Srinagar, March 24
Terming the use of pepper gas as ‘fatal’ for the patients already suffering from respiratory disorders, experts have warned that the ‘over use’ of pepper gas can be injurious and can cause temporary blindness and damage to cornea.

The experts, who were summoned by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) for their views on the subject, have recommended that pepper gas should not be used by law-enforcing agencies for crowd control.

The SHRC, while taking 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 besides asking him to furnish the authorisation of DRDO, which has manufactured the pepper grenades.

The Commission had also sought views of a panel of senior doctors from various hospitals of the Valley on the hazardous effects of the gas and to have an impartial and independent view on the use of pepper gas.

“I have come to know that the pepper spray/gas is a lachrymatory agent, a chemical compound that irritates the eyes to cause disease, pains and even temporary blindness,” Dr Muzaffar Mirza, Head of Department (HoD) Chest Medicine, Chest Diseases Hospital, Srinagar, told the Commission in his deposition recorded on March 18.

He said unless the exact composition of pepper gas, used by particular agencies in Kashmir, is known, harmful side effects could not be contemplated. “But in general, the side effects of pepper gas occur in eyes where it causes lacrimation (tears) and temporary blindness which can persist for 15 minutes to half-an- hour. It can also cause skin damage,” Dr Mirza submitted to the Commission.

“The persons who are already suffering from respiratory diseases like bronchial asthma or other respiratory allergies can get a severe respiratory illness which can prove fatal”, he said.

He told the Commission that pepper gas used by law and order agencies immediately gets mixed with the atmosphere and therefore is equally detrimental to those who live in the vicinity, who may be senior citizens, infants, pregnant women and other innocent persons who may not be involved in any anti-social or anti-national activity.

“As an expert, I don’t recommend the use of pepper gas for crowd control during law and order problems. Repeated use of pepper gas can even affect eyesight and cornea,” Dr Mirza said.

On being cross-examined by the Chief Prosecuting officer (CPO) of the Commission, he said his junior doctors had examined many patients at the hospital with complaints of respiratory symptoms suffered due to the use of pepper gas.

“But its (pepper gas) repeated use can be injurious and if the chemical combination of the risen extracted from capsicum is more concentrated than a normal prescribed limit or beyond permissible specification, it (pepper gas) can be dangerous,” he added.

Other doctors and experts who were summoned by the SHRC for seeking their opinions on the harmful affects of pepper gas include Dr Parvez Koul, professor and head, Department of Medicine, Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura, Srinagar, and Javid Malik, associate professor, pulmonary medicine, SKIMS Medical College, Bemina, Srinagar.

Apart from the SHRC, which has recommended “no use of pepper gas” in Kashmir, the J&K High Court has also issued notices to the state and Central governments in a PIL seeking ban on the use of pepper gas.

Terming the use of pepper gas as “unregulated and excessive use of force” by security forces in the Valley, human rights watchdog Amnesty International on March 21 urged the J&K government to suspend its use against protesters and called for investigations into the hazardous effects of the gas.

Srinagar, March 24
Mountains in the Kashmir valley received fresh snow in the past 24 hours while the plains were lashed with rains as fresh Western disturbances led to precipitation across the region.

The Zabarwan mountain range, on the eastern edge of Srinagar city, was covered with fresh snowfall on Sunday as intermittent rains lashed the city. The Kashmir region has been receiving a fresh spell of rain and snowfall since Saturday evening which continued intermittently throughout the day.

This is the first snow of the spring season, which began earlier this week, in the region. The weather department had already forecast that a fresh Western distur bance would lead to light rain and snowfall on Saturday and Sunday.

An official of the state Meteorological Department said snow also fell in the north Kashmir’s Gulmarg skiing resort. The official said Gulmarg received seven inches of fresh snow overnight.

In Srinagar city, the overnight rainfall was recorded at 367.8 mm while 1.7 mm rainfall fell during the day.

In Qazigund , 42.4 mm rainfall has been recorded since last night while in Kupwara , 34 mm rainfall was recorded, the official said.

The official said Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir recorded 16.8 mm rainfall since Saturday evening.

Light rain and snow is likely to fall in many parts of the region in the next 24 hours, the official said.

Srinagar, March 24
Two minor brothers from an impoverished family are on the run after the police raided their house twice in the past one week in the old city. The police claims they have a video evidence that shows the brothers throwing stones at the police and paramilitary personnel during the last week’s protest in the Nawab Bazar area of Srinagar's old city and it wants to counsel them.

Two minor brothers — one 11-year-old and a fourth standard student and his 13-year-old brother, a sixth standard student — are no longer staying at their Nawab Bazar house fearing they will be detained by the police.

Dilshada, the mother of the two brothers, told The Tribune that the policemen came to their house twice in the past week looking for her two sons. “The policemen came yesterday and also a few days ago and asked us to hand over the two children,” she said. The mother, while pleading innocence of her children, said her’s is a poor family. “Sometimes I don’t even have enough food to feed them,” she said. The police while acknowledging they have summoned the two brothers said they had video evidence against the duo. Station House Officer of Maharaj Gunj police station Abdul Hameed said they only wanted them for “counselling”.

“We have not booked them under any charge, we only want to show them the video. We have left them a message, we want to inquire them,” the police officer said. In the past few years, authorities here have arrested many minor boys for participating in protests and booked them under stringent acts.

The state government has also come under criticism from human rights groups for arresting teenaged boys and locking them up in facilities which have no childcare support. Last year, Amnesty International issued a statement asking the authorities here to “halt the practice of arbitrary detentions in the state, in particular of children” and reiterated its call to the J-K government to amend its Juvenile Justice Act to bring it in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Srinagar, March 24
Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Shailendra Kumar on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting to review the measures being taken to create conducive atmosphere for the tourism sector this season, a government spokesman said.

Kashmir Inspector General of Police AG Mir, Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Shah, divisional heads, and chief engineers of various departments were present at the meeting.

Srinagar Municipal Corporation Commissioner GN Qasba, LAWDA vice-chancellor Irfan Ahmad Shah, Senior Superintendent of Police Ashiq Bukhari, Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Haseeb-ur-Rehman and Regional Transport Officer Kashmir Anees Ahmad attended the meeting, the spokesman said.

Kumar exhorted the officers that the tourist industry is one of the major components of the economy of the Valley. “Kashmir is bestowed with natural beauty and tourists from various states of the country and abroad visit Kashmir to enjoy its scenic beauty. It is the responsibility of the administration to ensure proper measures for the massive inflow of tourists to the Valley,” he said.

Kumar, who assumed charge of the Divisional Commissioner this week, also directed the transporters to ensure uninterrupted traffic movement in the municipal areas of Srinagar city and other inter-district routes to avoid inconvenience to the people.

He directed the authorities concerned to create an arrangement so that schoolchildren and patients reach their destinations without any difficulty, the spokesman said.

Kumar also directed the Srinagar Municipal Corporation and the UEED to maintain proper drainage and cleanliness in the city.

Sopore, March 24
Poor BSNL service continues to irk mobile phone subscribers in Sopore town of north Kashmir for the past one year. Expressing resentment over poor services, subscribers said even near the BSNL towers, they were unable to receive or make calls.

They threatened to surrender SIM cards and not pay bills if the service was not improved at the earliest.

They said despite repeated requests to the officials concerned, including Director-General, DGM and Manager (mobile services), the service had not improved in the town. “The cellular company continues to test our patience for the past one year. The service is so poor that it is impossible to make or receive calls. We have decided to surrender the SIM cards if the company doesn’t improve its services within a week,” said Haji Mohd Ashraf, president, Traders’ Federation, Sopore.

Zahoor Ahmad, a teacher, said, “Whenever one attempts to make a call, one hears ‘Mobile subscriber is not reachable’. Even under the BSNL tower, the cellphone displays ‘no network coverage’ on its screen.”

Many other subscribers said the mobile towers disappear from the mobile screens for hours and ‘network busy’ is often flashed when they attempt to make calls. “In the absence of proper network, the service has been reduced to a mere farce in the town. The network disappears for hours together, leaving subscribers high and dry” said Ishfaq Ahmad, a Class XII student.

Some other subscribers complained that after repeated attempts they are able to make a call and cross-connection often embarrasses them. There are six mobile towers in the town and subscribers said officials of the company were not running generators to run the towers when there was no electricity.

“The mobile towers don’t work when electricity supply is snapped. Though there are generators at every mobile tower, the company’s employees don’t make efforts to start these,” said Aijaz Ahmad, a trader.

BSNL deputy general manager Nazir Ahmad Joo said, “I will look into the matter. I am sure it may be an individual problem and not the collective problem of all subscribers in the town.” 

The cellular company continues to test our patience for the past one year. The service is so poor that it is impossible to make or receive calls. We have decided to surrender the SIM cards if the company doesn’t improve its services within a week
— Haji Mohd Ashraf, president, Traders’ Federation, Sopore

I will look into the matter. I am sure it may be an individual problem and not the collective one of all the subscribers in the town
— Nazir Ahmad Joo, DGM, BSNL 

Srinagar, March 24
A regular hike in power tariffs by the Power Development Department (PDD) over the past two years has led to an outcry among people living under Below Poverty Line (BPL) in Kashmir, which constitutes 21.37 per cent of the total population of the Valley.

The PDD has revised its tariff many a times in the past, especially for domestic consumers in the non-metered areas, including Budgam, Anantnag, Kupwara, Baramulla and Sopore.

This year, the monthly tariff has gone up from Rs 100 per household to Rs 317 per household, which is leading to outrage among the economically backward sections of Kashmir.

The PDD says it is incurring losses every year as it is selling electricity much cheaper than the expenditure incurred on its production.

“At the hearing of the State Electricity Regulatory Commision, we raised our problems. The commission is likely to raise power tariff for the next year,” said Muzaffar Matoo, chief engineer, PDD, Kashmir Division.

Khag tehsil, which comprises 70 villages in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, was snapped of power supply since March 5 due to non-payment of dues as per the revised rates.

As many as 50,000 residents of the tehsil alleged the PDD had taken an unjustified step of cutting the power supply and caused problems to the people. One of them said around 40 per cent of the population living in these villages comes under the BPL category and hence it would be impossible to pay power bills according to the new rates.

Assistant exceutive engineer, Budgam, Javiad Shah said snapping the power supply in the tehsil was a compulsion since a majority of the residents had not paid their bills for a long time.

“I will try to work out an agreement to make the payments in instalments. At present, the PDD does not have any concessions to offer to the BPL population of Kashmir,” Javaid said.

Handwara, March 24
Farmers of many remote villages in Handwara tehsil today protested against the Irrigation Department of Handwara for failing to raise a protection wall (bundh) on the banks of Tavi nullah. They said during the past two months, waters of the nullah had washed away around 56 kanals of land leaving the farmers high and dry.

The protesters blocked the Handwara-Rajwar road near Batkoote village and raised slogans against the department. They did not allow any traffic movement till 3 pm.

They said despite the departments’ claims of spending huge funds on the maintenance of nullah, they were at the receiving end. “Rain last night raised the water level in nullah and about 30 kanals of land was washed away. The nullah’s waters have so far washed away about 56 kanals and the department continues to watch as a mute spectator,” said Ab Rashid, a farmer.

The nullah provides irrigation water to at least 24 villages, including Batkoote, Deedipora, Lachipora, Tragpora, Kahipora, Waskohra, Chulpora and Bakiakar. The farmers demanded that fencing in concrete be raised on the banks of the nullah to avoid floods, which cause damage to their paddy fields.

“The floods caused due to rains last night washed away around 15 kanals of land near Bunarkah. In 2009, the floods washed away around four kanals of land but the Irrigation Department is yet to take measures to save the land from damage,” said Gh Mohd Sheikh of Bakikar.

“Fencing is a must near Deetipora and Bunar Khar to save poor farmers from further damage,” he added.

Executive engineer of irrigation division, Handwara, Mohd Ashraf said, “Water level often goes up in this season and even cuts concrete fencing. We are planning to strengthen the fencing at few places to avoid the damage to land.” 

Srinagar, March 24
The chairman, Peoples' Conference (PC), Sajad Lone, today said the people of Kashmir needed a strong political party that would stand by them. “Kashmiris need a strong and dignified political party that will stand by them and their sentiments and refuse to be admonished into subservience by Delhi or the Congress….Peoples' Conference will leave no stone unturned to fill that vacuum and provide a voice to the voiceless and taken-for-granted Kashmiri nation,” Lone said.

He said this while welcoming a group of youth from the Eidgah area of the city into the party fold during a function at the party headquarters here.

He said the entry of young, educated and passionate men into the PC was a sign of the party's appeal and growing reach in both Srinagar and the Valley. Asking the new entrants to work tirelessly to take the message of change to the people, he said: “The dignity and political rights of our people stand mortgaged by the National Conference (NC) and the PDP. No Kashmiri is safe under the rule of either of these parties that have been co-authors of suppression in Kashmir.”

Lone said both the ruling NC and the Opposition PDP should hang their heads in shame at the DMK's withdrawal of support to the UPA. He said the DMK chose to stand up and unapologetically give due constitutional representation to the sentiments of the Tamils. He said the NC couldn't raise a mark of hesitation at Delhi's politically motivated decision to hang Afzal Guru. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chose not to upset Delhi. He rather hurt the dignity and sentiments of Kashmiris, as has been the chronic trait of the NC, right from its birth.

Lashing out at the PDP, Lone said patron of the opposition party Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had chosen to enact the ridiculous drama of boycotting the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council to escape the precarious position the party finds itself in, as it has clearly chosen to neither submit nor support any resolutions on Afzal Guru.

Srinagar, March 24
The J&K Voluntary Health Association and the District Tuberculosis Society Baramulla, under the Axshya Project for TB Care and Control, observed World TB Day at Government Degree College, Sopore today.

The aim of the programme was to create public awareness about tuberculosis. The resource persons highlighted the importance of the day and provided necessary information to all participants about the causes, symptoms, treatment, prevention of the disease and the ways to achieve the dream of “Zero TB deaths in my life time”.

Sopore Sub-Divisional Magisterate Haneef Balkhi was the chief guest.

The programme started with an introductory speech by Sopore medical officer Dr MY Yatoo about tuberculosis, its symptoms and treatment. This was followed by an informative lecture by Bandipora medical officer Dr Parvez Shah who gave a detailed lecture on the historical background of the disease.

Baramulla chief medical officer Dr Ab Rashid highlighted the role played by the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) in TB control.

Students of Welkin Educational Institute and other participants organised a rally from Degree College Sopore to District Tuberculosis Centre to mark the day. 

Srinagar, March 24
The Kashmir High Court Bar Association will hold a day-long seminar on March 27 to discuss the proposed draft of the J&K Police Bill, which had attracted criticism from different civil society groups and political quarters, said a Bar spokesman.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the executive committee of the association. It also decided to deliberate and discuss the death anniversary of advocate Jaleel Andrabi, the spokesman said.

Earlier, the Bar had announced to hold the same seminar on March 5. However, it was postponed in wake of protests and shutdowns called by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Mushawarat (MMM), a joint consultative forum of the separatist organisations, spearheading the agitation to press for the return of remains of Afzal Guru.

The spokesman said, “The Bill is a tool which is being prepared for perpetrating human rights violations in the state of J&K”.

The draft was made public by the authorities on February 15 and suggestions were sought within two weeks. However, the Bill had evoked a lot of criticism from different quarters, with Opposition Peoples Democratic Party saying it would oppose the Bill if introduced in the House in its present form.

In a bid to allay the criticism of the Bill, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had on February 26 said there was no chance that a bad legislation could pass through such a tight scrutiny.