|
|
|
|
|
Lashkar militant again gives police the slip in
Srinagar
Young leaders set to make a mark in 2014 polls
On the
frontline
Doda earthquake victims await relief
|
|
|
In past 10 yrs, Rs 25 hike in widow, old-age pension
Chief Secy reviews Durbar Move arrangements
Cong leaders from Kishtwar seek mandate for Haider
Forest Department to plant saplings on 5,000 hectares
Government working out one-time settlement package for PoK refugees
State short of 238 health centres
Three held for snatching CRPF constable’s rifle
121 posts of principal vacant in JK
Soldier, porter injured in accidental blast
|
|
Lashkar militant again gives police the slip in
Srinagar
Srinagar, October 13 The Special Operations Group of the J&K police and the CRPF had been maintaining a tight vigil in Ahmed Nagar since Friday evening, and had even carried out searches in the area. “We had called off the search operation in the area on Saturday, but we are continuing to maintain vigil in the area,” said a police officer. “But we suspect that the militant has again managed to escape from the area,” he added. The police officer said they had cordoned off the area on Friday after gunshots were heard from the locality. But sources maintained that the operation was launched only after the police got a tip-off that the LeT militant who had escaped in October 3 was roaming in the area. “As the cordon was being laid on Friday evening, the militant fired many gun shots and managed to give the police the slip,” a source said, adding that searches were conducted around the area but the militant could not be traced. The police and paramilitary forces have been put on an alert in Srinagar. The LeT militant is believed to have sneaked into the city almost 20 days ago. Security stepped up
|
||
|
Young leaders set to make a mark in 2014 polls
One such youth leader is Karan Bhagat of RS Pura in Jammu district. The youngster has managed to hold a grip over the politics in his constituency and is seen as an emerging force in the political circles of the state. Bhagat has fought the 2008 Assembly election from R S Pura as an independent after he was denied the ticket by the Congress party. Though, he lost the elections, he was able to create a long lasting impression on the region’s politics. Bhagat returned to the Congress fold after the loss and his ability to be crowd puller has certainly set him apart. In December 2011 he alone managed to bring out 10,000 odd people during a public rally at RS Pura addressed by a senior Congress leader. The young leader wants to work for the unemployed youth of the rural belt of the region, who otherwise get little opportunities. Another name that is making the rounds is that of Satish Sharma, son of Madan Lal Sharma, a sitting Member of Parliament from Jammu-Poonch constituency. He is the president of the Youth Congress of Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency and is very active in the political circles. Sharma is holding public meetings and is touring almost every nook and corner of his father’s constituency, promoting the programme and polices of the Congress party. There are talks that he might contest the 2014 Assembly election, however, the family sources have negated any such move. Another emerging young leader is Gurmeet Singh Bajwa, son of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and former Member of Parliament Trilok Singh Bajwa. Gurmeet is currently a sarpanch. He contested the MLC election from the panchayat quota on the PDP mandate but lost. However, that has not deterred him from garnering the support for future elections.
|
||
|
On the
frontline
The Unified Headquarters, an apex body of security agencies, has failed in its basic purpose: to strategise and synergise on the crucial issue of the internal security affairs of Jammu and Kashmir — the state that has been battling terrorism on its frontiers and also in the hinterland. It is the result of this failure that incidents like Keran and Samba took place in the months of September and October.
Much more has happened this year, which tells the story of more failures in meeting the threats on the borders and within the state it is an undeniable fact that there were fissures in the Unified HQ from the very beginning, when it was founded in May 1993 after the police mutiny in the Kashmir valley, but now those are more pronounced. That can easily be attributed to lack of a matching response to the security threats that have swamped this state. The Unified HQ is a platform that could have helped in devising a matching response to the threats, but unfortunately it has been consumed by ego clashes. That is one part of the story. The other is that Unified HQ meetings come into focus only when Prime Ministers, Home Ministers and Defence Ministers preside over them. This has been particularly the case since 1996, when the whole role of the Unified HQ was undermined by the political governments, and the Chief Ministers — Farooq Abdullah, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Omar Abdullah — rarely took initiative to convene its meetings to review the security scenario and find ways to neutralise the enemies of peace. The Chief Minister is the chairman of the Unified HQ. The baton of the chairmanship was passed on to the Chief Minister in October 1996, when the elected government ended a prolonged spell of Central rule in Jammu and Kashmir. This state has a variety of enemies of peace. They are not just the militants or infiltrators, which are pushed to this side of the borderline by the Pakistani army and the ISI, there are also overground workers working overtime, luring youth to militancy and the social media jihadists who have taken upon themselves the job of waging a propaganda war against India and the Army. There are others who are engaged in the business of selling distorted facts of some of the unfortunate incidents which took place in Gool and Kishtwar. As chairman of the Unified HQ, it is the responsibility of the Chief Minister to seriously involve himself in the security affairs of the state. The Chief Minister is head of the government. He has to guide the course. At the same time, it is the responsibility of the security agencies, including the Army and paramilitary forces, to respect the institution of the chairman of the Unified HQ and share with him all the necessary details of their strategies. Instead, what has happened is intriguing. There is a clash of egos, negating the very fundamentals for which the Unified HQ was formed. The political leadership has shown reluctance to trust the security agencies’ version of the situation since 1996. And, the security agencies, in turn, have shown considerable hesitation in revealing their strategies before all because of their own reservations. There is an absolute trust deficit. Such a clash of egos and reservations in a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir prove self-defeating as security is one of the major concerns. People are still dying at the hands of militants. The security scenario cannot be assessed merely on the basis of gunfights or killings. Much more is happening. Separatists and fundamentalists from both sides of the fence are inciting communal clashes. Frustrated youth is turning to radicalism to find an escape route. The soldiers cannot do everything. At best, they can stage flag marches whenever violence erupts. Here, comes the role and responsibility of the state and the political leadership, to assess the situation in its entirety and objectivity. It cannot just go in for knee-jerk reactions to deal with situations. A consistent approach is needed, and that is not there because of the absence of synergy among the agencies in the Unified HQ. And, if the course is not corrected, worse is in store. It is high time the security agencies also stopped inventing excuses and learnt to trust the political and democratic institutions so that the Unified HQ can retain its original meaning and devise strategies to pre-empt those having devious designs on Jammu and Kashmir. |
||
|
Doda earthquake victims await relief
Jammu, October 13 While the state government has asked the Centre to provide compensation to the earthquake victims, the latter has put the onus on the former. The Union Government has made it clear that the Centre’s share to the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) has already been released and now the state government has to take the initiative to provide relief to the victims of the May earthquake. Responding to a letter by BJP Rajya Sabha member Avinash Rai Khanna regarding relief provided to earthquake victims, Union Minister of State for Home Mullappaly Ramachandran made it clear that the state governments concerned were primarily responsible for undertaking necessary relief measures in the wake of the natural disasters. “To meet the expenditure of relief of immediate nature, a SDRF has been created for each state. The state governments are required to meet the expenditure for providing immediate relief to the victims of notified natural calamities from the SDRF in accordance with the Government of India approved items and norms of assistance,” he said. Regarding relief provided to the victims of the earthquake, the Union Minister said upon receipt of memorandum from the Government of Jammu and Kashmir for Central assistance in the wake of earthquake on May 1, 2013, an inter-ministerial Central team was constituted. The Central team in consultation with the state government head visited the affected areas for the on the spot assessment of damages from May 26 to May 28, 2013. “The high-level committee, in its meeting on July 4, 2013, considered the memorandum report of the Central team and recommendations of the inter-ministerial group and thereafter approved the assistance of Rs 42.74 crore for the management of the situation caused by the earthquake, subject to adjustment of 75 per cent of the balance available in the SDRF account of the state for the instant calamity,” the minister said and added that Rs 2.40 crore was also released from special component of the natural rural drinking water programme for repair of damaged drinking water supply works. The Union Minister said Rs 199.64 crore had been allocated to the state SDRF for 2013.14, consisting of Rs 179.68 crore as Central contribution and Rs 19.96 crore as the state contribution in the ratio of 90:10. Reiterating that state governments concerned are primarily responsible for undertaking necessary relief measures in the wake of natural disasters, the Union Minister made it clear that the Centre only supplemented efforts of the state governments concerned by providing financial and logistical support as and when necessary. The Union Minister has asked the BJP Rajya Sabha member to take up the matter with the state government for any specific intervention.
|
||
|
In past 10 yrs, Rs 25 hike in widow, old-age pension
Jammu, October 13 This was revealed after a Jammu-based activist, Balvinder Singh, who is also the convener of the Sangarsh RTI Movement, filed two different applications to know the hike simultaneously given in widow pension and salaries of the state ministers and legislators over the past 10 years. According to the RTI reply, the monthly salary of Cabinet ministers in Jammu and Kashmir was Rs 17,000 in 2002 and increased to Rs 40,000 in 2006. In 2009, they again enhanced their salary to Rs 85,000 which was nearly 500 per cent more than what they were getting in 2002. The pension given to a widow, divorcee and aged by the state Social Welfare Department is Rs 200 per month as on date. The RTI reply revealed that the pension of widows and aged people was revised in 2003-04. The monthly pension was enhanced from Rs 175 per month to the existing Rs 200 per month. Furthermore, a total of 16,514 pension cases had been lying pending with the Social Welfare Department in Jammu district since 2008. The RTI reply said at present the basic salary of a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) is 35,000 per month. They also get Rs 30,000 constituency conveyance, Rs 14,000 Telephone Allowance and Rs 1,000 Medical Allowance per
month. MLAs are also entitled to Rs 1 lakh railway, air and family reimbursement annually, Rs 2.50 lakh housing loan (full term), Rs 2.50 lakh car loan (full term) and daily allowance of Rs 1,000 within the state from February 1, 2012, plus 75 per cent while attending the meetings, session and official tours outside the state. “Over the last 10 years, the pension of widows and old-age people has not been revised despite the inflation. “The political class of the state has remained insensitive towards the miseries of the poor and helpless people. It is sheer hypocrisy on the part of our lawmakers. On the one side, they make tall claims about the welfare of the poor people and on the other, they are least bothered about the miseries of the poor people,” Balvinder Singh said. |
||
|
Chief Secy reviews Durbar Move arrangements
Jammu, October 13 The meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Shantmanu, IGP Rajesh K Singh, District Development Commissioner Ajeet Kumar Sahu, DIG, Traffic, SS Watali, SSP, Jammu, SSP, Traffic, SSP, Security, Chief Engineers, R&B and PHE, Director, Health, Director Estates, Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), and other
senior officials. The shifting of the seat of power is a permanent bi-annual exercise, aimed at providing effective governance to the people in all three regions of the state — Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. While reviewing the preparedness for shifting of offices to Jammu, the Chief Secretary directed the concerned departments to ensure the renovation and repair works are completed on time to provide necessary facilities to employees. He stressed on better synergy among the departments for putting in place arrangements for the smooth functioning of the offices. He inspected various residential colonies of the Durbar Move employees and asked the Health Department to set up evening clinics for two hours in these colonies to provide health facilities to the employees. Keeping in view the security scenario, Khandey also directed for provision of security guards in all residential colonies. He emphasised upon the National Buildings Construction Company and the Economic Reconstruction Agency to ensure completion of all road repair works well before the opening of the Durbar Move offices in Jammu
for a hassle-free flow of traffic. The Chief Secretary directed for ensuring smooth services to the employees regarding supply of ration and LPG.
|
||
|
Cong leaders from Kishtwar seek mandate for Haider
Haider had earlier contested the 2002 Assembly elections against National Conference’s Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, but lost by a small margin. He got 37.12 per cent of votes in comparison to 41.32 per cent bagged by Kichloo. In 2008 the party fielded Thakur Jugal Bandhari, but he proved no match to Kichloo.Four people were killed, while over 40 persons were injured in the communal violence that broke out in Kishtwar
on August 9. With the area being completely polarised, the local leaders have been rallying behind Haider. On Sunday, a meeting of Congress leaders from Kishtwar district was held at hotel Savoy here and they sought mandate for Haider in the 2014 Assembly elections. The meeting was attended by Mahinder Singh Parihar, Noor Hussain, Ravi Kumar Shan, Satish Kumar, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Ghulam Mustafa Azad. Haider and Bandhari were also present on the occasion. The leaders said they will approach the party high command and seek mandate for Haider. They added that the party has authorised Union Minister for Health Ghulam Nabi Azad to select the candidates from his native erstwhile Doda district. The party leaders, meanwhile, launched a scathing attack on Kichloo, former minister of state, saying he has not done anything for the development of Kishtwar. “He was in power, but he only presented fake dreams of development in front of people. The newly created district is in shambles due to the policies are programmes of Kichloo,” the leaders said in a statement. They even alleged
that Kichloo was meddling in the party affairs of the Congress.
|
||
|
Forest Department to plant saplings on 5,000 hectares
Jammu, October 13 Official sources said the Forest Department had fixed a target of planting 16 lakh saplings on an area of 1,600 hectares across Jammu and Kashmir with special attention on undivided Doda district, including the hilly terrain of Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban, in the current financial year. “Around 1,800 hectares has already been brought under plantation by planting as many as 18 lakh saplings across the state in the last fiscal. Around six lakh seedlings, mostly poplar trees, have also been distributed among the people during this period,” sources said. According to official statistics of the Forest Department, the state’s forests cover an area of 16,309 sq km, that constitutes nearly 20 per cent of the total geographical area falling within Indian territory. Out of the existing cover, 14,359 hectares of forest land has been encroached upon by the land mafia, which is illegally destroying the green cover. The forests under encroachment in Kashmir and Jammu regions are 4,877 hectares and 9,482 hectares, respectively. Apart from this, about 59 per cent of the forest area is under permanent snow cover, glaciers and cold desert (Ladakh region), where it is not possible to grow trees due to physical limitations. Sources said the state government has also approached the Indian Space Research Organisation for satellite mapping of forest cover to collect extensive data on green cover and to demarcate its area as part of its drive to stop encroachment on forest land. Mian Altaf, Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment, told The Tribune that the department felt the need to cover all waste and unused land patches under the plantation programme following tremendous pressure on forests due to increasing population and livestock. “We will cover around 5,000 hectares, including waste as well as existing forest cover, to plant trees to restore the dwindling green cover of the state,” he said. To a query, the minister said his department would lay special focus on undivided Doda district under the plantation programme in the wake of complaints of deforestation and erosion of soil. He added that his department would carry out special drives to get encroached forest land retrieved from the land mafia.
|
||
|
Government working out one-time settlement package for PoK refugees
Srinagar, October 13 Once the package is finalised after consultation with these refugees, it will be submitted to the Centre for it approval and funding, the government has said. This was stated by the government during the just concluded Legislative Council session on October 10. The government's response came in reply to a question by MLC Jehangir Hussain Mir, who wanted to know the steps being taken by the government for the settlement of these refugees. Jehangir wanted to know if the authorities were contemplating conferring proprietary rights to these refugees over the land allotted to them. “A package for one-time settlement of PoK refugees is being worked out in consultation with these refugees and will be submitted to the Government of India,” J&K Minister for Revenue and Rehabilitation Ajaz Khan told the Upper House of the J&K Assembly in a written reply. Of the 31,619 families displaced from PoK in 1947, which were registered with the erstwhile Relief and Rehabilitation Organisation, only 5,300 had opted to settle outside the state of J&K, the government stated in documents tabled in the Legislative Council. “Only 26,319 (PoK refugee) families opted to settle in Jammu, of which 22,719 families settled in rural areas and the remaining 3,600 in urban areas of Jammu,” the minister further stated in the documents. Asked by MLC Jehangir Hussain how many PoK refugee families had been paid ex-gratia relief or aid till date and how many were left out, the minister stated in the written reply that 10 lakh kanals of with a scale of four acres of ‘abi’ (paddy land) and six acres of ‘khushki’ (other land) had been allotted in favour of families which stayed in the rural areas of Jammu. “Land deficiency was reported in respect of some (PoK refugee) families as some families were not allotted the full scale of land. Accordingly, Rs 30,000 per kanal, subject to the ceiling of Rs 1.5 lakh, is being paid as compensation to these families against the land deficiency,” the minister stated. He added that 2,831 (PoK refugee) families were eligible for payment of compensation against the land deficiency, of which 2,534 families had been paid an amount to the tune of Rs 30.84 crore. “Payment in respect of the balance families is being made shortly,” he further said, adding that in respect of refugee families which stayed in urban areas of Jammu, 1,628 quarters and 793 plots had been allotted by the government. |
||
|
State short of 238 health centres
Srinagar, October 13 This was revealed by the Health Minister in his written reply to a question by MLA Yashpaul Kundal at the autumn session of the J&K Assembly. Kundal wanted to know if the government had proposed new health centres for the state, particular in the Samba and Ramnagar constituencies. He said the Samba and Ramnagar constituencies did not have the required number of health centres. “The state health department has taken up the matter with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, for the approval and funding of these identified centres under the National Rural Health Mission,” the minster further said in the reply. The health department was making every effort to provide government buildings to the health institutions housed in rented accommodations, he added.
— TNS
|
||
|
Three held for snatching CRPF constable’s rifle
Srinagar, October 13 Nazir Ahmad Rather, alias Afridi, a resident of Dadsara village, Rafiq Ahmad Bhat, alias Rafiq Dada, a resident of Astan Mohalla area of Tral, and Shakoor Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Quoil village of Pulwama, were arrested, the spokesman said. Three other members of the module had been identified as Aqib Ahmad Daboo, a resident of Wav Masjid area of Tral, Ubaid Ahmad, alias Molvi, a resident of Tral Payeen, and Irshad Ahmad Khan, alias Arkhan, a resident of Lajoora area of Pulwama. “There is nothing against Aqib Ahmad Daboo,
Ubaid Ahmad, Shakoor Ahmad Bhat and Irshad Ahmad Khan with regard to militancy related incidents,” the spokesman said. It was not immediately clear if the module was affiliated with any militant organisation or was operating independently. The module attacked a CRPF constable near the Town Hall in Tral on October 9 and decamped with his service rifle, the spokesman said. The spokesman said
it was the same module which had been involved in an attack on a police guard at Qoil in Pulwama, where they left behind
the rifle which they had snatched from the CRPF personnel. The spokesman added that the arrests were
made after receiving specific information.
|
||
|
121 posts of principal vacant in JK
Srinagar, October 13 On the filling of these posts, the government said 621 posts of lecturer had been referred to the Public Service Commission (PSC). To fill other vacancies, the Education Department is “in the process of making promotions to various posts to fill the leftover vacancies under the promotion quota”. The official documents stated that during the last three years, 5,994 school buildings had been taken up for construction under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) schemes and out of them 1,088 buildings were completed. The work on 4,906 buildings was at “different stages of construction” while 670 works had not been taken up due to land disputes or non-availability of land, the government added. — TNS
|
||
|
Soldier, porter injured in accidental blast
Srinagar, October 13 The sources said an Army soldier of 3/1 Gorkha Regiment and a porter Nazir Ahmad of Tanghdar Nad was injured on Saturday evening, when they accidentally stepped on a landmine in the area near the Line of Control (LOC). The two were badly injured in the blast, the sources added. “Both were immediately airlifted to the Army’s Srinagar hospital for treatment,” a source said.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
The Unified Headquarters, an apex body of security agencies, has failed in its basic purpose: to strategise and synergise on the crucial issue of the internal security affairs of Jammu and Kashmir — the state that has been battling terrorism on its frontiers and also in the hinterland. It is the result of this failure that incidents like Keran and Samba took place in the months of September and October.
Jammu, October 13
Jammu, October 13