The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Will decide on talks when Centre gives invite: Geelani
Reiterates Kashmir solution lies in giving right of self-determination to people
Ehsan Fazili
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 20
Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Geelani here today said that the All Parties Hurriyat Conference would take a decision on having a dialogue with the Central government only after there is a formal offer made to the conglomeration.

Addressing a press conference at his Hyderpora residence, Geelani was reacting to media reports about the Centre’s unconditional offer of talks to Kashmir separatists. The reports had emanated after the three-member team of interlocutors on Kashmir submitted its report to the Central government after a year-long exercise earlier this month.

The separatists, including both factions of the Hurriyat Conference — one led by Syed Ali Geelani and the other by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq — and the JKLF led by its chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik, had not met the interlocutors.

The interlocutors had included the “known stand” of the separatists in their report with recommendations to the Central government.

“We will take a decision in this regard (talks) only after we receive a formal invitation,” Geelani said, adding that all constituent members of the conglomeration would deliberate on the issue of participation in any dialogue.

“India is saying we will talk... till now many talks have been held. We are saying if we receive a letter for talks then we will think over it. We have a council which will consider it,” said Geelani.

He said the hardline faction will also have deliberations with a “wide circle of like-minded people”.

“Whatever will be decided, we will tell you,” Geelani said, adding that the “institution of dialogue” had to be purposeful.

Commenting on the recent statement of militant commander and United Jehad Council chief Syed Salahuddin wherein he had asked both the factions of Hurriyat Conference to desist from participating in the dialogue with the Centre, Geelani said they had their “own system”.

“We think on the level of our system,” he said.

Geelani reiterated his stand over the Kashmir issue and its resolution by grant of the right of self-determination for the people of entire Jammu and Kashmir. He said the long-pending issue was the root cause of different problems, including the human rights violations.

The APHC chairman expressed concern over the issuance of “state subject certificates” to non-state subjects, saying it was a ploy to change the demography of the Muslim majority state.

He demanded restriction on the number of pilgrims to the Amarnath cave shrine, saying an unrestricted number was “damaging” the ecological balance of the Himalayas.

Eye on votes, PDP seeks district status for Kathua hilly belt
Dinesh Manhotra
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 20
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has come out in support of the demand for carving out a separate district comprising Bani, Basholi and Billawar tehsils from the existing Kathua district even as other political groups are still “undecided” on the issue.

As this demand has been gaining momentum in the backward hilly areas of Kathua district, the PDP has decided to take up the issue to strengthen its base in this belt of Jammu province which is considered the citadel of the BJP or the Congress.

During her visit to Billawar tehsil of Kathua district, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti came out openly in support of this demand and sought cooperation of the people to get their demand fulfilled. “Give Bani, Basholi and Billawar assembly segments to the PDP in the next elections, and we will carve out a separate hilly district for this belt,” PDP chief announced while responding to the demand of the people of Billawar.

Desperately trying to woo the Jammu region, the PDP has deliberately taken up this issue as party’s general secretary Balbir Singh belongs to Billawar and the party has assigned him the job to muster public support on this issue. “The hilly belt of Kathua district is a glaring example of backwardness and underdevelopment. It is all due to the topographical location that this belt has remained backward and neglected,” Balbir Singh declared, adding that without getting the district status, the development of this hilly belt was not possible.

Singh, who was the MLA of Billawar from 1996 to 2002, said Kathua was the only district in the state which was spread over 200 kilometres. “I don’t know what is the stand of other political parties but our stand on this demand is clear. The PDP will effectively take up the issue to its logical end.”

BJP MLAs from Bani and Basholi Master Lal Chand and Jagdish Chander Sapolia, respectively, have also individually supported the demand of district status for the hilly areas of Kathua but their party is yet to take a call on it. Some local leaders of the Panthers Party have also spoken in favour of having a separate district.

SRTC workers observe ‘chakka jam’, buses remain off road
Tribune News Service

A ticket counters wear a deserted look. Tribune photos: Inderjeet Singh

Jammu, October 20
Following a one-day ‘chakka jam’ call given by the Jammu and Kashmir SRTC Workers Union, the entire fleet of 775 buses of the Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) remained off road today.

Consequently, passengers had a hard time as they had to pay more to travel by private buses and other light motor vehicles.

The one-day token strike by nearly 4,000 SRTC workers also resulted in a loss of Rs 14 lakh to the corporation. Infuriated by the alleged nonchalant attitude of the state government, the SRTC workers also staged a dharna at the Bikram Chowk office of the corporation. They shouted slogans against the government and demanded that their genuine demands, which it had accepted in 2009, be fulfilled without further delay.

“If the government and the SRTC management do not implement the agreement, we will be compelled to extend the ‘chakka jam’ indefinitely,” union president Ashok Mehra told The Tribune.

He said the SRTC bus service to Delhi and neighbouring states remained affected today. “Similarly, the intra-state bus service to Jammu, Srinagar, Leh and Kargil and other regions of the state also remained disrupted,” said Mehra. The entire fleet of 775 buses of the SRTC remained off road today, thereby, causing a revenue loss of Rs 14 lakh to the government.

Though keeping in mind Haj pilgrims, some buses were plied yesterday, but no bus ferried Hajis to their respective destinations today, Mehra added.

Transport Minister Qamar Ali Akhoon had a meeting with SRTC chairman Shakir Ahmed Kuchay yesterday and again assurances were given to us that our demands would be fulfilled. But the workers could not be fooled anymore, he said.

The striking workers have been demanding that the SRTC be run on the pattern of the Himachal Pradesh SRTC, the implementation of the RTC Act 1950, the implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, the conversion of the Cost of Living Allowance into DA, the holding of meeting of the board of directors after every three months, the release of COLA arrears, the implementation of SRO 157, ban on the plying of JKTDC buses and the release of retirement benefits.The Transport Minister said SRTC Managing Director JS Tandon had been asked to look into the demands of the employees.

Jammu may witness longer winter this year
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 20
The winter capital and other parts of the Jammu region may witness a long winter this year, as the temperature has already started dipping rapidly. In the past 10 days, the temperature has been a few notches below the normal.

Clear weather and ample rains during the monsoon have caused this effect.

“Normally in October, we do not witness such a decline in temperature. The nights are much cooler than the normal temperature during this time of the year. It seems the winter season will last longer,” said an expert at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST).

“Most of the districts have also recorded a dip in the day time temperature,” he added.

“Till Tuesday, the minimum temperature in Jammu was between 13 and 15 degree Celsius, which is rare for this time of the year. The maximum temperature has also remained between 30 and 32 degree Celsius,” he said, adding that though the present weather situation might lead to a long winter, it was beneficial to the farmers.

Terming it the optimum time to sow winter crops, he said: “The farmers in ‘kandi’ areas should not waste this most favourable time to sow the wheat crop, as the rains during December-end and January will give more benefit to
their crop.”

He predicted that the dip in mercury levels was likely to continue, as there were bleak chances of a cloudy sky in the coming days. “During this season, when the sky is cloudy and there are no rains, the temperature goes up. But, so far there are no chances of a cloudy sky,” he added.

In charge of the India Meteorological Department in the state Sonam Lotus also admitted: “The temperature is a few notches below normal. The snowfall on the upper reaches of Kargil and Drass also occurred in advance this year. There may be a longer spell of winter this year. But, at this stage it is very tough to predict about the snowfall or winter.”

Army divided on IAF ‘leak’
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria/TNS

Jammu, October 20
After the IAF disclosed “sensitive” details about the exact locations of the forward bases of the Army, including their altitude along the border with China and Pakistan, the Army in Jammu and Kashmir itself has two views about the issue.

If one section of the Army thinks the IAF has done no wrong in circulating the information in a tender notice on its website, the other feels the “classified” information should not have been put in public domain.

The IAF issued the tender early this month to hire private and public sector helicopters to ferry Army troops and cargo to the forward bases in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. “Once you agree upon outsourcing certain works to the private and public sectors, one has to share such information in the tenders,” said a senior Army officer.

“We see no harm done to the Army as in the present day scenario the battlefields have become virtually transparent with the invasion of technology,” he added.

In the 30-page request for proposal (RFP), the IAF had given the exact latitude and longitude of the helipads and the requirements of the loads to be carried to those bases. It also gave away the details of the heights at which the helipads were located in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. After tendering the work, the private parties, in any case, would have come to know about the exact locations of the forward posts along the border, he added.

Furthermore, the IAF could not have gone ahead with the information without seeking the prior consent of the Army, a pre-requisite at the Ministry of Defence level, said the officer. “In today’s world when Google provides satellite imagery to a common man and when battlefields have become transparent with the invasion of technology, I see no harm in it,” he said.

However, another Army officer felt that the “classified” information regarding the forward posts, including the locations of the helipads, should not have been put in public domain. “By mentioning the latitudes and the longitudes you have disclosed the exact locations of the forward posts, which is simply not ethical when it comes to classified information,” he said. “I feel the IAF should have done it in better way without sharing the classified information,” he added.

The 84 helipads are located in places, including Kishtwar, Kupwara, Tangdhar, Kanzalwan, Parkian Gali in Jammu and Kashmir, and Tawang, Daporjo, Bhawani drop zone, Yangtze, Tapukhar and Taksing in Arunachal Pradesh, near the China border.

339 BSF constables complete training
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 20
A fresh batch of 339 trained constables took the oath at a colourful attestation-cum-passing-out parade at the BSF Subsidiary Training Centre (STC), Humhama, near here, today. Minister for Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohiuddin took the salute at the parade.

The recruits, hailing from different parts of the country, successfully completed 38 weeks of rigorous basic training in which they were put through various dimensions and aspects of training, involving physical fitness and mental robustness, the effective use of arms, map reading and maintaining utmost discipline. Besides, training has also been imparted in field engineering, field craft, minor tactics, anti-terrorism, counter-insurgency, commando operations and respect for human rights.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister lauded the contribution of the BSF in guarding the borders of the country and helping the civil administration in maintaining law and order. He asked them to shoulder the responsibility placed on them and live up to the name of the force. He congratulated the constables, their families and officers of the force on the occasion.

Deputy Commissioner, Budgam, Mohammad Rafi; SSP, Budgam, Uttam Chand; Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control, Kashmir, AR Shola; and other senior officers of the state government and the BSF were present on the occasion. The parade was commanded by constable Jahan Yadav.

The minister gave away medals to the constables Susheel Singh and Akhilesh Kumar (Best Cadets); Anam Charan Madhei and Karambir Giri (Best Shot); and Jahan Yadav (Best in Drill).

Governor hands over bus keys to school
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 20
Governor NN Vohra handed over the keys of a 41-seater bus to Devki Arya Putri Pathshala Girls High School, Hazuri Bagh, Srinagar, at a function held at Raj Bhawan here today.

This bus has been donated by YP Mahajan, chief mentor and senior adviser of SML ISUZU Ltd, to facilitate the transportation of the children of the school.

The Governor sat in the bus and inspected the special facilities provided in it for the convenience of the children. He interacted with Mahajan and senior executives of the company. He was informed that the company was a leading manufacturer of school buses and had supplied over 100 buses in the state during the current year.

Yousuf’s death rakes up debate on relevance of Legislative Council
Dinesh Manhotra
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 20
The death of National Conference (NC) worker Syed Mohammad Yousuf allegedly in police custody has generated a debate on the demand for the dissolution of the Legislative Council, as the majority of the states in the country have already dissolved the Upper House.

Though except the Panthers Party no other political group has openly supported the demand for dissolving the Upper House, intelligentsia and members of the civil society have intensified their campaign for the dissolution of the Legislative Council, which according to them, has become a rehabilitation centre for politicians rejected by the people.

Yousuf, whose death led to disruptions of the Legislative Assembly recently, had allegedly collected a huge amount of money from people on the pretext of getting them nominated to the Legislative Council as members.

“Yousuf’s death has exposed how undeserving people manage to become members of the Legislative Council,” said Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh, who had been demanding that the Upper House be dissolved. “The very purpose of creating the Upper House has been defeated as rejected politicians manage to get nominated to the House. Hence, there is a need to get rid of it,” Harsh Dev said.

Dr Gopal Parthasarthi, a scholar of English literature and convener of the Public Opinion Forum, said the Upper House was an extra burden on the state exchequer. “The Upper House, which was meant to utilise the expertise of people, had become a rehabilitation centre for politicians,” he said.

Naresh Chander, another scholar, argued that the system of nominating members to the Legislative Council should be changed to ensure the entry of only deserving people.

Though spokesman for the state BJP Jatinder Singh did not directly support the demand for the dissolution of the Upper House, he said due to the entry of some undeserving people the cases of nomination to the House being made in exchange of money had surfaced and it had become a breeding ground for corruption.

‘No dengue case detected in state this year’
Archit Watts/TNS

Jammu, October 20
There is no threat of dengue to tourists and pilgrims, as no case of the disease has been found in the state this year so far. Though dengue cases have been reported in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and even Pakistan, the people of the state have been safe as the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which causes the disease, has not been detected anywhere, says the authorities of the Health Department.

Claiming no dengue case has been reported in the Jammu region, Dr Madhu Khullar, Director, Health Department, Jammu division, said, “So far, no case of dengue has been detected in the Jammu region comprising 10 districts. But the department is taking all preventive measures.” She added, “Besides our teams visiting villages, we are also spreading awareness about dengue through advertisements in newspapers so that if anyone has symptoms like fever, he or she should immediately be taken to hospital. People are also being advised to cover themselves with clothes and use mosquito repellants.”

Accepting the fact that a few cases of dengue were detected in the region last year, Madhu said, “This year, monitoring has been strong and there is no reason for the people to panic. All the departments concerned are also providing full support so that dengue, if detected, could be tackled easily.”

Similarly, Dr Gurcharan Singh, Deputy Director (Schemes), Health Department, Kashmir, said, “The Aedes aegypti mosquito is normally found in the areas having hot climate and hence no case of dengue has been reported in the region.”

Meanwhile, an alert has been sounded in all the hospitals after dengue cases have been reported in the neighbouring states. The people in the region have also been advised to drain out stagnant water.

Skill development of youth govt’s priority: Omar
Tribune News service

Srinagar, October 20
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said wide-ranging skill development programmes have been launched to enhance the employability of the youth to expand the job market reach for them.

“We are focusing on tackling the unemployment problem through a multi-pronged strategy where increasing the employability of the youth is the priority,” he said. Omar added besides creating the maximum possible jobs in the government sector, efforts were on to upgrade the skills of the youth to ensure their absorption in the open job market.

The Chief Minister said more than 50 industrial training institutes (ITIs) and 30 polytechnic colleges had been sanctioned to give a new dimension to the skill development programmes and train the youth of the state in modern trades and technology, thereby, opening the chances of substantial employment for them in the industrial and other sectors.

Speaking to various deputations at Public Mulakat here yesterday, Omar said, “My government has also sanctioned 23 degree colleges where modern subjects will be part of the curricula for widening the job spectrum for the youth.”

“While my government is concentrating on consolidation in the health and education sectors, we are paying due attention to universalising the medicare and educational facilities in the state. Our endeavour is to make these facilities accessible to the people across the state,” he said, adding the placement of proper faculties and necessary paraphernalia in the institutions was also on the priority list.

Omar said imparting technical education to the youth through a network of ITIs and polytechnics was imperative to ensure job security to them and provide them a level field to prove their mettle and achieve new heights in the field of science and technology.

The Chief Minister said the state government had flagged the unemployment problem as one of the top most concerns and devoted fullest attention to resolving it through various measures. He added new trends in education were emerging and modern concepts were being introduced to produce a generation of educated youth capable of competing at all levels and making a mark in the open job market.

Delhi University signs MoU with Kashmir varsities
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 20
Delhi University and two universities of the state here today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further their cooperation for the promotion of academic excellence and collaborate in the areas of research, training, exchange of faculty and students, sports and extracurricular activities.

The MoU was signed by the Vice-Chancellors of three universities in the presence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at a function held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) here today. Vice-Chancellors Dinesh Singh of University of Delhi, Talat Ahmad of Kashmir University and Abdul Rashid Trag of Islamic University of Science and Technology, Kashmir, signed the MoU.

Minister for Higher Education Abdul Gani Malik, Commissioner Secretary (Finance) Sudhanshu Pandey and various faculty members of the three universities were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Omar Abdullah highlighted the significance of the memorandum in expanding the orbit of research and said the collaboration in this field by the three universities would go a long way in benefiting the higher education sector in the state and provide opportunities to the students and research scholars to interact and share their experience.

The Chief Minister underlined the importance of implementing the provisions of the memorandum in letter and spirit. He said the areas of collaboration and obligations should be fulfilled in full and the aims and objectives of the agreement between the three universities realised in the right perspective.

Omar said the MoU would open doors for students of the state to undertake educational trips to Delhi University, and get benefited by the academic excellence of that institution. “This would also help University of Delhi to get advantage of the talent available in Jammu and Kashmir”, he said and expressed the hope that the exchange of faculty and students would be a regular process under the MoU.

The Chief Minister said research was the backbone of progress and excellence of higher educational institutions and the collaboration between the three universities in this field would yield positive results. “I expect incredible benefit to the students and faculties in the three universities by this MoU,” he added.

Jammu varsity students slam Prashant’s plebiscite remark
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria/TNS

Jammu, October 20
Reacting strongly to the recent controversial statement of Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan, who had favoured plebiscite for Kashmir, Sangharsh - an organisation of Jammu University students -- today decided to celebrate Accession Day on the varsity campus on October 25.

Addressing mediapersons here this morning, Sangharsh president Mahesh Kaul said: “The plebiscite issue raised by Prashant Bhushan is unconstitutional and totally meant to disintegrate the country. It is a ploy to set the process of Balkanization into motion to violate the territorial integrity of the country.”

He alleged that Prashant’s statement was a tactical ploy to make Maoists and Kashmiri separatists act in tandem and provide a breeding ground to forces working for the disintegration of the country.

It was a calculated strategy to wreck the sovereignty of India from within, he added.

While explaining the finality of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union, Kaul said the accession of the state to India was complete and legal in totality as Maharaja Hari Singh had signed the same standard instrument of accession that was signed by other princely states.

“As per the Independence Act of 1947, the princely states had only two options, accession to the dominion of India or Pakistan, there was no third option for independence,” he said.

Kaul said that by asking for plebiscite in J&K, Prashant Bhushan was questioning the Independence Act of 1947 by virtue of which the Indian nation was partitioned and two dominions of India and Pakistan came into existence.

He felt that since the problem of Jammu and Kashmir was political and communal, its solution was in the political reorganisation of the state, that is, carving out a separate homeland for Kashmiri Pandits with UT status for Kashmir, a separate Jammu state with UT status for Ladakh and a one-time settlement for 1947 refugees and PoK refugees, including refugees of the 1965 and 1971 wars.

Hans Raj bags gold in judo

Jammu, October 20
On day four of the BSF Inter Frontier Games 2011, Hans Raj of the Jammu Frontier bagged the gold medal in the judo championship (100 kg category). Umesh Kumar of Punjab secured the silver medal while Satya Parkash of Assam and the Manipur Frontier and Jaynandan Prasad of the South Bengal Frontier shared the bronze medal. Spectators witnessed the keenly-contested fights at the BSF Stadium, Paloura. — TNS

Army, IAF carry out joint exercise
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, October 20
A high-level joint exercise of the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF), Exercise Gauntlet, involving the Udhampur-based Northern Command and the Western Air Command, Delhi, is at present in progress.

The defence PRO, Northern Command, Lt-Col Rajesh Kalia, said the four-day exercise was aimed at testing the joint service combat strategy of the Army and the IAF and optimising the synergy between the two forces.

The exercise is being closely monitored by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, Lt-Gen KT Parnaik, and Air Marshal DC Kumaria, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command.