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Stung by Jugal’s suspension, BJP to take on NC over Afzal
There was no security lapse in recent attacks, says DGP
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Kandahar hijack
Traders seek meeting with FM before Budget is passed
2.73 lakh cases pending in various J-K courts
Documentary tells tales of Kashmir’s half-widows through hip hop music
CM condemns attack on BSF
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Stung by Jugal’s suspension, BJP to take on NC over Afzal
Jammu, March 21 The aggressive posturing of all four BJP MLAs at a press conference today was a clear indication that the party wanted to exploit the issue. “There is no reason to attend the proceedings of the Assembly where the Honourable Prime Minister of the India has been called “Manmohan Singh” while dreaded terrorist and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru has been addressed as sahib,” said BJP Legislature Party leader Ashok Khajuria while addressing a joint press conference with three other MLAs. “The name of the terrorist was suffixed with ‘sahib’ by none other than the Chief Minister and the Speaker of Assembly. This reflects how this august House has been misused to preach secessionism and to appease separatists,” said Sharma. Insiders in the BJP said the party had taken the Sangh Parivar into confidence to vociferously take the “discrimination (with Jammu) and anti-national rhetoric issues” to the people to prepare the ground for the next Lok Sabha elections. When asked about the campaign launched by the National Conference (NC) against him, Sharma said the BJP had high regard for women and “we do not want any certificate from a party like the NC”. Terming the NC campaign as a well-planned strategy, BJP MLA from Marh Sukhnandan Choudhary said: “It is very unfortunate that the NC has deliberately stooped to such a level just to hide the failure of the government on all fronts. “Sakina Itoo is like our sister and we do not want to involve our sister in this mud-slinging by the NC,” he said. “After Jugal Kishore’s suspension, a meeting of the Sangh Parivar was held in which representatives of all organisations affiliated to the RSS were present. It was observed in the meeting that the present scenario was appropriate for these issues,” sources said. The BJP state president said, “The two Kashmir-centric political parties NC and PDP are engaged in political one-upmanship to show who between them is more loyal and concerned about separatist and anti-national dispensations. People have been deprived of even basic rights while those talking of Pakistan and Afzal Guru are treated as VIPs.” “This government has become a security risk,” he added. Choudhary, who was present at the press conference with a fractured right arm, alleged that he got fractured when he was roughed up by some ministers while saving Jugal from their wrath.
Protests today
The BJP has deputed its Mahila Morcha workers to launch an offensive against the government over its campaign against BJP state chief Jugal Kishore. The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha has also been told to take the “fight” to the streets. The party has decided to hold protest demonstrations simultaneously at four places in Jammu against the NC on Friday |
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There was no security lapse in recent attacks, says DGP
Anantnag, March 21 He was talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a T-20 cricket match organised by the police at Sports Stadium, Anantnag. He said while the graph of militancy had gone down considerably over the years, the situation could not be called incident-free yet. “Yes, we have to be extra cautious. While there is a threat posed by militancy-related activities, the situation is not at all alarming,” said Prasad. He said security forces took utmost care while dealing with militants. “The main aim is to focus on zero collateral damage during anti-militancy operations.” Reacting to media reports about the number of fidayeens in the Valley, the DGP said there were no specific inputs about their exact number. “It will be early to speculate about the number of the fidayeen,” said Prasad. The DGP said the police was investigating the killing of a youth in Sopore, earlier this week. However, at the same time the police are taking care not to trouble the common man during the course of the investigation, he said. “Instead of running here and there, we are working on specific intelligence inputs,” he said. The DGP was accompanied by Kashmir IGP Abdul Ghani Mir. The senior police officers said the police would encourage the youth to excel in sports and channelise their talent in the right direction. |
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Kandahar hijack
Mehraj-ud-Din Dand, alias Javed, a resident of Sopore in North Kashmir, was arrested on September 12 last year by the J&K police. He was suspected to have provided logistics support to the hijackers. Former Jammu zone IGP Dilbagh Singh and the then DIG Ramban-Kishtwar-Doda range, Garib Dass, had described Dand as a “prized catch”. Munsiff Kishtwar Umesh Sharma on Thursday gave Dand bail on his furnishing bonds of Rs 20,000, a lawyer told The Tribune over the phone. Following Dand’s arrest in Kishtwar, the National Investigation Agency and CBI teams also quizzed him. Dand was dubbed as a close aide of United Jehad Council chief Syed Salahuddin. He also had links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The police termed him a “big shark”, who was brought from Nepal via Gorakhpur by a train before being shown arrested near Kishtwar on September 12 last year. With a Hindu name, Dand had been living in Nepal for many years and had also married a Hindu girl there. The then IGP Jammu zone, Dilbag Singh had said: “Dand sent ammunition and hawala money to India for fuelling insurgency via diplomatic channels of a specific country”. Initially, he worked for underground separatist forces in the Valley and had about half-a-dozen aliases, which he used for travelling frequently between India and Pakistan. He had first been arrested in 1989 and was lodged in Kot Bhalwal jail, where he met Salahuddin and other top militants. Dand had confessed he knew Bilal Dev and Javed Guru, the two accused in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar
bomb blast. However, his direct involvement in the blast has not been established
as yet. He acted as a “launcher” in Nepal where received contacts from Pakistan, whom he sent to India. The ISI men, top militants and D-company allegedly used him for various terror activities in J&K and other parts of the country. |
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Traders seek meeting with FM before Budget is passed
Jammu, March 21 “The government presented the Budget and we have given our reaction to it. The state government also had pre-budget discussions with us and other trading and industrial organisations, wherein Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather acceded to some of our demands,” said Sharma. “The JCCI was confident that the state government would arrange some meetings with traders to solve their problems, he added. “We tried to speak to the Finance Minister, the Financial Commissioner and other authorities concerned as we wanted to clarify some points to them. But the government didn’t pay any attention to our requests,” said Sharma. Sharma said through the media he wanted to convey to the Finance Minister that one more meeting must take place on priority before implementing Budget proposals. “The government claimed that the Budget was tax-free. Blankets which did not attract any VAT have been brought under its ambit. We wanted a clarification in this context. Similarly, VAT has been hiked to 13.5 per cent on branded soaps which was 5 per cent,” he said. The JCCI president also said shoes, desi ghee and dry fruits which were taxed at 13.5 per cent had to be brought down in view of the persistent demand by stakeholders. “We are also confused about pipe fittings as they are in the declared list of goods which attract 5 per cent tax,” he added. The JCCI that represents the trading and industrial community feels that immediate reconciliatory measure will save the business community from a lot of inconvenience, he said. “Rectifications are highly desirable before the Budget is passed in the Assembly. We have always opted for ethical ways for resolving issues and our concerns should be addressed,”
he said. |
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2.73 lakh cases pending in various J-K courts
Jammu, March 21 The government, however, said it was considering establishing 18 fast-track courts comprising eight of the rank of the district and session judges and 10 of the rank of the civil judges to clear the pendency of cases and provide speedy justice to people. “As many as 82,296 cases, including 4,125 criminal cases, were pending in the J&K High Court till December 31, 2012, while the pendency in subordinate courts was 1, 91,144 which is a reflective of an alarming situation,” said Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Mir Saifullah while wrapping up the discussion on the demand of grants for his departments, in the Legislative Assembly. Saifullah said the government had decided to establish a Law Commission in the state for enactment of new laws. “The members of the Commission would get suggestions from people and submit their recommendations to the government,” he said. “The government is implementing the State Litigation Policy in letter and spirit for helping the public in getting speedy justice and timely disposal of their cases. The performance of government advocates, public prosecutors and standing counsels is reviewed periodically through this policy and poor performers would be terminated,” he said. He said the high court had also fixed the time period for disposal of old cases in civil and criminal matters, adding that action had been initiated in this regard. He claimed that day-to-day monitoring was also being held in criminal cases. Highlighting the achievements of the Law Department, Saifullah said his department had constituted a Committee comprising the Advocate General, secretary of Law, senior officers of the Law Department and two advocates for examining the existing laws and suggests measures to amend the same and remove the obsolete laws from the Statute Book. The Committee has also been asked to consider the private members Bills of legislators. He said the department had moved drafts of some new laws, keeping in view the industrialisation, advancement in information technology, increasing offences against women and offences relating to narcotics and drugs. Referring to the Verma Commission, the minister said after preparing a draft of the bill, it had been submitted to the government for consideration. |
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Kashmir banks on snow fest to woo back tourists
Srinagar, March 21 Besides putting Sonamarg on the tourist map, the authorities and stakeholders are hopeful that the festival will woo back visitors and give a fillip to the tourism sector that has taken a hit after the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru last month. “There is still three feet of snow in Sonamarg. The road to the tourist spot used to open late but as it reopened earlier this year, we are making the most of it,” Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA) chief executive officer (CEO) Mohammad Yousuf Bhat told The Tribune. “Tourists did not know much about Sonamarg and they used to come here only in June-July. But now people are rushing to this place. In fact, around 300 vehicles, including those of tourists, came here on the day the road reopened. We are hopeful that more tourists will come here during the snow festival.” The Srinagar-Sonamarg road, which remains closed during the winter season, was reopened on Saturday after around five months. President, Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK), Rauf Tramboo said a “wrong message” had gone from here last month and also after the recent Fidayeen attack at Bemina, which had affected the tourism sector. While several tourist bookings had been cancelled earlier, visitors have started trickling in again. A Tourism Department official said around 500 tourists were coming here on a daily basis as compared to around 2,000 during the corresponding period last year. However, Tramboo said they were ‘cashing in’ on the comparative improvement in the situation and the stakeholders were hopeful that the Sonamarg snow festival would bring back tourists to the Valley. He also said Sonamarg in Ganderbal district had immense potential for hosting activities related to adventure sports and they would make the snow festival a yearly event from this year onwards. Tramboo said the festival would include snow-skiing championship, snow-boarding, mountain biking, snow baseball and snow zorbing besides cultural events. The festival from March 24 to 26 is being jointly organised by the SDA, Department of Tourism, and Adventure Club of Youth Hostel, Sonamarg. facilities IMPROVED AT Sonamarg
The infrastructure at Sonamarg has been upgraded to accommodate more tourists. “Earlier, there were accommodation issues at Sonamarg but now, the infrastructure has been upgraded. While several hotels besides a youth hostel have already been set up, more hotels would be set up at Sonamarg in future,” said Sonamarg Development Authority chief executive officer Mohammad Yousuf Bhat |
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GPS-tagged hangul offers fresh insights into rare species
Srinagar, March 21 The preliminary data received through satellites has begun providing evidence about the rare animal’s resting places and the average distance it traverses in a day. Scientists had captured and fitted an adult Kashmir red deer or hangul with a GPS collar at Dachigam National Park on the outskirts of Srinagar on March 16. The GPS collar using satellite telemetry is the first such research on the hangul using sophisticated technology. The wildlife scientists in Kashmir are buoyed by the preliminary data and the results obtained from the tagged hangul. “For over a week now, we have been observing the movement of the GPS-tagged hangul and the data obtained so for is opening new dimensions about the hangul biology, its movement patterns,” said Khursheed Ahmad Shah, assistant professor at the Centre for Mountain Wildlife Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), who is heading the operation. Initially, the scientists were worried that the data from the tagged Hangul might not get transmitted to the satellites through the dense forest, however the data received by the researchers has dispelled their fears. “Before fitting the GPS collar on the hangul, we had fitted a ‘test-collar’ on a horse to see if the GPS data was transmitted through the dense canopy of the Dachigam forests and its higher ranges,” Khursheed said, who along with his other team members has been camping in the Dachigam park for over a week now to place GPS collars on other hanguls. Under the Hangul Monitoring Project, the first of its kind in J&K, the SKUAST in collaboration with the J&K Wildlife Protection Department and the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, had procured four GPS collars and so for one collar has been fitted. “Since the collar was fitted on the rare red deer on March 16, we have been able observe that the animal travels 3-4 km in less than 24 hours,” Khursheed said. The special GPS collars have a battery life of two years and are programmed to drop off from the tagged animal after two years. Besides, in the eventuality of the any problem to the tagged animal, the GPS collars are programmed to emit a special signal. “The GPS collar has a special mortality-sensor fitted to it, which will signal us in case the animal is dead”, said Khursheed, adding that they plan to tag more hanguls in the coming days to strengthen the study on the rare red deer. Monitoring Project
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Governor for boosting Red Cross activities
Jammu, March 21 The Governor, who is the president of the Indian Red Cross Society, J&K state branch, discussed with Roma Wani, honorary general secretary, J&K state branch of the Indian Red Cross Society, who called on him at Raj Bhawan here, various measures required to give a fillip to the Red Cross activities in the state, particularly in the remote areas, for support and succour to the needy. The Governor suggested to Wani to draw up a calendar of year-long activities of the Red Cross by making districts focal points so that a larger number of people work for it. He also stressed the need for enlarging the resource base to boost the Red Cross activities and suggested approaching corporate and business houses, philanthropic organisations and the public at large to contribute towards the Red Cross to expand its activities. |
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Documentary tells tales of Kashmir’s half-widows through hip hop music
Srinagar, March 21 This was the first public screening of the documentary by the film crew. The film was shown at the Goa Film Festival and the Thailand Film Festival in 2012. The 40-minute film was shown in four sessions at the Iron Curtain Cafe, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, followed by an interactive session with the film’s director Rana Ghose and assistant director Baba Tamim. The film is about two people meeting for the first time. Parveena Ahanger (65), the founder of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, also known as the Iron Lady of Kashmir, and Roshan Elahi (23), Srinagar-based hip hop musician, whose music is inspired by Parveena. Take it in Blood derives its title from one of the songs of Elahi, popularly known as MC Kash among the youth. The song is an eclectic mix of the Kashmiri classical and Western hip hop music and calls out to the mothers whose sons have disappeared, leaving them shattered. Tamim says his film is an expression of Kashmir’s tragedy through an art form such as music. “Although many films have been made on the Kashmir theme which highlight human atrocities, this film showcases various art forms which were born when people suffered. Elahi, who was raised in the Valley, meets a lot of people on the roads and in parks of Kashmir who become his inspiration for his songs,” says Tamim. |
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CM condemns attack on BSF
Jammu, March 21 The People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) also condemned the attack on the BSF convoy. A PDP spokesman today said the increasing frequency of strikes by unknown gunmen on defenceless civilians, attacks on police and paramilitary forces and “inhuman official repression looked like a throwback to the dreaded pre-2002 era of darkness”. “The reversal in the situation was being witnessed at a time when the people of the state had hoped to benefit from their investment in peace and
democracy,” he said. |
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Hideout busted in Kishtwar
Batote, March 21 The recovery included twenty hand grenades, seven Chinese hand grenades, three IEDs of 15, 1 and .5 kg, 498 detonators with safety fuse, 30 explosive gelatin sticks, one TNT 600 gm slab, one smoke grenade, one battery charger and 100 m
cordex wire. The cave was located in a dense forest near the Dichhur nullah in Chatru tehsil. The arms and ammunition were suspected to be hidden by Hizbul Mujahideen militant Mohammad
Jahangir. |
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Jammu, March 21