sources, however, said a majority of the Apex Committee members, who attended the meeting, opined that the return of the community was premature at this stage, as more spadework was required for the same. It was felt that unless the majority community of Kashmir, especially the younger generation, was not equally taken into confidence, any move to initiate the process of asking Kashmiri Pandits to again live in Kashmir would be a futile exercise. The sources said some of the members further stressed the need to broaden the scope and working of the committee so that every issue concerning the community was properly addressed. It was felt to include more migrant leaders to put forth the views of migrants dwelling in the camp and non-camp areas. The sources, however, said the committee was unanimous in approving amendments to the Prime Minister’s package by enhancing incentive for the construction of houses for Kashmiri migrants from Rs 7.50 lakh to Rs 20 lakh on their return to the Valley. The government had already submitted a proposal to the Centre regarding the enhancement of incentives for the construction of their houses. Other proposals included enhancement of money for the renovation of dilapidated houses and to provide the benefit of the PM’s package to more families. |
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Book fair evokes good response
Jammu, September 6 A total of 59 stalls of publishers and distributors from Delhi, Gurgaon, Punjab, Haryana, J&K and other parts of the country have put a large number of books on sale. While visiting the book fair, The Tribune team found a large number of readers searching the books of their choice, which are otherwise hardly available in the market here. A number of books have also been displayed for the attraction of kids. All major publishers and distributors like NBT, Lalit Kala Academy, Oxford University, Delhi Press Patra Prakashan Pvt Ltd (from Delhi); Adhaar Prakashan; Shubhi Publication, Haryana; Publication Bureau, Patiala and Himachal Prakashan have come here for this 9-day long fair. These publishers said earlier the response was not good, but with the passing of three-four days now they were getting good response from readers of all ages. “This is the first time we have come here for a book fair and we are getting good response. People are demanding some other books which are missing in the shelves, so next time we will come with more variety,” said Rajesh, a stall manager. Even the readers praised this initiative of Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art and Culture as they were able to purchase the books of their interest. Ajay Kumar, a student of University of Jammu, who was searching for a book on Ladakh said, “Though a large number of books have been put on sale, yet I am unable to find out a single book covering the entire Ladakh region.” However, he said this was a welcome step as a number of quality books had been displayed. “Book fairs should be regularly organised here so that youngster could be developed an interest in reading,” said Ajay, adding, “A book lover cannot go empty handed from this fair.” |
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Mela showcases Kashmir handicrafts
“When young educated youth would incorporate their inventing and pioneering talent and ability in the traditional handicrafts manufacturing sector, a new chapter of master craftsmanship will be written with lots of promises and economic affluence,” he said and asked the Handicrafts Department to double its efforts to restore the glory of Kashmir handicrafts ensuring substantial remunerations for artisans. Speaking at a function after inaugurating 15 days’ craft mela at the Kashmir Haat (Exhibition ground), Srinagar, the Chief Minister said the economic strength of the state is in the development of handicrafts and progress of the artisans. He stressed on proper utilisation of the Kashmir Haat for the promotion of handicrafts and providing opportunities to the artisans to sell their handicraft items directly removing the middlemen, who take a lion’s share of their hard work. He told the Handicrafts Department to organise regular series of activities in the Haat with mega handicrafts mela once or twice in a year. Omar also underlined the need of symbiotic relations between the artisans of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country. “During the pleasant summers, you can invite your counterparts from rest of the country and ask them to earn with you here. They can reciprocate it by inviting you to their states during winter months for business,” he said, adding that it would create direct liaison between the craftsmen of the states with the artisans in other parts of the country and open new vistas of economic welfare. Stressing on strict maintenance of quality of products, Omar said some elements in the trade are tarnishing the image of the world famous Kashmir handicrafts by indulging in unfair means. “While the government would keep constant vigil on their activities, you also have responsibility to report such elements for severe actions,” he said highlighting the need of transparency and honesty in the trade. The Chief Minister also called for a strategy for diverting the tourists visiting Kashmir to the Kashmir Haat by creating new attractions and facilities there. “This year, over 12 lakh visitors and pilgrims have visited Kashmir. If we had been able to attract 10% of these to the Kashmir Haat, we could have generated handsome business for our artisans,” he said and directed the Handicrafts Department to concentrate on this issue. The mela, in which artisans from the state and all over India are participating, has been organised by the Dastkari Samiti. Over 70 stalls of different handicrafts from the state and outside have been installed in the mela. President of the samiti Jaya Jaitely said it has been organised to bring the Kashmiri artisans in direct liaison with the market and help build their ties with the artisans of other parts of the country for mutual economic benefits. She gave resume of the activities of the samiti and said that its endeavour is to eliminate the influence of middlemen and help befitting remunerations to the artisans for their works by creating their direct ties with the buyers. |
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Minister opens Kupwara fruit & vegetable market
Srinagar, September 6 Congratulating the people of Kupwara after inaugurating the mandi, the Minister said the government was committed to spreading marketing activities for fruit and vegetable traders in every nook and corner of the state to improve their income strata. He said efforts were being made to procure the products of farmers from their doorsteps. With the opening of the Kupwara mandi, the Minister said a long-pending demand of this hilly district had been fulfilled. He hoped that the trading activities would receive boost in the area and people would get good return of their produces. He apprised that the market had been spread over a land of 46 kanals with the provision of 179 shops, one administrative block, toilet block, chain link fencing, road and parking area and drainage system. The mandi had been completed at an estimated cost of Rs 2.52 crore. On the occasion, the Minister also distributed 150 allotment letters for shop sites to the traders in the mandi in a transparent manner in the presence of all the applicants and the general public. He asked the allottees to construct their shops in a minimum possible time and start business activities at the earliest. He clarified that in case the allottee does not construct his shop within the prescribed period, his allotment would be cancelled. He assured the traders that all the basic amenities would be created in the market and efforts would be made to acquire more land for further expansion. Describing Kupwara as horticulture rich, the Minister said the government would explore uncovered areas and bring them under the ambit of horticulture cultivation. He directed the director, Horticulture, and the joint director, Floriculture, to organise awareness camps for farmers at the block level to educate them about the horticulture and floriculture potential so that more and more people adopt these activities. |
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JAMMU DIARY
The suspended legislators under the leadership of expelled leader Chaman Lal Gupta are organising public meetings at different places and highlighting policies and programmes of the party. These MLAs are attending official functions as members of the BJP, but the party could not take any action against them. The official state unit of the BJP has been repeatedly trying to give an impression that the suspended MLAs have nothing to do with the party, but the authorities as well as general public are still considering these legislators as members of the BJP. Cong leaders skip Eid Milan function
A Congress leader organised Eid Milan function in which leaders of all political parties were present. Interestingly some leaders of the BJP were present in the Eid Milan party, but the leaders of the opponent faction of the Congress were conspicuous by their absence. The host had invited leaders of both his and rival faction in the Eid Milan, but his own party members preferred to boycott this personal function. A BJP leader, who was present in the function, remarked that differences among the Congress leaders had grown so strong they did not want to see face of each other. Red Cross sarai finally gets publicity
Attendant Sarai, which has been proving to be a flop project of the administration due to lack of publicity, has finally got some publicity. Worried over the poor response of public, the Red Cross Society, which is responsible for its maintenance, has now installed some banners (see photo) at the Government Medical College and Hospital, asking the patients’ attendants to stay at nominal price in the
sarai. (Contributed by Dinesh Manhotra and Archit Watts) |
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Srinagar, September 6
The BJP has been facing a piquant situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Although the party has suspended six of its MLAs after the cross-voting episode, the suspended legislators have been claiming that they are the real
BJP.