tribuneindia... Jammu and Kashmir

J A M M U C
& CK A S H M I R

Wednesday, July 22, 1998

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today's calendar

Four killed in valley
SRINAGAR, July 21 — Four persons, including a foreign mercenary, were killed and six were injured when militants attacked 14 villages, triggered grenade explosions and clashed with security forces in the Kashmir valley since last evening...

JKPCC’s revamp a
ticklish issue
JAMMU, July 21 — After the appointment of Mr Mohammad Aslam as the state-Congress president, which passed off smoothly, the reconstitution of the Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Jammu and Kashmir has become a ticklish issue for the party high command...

Ministers, officials play truant
JAMMU, July 21 — It is a "when the cat is away the mice will play" situation in the state. Ministers, senior bureaucrats and even junior officers have been playing after the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, left for London four days back...

Boy falls to death near Baltal
SRINAGAR, July 21 — A 19-year-old boy who was on way to the holy cave of Amarnath, fell down along with his pony near Baltal this morning.
According to an official spokesman here this evening, the incident took place at Brari Marg, 5 km from Baltal. The boy has been identified as Amit Garg, son of Ram Garg from Delhi...
3001 more yatris leave
SRINAGAR, July 21 — On the seventeenth day of the annual Amarnath Yatra today, 3001, pilgrims left Jammu for Pahalgam...
Artistes hold demonstration
JAMMU, July 21 — Several hundred artistes, directors, writers, students and lawyers today held a demonstration here to press for the acceptance of their demand for setting up a full-fledged Doordarshan kendra at Jammu instead of the existing relay station...
Army School organises cleanliness drive
JAMMU, July 21 — In a bid to present a clean and tidy railway station to the scores of tourists and pilgrims who come to visit the city temples, the staff and students of Army School, Jammu cantonment, participated in a cleanliness drive at the railway station yesterday...

Four killed in valley
SRINAGAR, July 21 (PTI) — Four persons, including a foreign mercenary, were killed and six were injured when militants attacked 14 villages, triggered grenade explosions and clashed with security forces in the Kashmir valley since last evening.
Militants kidnapped three persons, while 12 militants were arrested along with some arms and ammunition by security forces in the valley during the period, an official spokesman said here today.
He said a foreign mercenary was killed in an encounter with security forces at Loran in Poonch yesterday. An ak assault rifle, a pistol and Rs 10,000 were found from him.
Militants shot dead a special police officer, Farooq Ahmad Parray, at Dharigam-Pattan in Baramulla today, the spokesman said, adding that Parray was waiting for a bus when the militants opened fire on him from a close range.
A village defence committee (VDC) member was killed when militants attacked 14 villages in Doda district last night, the spokesman said.
They fired upon VDC members at Kharnagal, Delimrah, Kota, Sinoo, Bela, Kandloo, Bhargi, Gandoh, Dhossa Bala, Dhossa Payeen, Juloo, Gowaloo, Gatara and Lawa Sarthal. The VDC members returned the fire.
The VDC member lost his life at Lawa Sarthal in the exchange of fire, the spokesman added.
The body of a person identified as Bashir Ahmad Bhat was found from a government school at Mattan in Anantnag district of South Kashmir today. The victim had been missing for the past two days, official sources said.
The spokesman said four Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and a civilian sustained splinter injuries in a grenade explosion which was triggered off by militants at Jamalata in downtown Srinagar last night. The injured were shifted to hospital.
Militants also attacked a security picket at Kandni in Doda district, wounding a security jawan, he said.
He said a police picket was targeted by militants with small arms at Duderhama in the Ganderbal area on the outskirts of Srinagar last night. However, no one was hurt.
Militants kidnapped three persons — two from the Drugmulla area of Kupwara and another from Fazalabad of Poonch district, yesterday. The hostages were identified as Javid Ahmad Shah and Mohammad Shafi Dar of Kupwara and Amanullah of Poonch, the spokesman said.
He said militants also set ablaze Amanullah’s house before making good their escape along with their victims.
A hunt has been launched to nab the kidnappers of the trio, the spokesman said.
He said 12 militants were arrested during raids and combing operations in Srinagar (four), Kupwara and Anantnag (two each), Badgam, Pulwama, Jammu and Doda (one each) since yesterday.
Some arms and ammunition, including two AK assault rifles, a revolver, a toy pistol, five grenades and some explosives were recovered from the captured ultras, the spokesman said.

JKPCC’s revamp a ticklish issue
From M.L.Kak
Tribune News Service
JAMMU, July 21 — After the appointment of Mr Mohammad Aslam as the state-Congress president, which passed off smoothly, the reconstitution of the Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Jammu and Kashmir has become a ticklish issue for the party high command. Since the number of aspirants is far more than the number of posts available, the Congress leaders hip is faced with the tough task of accommodating representatives from various groups.
Though on Mr Aslam’s arrival here following his appointment, leaders of rival groups were seen sharing the same platform, groupism in the state Congress is far from dead. Apart from the two major groups — one led by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and the other by Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, there are other sub-groups, patronised separately by Mr Ghulam Rasool Kar, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, Mr Yash Pal Khajuria and Mr Madan Lal, Dr Mehboob Beg, Mr Rafiq Sadiq and others. All these leaders are aspiring for key posts in the PCC. Besides them, Mr Yogesh Sawhney, Mr Raman Bhalla, Thakur Divakar Singh, Mr B.R. Kundal, Mr Dharam Pal Sharma, Peerzada Mohammad Syed and Mr Taj Mohiuddin are in the race for PCC posts.
As the Mufti group continues to be the dominant faction in the state Congress, it expects more posts in the PCC than the other groups. It has been decided in principle that since the new PCC chief belongs to Jammu, the senior vice-president and the general secretary should be from the Kashmir valley.
Senior Congress leaders, including all party MLAs, are scheduled to meet in Srinagar to prepare a panel of names for different PCC posts and submit those to Ms Sonia Gandhi, who is empowered to reconstitute the PCC, which stands dissolved for the past two years.
In case of a tussle among senior party leaders over the sharing of PCC posts, the leadership is said to have mooted the idea of having two principal Congress committees for the Jammu and the Kashmir regions. The two provincial committees would function under the central committee, which is headed by Mr Aslam. This could help the party to accommodate almost all senior leaders in the policy-making bodies as has been done by the National Conference.
As Mr Aslam is known to Ms Sonia Gandhi since 1986, she has, according to reliable sources, decided to ensure that he can work without pulls and pressures from either the Mufti or Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad. Reports said that both these senior leaders would be adjusted in key AICC posts.
However, there are indications that groupism in the state PCC may get intensified if prominent leaders belonging to some of these groups are not accommodated in the committee.

Ministers, officials play truant
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service
JAMMU, July 21 — It is a "when the cat is away the mice will play" situation in the state. Ministers, senior bureaucrats and even junior officers have been playing after the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, left for London four days back.
Except for the Minister for Rural Development, Mr Abdul Rahim Rather, Mr Ajay Sadhotra, Minister of State for Food Supplies, Mr Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, Minister of State for Home, all other senior and junior ministers are not seen for more than an hour in their seats in the civil secretariat in Srinagar. Some of the ministers are in Jammu and others are in Delhi without any urgent work. One Minister who is on tour these days in Jammu is said to have indulged so much in sumptuous food while on visit to development projects that he was down with dysentery.
A number of people, who had to settle some pending cases, travelled all the way from Jammu to Srinagar to find the ministers concerned not available either in the civil secretariat or at their residences. Whenever any minister feels uncomfortable in Srinagar he "rushes to Pahalgam on the pretext of reviewing Amarnath Yatra arrangements." Once in Pahalgam they enjoy the hospitality of the government departments and, according to an eyewitness, "watch the movement of the pilgrims through the binoculars."
This has led to administrative indiscipline. The result of it is well manifest on the 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway where the passengers, including pilgrims to the Amarnath cave have to fume and fret between Batote to Banihal because of traffic jams. During the past one week passengers got stuck for three to five hours.
Among the senior bureaucrats who remain available to the people and work overtime to settle cases of different nature include the Chief Secretary, Mr Ashok Jaitley, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr B.R. Singh, Mr C. Phonsog, Commissioner Home and Director General Tourism, Mr Mohd Ashraf. Other bureaucrats have yet to adjust themselves as some of them have been transferred recently.
As a result of the administrative indiscipline people in Jammu have been put to inconvenience by prolonged load shedding and frequent power breakdowns. Humidity has crossed 99 per cent in Jammu and adjoining areas.
The Minister for Urban Development, Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, who has been suspended from the Congress, is not available to the press. Senior mediapersons from Srinagar, Jammu and Delhi have tried to contact him on the phone but his family members or his private secretary has one stock reply "Molvi Sahib is away on tour."
The Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, Mr Mohd Shafi Pandit is among a handful of senior bureaucrats who is always available to people and to the employees whether he is in the civil secretariat or at his residence.
And those very people who used to criticise the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, for his "childlike" attitude now feel the difference. They are of the firm opinion that in his (Farooq's) absence ministers and bureaucrats have "left the people to the wolves."

Boy falls to death near Baltal
Tribune News Service
SRINAGAR, July 21 — A 19-year-old boy who was on way to the holy cave of Amarnath, fell down along with his pony near Baltal this morning.
According to an official spokesman here this evening, the incident took place at Brari Marg, 5 km from Baltal. The boy has been identified as Amit Garg, son of Ram Garg from Delhi.
The route via Baltal on the Srinagar-Leh highway was opened for the pilgrims to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath this year. Though the shortest trek to the cave the route passes through steep mountainous region. Due to the security reasons, the route had been closed for the pilgrims during the early years of militancy. It was thrown open to a limited number of pilgrims to the cave last year.
With the death of Amit Garg today, the total number of deaths due to natural deaths during the pilgrimage has gone up to eight this year.

3001 more yatris leave
Tribune News Service
SRINAGAR, July 21 — On the seventeenth day of the annual Amarnath Yatra today, 3001, pilgrims left Jammu for Pahalgam. With this the total number of pilgrims who have joined the yatra this year so far has gone up to 60,550.
In view of the increasing rush, the yatra is likely to cross the one lakh mark, though according to initial estimates it was expected that 80,000 pilgrims would participate in the annual pilgrimage.
According to an official spokesman so far 35168 pilgrims have completed the yatra. The spokesman said that till yesterday 46,869 pilgrims had had the "darshan" of the lingam. Of these 6145 had the darshan yesterday.

Artistes hold demonstration
Tribune News Service
JAMMU, July 21 — Several hundred artistes, directors, writers, students and lawyers today held a demonstration here to press for the acceptance of their demand for setting up a full-fledged Doordarshan kendra at Jammu instead of the existing relay station.
The protestors took out procession marching in the city streets shouting slogans. The demonstration and protest march were organised by the Jammu Artistes' Action Committee.
The demonstrators also demanded the telecast of news bulletin in Dogri from Doordarshan kendra, Jammu and conversion of Kasher Channel into Duggar Channel during the morning transmission. Another demand was to appoint Dogri knowing staff for Jammu Kendra, at the release of payment for programmes already telecast from Doordarshan.

Army School organises cleanliness drive
From Our Correspondent
JAMMU, July 21 — In a bid to present a clean and tidy railway station to the scores of tourists and pilgrims who come to visit the city temples, the staff and students of Army School, Jammu cantonment, participated in a cleanliness drive at the railway station yesterday.
As many as 100 students and staff members of the school launched the cleanliness drive. The Chairman , Brig Jagjit Singh, VSM, and the school Principal, Mrs Archana Kakar, were also present.
The General Officer Commanding, Tiger division, Maj-Gen Bhopinder Singh also participated in the drive. The aim of the event was to inculcate a sense of pride in the students, a feeling of participation in the upkeep of their surroundings and at the same time make a fervent appeal to the local residents to help to maintain cleanliness and cooperate with the railway authorities.