tribuneindia... Jammu and Kashmir

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

Monday, July 27, 1998

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Amarnath yatra
toll rises to 11
SRINAGAR, July 26 — The toll in the ongoing pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine has gone up to 11 with the death of one more pilgrim hailing from Gujarat, an official spokesman said here today...

Cracks in NC-BJP alliance?
JAMMU, July 26 — Cracks are said to have appeared in the fragile alliance between the National Conference and the BJP over the Centre's procrastination regarding its commitment to pull the state out of the current acute financial crisis...

Amarnath yatra toll rises to 11
SRINAGAR, July 26 (PTI, UNI) — The toll in the ongoing pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine has gone up to 11 with the death of one more pilgrim hailing from Gujarat, an official spokesman said here today.
He said Ganesh Bhai died a natural death yesterday while on way from Pahalgam to Amarnath.
Earlier, 10 pilgrims had died in the ongoing pilgrimage on the Pahalgam-Amarnath route, he said.
TNS adds: Meanwhile, traditional "chharri-sthapana" and "dhwajarohan" ceremonies were performed at Shri Amreshwar Temple, Mahadev Gir Dashnami Akhara and Maisuma at Srinagar.
These are important rituals prior to the Amarnath yatra.
"Chharri-poojan" shall be performed on July 28 at Dashnami Akhara.
JAMMU: With rush of pilgrims unabated, the Amarnath Yatra this year is all set to register a record in the number of pilgrims.
As the 20th batch of 3,509 pilgrims left here last morning in 187 vehicles, the total number of pilgrims rose to 83,504, beyond the anticipated number of pilgrims with still 12 days more to go.
According to the sources, 66,351 pilgrims have already had "darshan" of the holy Shiva Lingam in the cave shrine situated at the height of 3,800 metres. About 53,708 pilgrims have returned after the "darshan". About 26,00 pilgrims are at Pahalgam and enroute the cave.
Meanwhile, the sources said sadhu Nav Giri of Rajasthan died on Friday, raising the death toll in this year's yatra to seven. He was cremated at Pahalgam by fellow sadhus.

Cracks in NC-BJP alliance?
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service
JAMMU, July 26 — Cracks are said to have appeared in the fragile alliance between the National Conference and the BJP over the Centre's procrastination regarding its commitment to pull the state out of the current acute financial crisis.
An exasperated Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, had recently stated that he would not be "visiting Delhi with a begging bowl" after his demands for reimbursing over Rs 700 crore, spent by the state on security-related matters, and for increasing the cash flow were not conceded. The Chief Minister is said to have given a free hand to his party MP Prof Saifuddin Soz, to take any decision regarding the National Conference's stand on the election of the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Professor Soz has already indicated that if the need arose the three NC MPs may vote in favour of Mr P.M. Sayeed, who has been fielded by the Congress for the Deputy Speaker's post.
Reports reveal that the National Conference leadership is keen on conveying its resentment to the BJP-led government over its refusal to bail out the state from the current cash crunch. The National Conference government feels let down by the Centre when it refused to give counter-guarantees after the state entered into agreements with some foreign firms for setting up two major power projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to these reports, the Centre is unhappy with the Jammu and Kashmir Government over the way it has, on the one had, failed to generate internal resources and, on the other hand, indulged in reckless spending with the result the overall deficit touched Rs 1550 crore. What is said to have irritated the Centre is the refusal of the state government to observe austerity and minimise expenses on activities which have no direct bearing on development works and on public welfare.
The Centre had asked the state to reduce the number of cars and other vehicles attached with ministers, senior bureaucrats and departmental heads. It had suggested to the state to auction cars and other vehicles attached with ministers, senior bureaucrats and departmental heads. It had suggested to the state to auction cars and other vehicles and prevent ministers from using more than three cars and also ensure that the overall expenses on telephone calls was drastically reduced.
The state government had not taken any action on the austerity measures finalised by it long ago and it had yet to act upon the Centre's suggestion of reducing the bank overdraft amount from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 500 crore.
The row between the state and the BJP-led Central Government is the result of the Centre's refusal to waive the Rs 1,275 crore central debt as the state spends over Rs 400 crore annually on servicing the central loans. The state has explained to the Centre that the piling up of security related expenses has been a legacy of the eight-year central rule in Jammu and Kashmir. The delay in reimbursing the amount and squeeze in the flow of cash had forced the state to bank on the overdraft from the Jammu and Kashmir Bank. The situation in the state at present is that it has no cash to meet the wage bill and every time it has to knock at the door of the Centre for getting funds for clearing this bill. The state holds the Centre responsible for the financial crisis but the Centre has conveyed its displeasure to the state that the fiscal ailment had to be cured within the state by way of generating additional internal resources. Against over Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore as annual internal resources the state has a budget of over Rs 1,250 crore.
As the tussle over the issue has started hotting up the National Conference may be forced to snap its ties with the BJP.It would have done so by now but its critical fiscal position has restrained it from taking an extreme step.