Srinagar, November 30
The state government today announced the winter vacations in schools across Kashmir valley. In a late evening announcement, it was declared that all government as well as recognised private educational institutions in the Kashmir division, including winter zones of Jammu division upto middle standard, shall observe winter vacations from December 3 till February 28 next year.

However, high and higher secondary schools in the Valley will observe winter break from December 15 upto February 28, J&K Secretary Education Farooq Ahmad Faktoo said.

As to why the government has announced the school vacations in advance, Faktoo said the vacations have been announced as per the schedule.

“We have not declared the vacations in advance. In the past as well, we used to declare winter vacations upto the elementary level in the first week of December,” he said.

The government usually announces winter vacations in all government-run educational institutions in the Valley from December 15. The clamour for early announcement of the vacations, however, had increased this year due to early onset of winter and chilly conditions.

Sources said there prevailed a confusion in sections of the government whether to announce early vacations or not. It was evident from the fact that earlier in the day, Director School Education, Kashmir, Mohammad Shafi Rather had told The Tribune that there was no proposal to declare the vacations early.

“So far, there is no such proposal to go for early winter vacations,” Rather told The Tribune earlier in the day when asked about any plans to declare early winter vacations. If there was confusion within government about announcement of the winter vacations, Education Secretary Faktoo said, “He (Mohammad Shafi Rather) is not aware about the matter.”

After the region started receiving season’s first heavy snowfall in the upper reaches along with rain in the plains since Wednesday evening, parents as well as teachers were expecting the authorities to declare the winter vacations early.

The early announcement of the vacations has irked many in the Valley. They say officials at the helm of affairs announce winter vacation schedule in Kashmir as per their own convenience.

“Most of the schools are yet to distribute books or assign home work to the students for the winters. The sudden announcement of vacations is definitely going to affect the working of many schools,” head of a private educational institution said.

Srinagar, November 30
International human rights group Amnesty International today said the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir had arbitrarily detained 16-year-old Danish Farooq and were “treating him as an adult rather than a child”.

The group, which has been vocal over the detention of teenagers in Kashmir in the past, has demanded the state to upgrade its Juvenile Justice law in accordance with international laws. It called for an immediate end to “arbitrary and unlawful detention” of the teenage boy.

“Farooq(Danish) is a child under an international treaty that is binding upon India and so the manner of his arrest and detention must be compatible with this treaty,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

“Amnesty International calls on the JK police to end Farooq’s (Danish) arbitrary and unlawful detention. Either release him or produce him immediately before a magistrate.”

The group said the boy should be moved to juvenile detention home if the court decided he had to remain in detention.

“He should be granted all the safeguards and protections guaranteed to children by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and for judicial proceedings to go forward in accordance with international human rights law. He should also be granted, without delay, access to his family and they should be kept informed of his whereabouts and condition as well as access to a lawyer of his or his family’s choice,” Amnesty International added.

The police said the 16-year-old boy is not a minor under the state laws which treat anyone who attains the age of 16 year as a major.

Amnesty International also claimed the teenage boy’s family had been “denied the right to communicate with him or see him and is currently unaware of his condition”.

“India is legally obliged under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it ratified in 1992, to establish laws and procedures specifically applicable to children and to define minors as all individuals younger than 18,” it said.

Amnesty International also urged the authorities to “halt the practice of arbitrary detentions in the state, in particular of children.

Srinagar, November 30
With Kashmir's theatre community planning to hold a major festival on the World Theatre Day in a bid to revive art here, artists are still awaiting the completion of renovation works at the summer capital's only available auditorium — Tagore Hall.

Before the eruption of militancy in the state, the Tagore Hall used to be a hub of theatrical and cultural activities and the theatre community wants it to be thrown open by the World Theatre Day on March 27.

"There is no other auditorium available for us as we want to hold a big event on Kashmir theatre on March 27. Even though renovation works have been going on for around five years, we were told that Tagore Hall would be opened by December 5. However, there has been no headway on setting up seating arrangements and lightning facilities which are essential for theatre," Kashmir Theatre Federation president M Amin Bhat said.

After it was occupied by the CRPF in the heydays of militancy when cultural activities in Kashmir had taken a backseat, Bhat said the Tagore Hall was reopened in 2000 briefly only to be closed again due to drainage problems.

"If reopened now, it would go a long way in helping boost theatre-related activities in Kashmir and restore its former glory," he added.

KTF general secretary Mushtaque Ali Khan said there were no signs of completion of the hall despite several assurances made by the authorities. Khan also sought the intervention of Governor NN Vohra, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister of Culture NR Jora so that the hall was thrown open at the earliest. J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages (JKAACL) secretary Khalid Bashir admitted that there had been a delay in its renovation, saying the works “should have been completed by now”.

The JKAACL secretary said the executing agency, Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) was slow in completing the renovation work.

Srinagar, November 30
Family members of a 16-year-old protester, who is in police custody for the past 11 days on charges of attempt to murder and throwing petrol bomb, today alleged that they were not being allowed to meet him.

They said they were instead harassed by the police.

Danish Farooq, who according to the police is 16 years and five months old, a resident of Srinagar’s Chattabal locality, was arrested on November 19, his lawyer said.

The boy was first locked up at the Shaheed Gunj police station for nearly a week and was immediately arrested outside the court complex by the Kralkhud police after he got bail on November 26.

He remains locked up at the said police station since then.

A police spokesman had earlier said the boy was a notorious stone pelter who was involved in a number of stone pelting incidents including a petrol bomb attack. The accused teenager has been arrested under Section 285, 307 and 336 of the RPC.

“When we went to meet him, a police officer shouted at us and threatened to arrest to us,” said Farooq Ahmad, Danish’s uncle. He said they were worried about the health of the boy and wanted to enquire about his well-being.

“We don’t know how he is being kept. We just wanted to enquire about his health. We don’t know even if he has been beaten,” Farooq said.

The accused boy’s lawyer Babar Qadri had earlier claimed that Danish was “beaten and tortured by police” during his detention at the Shaheed Gunj police station.

Kralkhud police station SHO Aftab Ahmad said neither of the boy’s parents had come to meet their son.

“Only his two maternal uncles came to meet him. I believe they are the ones responsible for the boy’s plight. Their own children are doing fine but they have not taken care of their sister’s son,” the SHO said referring Danish was under the tutelage of his uncles.

The officer said had the boy’s parents come to meet, they would have been allowed to meet him. Farooq, however, said he along with the boy’s father (also named Farooq Ahmad) had gone to the police station on yesterday but were stopped from entering the station.

Human rights group Amnesty International has often called on the J&K government to update its juvenile justice law saying the present version of the law was not consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of Children. The Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice Act treats only those boys as juvenile who have not attained the age of 16 years.

Handwara November 30
Rafiqa Begum (52) of Magam, 12 km from Handwara in Kupwara district, is waiting endlessly for her husband ever since he disappeared in March 2005. Her husband, Mohd Aslam Sheikh, went missing from Punjab in March 2005 and he has remained untraced since then.

Aslam used to visit different cities in Punjab during winters to earn his livelihood. Mother of three children, including a minor son, Rafiqa barely manages a living by doing household chores in her neighborhood.

Her 15-year-old daughter Sumiya Aslam, who is studying in Class X, has to help her mother in household chores. This has badly affected her studies at this tender age. Absence of their father has put the future of children at stake.

“I somehow manage to pay school fee of my daughter. I clean houses and utensils of families in the neighborhood to feed my children,” said Rafiqa. Rafiqa has been exhausted of all her resources in search of her husband but in vain.

“I exhausted all the resources in his search after going from pillar to post. His disappearance has badly affected our life, especially the education of children,” she rues.

“At times, my children are forced to stay sleepless due to hunger. After working at others’ houses, I barely manage to feed my family,” she says.

Her son Abdul Hamid Sheikh plucks fruits during summers to support the family. “I earn some money during the fruit season. I work with growers in orchards for at least two months,” said Abdul Hamid, a school dropout.

Surprisingly, the police has not even registered an FIR of Rafiya’s missing husband, she complains.

“Despite repeated pleas, the police did not register an FIR in my husband's case. Many people visited me but nobody lent a helping hand,” she narrates her woes. 

Srinagar, November 30
Stressing for sectarian unity, the chairman of moderate faction of Hurriyat conference has called for a joint meeting with Shias and Sunnis on December 2.

“Mirwaiz once again stressed that Kashmiris should show unity and foil the evil designs of the agencies, which want to create fissures in the Muslim society of Jammu and Kashmir,” a Hurriyat spokesman said.

He said Mirwaiz, who is also the head of Muthaida Majlis-e-Ulema (joint council of Ulema) has called a meeting of the Sunni-Shia coordination committee on Sunday.

“The meeting would take place in the house of Agha Syed Hassan Al Moosvi, a senior Hurriyat leader, in Badgam. Members representing their respective communities would discuss the current situation and formulate an effective strategy to tackle it in the future,” the spokesman said.

Terming the imposition of curfew a ‘dictatorial tactics’ by the government, the spokesman said the Srinagar police had restricted lakhs of people in their houses in the downtown areas of the city and did not allow them to offer Friday prayers.

“APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has sternly castigated the government’s decision to turn Srinagar into a battle zone and make lakhs of people hostage in their own houses,” the spokesman said.

“Mirwaiz said it was highly condemnable that due to restrictions people could not move out of their houses to get daily essentials of life and offer the Friday prayers. He said the restrictions were also a direct interference in the religious matter of Muslims and termed this policy of government as undemocratic and authoritative,” the spokesman added.

Srinagar, November 30
A day after the season’s first heavy snowfall in the upper reaches and incessant rains in the plains, Friday saw a sunny day in the city as the State Meteorological Department has predicted that weather would remain dry for the next 24 hours.

The day temperature in the summer capital jumped after it drastically dropped by 9 degrees to 6.3 degree Celsius on Thursday. The maximum temperature in the city was recorded at 11.3 degree Celsius, an official of the Met department said.

The minimum temperature in the city was recorded at 3.1 degree Celsius. However, the weather officials warned the night temperature is expected to plunge to minus 1.0 degree Celsius on Saturday and will further fall in the coming nights.

There were no reports of fresh snowfall in the region, the official said.

On Thursday, the Valley received heavy snowfall in higher reaches with Gulmarg resort in north Kashmir recording 1.5 feet snow. 

Srinagar, November 30
Traders in north Kashmir’s Sopore town cancelled a strike scheduled for today, after getting an assurance from the administration that a special team would be constituted to look into the cases of burglary.

The strike was cancelled after the traders held a meeting with Deputy Inspector General of Police, north Kashmir; Superintendent of Police, Sopore and Sub Divisional Magistrate, Sopore.

“The DIG assured us that a special team headed by an inspector rank officer will look into all the cases of the recent thefts in the town. They would take steps to curb theft activities in the town,” pesident of the Sopore traders federation, Mohammad Ashraf -Ganai said.

He said the burglars were on prowl in the town and many shops were looted in recent past. After the working committee meeting earlier this week, the trades had called for a shutdown on Friday to protest the failure of the police to nab the culprits involved in these thefts.

"After the assurances, we hope that police will solve the burglary ases in Sopore" said a trader.

Srinagar, November 30
To give boost to the technology-based mechanised farming in the region, the agriculture authorities organised a farm machinery mela in Acahbal area of south Kashmir on Thursday.

The authorities concerned provided an incentive of worth Rs 38.16 lakh to the farmers on purchase of farm machinery and equipment, a government spokesman said here.

Various registered dealers displayed their machinery at the stalls, he said.

“Sub-divisional agriculture officer Achabal said the farmers of the sub-division Achabal purchased 141 irrigation pump sets, 19 power tillers, 25 tractors, 19 foot sprayers, and 8 vermi compost units and 19 poly green houses were established. For all this, an incentive of Rs 38.16 lakh will be provided to the farmers,” the spokesman said.

During the function he said, District Development Commissioner Anantnag stated the coordination between the agriculture department and farmers can achieve a state of self sufficiency in the agriculture sector. The technology-based mechanised farming has revolutionised the agriculture sector.

The Chief Agriculture Officer, Anantnag, who was present on the occasion, said the main aim of these melas is to make farmers aware about various farmer-friendly schemes launched by the department.

“Besides, these melas also facilitate farmers to select the agriculture machinery, equipments and tools of their own choice at their doorsteps,” the spokesman quoted the officer.

Srinagar, November 30
The last group of three Hajis is expected to land at Srinagar international airport on Saturday.

“All three Hajis have returned. They will be arriving Srinagar on Saturday,” Executive Officer of the State Haj Committee Dr. Abdul Salam Mir said.

He said the last group would, however, reach here via New Delhi.

This time Air India operated direct Haj flights from here to Saudi Arabia after a gap four years. As many as 9,170 pilgrims from the state performed Haj this year. This year’s quota for Jammu and Kashmir had been increased from 8,441 to 8,670. In addition, private Haj operators facilitated around 500 Haj pilgrims.

The first Haj flight from Saudi Arabia had reached Srinagar airport on November 2 and it was received by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

The pilgrims had started returning after the Eid-ul-Adha festival, which culminates the pilgrimage.

Jammu, November 30
Kathua XI and Government Degree College (GDC), Poonch, today scripted wins to advance into the next round of the ongoing 17th Waryam Memorial Hockey Championship at Degree College Ground, Poonch.

In the first match, Kathua XI defeated Waryam Club by 5-4 goals. The goal scorers for the winning team were Amit (10th), Suraj (15th), Abhinav (35th and 60th) and Digvijay (69th).

For the Waryam Club, Matinder Pal Singh (4th), Salil Raina (16th), Gurdev Singh (47th) and Ranveet (67th) scored goals.

In another match of the day, GDC Poonch got the better of Pritam Club by a comfortable margin of 6-0 goals. Jagvinder was the star striker with four goals which were scored in 5th, 44th, 50th, 57th minute respectively.

Aman and Talvinder scored goals in the 9th and 54th minute respectively. — TNS