Srinagar, January 7
Dry weather conditions coupled with severe cold are expected to end this weekend in Kashmir valley.

Snow and rainfall are expected on Saturday and Sunday this week, says an official of the state disaster management cell in a brief communiqué.

“There is possibility of rain and snowfall on January 12 (Saturday) and 13 (Sunday), especially in the higher reaches,” said Aamir Ali, coordinator, Disaster Management cell.

The fresh snow and rainfall would probably end the week-long dry spell in the region, which saw night temperature falling several degrees below the freezing point.

Kashmir’s main city, Srinagar, recorded another extreme freezing night overnight with mercury falling to minus 4.9 degrees Celsius, which was more than two degrees below the normal, an official of state Meteorological department said.

The city recorded a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius the previous night and on Friday night the city recorded the lowest of the season as the minimum temperature fell to minus 5.4 degrees Celsius.

Due to the sub-zero night temperatures, the water bodies in Kashmir, including the Dal Lake, have been covered with a layer of frost continuously for the past few days.

In Srinagar, the maximum temperature was recorded at 9.3 degrees Celsius which was a few degrees higher than the average maximum for this time.

The city has been witnessing sunny and warm days over the last week which is a rarity in “Chillai Kalaan” -- a 40-day long harshest phase of winter in Kashmir which began on December 21.

In the remote snowbound Ladakh region, the mercury over the last 48 hours has continuously remained below the freezing point through the night as well as days.

Leh town in Ladakh region recorded a freezing night as the minimum temperature fell to minus 14.2 degrees Celsius while the day temperature increased to a maximum of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius.

The day temperature in Kargil district was recorded at the maximum of minus 1.0 degrees Celsius while the night temperature there fell to minus 16.4 degrees Celsius, the official said.

The minimum temperature in snowbound Ladakh region usually falls many degrees below the freezing point in winter months sometimes plunging down to as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius or even further.

In the skiing resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, which is enveloped in several feet of snow, the night temperature fell to minus 9.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.

At Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir, the mercury overnight fell to minus 8.2 degrees Celsius while the day temperature was recorded at the maximum of 6.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Qazigund, the southern gateway town to Kashmir valley, recorded the maximum temperature at 9.7 degrees Celsius during the day while the minimum fell to minus 5.8 degrees Celsius.

In the frontier Kupwara town in north Kashmir, the minimum temperature was recorded at minus 5.4 degrees Celsius while the maximum was recorded at 10.4 degrees Celsius, the warmest place in the region.

Srinagar, January 7
The authorities in Srinagar today booked 10 persons for smoking in public and recovered a fine of Rs 1,900 from them. Besides, the anti-tobacco squad removed over 200 hoardings carrying advertisements of cigarette/tobacco products from the city.

“The anti-tobacco squad, headed by Food Safety Officer, Srinagar, caught 10 persons, including government officials, smoking in public and recovered a fine of Rs 1,900 from them,” a government spokesman said here.

The squad, he said, inspected various areas, including National Institute of Technology (NIT), University of Kashmir and Chest Diseases Hospital.

He said the offenders caught by the squad included two employees of the university, one employee each of the NIT and CD Hospital.

Besides, the squad today removed numerous hoardings carrying advertisements of cigarette/tobacco products.

“In compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court and the ban imposed by the government on advertisement against tobacco products, especially at the point of sale, the anti-tobacco squad removed over 200 hoardings from Srinagar city which carried advertisements related to tobacco products,” the spokesman said.

Though smoking in all public places in the state was banned by the high court in June 2011, there is no ban on the sale of gutkha and other tobacco products in the state.

Considering the health hazards of these smokeless chewable tobacco products, 14 states in India, including Delhi, have banned the sate of gutkha.

Recently, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court by an NGO, J&K Voluntary Health Association, wherein it had sought a ban on the sale of gutkha and other smokeless tobacco products in the state.

After admitting the PIL, the high court had issued a notice to the state government, directing it to file its response within three weeks.

Srinagar, January 7
To strengthen its base in the Valley, the Kashmir unit of the BJP will hold a convention here tomorrow.

Kashmir unit BJP general secretary Mohammad Altaf Thakur said the party had started a month-long membership drive from January 1.

He said the first phase of the drive was held in south Kashmir and the aim of the exercise was to strengthen the party’s base across the Valley. “As many as 73 new members joined the BJP in Shopian, while 23 joined the party in Pulwama last week. We are looking forward to receive more members to the party fold during tomorrow’s convention scheduled in Srinagar,” Thakur added.

He said a BJP team was also meeting a cross section of people to take up their issues with the authorities concerned. The BJP had formed a six-member team recently that is travelling across the districts in the Valley to make the party more active in Kashmir. Besides Thakur, other local BJP leaders, including Sofi Yusuf, Ali Mohammad Mir, Mohammad Maqbool War, Haleemaji and Mohammad Ashraf Azad, have been nominated as members of the team.

Srinagar, January 7
Bemina locality on the outskirts of the city, which houses one of the largest neighbourhood of the Valley, is facing erratic and frequent power outages which has so far led to at least three protests by the residents in the past few days.

Most of the houses in the area have a metered electricity connection, which were installed more than four years ago with a government assurance that the measure will be complimented with an uninterrupted power supply.

However, this winter, as the night temperature plummets to extreme freezing conditions, the power supply to the locality has been severely erratic with outages sometimes lasting entire evenings.

The frequent power cuts in the locality have angered the residents who have at least thrice taken to the streets demanding regular electricity supply.

On Friday, protesters blocked the National Highway near Bemina, suspending the traffic for several hours.

A few days before that, protesters barged into the local electricity receiving station and shouted slogans demanding regular supply.

“After almost every hour, they stop the supply for two to three hours and this is happening everyday,” said resident of Bemina.

An official of the Power Development Department, while confirming the severity of the power cuts to the area, said, “The local receiving station, which supplies electricity to around 8,000 houses, has an installed capacity of 1150 Amperes.”

The official says the trouble happens when the peak hour load for supply of electricity at the receiving station reaches 2,100 Amperes, double its capacity to deliver.

“We today tried to shift some load to another receiving station which would have helped us ease pressure on the Bemina receiving station but when the locals heard about it, they began to protest,” the official said.

He said all the feeder lines of the Bemina receiving station were facing severe power outages.

Kupwara January 7
The police today arrested a fake sub-inspector (SI) of the police department from Shadipora village in Kupwara district. He has been identified as Javid Ahmad War, son of Mohd Maqbool War, of Warpora Sopore.

Sources said the fake SI was trying to resolve a land dispute between two families in the village. Suspecting his acts and lopsided view of the dispute, locals informed the police.

“He was arrested for the illegal act and lodged in the Kupwara police station. He was wearing police uniform with rank of sub-inspector when arrested,” said a police officer. “Further investigations into the case are going on,” he added.

Srinagar, January 7
The Urs of the city’s most revered Sufi saint, Sultan-ul-Arifeen Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom Sahib (RA) was observed with traditional fervour today. Devotees were seen thronging the shrine located at Koh-e-Maraan (Hari Parbat), which wore a festive look, throughout the day.

While devotees were seen engrossed in prayers and supplications, several stalls of eatables and other stuff had been set up outside the shrine. People were also seen distributing home cooked eatables to other devotees present at the shrine. Devotees also fed corn and rice to pigeons.

Last night, devotees were engrossed in ‘Shab Khwani’ (nightlong prayers), which are held one night before the Urs, at the shrine. MY Qadri, vice-chairman of the Waqf Board, which looks after the shrines, said Urs functions would continue tomorrow and special prayers and supplications would be held at the shrine on Friday also.

The Sufi saint, who is popularly known as Makhdoom Sahib and Sultan-ul-Arifeen meaning ‘King of Gnostics’, is the most venerated sage of the summer capital and his followers, Muslims and non-Muslims, have been paying obeisance at the shrine for nearly 500 years now.

Makhdoom Sahib lived in the 16th century and originally hailed from Tujjar Sharif in present day north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

The sage, however, spent most of his lifetime praying at the mountain where his shrine is located. Followers of the saint pay obeisance at the shrine for 13 straight days ahead of Urs.

Kupwara, January 7
Residents of Lolab in Kupwara district have demanded commissioning of a receiving station having a capacity of 6 MVA (Mega Volt Ampere) at the earliest to improve power supply in the area.

Built by the Power Development Corporation (PDC) at Lassipora village in Lolab, the receiving station, which was completed in July last, has not been commissioned so far. Local residents said commissioning of the station would help in improving power supply in at least 40 villages of Lolab valley.

“Power crisis has worsened in Lolab especially during the ongoing winter season. Commissioning of the receiving station will improve the power supply in the entire Lolab valley. Consumers will get rid of hours of extra curtailments,” said Javid Ahmad Lone of Sogam.

The work on the receiving station was started in 2009 and the same was completed in July last.

The existing receiving station at Krusan village having a capacity of 10 MVA, fails to supply power to a large number of people in Lolab in accordance with the curtailment schedule in place. Huge gap between demand and supply of power results in frequent power outages, said a senior official of the power department.

“We are not able to supply power to four villages at a time as it causes overloading. The consumers in Lolab are subjected to extra curtailment of at least three to five hours each day than other consumers in the district. The commissioning of the receiving station will improve the power supply in Lolab and reduce the curtailment hours to a great extent,” said a senior official of the power department. Executive engineer, Electrical Division, Kupwara, Tajamul Hussain said he had taken up the issue of commissioning of the station during a meeting recently . “An important inspection of the station by an independent agency is likely to be held in near future. Following the inspection, the PDC will handover the station to the PDD hopefully in the next two weeks for commissioning,” said Tajamul.

Srinagar, January 7
One person was killed and another was injured in different road accidents in Kashmir Valley.

The police said a Sumo hit and injured a pedestrian, identified as Raja Begum, wife of Abdul Rahim Dar and resident of Amarpora Mehrajpora, Sopore, at Tappar Patan. The injured was shifted to SKIMS, Soura, Srinagar, where she succumbed to her injuries. The body was handed over to her family members for the last rites. A case has been registered in this regard.

In another accident, an unidentified vehicle hit and injured Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, son of Ghulam Ahmed and resident of Watergam Kreeri at Vizer, Baramulla. The injured was shifted to SKIMS, Soura.

Anantnag, January 7
The District Hospital here is facing severe shortage of space, staff as well as advanced equipment, to deal with the huge footfall of patients it receives on a daily basis.

A source says it has become a norm in the hospital to make patients share beds.

“The new block has been under construction for the past some years. Despite the directives of the government to speed up the work, it doesn’t seem to get completed any time soon,” the source said.

Despite catering to the healthcare needs of nearly 70 per cent of South Kashmir’s population, the hospital continues to remain devoid of specialists.

“The reason that we have a very limited number of specialists makes us unable to handle complicated cases and serious patients continue to be referred to Srinagar for specialised treatment,” said a doctor in the hospital.

He said, “It’s ironic that the hospital does not have a CT scan machine and the patients, mostly poor, have to bear the brunt.”

“The patients have to get the tests done from private diagnostic centres costing them a lot of money. We have been pleading the authorities to install a CT scan machine here but to no avail,” the doctor said.

Chief Medical Officer, Anantnag, Dr Gulzar Ahmad said the administration had been looking into the things and they were moving in a positive direction.

“I am being told that the first 120-bed phase of the new block will be completed by April this year. It will be a huge relief for the patients as well as the hospital administration,” the CMO said.

Denying the dearth of specialist doctors, he said the CT scan machine had been already sanctioned and would be sent to the hospital soon.

Handwara, January 7
Residents of Bahak Harwat village and its adjoining villages in Handwara Tehsil availed benefits of a free medical camp conducted by seven sector army. The livestock was also treated by veterinary doctors at the camp.

According to a press release, 10 doctors, four nurses and 12 nursing assistants attended the camp. Around 200 patients, including women and children and at least 769 animals, were treated at the medical cum veterinary camp.

A gynecologist also delivered a lecture on reproduction and child health for the women of the area. An awareness camp was also conducted for mothers regarding vaccination of infants and minor children.

The patients were provided free medicines at the camp. To engage local youth and channelise their energy, career opportunities were discussed by the experts. The locals hailed the army’s move and hoped that such camps would be held in remote areas of the tehsil in future. 

Srinagar, January 7
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said politicisation of appointments to constitutional bodies like the Public Service Commission (PSC) was being attempted, with the ‘sole objective of providing government jobs only to the favourites of ruling dispensation’.

Referring to the claims that the names of candidates for appointment to PSC would be finalised in a coordination committee of the coalition parties, PDP chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar said such a move would add another dark chapter to the governance crisis in the state.

"Nothing worse can happen to the constitutional scheme of governance than a political group, with no constitutional standing, proposing names of members to a constitutional body meant to ensure transparency in government recruitment at gazetted level," he said in a statement.

Akhtar said the selection process to the PSC and other such institutions must remain apolitical.

He said the government had already vitiated the recruitment process at junior levels by appointing a favourite, twice retired officer, to implement the so-called fast track recruitment. He added that NC was once again destroying the recruitment institutions in its bid to appoint those who were close to it or those who could pay for the jobs.

Reiterating his party's objections to re-employment of retired officers, Akhtar said on one hand the large army of daily wage earners, casuals and seasonal labourers, promised the moon by the government, were unable to receive their meager remuneration and on the other it had appointed nearly 300 retired officers at lakhs of rupees per month.

Srinagar, January 7
Members of the hardline Hurriyat faction and other separatist leaders today offered special funeral prayer (gaibana nimaz-e-jinazah) for Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the former chief of Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami, who died in Islamabad on Saturday night.

The funeral-in-absentia was led by acting chairman of hardline Hurriyat Conference Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai at Old Eidgah Barzullah in the city.

After the funeral, Sehrai appealed that similar funeral should be offered for Qazi on Friday across Kashmir valley.

Separatist leaders Shabir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Shafi Reshi, Pir Saifullah, Ghulam Mohammad Ganai and others also participated in the funeral prayer.

Qazi, the Jamaat-e-Islami’s former chief, died in a hospital in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad late on Saturday night. During the last 20 years, Qazi had rallied vociferously for Kashmir’s separatist cause and backed the militants by providing them ideological support.

Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami, which Qazi led from 1987 to 2008, shares a common ideological framework with the Jamaat-e-Islami in Jammu and Kashmir which is the parent organisation of Geelani and many members of hardline Hurriyat faction.

Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir in a statement also condoled Qazi’s death and called him a “fearless (and) veteran Islamic leader”.

Chairman of a JKLF faction Javaid Mir also have expressed “deep sorrow” calling Qazi a “legendary leader of Jamaat-e-Islami”.

Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone also expressed “grief and sorrow” and called Qazi a “great leader and a visionary Islamic scholar” of Pakistan.

Srinagar, January 7
Kashmiri separatist leader and Muslim League chairman Mushtaq-ul-Islam has challenged his seventh consecutive detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) by filing a habeas corpus petition before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

In his petition, Mushtaq has also claimed Rs 30 lakh as compensation for what he calls his “illegal” detention by the authorities.

Mushtaq is currently lodged at Udhampur district jail, where he is serving detention under the PSA.

Though his last detention order was quashed by the high court in December, however, he was again booked under the PSA after the authorities concerned passed seventh consecutive detention order against him.

“We have now challenged his seventh consecutive detention under the PSA before the high court by filing a habeas corpus petition,” Mushtaq’s counsel Mir Shafqat Hussain told The Tribune.

“In the grounds of detention, it has been claimed that Mushtaq was booked after he made a hate speech in Srinagar after his release from previous detention. But the fact is that he was never released from detention during the period mentioned in the grounds of detention,” Shafqat said.

“In the petition, we have submitted that during that period Mushtaq was under judicial lockup in Central jail. Therefore, we have requested the court that a judicial inquiry be ordered into this incident,” he said, adding that they had also sought compensation of Rs 30 lakh for “illegal detention” of Mushtaq-ul-Islam by the authorities on “wrong” grounds.

Acting on the petition, the high court has issued notice to the government on the petition challenging fresh detention of Muslim league chairman Mushtaq under the PSA. The authorities have been directed to file their objections within two weeks.

Besides, in a separate application, the court has also directed the authorities to produce Mushtaq-ul-Islam before the TADA/POTA Court in Srinagar in connection with the trial of FIRs registered against him during 1987.

Batote, January 7
To generate goodwill and help the local youth in preparation for joining the Defence Forces through the Combined Defence Forces examination, the Army started three-month free coaching classes under its Civic Action Programme, at Sarna, Bhaderwah in Doda district today.

According to an Army press release, as the youth expressed a desire to join the defence forces during a motivational talk at Government Degree College, Bhaderwah, recently, the Army wanted to motivate and help them to join the defence forces, thereby eradicating unemployment from the state and channelising the positive energy of the youth.

To begin with, nine youth would take the coaching.

Rajouri, January 7
Revered Sufi saint Syed Muzzafar Hussain Shah (Almaroof Baji Sab) of Bravi Kalakote, Rajouri, today invited general public to participate in the Urs Mubarak of Late Jenab Syed Rasool Shah, popularly known as Nanga Baji Sab in the state.

According to reports, the Urs Mubarak Nanga Baji is being held from 4th to 9th of January, at Bravi Kalakote, Rajouri district. On the last day of Urs Mubarak, 9th January, there would be recitation of the holy book ‘Quran Sharif’ and prayers will also be held for peace and tranquility, at 10 am.

The late Sufi saint, Nanga Baji Sab has been a pious and spiritual personality of Malangam in Bandipur Kashmir. His tomb is thronged by thousands of people from all over the state during Urs.

Sufi Saint Almaroof Baji Sab is the grandson of Nanga Baji Sab, settled at Bravi Kalakote for the past 30 years, commands a large number of followers and has been organising annual Urs here.

The area has no proper electricity and water supply and also lacks roads to the venue. Despite of all these problems, the devotees pay respects in large number. The government has been urged, since a long time, to develop the area and make arrangements for the facility of the devotees. — OC