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JKSRTC buses making no profit
Political stability in Pak must for lasting peace in region: Mufti
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Despite Pak leaders’ silence on Kashmir, separatists hopeful of their support
1991 ‘mass rape’ case
6 more jail officials suspended for ‘attack’ on Sanaullah
Lashkar militant held in Kulgam
Quake-hit in Doda, Kishtwar await relief money
Banner diplomacy worked for India and China
Guv for strengthening Red Cross movement in J-K
NC leaders misusing state’s special status, says BJP
Search on for militants in Kupwara forests
Enrolment in private schools in state
11% higher than national average
Functioning of banking sector discussed
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JKSRTC buses making no profit
Jammu, May 8 Official sources said the JKSRTC had generated “no profit” over the past three years and it continued to remain a “financially dependent utility” for the cash-strapped state government. “Although the state government has come up with several measures, including Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), for JKSRTC employees yet the Corporation continues to suffer financial crisis,” a source said. Sources said the Corporation had 732 buses and 377 trucks. “As many as 342 buses and 101 trucks are less than 10 years old, while the rest of the buses and trucks are more than 10 years old. The percentage of overage buses is 52 per cent while the percentage of overage trucks is 73 per cent,” they said. A senior officer of the transport department, who wished not to be named, said the over-aged fleet could not be replaced with new vehicles in the Corporation due to “non-provision of the required amount of funds over the past few years”. “The JKSRTC vehicles have also suffered extensive damage in terror-related activities. However, mismanagement and non-profitability were the main reasons for the continuous loss to the Corporation,” the officer said. Minister for Transport Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, when contacted, admitted that the JKSRTC was in the red. Two years ago, it was not in a position even to bear the expenses for the salary of its employees. “During the last two years, the Corporation has improved its revenue resources and the government is hopeful that it will soon be in the position to bear its expenditure independently. “In 2011-12, the Corporation earned Rs 83 crore and it managed to increase its revenue generation to Rs 90 crore in 2012-13, which was all-time high in the history of the Corporation,” Ramzan said. The minister said the JKSRTC would take some time to improve its financial condition. “To encourage the employees, the government announced 20 per cent Dearness Allowance (DA) last year and we have promised that the DA share would be increased up to 50 per cent if there is a significant improvement in the revenue generation in the current fiscal,” he said. Ramzan said the state government had also initiated various austerity measures to cut down the expenditure of the Corporation. “Wherever the government felt that there was additional staff strength, such (extra) employees were identified and they were offered the VRS. Besides, the government has directed that no fresh recruitment of staff will be done till the improvement of its financial condition,” he said. In the red
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Political stability in Pak must for lasting peace in region: Mufti
Rajouri, May 8 Addressing a gathering at Kalakote today, Mufti reiterated that dialogue was the only way to solve all vexed problems and hoped that a stable democratic government would be formed after the ongoing general elections in Pakistan. He stressed that political stability in Pakistan was a must for establishing lasting peace and India and Pakistan should take the process of peace and reconciliation to its logical end for restoring lasting and sustainable peace in the region. Lashing out at the present government in the state, the PDP patron regretted that the National Conference-led coalition government had brought chaos and uncertainty in the state by propagating oppressive policies. Mufti lamented that instead of adopting a humanistic approach to address the grievances of the people, the present dispensation had been brazenly misusing the state apparatus to gag the genuine voice of the people. “Jammu and Kashmir has been plunged into uncertainty and anarchy after the formation of the National Conference-led government,” Mufti said. He added that the PDP-Congress government had brought the state out of instability and insecurity by propagating a healing-touch policy, but the present regime due to its misdeeds had reversed the entire process of peace and stability. “Today every section of society is bearing the brunt of the oppressive policies of the present regime,” he said. Mufti highlighted the achievements of the PDP-led regime in the state and said the regime had revived the faith of people in democratic institutions by removing regional imbalance and creating an atmosphere for initiating the peace process, which was a remarkable achievement of the PDP-led coalition government. He asked the party workers to gear up ahead of the 2014 elections because people had great hopes on the PDP and its policies for equitable development of the state. Those who spoke on the occasion included Muzaffar Shah, Trilok Singh Bajwa, MLC Yashpal Sharma, Ved Mahajan, MLA Choudhary Zulfqar Ali, Hussain Ali Bafa, PDP district president Abdul Qayoom Dar, Choudhary Qamar Hussain, Surinder Chowdhary, Salam Din Chowdhary, Majid Shah, Tazeem Dar, Manzoor Hussain Shah, Anjum Mirza, Ahsan Mirza and Shahzad Khan. |
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Despite Pak leaders’ silence on Kashmir, separatists hopeful of their support
Srinagar, May 8 Kashmiri separatists, many of whom have aligned themselves with Pakistan, said they were not worried about Kashmir going off the election map in Pakistan, where campaigning would end on Thursday and votes would be cast on May 11. The discourse of many past elections in Pakistan had centred on Kashmir to such an extent that Pakistani leaders used to term Kashmir as Pakistan’s "jugular vein". However, Pakistani politicians this year have remained silent on Kashmir and surprisingly the manifesto of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led by Imran Khan - a leading prime ministerial candidate who swings between Centre-Left and Centre-Right - termed Kashmiri militants working within Pakistan as one of the six factors which were “driving lawlessness and terror” in the country. Despite this, Kashmiri separatists have not lost hope. “This is our struggle. Pakistan has been our moral, diplomatic and political supporter and we hope that this support will continue. However, the way they used to talk about the Kashmir issue in election campaigns did not happen (this time),” said senior separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah. Former chairman of the Hurriyat Conference Prof Abdul Gani Bhat said the Kashmir issue had no relation with either Indian or Pakistani elections. “This is a historic dispute. Election or no election, Kashmir will continue to be a dispute until the issue is addressed and resolved,” said
Bhat, who is now an executive member of the moderate Hurriyat faction. The election campaign in Pakistan has gripped the interest of many people in Kashmir. They are keeping track of developments on a daily basis via Pakistan-based private television channels, which are being broadcast in most of the houses in the region. Azam
Inqilabi, a former militant commander, said he is hopeful that any government which is formed in Pakistan would be vocal about Kashmir as the regional and global dynamics is changing fast. “Presently there is a problem within (Pakistan) which is because of the political polarisation there… All the major political parties have a commitment vis-a-vis Kashmir but this is not the time to assert for Kashmir,” he said. Inqibali said there are “innumerable problems” within Pakistan which were being highlighted in the election campaigns. “Whosoever will be in power, will be a friend of Kashmir,” he said. The 65-year-old veteran separatist, who led thousands of militants in early 1990s, said Kashmiri separatists need to “befriend all” parties including the Taliban militants operating in Pakistan. “We cannot afford to offend any of the parties of Pakistan… We may not subscribe to all of their ideologies but as far their sympathy and concern for Kashmir is concerned, we have respect for them,” he said. |
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1991 ‘mass rape’ case
Srinagar, May 8 The PIL was listed today before a division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey. On April 29, while raising questions over the maintainability of the petition, the court had asked if a matter can be agitated 22 years after it had happened, and, if the PIL is a medium to implement the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) verdict. Accordingly, the petitioner counsel, Parvez Imroz, was asked to provide “legal references” to these questions in further submissions on the next hearing. In October 2011, the SHRC had passed a judgment on the incident, demanding reopening of the case and filing a case against the then Director, Prosecution, for “deliberately scuttling” the investigation into the matter. As the matter came up before the bench today, the state in the case was represented by Advocate-General Mohammad Ishaq Qadri, who contested On the other hand,
the petitioner counsel pleaded for admitting the PIL while producing law in support of the maintainability of the PIL. After hearing both sides, the bench, however, reserved its final decision over the maintainability of the petition without granting any interim relief or admitting the PIL. The PIL, filed by a group of students and teachers through human rights activist and lawyer Parvez Imroz, calls for summoning the entire record before the court. It has sought reinvestigation into the case FIR as directed by the SHRC in 2011. The incident involved the alleged rape of over 32
village women by Army personnel in remote Kunan Poshpora village in Kupwara on February
23, 1991. |
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6 more jail officials suspended for ‘attack’ on Sanaullah
Jammu, May 8 Following the alleged attack on Sanaullah on May 3 inside the high-security prison, the state government had suspended prison superintendent Rajni Sehgal and the warden on the same day. Deputy Inspector General of Prisons Mohammed Sultan Lone said, “Six more officials have been suspended and the investigation is still on. The Pakistani prisoners have been segregated and kept under watch.” State Home Secretary Suresh Kumar has told The Tribune that that he along with senior officials of the prisons department would be visiting the Kot Bhalwal prison in connection with the probe ordered by the government and marked to him. “I would be visiting the prison (Kot Bhalwal) on Friday in connection with the investigation, which is still on,” said Kumar. Lone regretted that despite an alert by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs following the death of Indian death row convict Sarabjit Singh at Jinnah Hospital of Lahore, Sanaullah was “attacked” inside the prison. He admitted that the incident was “a lapse on the part of Kot Bhalwal prison staff”. “There was a lapse on the part of the jail staff and that is why a probe has been ordered,” he said. The DIG, however, said that there had been instances inside the prison in the past when Pakistani prisoners had scuffled with each other. “It is the responsibility of the prison staff to protect prisoners but to extract work from those placed under rigorous imprisonment is also our duty because we have to comply with court orders,” he said. |
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Lashkar militant held in Kulgam
Srinagar, May 8 The police said the OGW Fayaz Ahmad Lone, alias Harris, alias Hyder, a resident of Owgam in Kulgam, was arrested by the police in a joint operation with the Army and the CRPF. “Lone was arrested on Tuesday from his native village Owgam Laroo. On his instance, we recovered a Chinese pistol, one magazine with six pistol rounds and an IED weighing about 5 kg from a field,” a police spokesman said in Srinagar Superintendent of Police, Kulgam, Mohammad Shafi Mir said the Lashkar OGW was in touch with a militant commander from across the border. Lone is the second LeT militant to be arrested since Sunday in Kashmir. LeT militant Muzaffar Ahmad Lone of Raipora, Baramulla, was arrested in north Kashmir on Sunday. The police said Lone was part of the group that was involved in killing a ruling National Conference sarpanch in north Kashmir in September last year.
— TNS |
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Quake-hit in Doda, Kishtwar await relief money
Jammu, May 8 The money has been put on the disposal of the Deputy Commissioners of the districts but it has not yet been disbursed among the needy. Only 178 tents have been provided to four tehsils of Doda district. Sixty tents have been provided to Bhaderwah tehsil, 55 to Gundoh, 33 to Thathri and 16 to Doda tehsil. Fourteen tents have been put at the disposal of the chief education officer, Doda. Moreover, the administration has distributed 200 blankets and 130 mattresses to people in the area where hundreds are staying under the open sky as their houses are not safe for living. Meanwhile, fresh tremors were felt today morning, which didn’t have much impact. The total population of Doda and Kishtwar districts is more than 6.4 lakh. Hundreds of people got affected due to the May 1 earthquake as 80 to 90 per cent houses in the two districts developed cracks. Two more moderate-intensity quakes measuring 3.8 and 3.5 on the Richter scale were recorded in the area after the May 1 earthquake. Almost all school buildings in Doda and Bhaderwah have developed cracks, but the administration has so far failed to perform a survey to know how many buildings were unsafe for use. “The survey of all school buildings and private houses is expected to be completed by May 10 evening. The exact figure of the damage will be known after the survey,” said Anil Koul, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Doda. The Doda ADC said the chief education officer, zonal education officers, principals and headmasters had been asked to use only those buildings which were safe. In case of threat, directions have been
given to hold classes in the open, he said. Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has managed to send 1,000 tents and 2,000 blankets through the Red Cross society from New Delhi, which will reach the area in a couple of days. |
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Banner diplomacy worked for India and China
Jammu, May 8 “Peace and tranquillity agreement, including banner drill between the two sides, kept the guns silent,” said a top Army officer of the Northern Command. The officer, however, discarded reports that India had agreed upon dismantling a remote defence post near the de-facto border. “Despite tense situation on the LAC and war-mongering by ‘experts’ from air-conditioned television studios, both sides exhibited maturity to resolve the issue without firing even a single bullet. During the stand-off, both sides constantly exhibited banners to de-escalate the situation in Daulat Beg Oldi,” said the officer. The banner diplomacy, flag meetings and diplomatic exercise by Delhi and Beijing helped in amicably resolving the issue, he added. During the intervening night of April 15 and 16, at least 50 Chinese troops with molosser dogs had intruded 19 km into the Indian territory in the Daulat Beg Oldi sector and pitched up a tent. Union Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid is visiting Beijing tomorrow while China’s Premier Li Keqiang is expected to visit India later this month. A top ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) source informed that since the 1962 Sino-Indian war, not even a single bullet has been fired in the Ladakh region. The LAC has not been demarcated between the two sides and, therefore, to amicably resolve incidents of transgressions, both countries have executed peace and tranquillity agreements, he said. But, there are some areas which are disputed, added the source. Another Army officer said India had neither entered into any “deal” nor had it agreed upon demolishing any of its posts in the Daulat Beg Oldi sector. Despite several rounds of talks, Beijing and New Delhi, however, have so far failed to resolve the 50-year-old border dispute. In April 2005, both countries had worked out the banner drill. The 3,488-km-long LAC between India and China runs through Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. |
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Guv for strengthening Red Cross movement in J-K
Srinagar, May 8 The Governor was addressing a gathering at Red Cross Mela organised by the District Red Cross Society, Srinagar, at Joggers Park in Raj Bagh, Srinagar, today to celebrate World Red Cross Day. He complimented the District Red Cross Society for organising the mela. The Governor observed that the Red Cross volunteers needed to be adequately trained and equipped to enable them to provide required and timely help to the needy. He observed that efforts were being made to significantly enlarge and strengthen the Red Cross movement in the state. Referring to World Red Cross Day, the Governor said since its establishment 150 years ago, the movement had been doing a yeoman’s service across the globe. He paid tributes to Sir Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross movement, and assured all possible support to strengthening the Red Cross movement in the state. Vohra gave away sewing machines to a number of needy women and wheelchairs to physically challenged persons. He also distributed prizes among the winners and runners up of the boys and girls cycling race. The Governor released a special cover and My Stamp brought out by the Postal Department to mark the occasion and unveiled the Red Cross logo. He lauded John Samuel, Chief Post Master General, J&K Circle, for the same. Earlier, the Governor flagged off the Slow Cycling Race and inaugurated stalls put up by various organisations as part of Red Cross Mela. He also had a look at the models prepared by students and lauded their creative talents. MLA Nasir Aslam Wani highlighted the importance of the Red Cross movement. He announced Rs 10 lakh out of his constituency development fund for the construction of Red Cross Bhawan at Srinagar. Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Shailendra Kumar, who is the chairman of the Regional Red Cross Society, Kashmir, gave details of the functioning of the society and activities planned for the future. |
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NC leaders misusing state’s special status, says BJP
Jammu, May 8 He alleged that under the garb of a special status being granted to Jammu and Kashmir, NC leaders in the state had been pocketing the funds sanctioned by the Centre for the betterment of the people of the state. Interacting with mediapersons on the sideline of the function of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, Shahnawaz said the ruling elites of the state had brazenly misused the special status of the state. He said Article 370 was the main obstacle in bringing transparency and accountability in the governance in the state. He said the controversial article was of no use for the common masses and it was being used as a shield by the corrupt politicians of the state to hide their misdeeds. Pointing towards remarks of the Supreme Court on the coal scam, especially the role of the CBI, he demanded that the Prime Minister and Union Law Minister resign. He said observations made by the Supreme Court had established that the government had been misusing investigating agency to hide scams and scandals. The BJP leader said national president of the party Rajnath Singh would soon announce the launch of an agitation against the UPA government for rampant corruption. |
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Search on for militants in Kupwara forests
Srinagar, May 8 Sources said the search operation was suspended at night and resumed in the wee hours on Wednesday. The troops, however, maintained a tight cordon in Bodnambal and Chowkibal forests to plug all the escape routes in the area. “No contact could be established with the militants even today. During the search so far, the Army has recovered three pouches, which indicates that a group of three or more militants is trapped in the forests,” said a police officer in north Kashmir. Army helicopters flew above the forests to track the movement of militants. Army officers in Srinagar said troops from various units were involved in the search operation. “The operation was launched on Tuesday after a movement of militants in the area was noticed. So far, we have not been able to ascertain whether the group of militants had infiltrated recently or was active in the forests,” said an Army officer. However, the police said the militants had infiltrated through Kupwara recently. “The forest area is a known infiltration route which has been used by militants in the past. So, this group must have sneaked in Valley recently,” said a senior police officer in Srinagar. He said during this time, when the snow starts melting from mountains and passes, militants try to infiltrate in the Valley. |
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Enrolment in private schools in state
11% higher than national average
Srinagar, May 8 More than 40 per cent of children living in the state and studying in Class 1-V go to private schools, the District Information System of Education (DISE) statistics of the Union Government published in 2012 reveal. The national average of enrolment of school children in private schools in the state is 29.82 per cent. The figures are a major deterrent to the implementation of the Right to Education Act (RTE-20120), which guarantees free and compulsory education to the school children at elementary levels and prove that the Act has not been successfully implemented in the state over past two years. Enrolment in private schools in the rural areas is 46.75 per cent as per the Rural Education Report, 2012. The ASER report states there has also been an augmentation in the number of children who attend private tuition besides schools in the state. In rural areas of the state, 15.8 per cent of schoolchildren from Class I-VIII attended private tuition in 2012 as compared to 12.4 per cent in urban areas, the report states. The state does not have any framework of rules to monitor private schools of the state except for a few guidelines under SRO (statutory rules and orders) 123 which are meant for recognition, affiliation of private schools even when the private school enrolment is increasing as per the official reports. Director, School Education, Kashmir, Mir Tariq Ali said a committee had been formed by Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, to be headed by Retd Justice of the High Court, Bilal Nazki to form new rules for private schools in the state. “We are thinking of reviewing SRO 123, but the committee is looking into it. No formal orders have been issued yet for implementation of any new rules,” the Director, School Education, said. The ASER report projects an interesting solution to the private school monitoring problem. It states, “Government funded and regulated, but not controlled, private schools-like the aided or charter schools-replacing government-run schools seems to be the way of the future. RTE has already introduced the concept of funding private schools on a per child cost basis. There is no reason why this cannot be extended further.” School preference
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Functioning of banking sector discussed
Srinagar, May 8 The Governor discussed with Subbarao issues relating to the rapid socio-economic development of the state, functioning of the banking sector and ways to enhance financial inclusion, particularly in rural areas, of the state. Issues relating to banks advancing financial support on viable terms to entrepreneurs were also discussed. — TNS
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Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (JKSRTC) is in the red. It has not earned even a rupee as “profit” from its operations and remained a “financially dependent utility”.
Rajouri, May 8
Jammu, May 8
Srinagar, May 8
