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Valley’s Tourism industry fears heavy losses
Paramilitary soldiers patrolling during curfew in Srinagar on Saturday. Photo: Amin War
Amid tension, KU cancels annual exam for now |
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Outrage against Afzal Guru’s hanging grows in cyberspace
Common man hails execution of Afzal Guru
Participants to face dope test
Jammu not prepared to fight swine flu
Board resolves allotment issue of shops, tents
Traffic movement on highway affected
Power grid felicitates employees
Youth stabbed in Rajouri
‘Ensure targets for imparting technical education’
Jammu marathon on Feb 17
Members of the Board of Development for Sports in India address mediapersons in Jammu on Saturday. Tribune Photo: Inderjeet Singh
No let-up in illegal mining from Tawi riverbed
MCC, Tiny Scholars log win in cricket
Reasi DSP Mohammad Shafi addresses students during an awareness programme in Reasi on Saturday. A Tribune Photograph Yoga team leaves for nationals
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Afzal
Guru’s hanging Tourists start leaving Kashmir amid apprehension of unrest; stakeholders say worse yet to come M Aamir Khan Tribune News Service
Srinagar, February 9 With many tourists already starting to leave the Valley in the backdrop of an emerging tense scenario in Kashmir, various industry stakeholders have asserted that the hanging would certainly have an adverse impact on the tourism sector. "Many tourists have already left. The news has come across as a shock. It (Guru's hanging) is unfortunate. It will have an adverse impact on the tourism sector," Siraj Ahmad, Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA) spokesman and former president of Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHARA), told The Tribune. "We had good two years and the Congress should have thought twice (before taking the decision)," Siraj Ahmad added. Even as the Valley witnessed an increase in tourist footfall in the past two years, the industry bad been hit hard for three years earlier due to the Amarnath land row in 2008, the infamous Shopian incident in 2009 and then the summer unrest of 2010. Sources rvealed that many tourists from across the counret had already started cancelling their bookings. "I was to receive a group of tourists from Mumbai today. But they did not come after they heard that curfew has been imposed here. Even if they come, it will be difficult to take them around. Those who are here are stuck in hotels," said Gulzar Ahmad, a travel agent. While Guru's hanging has led to imposition of curfew in the Valley amid clashes, the stakeholders have kept their fingers crossed as the prime tourism season usually gets underway by April end. "We are keeping our fingers crossed. While the prime tourism season is yet to come, many had already started trickling in. However, only after four or five days, we will be able to take a call," said Ejaz Kotroo, a houseboat owner. "If the situation goes out of control, tourists who are currently in Kashmir will take home a negative message from here. It will definitely impact the prospects of the next tourism seasons as well," he said. Bearing wrath
Stakeholders’ view Many tourists have already left. The news has come across as a shock. It (Guru's hanging) is unfortunate. It will have an adverse impact on the tourism sector. — Siraj Ahmad, Spokesman, Kashmir Economic Alliance We are keeping our fingers crossed. While the prime tourism season is yet to come, many had already started trickling in. However, only after four or five days, we will be able to take a call. — Ejaz Kotroo, Houseboat owner
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Amid tension, KU cancels annual exam for now
Srinagar, February 9 The University of Kashmir also cancelled its interviews for various posts of teaching faculty which were to be conducted today. "The university will not conduct any examinations till February 11," KU Controller of Examinations Prof Salam Bhat said. "According to our examination calendar, the next date for the tests is February 12. Hopefully, we will be able to conduct examination smoothly thereafter but we need to see the law and order situation too," Prof Bhat added. Around 5,000 students of BA, BSc, BCom courses (first year) from various degree colleges of the
Valley were to appear in English paper today which stands cancelled as of now. In addition, 3,000 students from various departments of KU in the second and fourth semester are also taking their examination on the main campus in Hazratbal, Srinagar. "We are going to notify our schedule on Monday," Prof Bhat said. A majority of KU students, hailing from the outskirts of Srinagar, found themselves in a
fix after having reached the university as they found it shut. The students said they came to know about the cancellation of examination through media reports and had nowhere to go amid tight curfew in the city. "We somehow braved to step outside our houses amid the curfew and showed our examination cards to the security forces to allow us to reach the centres. But to our disappointment, they (centres) were shut. We had a hard time getting back to our homes as not even a single vehicle was plying. We took lift from an ambulance and walked some distance on our way to home," a girl student said. Students Harried
— Prof Salam Bhat, KU Controller of Examinations
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Outrage against Afzal Guru’s hanging grows in cyberspace
Srinagar, February 9 Terming the abrupt news of Guru’s hanging as shocking, many netizens from the Valley, especially the ones living outside the state, put their profile pictures as pitch black dot to protest against the hanging. Various reports and judgements in Guru’s case went viral on cyberspace with a lot of condemnation pouring in from civil society activists, journalists and students from even outside the state. A few Kashmiri students studying in various colleges of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia University gathered at Jantar Mantar in the afternoon, after organising an online event for the condemning the hanging. Noted human rights activist Gautam Naulakha, Kashmir-based renowned filmmaker Sanjay Kak and other journalists had also gathered at Jantar Mantar when they were allegedly attacked by some Bajrang Dal activists. “These Bajrang Dal activists attacked girl students. The Delhi Police sprung into action and took 21 girl students into preventive custody. They were later released,” a student wishing anonymity said. In the backdrop of online services almost defunct in the Valley, non-resident Kashmiris were voicing their opinions over the execution, with a majority of them pledging their support to Guru’s family. “I am worried about his widow who wants to perform her husband’s last rites at their home. He should have been given a chance of fair trial, which did not happen. As I had always said, his hanging could have long term implications on the Kashmir issue and peace in the region. I fear for the worse now,” Prof Sumaiiya, an academician at University of Kashmir, posted on Facebook.
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Common man hails execution of Afzal Guru
Jammu, February 9
Like any other citizen of the country, we have also heaved a sigh of relief that the main perpetrator of the Parliament attack has finally been executed by the government. Terrorism has no religion and it is imperative for the authorities that there will be no delay in punishing these people, who are a real threat to the nation. Though the government has taken a lot of time to decide the fate of Afzal Guru but we are happy that justice has been
done. — Ashwani Kumar Sharma Good job done by the government to execute the mastermind of 2001 Parliament attack in New Delhi. Hanging of Afzal Guru is a victory of every Indian, who wants peace and stability in the country. I hope it will definitely send a strong message to Pakistan that India will no more tolerate such kind of misdeeds from its agents in
future. — Vijay Kumar
Sodhi The Government of India has done the right thing by executing Afzal Guru, who is responsible for claiming innocent lives in the 2001 Parliament attack. Today is a historic day for the whole nation and we are all happy to see the end of Afzal Guru. President Pranab Mukherjee has done the right thing by rejecting a mercy plea from Mohammad Afzal
Guru. — Mohammad
Iqbal — Rakesh Kumar
Gupta Infact, When India blamed the militants backed by Pakistan for the 2001 attack on the Parliament of the world's largest democracy, targeting the Prime Minister, interior minister and legislators, we knew that Pakistan will deny its involvement and it actually happened. Today every Indian is celebrating the execution of Afzal
Guru. — Janak Raj Gupta |
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National School games DYSS mulls to introduce dope test from next edition of the games Vikas Sharma Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 9 Sources said after reports pouring in during the previous edition of the National School Games wherein 11 student competitors tested positive, the CBSE then took a major decision to introduce doping tests for students taking part in the National School Games organised by the School Games Federation of India (SGFI). Sources said the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) had also written to all school boards to launch a crusade against the menace. Sources said, “Initially, the department has not taken it seriously and is of the view that there is no need to introduce this system. But after the matter came to light the department was seriously considering its introduction for sportspersons of the state. Though the DYSS has yet to take a final decision to introduce dope tests but it is most likely to be launched very shortly”. “The sportspersons of J&K are not as competitive as compared to their counterparts from other states like Punjab, Karnataka, Delhi and Union Territory Chandigarh. It is imperative to introduce the tests to ensure dope free competitions,” sources said. As per data, the NADA had collected 81 samples from competitors of the CBSE affiliated schools in wrestling (30), boxing (31) and weightlifting (20), of which 11 tested positive for banned substances in the 57th National School Games. Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director, Youth Services and Sports, said, “At present, there is no such proposal to introduce dope tests for sportspersons of the state competing in the National School Games. We are in regular contact with the SGFI and if it issues any notification in future, we would follow it,” he said.
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Jammu not prepared to fight swine flu
Jammu, February 9 After detection of flu cases in Kashmir, the health department in the city had begun monitoring of the patients being admitted in hospitals, but no foolproof mechanism has been created to deal with any outbreak. Sources said there is no preparation at district hospitals and only token alert has been sounded, with no measures being taken to equip the doctors and paramedical staff with necessary equipment and medicines. A senior doctor in Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu said a cause of worry is the influx of people from outside the state. “Though it is not possible to scan every person who enters the state, the health department should identify the people who visit the state from states where the maximum number of cases have been reported. But nothing is being done,” he said. He said this spreads as seasonal influenza and in winters, with other influenza, its cases are being reported in the hospital. Director Health, Dr Madhu Khullar said they have taken measures. “We are monitoring the situation and a separate cell already established to deal with the disease has been activated. We are monitoring the situation,” Dr Khullar said. Dr Khullar did not elaborate on the measures and on any teams created in Jammu for the purpose of monitoring.
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Amarnath yatra
Jammu, February 9 The board has clarified that the Supreme Court has stated that the quality of tents made available to pilgrims in many cases were not upto mark and, in future, a committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner concerned should grant permission for pitching tents only after verifying the quality of tents. He said Farooq Ahmad Shah, Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, who had considerable experience of working in the tourism sector, was requested to identify reasonably priced tents of suitable quality which should be the benchmark for assessing quality before issuing permission for pitching tents. He said a benchmark tent was identified by Shah, which costed around Rs 18,000 per unit and not Rs 35,000 as mentioned in some reports. The additional CEO said for Yatra 2013, a committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner and not the shrine board shall grant permission for shops and tents. Further, the guidelines in this regard were framed in close consultation with the Deputy Commissioners of Ganderbal and Anantnag districts and no condition had been prescribed that every person desirous of seeking permission to install tents has to buy a new tent. He said the representatives and delegations of tent owners association had repeatedly met the CEO and most of their issues regarding production of documents, date for filing applications had already been resolved. — TNS
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Traffic movement on highway affected
Jammu, February 9 As the news of Afzal Guru’s hanging emerged from the media in the morning, most of the transporters operating small cabs and vans on the 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway stopped plying their vehicles. Fearing trouble enroute and in the Kashmir valley, most of them preferred to stay in the city rather than take the risk of travelling towards the Valley. “There will be trouble for days now and it is better to suspend transport. I will not take any risk of ferrying passengers during these troubling times,” said Mukhtar Ahmed, a driver. Many of the Valley-bound passengers also avoided travel as the administration has clamped a curfew in Kashmir and there were protests at Banihal and other areas of the Valley. “We have been left with no choice but to extend our stay in Jammu. Curfew and clashes are both dangerous when trouble starts in the Vallley,” said a Srinagar-bound businessman, Shakeel Ahmed.
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Power grid felicitates employees
Jammu, February 9 Continuous rains and snowfall on January 19 and 20 and February 4 and 5 had adversely affected the Kishenpur-Wagoora transmission line. The transmission line was damaged and power transmission in one of its circuits on both the occasions had got affected (Circuit-I in January and Circuit-II in February). The power grid managed to restore these circuits with the
support of the state administration and the Indian Air Force. The team of powergrid engineers, who were part of this restoration exercise, included Arshad Khan, Mohammad Farooq, Pranav Malhotra, JP Singh, Mitin, Umer Sidiq, RS Reen, Narender Singh, Devinder Kumar, Gain Chand, Sandeep Kumar and Kansara Singh. Senior officers included JP Singh, executive director SK Sharma, General Manager, (I/C) Projects, KR Suri, GM (O&M) and AK Srivastava, GM (ES&PESM) also attended the function. All the officers had praised the employees for their efforts and appreciated their grit and
determination in resolving the challenges being faced by the power grid from time to time. |
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Youth stabbed in Rajouri
Rajouri, February 9 The matter was settled by their friends then but today Ashfaq attacked Azaz with a knife in the evening. A profusely bleeding Azaz was immediately shifted to the nearby district hospital by the family members, while the suspect went missing after the incident. Azaz was treated upon by the doctors, where he received 11 stitches and was out of danger, as per the hospital authorities. The police, after getting information about the incident, reached the spot and registered a case under Section 307 of the RPC against Ashfaq on the complaint of the victim. However, as per the police sources, the accused was untraceable till the filing of this report. |
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‘Ensure targets for imparting technical education’
Jammu, January 9 The minister was addressing officers during a high-level review meeting of the technical Education Department here today. Technical Education Principal Secretary KB
Aggarwal, Technical Education Director SS Sawhney and other senior officers of the department were present. The minister directed the officers to introduce area specific trades in various polytechnics of the state so that the people could get much needed employment at their doorsteps and also contribute in building the economy of their respective areas. The minister also directed the officers to formulate a mechanism by which admission could also be given to boys in various women polytechnics of the areas like Bhalessa and
Surankote, so that they don’t have to go to far of places for their technical education. |
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Jammu marathon on Feb 17
Jammu, February 9 He said this edition of marathon was dedicated to the “Dignity and Pride of Indian Women”. Minister for Culture, Floriculture and Urban Raman Bhalla and MP Madan Lal Sharma would also present on the flagging-off ceremony. “The marathon will pass through BC Road,
Amphalla, CPO Chowk, Kachi Chawni, Parade, Shalamar Road, Gummat, Vivekananda
Chowk, Dogra Chowk and finally culminate at the MA Stadium, ” Amit said. The marathon is divided into two categories-male and female and the winners from each category will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 21,000 while the second and third participant would pocket a sum of Rs 11,000 and 5,100, respectively. The registration fee is Rs 100 and the participant will also be provided a complimentary T-Shirt from the
organisation. Organising members of the committee for marathon namely Gambir Singh
Charak, Veena Handa and Vimal Manchanda were also present on the occasion. |
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No let-up in illegal mining from Tawi riverbed
Jammu, February 9 Hundreds of tractors, trucks and vehicles can be seen extracting sand, stone and other mining material everyday from un-auctioned sites, close to the important bridges. With the boom in the construction activity, sand is in big demand. Several truckloads of sand are extracted every week to feed the construction industry. A ban was imposed to keep a check on the uncontrolled extraction of minor minerals from local rivers, nullahs, including river Tawi (both Nikki Tawi and Badi Tawi), Nullah near Sidhra bypass bridge, Jajjar Nullah, Kattal Battal.
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MCC, Tiny Scholars log win in cricket
Jammu, February 9 In the first match, MCC, Chandwan got the better of SCC by a mammoth margin of 122 runs. Batting first, after winning the toss, the MCC set a challenging target of 181 runs for the loss of six wickets which, in reply, SCC was perished for paltry 58 runs in 11.3 overs. Chasing a stiff target, SCC batsmen could not apply on a batting friendly track and continued to gift away their wickets by playing lose shots. Ashwani was adjudged man of the match. In another match, Tiny Scholars overcame the challenge of Kathua Lions by 67 runs. Earlier, Tiny Scholars won the toss and batting first accumulated 178 runs by losing all their wickets in 17
overs. |
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Students urged to raise voice for human rights
Reasi, February 9 He was addressing them at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Reasi, during an awareness programme on “human rights and policing” today. Shafi said there was a lack of awareness among the public on fundamental rights and not just public but even the implementing agencies were not aware of them. “Fundamental rights are amended every time according to the need of the hour and the civil society should be aware of the rights and come together to defend them. When the civil society is united, even the government and police have to think twice” Shafi said. |
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The news of hanging of the Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru could not have come at a more troubled time for tourism sector, especially when
the stakeholders in the industry were hoping for another successful season this year.
Jammu, February 9
