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Maintain dignity of House, Omar tells MLAs
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Police told to file report on composition of pepper gas
25,000 youth to be trained in hospitality trades: Minister
A nutty affair: Dry fruit boom in Valley
Shutdowns, curfew hit education sector in Valley
Afzal’s hanging, fidayeen attack hit Kashmir tourism
Scientists tag hangul with GPS collar to track its movement
Machil encounter case
Muslim youths from Banihal join BJP
Seven MLCs sworn in
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assembly in session
Jammu, March 18 Amid uproar in the House over failure of the coalition government to empower panchayats and discrimination with Jammu region in allotting funds for model villages, Mankotia’s tore papers and threw them in the well of the House before staging a walkout during the question hour. Enraged over this, Speaker Mubarak Gul said earlier also the MLA had indulged in such activities in the House. “I will not allow the House to become hostage to such acts-- he has thrown mike last time (during his protest over his demand for bringing resolution against Pakistan in the state Assembly)," Gul said. Announcing his suspension, he directed the watch and ward of the Assembly not to allow Mankotia to enter the House. Mankotia, however, said would not hesitate to repeat such “misbehaviour” in future also if alleged pro-Pakistani speeches were allowed to be delivered in the House. The Speaker’s orders to suspend Mankotia irked the Panthers Party legislators, who opposed this decision. Making a reference towards Independent MLA Abdul Rashid, Panthers Party MLA Harsh Dev Singh equipped, “Some MLAs indulged in giving anti-India speeches in the House but they were not suspended.” Panthers Party MLAs staged a walkout, and were joined by lone JSM member Ashwani Kumar Sharma. Members of both the factions of the BJP members were already outside the House. When a debate on the grants to the all important Department of Planning and Development started, no member of the Opposition was present in the Assembly. The main opposition party PDP had already announced to boycott the budget session from March 13. Talking to mediapersons, Mankotia alleged that his suspension was an excuse to target him after he demanded a resolution against Pakistan over its Assembly's remark on the execution of Afzal Guru. As the House was functioning without the Opposition, some members, who are part of the coalition, urged the Speaker to reconsider his decision. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mir Saifullah even went to the canteen to persuade Opposition members to attend the proceeding but to no avail. After intervention of some members, the Speaker revoked his decision after which Opposition members, including Mankotia, came back. Earlier BJP members had staged a walkout over the tactics being adopted by the coalition government to allegedly extend the 73rd amendment of the Indian constitution in the state to empower panchayats. BJP, Panthers Party and JSM members also staged a walkout over discrimination with Jammu region in allotting model villages. |
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Maintain dignity of House, Omar tells MLAs
Jammu, March 18 He said the principle ‘agree to disagree’ should be applied in such a way as not to reduce the dignity of the two Houses. “In a democratic set up every legislator has his right to disagree but it should be in a befitting and parliamentarian manner,” Omar said in an apparent attack on the PDP leadership. He was speaking at a function held to give away the best Legislatures award here today. Without naming the PDP leadership, Omar said politics and politicians were suspected by people for their behaviour and approach. “We have to change this mindset prevailing in the society by incorporating human element while taking on each other and exhibiting disagreement to others viewpoints. If our hearts do not meet, our hands should at least meet,” he said. Playing politics was something different and upholding human values was different, he said. Snubbing mediapersons Omar said, “Aap unse hi baat kare jo aapse house ke bahar baat karte hai.” (you should talk to those who talk to you outside the House.” |
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Governor gives away Dak Sewa Awards
Jammu, March 18 The awardees included 19 functionaries of the Department of Posts and two post offices, for providing commendable services to the people. During the summit, panellists from varied fields will deliberate on various initiatives to bring improvements in the postal services in the state to make these increasingly public-oriented. Highlighting the importance of post offices, the Governor observed that the Indian Postal Department was among the oldest organisations in the country, which had for decades provided valuable services to the people, particularly those living in the remote and difficult parts of the country. He said more than half a century ago, when there were very few bank branches, particularly in the far-flung and remote areas, people availed the services of post offices for various requirements as well as to deposit their savings. He observed that many of the small savings schemes were still available with the post offices, from which people could benefit. |
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Hundreds line up for Amarnath yatra registration
Jammu, March 18 With the registration process starting across the country today, a 27-year old Jammu youth Ujjwal Sharma hogged the media attention for yet again becoming the first pilgrim to get registered for this year’s 55-day Amarnath Yatra that begins on June 28 simultaneously from Pahalgam and Baltal routes. For the past seven years Sharma, a resident of Laxmi Nagar in Muthi area, has been the first pilgrim to get registered for the pilgrimage. Sharma said, “I have been visiting the cave shrine for the past 12 years and for the past seven years I have been the first applicant from Jammu to get registered for the pilgrimage.” Sharma got himself registered from the Residency Road branch of the J&K Bank Limited here. “I got the compulsory health certificate from the Government Hospital, Sarwal, to ensure that I become the first one to get registered,” said Sharma. Similarly, Vikey Bhan, 33, a resident of Rajpura, became the second person to get himself registered for the pilgrimage. He has been visiting the cave shrine every year for the past 14 years. Every pilgrim is being charged Rs 30 for the registration, which also provides an accidental insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh each. Additional Chief Executive Officer of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), Preet Pal Singh, said the Board had fixed an upper ceiling of 7,500 pilgrims per day per route and 100 to 1,500 pilgrims via helicopter services during the pilgrimage. “To ensure hassle-free and incident free pilgrimage not more than 7,500 Yatris will be allowed per day on every route. The number of pilgrims must not exceed 7,500 from Baltal route and 7,500 from Pahalgam route excluding 1,000 to 1,500 pilgrims visiting the cave shrine via helicopter service,” said Singh. He said the number of yatris must not cross 16,500 on any single day during the 55-day pilgrimage. This year the SASB had authorised 422 designated bank branches of Jammu & Kashmir Bank, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, YES Bank and HDFC Bank spread all over the country to register the pilgrims. Rs 1 lakh accident cover for pilgrims JAMMU: On the instructions of Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), all intending pilgrims possessing valid registration will be provided an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh each in case of death in accident within the state during the period of the Yatra this year. The annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine nestled in south Kashmir Himalayas at a height of 14,500 feet begins from June 28 till August 21 this year on the festival of Raksha Bandhan. Navin K Choudhary, Chief Executive Officer of the SASB, said the insurance cover will be available to all the registered yatris for the period commencing one week ahead of the start of the pilgrimage and end a week after the conclusion of the Yatra. He said the insurance would cover any accidental death, which takes place anywhere in the state while travelling onward to the base camps as well as while moving on the pilgrimage tracks.
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Police told to file report on composition of pepper gas
Srinagar, March 18 The Commission has also sought views of more experts on the hazardous effects of the pepper gas, which is being used by the police and the CRPF to quell protests in Kashmir. The SHRC, while taking serious note of the use of pepper gas against protesters and its consequent hazards on public health, had on March 12 asked the Director General of Police to reveal the quantum of pepper gas used and its chemical composition. It had also sought views of a panel of senior doctors from various hospitals of the Valley on the hazardous effects of the gas. “The matter came up for hearing before a Division Bench of the SHRC today during which expert opinion of Dr Muzaffar Mirza, Head of the Department, Chest Diseases Hospital, Srinagar, was recorded,” a Commission official told The Tribune, adding that the SHRC has also sought the expert opinion of ophthalmologists on the subject as the pepper gas is reported to cause severe irritation to eyes. “The Commission has also issued a reminder to the police authorities to file the requisite report on the pepper gas,” the official added. A panel of eminent doctors from the state who are yet to give their opinion to the Commission include Dr Parvez Koul from the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, and Dr Javed, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Government Medical College, Srinagar. The SHRC, while taking suo moto cognisance of news reports about the use of pepper gas against non-protesters early this month, had issued an interim recommendation to the state police authorities to stop the use of pepper gas in Jammu and Kashmir. Subsequently, the police, in its interim report to the Commission, had submitted that the use of the pepper gas during protests had been authorised by the Defence Research and Development Organisation which had developed the pepper gas grenades. |
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25,000 youth to be trained in hospitality trades: Minister
Jammu, March 18 For this purpose, food crafts institutions at Jammu and Leh have been made functional. Replying to a discussion on demands of grants for the Tourism Department, the Tourism Minister said the promotion of adventure and golf tourism in the state was on focus of the government, adding that to create the facility in Jammu and Ladakh, convention centres were coming up. He said work on the upgrade of the Sidhra golf course and development of the Leh golf course would be completed in the forthcoming financial year. He said the government would encourage private players to promote tourism in the state for which incentives were available. He said the government had been providing loans to intending investors up to Rs 1 crore for setting up of income-generating units under the tourism industry. Mir said those who want to convert their houses into guest houses and purchase adventure equipment or tourist coaches could avail of a subsidy amount up to Rs 7 lakh. Mir said the government contemplated to develop three new mega tourism circuits one each in three regions of the state and fourth one which connects south Kashmir with the Chenab valley. Each project is envisaged to be of Rs 250 crore and will be funded by the Centre with feasible sub-projects in the public private partnership mode. He said the tourism potential of the historical Mughal road would be explored fully by creating infrastructure facilities along the entire stretch of the road. The minister said a golf development authority would be created for the management and maintenance of golf courses in the state to promote golf tourism in unexplored areas. Mir said to attract tourists to Bagh-e-Bahu, Katra and Leh, light and sound shows would be organised in the next financial year, adding that focused attention will be given to explore and showcase the serene beauty of the Bangus valley in Kupwara. Enumerating tourism activities, he said the state had recorded the highest-ever tourist influx in 2011 and 2012, saying that 13.11 lakh tourists which included 37,000 foreigners and 6.21 lakh Amarnath
yatris visited Kashmir during the last tourist season. He said 1.03 crore pilgrims visited the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine
while 1.40 lakh, including 38,000 foreign tourists, visited Ladakh during the
last season. Earlier, he moved that a sum of Rs 236.70 crore be granted to the government to defray charges which will come in the course of payment during the year end, March 31, 2014. After discussions, the House passed the grants by a voice-vote. |
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A nutty affair: Dry fruit boom in Valley
Kashmir’s walnut, which is considered to be of the best in the world constitutes 90% of the total dry fruit produce, has fetched the state a total revenue of Rs 406 crore. The horticulture department data reveals that 11, 00, 000 hectares in the Valley are under dry fruit cultivation. While walnut is grown in 9,36,400 hectares, almonds - second largest dry fruit in terms of production --- are grown in 16,000 hectares. The presence of 200 walnut processing units in the state has augmented the exports. The dry fruits produced in the Valley are exported to countries like France, Spain, Iran, Britain and the US. Dry fruit growers, however, decry the lack of post- harvest infrastructure which is essential to prolong the storage period of the raw produce. “There are many centrally sponsored schemes which are meant to provide better infrastructure to farmers to prevent damage to the raw produce. Unfortunately, in the Valley, no such storage unit has been set up,” Mansoor Wani, an almond grower from Baramulla, said. In terms of packaging too, there’s stiff competition from the Chinese products which are better packaged. “We have 10 small scale units here for packaging of dry fruits. The number is insufficient as the production is on the rise. We need better facilities to market our product which is of the best quality in the world,” Ghulam Muhammad Beigh, a dry fruit dealer in Srinagar, said. Production nearly doubles
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Shutdowns, curfew hit education sector in Valley
Srinagar, March 18 The situation, which had been gradually coming back to normalcy after the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on February 9, faced another stumbling block recently. It was the suicide attack on a CRPF camp in Srinagar on March 13 in which five jawans and two militants were killed. The attack coupled with the killing of a civilian in CRPF firing on stone-throwers in the old city area prompted the authorities to impose curfew in most parts of the Valley. The attack took place two days after the schools reopened. The University of Kashmir which was gearing up for admissions to various postgraduate courses re-scheduled its process. After about two weeks of delay in the admission process to 42 postgraduate courses, the 10-day-long entrance tests began today. “There has been a delay of about two weeks in the admission process,” said Dr AM Shah, Dean, Academics, University of Kashmir. Shah said the tests were rescheduled and each day examinations were held for three separate courses, adding that the admission process will be completed in the first week of April. “We are trying to compensate for the losses suffered over the past one month,” said Shah. The university plans to conduct the entrance tests uninterrupted till March 28. In the wake of the situation, the results of the first and second years of undergraduate courses in various colleges of the Valley were also delayed. While the university was planning to declare the results in the first week of March, these are yet to be declared, which may delay the academic session. Even as the admission to various classes in schools had been completed prior to the winter vacations in December, frequent shutdowns have adversely affected the academic activities in all 3,853 schools. Schools in most parts of the Valley were open for two days after they reopened after the winter vacations on March 11. To compensate for the losses, some of the private schools remained open on Sunday (yesterday). The student community and parents crave for peace ahead in the Valley as most of the educational institutions remain closed to avoid inconvenience to students and staff in commuting during shutdowns and curfew. |
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Afzal’s hanging, fidayeen attack hit Kashmir tourism
Srinagar, March 18 As per hospitality industry sources, Kashmir’s luxury hotel Lalit Grand Palace, which has 112 rooms, reported a loss of Rs 70 lakh on the day when the attack took place due to cancellation of advance bookings in the hotel for March and April. “The cancellation in room bookings started on February 9 when the unrest started. However, on Wednesday, we cancelled almost 70 per cent of our room bookings for March and April,” an official of sales department of the hotel said. Kashmir had witnessed booming tourist seasons in 2011 and 2012 with 5 lakh and 13 lakh tourists, respectively, arriving in the Valley as per figures of the Department of Tourism. Director State Tourism Department, Kashmir, Talat Parvez said the tourist arrival was going on smoothly till February 9 when which tourists stopped coming to the Valley after shutdowns and curfews were imposed. “The unrest, which prevailed in the Valley after Afzal Guru’s hanging and more recently by the fidayeen attack, has affected the tourism sector to a great extent. The number of cancellations in travel, boarding and lodging is generally recorded by private tourism players,” Talat maintained. Almost 90 per cent accommodation and travel bookings in hotels, houseboats of the Valley for March and April have been cancelled. Abdul Yasin Tuman, a hotelier and manager, operations, Mascot Travels Pvt Ltd, said almost all the advance bookings in major hotels of Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Srinagar have been cancelled. “We had almost 90 per cent bookings reserved in hotels and houseboats of the Valley prior to the fidayeen attack and all of these have been cancelled,” he added. Rouf Tramboo, president of the Travel Agents' Association of Kashmir (TAAK), says the February-March session, which sets the mood for upcoming tourism season, is crucial and that the queries, advance bookings for summer months start in this period. "The number of queries and bookings has dropped. For some hotels and travel agents, it is a total wipeout for summer months whereas for the others, they may be able to convince tourists to come here. We held a meeting of all stakeholders today and we will discuss to re-strategise our policies so that the tourism sector does not suffer this season," Tramboo added. Even if the number of flights operating between various Indian cities and the Kashmir valley was increased to 30 everyday, travel agencies say that there has been cancellation of 30-35 per cent air travel bookings. Former president of the Travel Agents Society of Kashmir, Abdul Khaliq Wangnoo told The Tribune that on an average 50-60 air travel bookings were being cancelled per day, leading to loss worth crores to the travel sector alone. He said even domestic airlines would face tremendous losses in the future as rush would decrease. The tourism players also hint at lay-offs by the travel sector of the Valley, which could render many people jobless. |
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In curfew-bound Kashmir, artists get some ‘breathing space’
Srinagar, March 18 The online exhibition of art works from March 11 to 15 at the US-based gallery was made possible by the Kashmir Arts Quest (KAQ), a group that has been promoting local artists, during the past few years. “Our aim was to give a breathing space to artists as they do not get many opportunities to showcase their works. The response has been overwhelming as organisers of the exhibition in the US told us they were not expecting such good art works from Kashmir. They also said the Kashmiri artists were talented and would go places if encouraged and given platforms to display their works,” said Faisal Dar, KAQ coordinator for the online exhibition, from here. He said the KAQ had also organised a conference last year where local artists had interacted live with their counterparts in the US. “Even though we could not hold the conference this year due to the current situation, art works were still displayed,” Faisal said. Around 200 art works of 24 local artists were displayed during the last five days at the Olive DeLuce gallery through a projector. Arshed Hussain, an artist, whose work was also displayed at the exhibition, said he was delighted that his paintings were showcased at a ‘big’ platform. “Each artist had mailed around 10 works. My ten works were displayed and it is a big platform for me. Even though I have displayed my works here, we do not get many such opportunities,” he said. Arshed also said the ‘space’ for artistic expressions had further shrunk due to the current situation in the Valley which has been witnessing frequent curfews and shutdowns. “Even generally, the space was less and due to the present situation, it has shrunk further. But thanks to the e-revolution, I was able to display my works in the US, which is a big opportunity,” he said. Meanwhile, Faisal said the KAQ would also try to hold an online conference next month so that Valley-based artists could interact with their counterparts in the US. He said the same would go a long way in boosting art
in Kashmir. |
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Scientists tag hangul with GPS collar to track its movement
Srinagar, March 18 The GPS (global positioning system) collars using satellite telemetry is the first such research on hangul using sophisticated technology and will help in studying the movement patterns of Kashmiri stag outside Dachigam National Park in Srinagar. By fitting the rare animal with GPS collars, the scientists will now be able to track hangul and determine their home range and habitat. “The first successful capture and collaring of an adult Kashmir red deer or hangul at Dachigam National Park was done on Saturday,” said Khursheed Ahmad Shah, assistant professor and in charge scientist at the Centre for Mountain Wildlife Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, who leads the operation. Shah said the operation was the first of its kind in the state and was carried out under the Hangul Monitoring Project of the university in collaboration with the J&K Wildlife Protection Department and the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. Wildlife scientists say the data collected from the GPS collars will give a clear picture about the movement patterns and habitat of hangul, whose population has also been sighted outside Dachigam National Park at many places, including Kangan forests, Shikargah in Tral, and Tulail in the Gurez region of Bandipore district in north Kashmir by researchers. “The (GPS collaring) has been a milestone in the area of satellite telemetry as the animal has been specially fitted with the satellite collar which would ensure its remote tracking. The information would provide in-depth knowledge on lesser-known aspects of hangul biology, behaviour and ecology which would further support the management interventions for long-term survival of the species in its erstwhile range from Gurez to Kishtwar,” Dr Khursheed told The Tribune. Khursheed said they were planning to tag three more hangul with GPS collars in the coming days. “We have procured four GPS collars under the project. Efforts are being made to capture and collar more hanguls to strengthen the study,” said Shah. more about the animal
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Machil encounter case
Srinagar, March 18 Abbas is one of the main accused in the fake encounter case, in which three youths were killed. The Army had approached the high court with a petition in September, 2012, seeking a review and a stay on an earlier high court judgement passed in July last year. The review petition filed by the Army had also sought custody of the TA rifleman, who is presently in judicial custody, for trying him under the court martial proceedings. The decision to allow the Army review petition and permit the Army authorities to exercise the option of the court martial proceedings in case of Abbas was announced by a single bench of Justice Hasnain Masoodi today. “While allowing our review petition, the court in its orders today observed that the Army can try the rifleman, Abbas, under the court martial proceedings and has asked the authorities concerned to take a decision in this regard within two weeks,” said standing counsel for the Union of India Karnail Singh Wazir, who had filed the petition on behalf of the Army. After the Army takes a decision for trying Abbas under the court martial proceedings, Karnail said, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sopore, has been asked by the high court to handover the custody of Abbas to the Army authorities concerned. The high court in its July, 2012, judgment in the Machil fake encounter case had said accused No. 1 to 3 (two civilians and TA rifleman Abbas) should be dealt with by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sopore, under law. For accused No. 4 to 11 (eight Army personnel), it had directed for bifurcating the charge sheet and hand over the accused to the Commanding Officer concerned for their trial before a general court martial.
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Muslim youths from Banihal join BJP
Jammu, March 18 State vice-president of the BJP Col Uttam Singh (retd), while welcoming the youths, said there was a change in the mindset of people across the state. They (people) have now realised that the parties such as the Congress, NC and the PDP have been using them for seeking votes by giving misleading slogans. Bhat said he had decided to join the BJP as it was the only political party which concentrated on the betterment and uplift of the masses, irrespective of their affiliations and religious inclinations.
— TNS |
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Jammu, March 18 The Chairman said, “We offered heartfelt gratitude to recently retired Council members.” — TNS
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Srinagar, March 18