Army officer killed in Pak shelling
JAMMU, Nov 1 — In the continued heavy Pakistani shelling on the Siachen mountain glacier and in the Kargil, Uri and Kupwara sectors, Lieut Sachin Kumar was killed and four civilians were wounded.

Apple growers lament govt apathy
SRINAGAR, Nov 1 — India’s fruit bowl of Kashmir may not be able to provide as much of the delicious variety this year with the crop hit hard by premature fall as a result of both inadequate and unexpected rainfall.

Sikh bodies' plea to PM on Pak visas
JAMMU, Nov 1 — Three Sikh organisations, the Gurdwara Prabandhak Board, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the State Akali Dal, have urged Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to take up with the Pakistani government the issue of granting permission to Sikhs living in Jammu and Kashmir for visiting Sikh shrines in Pakistan.

Militants kill Imam, 3 others in valley
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Nov 1 — During the five-hour curfew relaxation in Kishtwar town of Doda district no untoward incident took place. The curfew restrictions were imposed yesterday following the gunning down of Revenue official Ghulam Nabi's son and son-in-law in Poshal village were reimposed late this afternoon as precautionary measures.

The killing had triggered so much tension that authorities feared communal disturbances and within hours of the killing curfew restrictions were imposed. Additional companies of security forces were rushed to the town to maintain law and order. When curfew relaxations were announced not many people ventured to move out of their residences. Small groups of people were seen rushing to the shops for buying essential commodities.

Official sources said that some anti-national agencies had played their cards by dishing out reports that the members of one family were killed either by the security forces or by the members of the village Defence Committee. The sources said that during the last several months militants have been moving about in Army uniforms in the district of Doda, Udhampur, Rajouri and Poonch. Eyewitness accounts had confirmed that militants wearing Army uniforms had done to death more than 20 persons in separate incidents in Doda, Rajouri and Udhampur districts during the past four months.

This strategy is being adopted to spread an impression that security forces were indulging in excesses. Referring to the Poshal village incident the sources said that a group of militants barged into the house of the Revenue official and dragged his two sons and son-in-law and opened fire on them in which two were killed and another received serious bullet wounds. The sound of the gunfire saw troops and Village Defence Committee members rush to the spot and they carried the wounded to the Primary Health Centre where two succumbed to their injuries.

Senior police and civil officers have been camping in Kishtwar town to ensure that separatists were not in a position to disturb peace.

SRINAGAR (UNI, PTI): At least six persons received splinter injuries in a powerful grenade explosion in the city today, the police said.

The grenade, hurled by militants towards a security forces picket at Barbarshah locality of Srinagar, missed the intended target and exploded on the roadside, causing injuries to the pedestrians, the police said.

All injured were rushed to hospital.

Army officer killed in Pak shelling
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Nov 1 — In the continued heavy Pakistani shelling on the Siachen mountain glacier and in the Kargil, Uri and Kupwara sectors, Lieut Sachin Kumar was killed and four civilians were wounded.

Official sources said that besides the Siachen glacier the entire western sector in the valley was pounded by Pakistani gunners during the past 24 hours. In the Siachen glacier area Pakistani soldiers fired about 500 mortar shells in which an Indian Lieutenant was killed and in the shelling of border villages in Kargil and Kupwara four civilians were wounded.

In the Kargil sector Pakistani soldiers fired 160 mortar shells, forcing people to flee to safer places. In fact, normal life has been disrupted in the Kargil sector since June last when Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling on the Shia-dominated town and its adjoining areas, including the Drass-Kargil highway strip.

Reports said for the past over three months work in government offices had remained disrupted as employees had fled the town. Some of them hailing from the Kashmir valley, had returned to the valley to escape possible death.

According to these reports, Pakistani troops made reckless use of artillery and small arms and fired about 10,000 rounds on the Siachen glacier during the past 24 hours with the sole aim of capturing a couple of vital mountain passes and to avenge the killing of eight Pakistani soldiers in Indian retaliatory fire a week ago.

While in the Uri sector Pakistani troops fired 150 rounds on Indian pickets and villages, in the Kupwara sector 39 mortar shells were fired. More than 500 rounds were fired from small arms. Reports said atleast 10 houses were partially damaged.

Eyewitness accounts said one of the reasons behind the heavy shelling of Indian pickets and villages was to provide fire cover to militants who had been brought close to the Line of Actual Control.

Even official sources confirmed reports that during the Pakistani firing in the Kargil, Uri, Kupwara, Poonch and Rajouri sectors between June and October more than 500 militants, most of them foreign mercenaries, were able to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir. Out of them the Indian security forces had eliminated at least 125 insurgents on this side of the border. A majority of those slain were in the Kupwara sector.

Indian troops have been directed to deal firmly with any attempt by Pakistani soldiers to enhance the level of infiltration. In the Siachen glacier area, the Indian security forces have been given a free hand to retaliate if Pakistani troops made yet another attempt to capture any of the mountain passes.

Although on the international border in the Samba sector the intensity of Pakistani firing had been on a lower scale during the past 24 hours, panic continues to grip people in the Hiranagar border belt where three days ago 300 families had fled. At one stage most of the migrants were ready to go back to their villages after the state government announced an economic package for them and the BSF authorities had strengthened the security measures, but a couple of political parties are said to be trying to exploit the situation.

Inside reports said Congress and BJP leaders were in the forefront of backing the migrants so that everybody was able to receive cash relief and other compensation which the two political parties could cash in on during elections.

Apple growers lament govt apathy

SRINAGAR, Nov 1 (PTI) — India’s fruit bowl of Kashmir may not be able to provide as much of the delicious variety this year with the crop hit hard by premature fall as a result of both inadequate and unexpected rainfall.

The apple crop in Baramula and Kupwara districts alone has suffered a loss of Rs 15 crore.

Preliminary estimates by the Fruit Growers and Dealers Association, Baramula, has stated that more than 90 lakh boxes of apple have got damaged.

At least 100 boxes of apple per orchard have fallen before time which would affect the fruit production and export targets of the state.

The growers say that besides the farmers even the government would stand to lose by way of revenue as toll tax will come down due to less number of boxes.

In 1997-98 4,74,700 tonnes of apple were exported to other states but the government, this year, would suffer a loss of Rs 45 lakh calculated at the rate of Rs 4.80 per box.

"My export target this year was 25,000 apple boxes as on an average 100 boxes of apple fall prematurely," says Ghulam Rasool, a fruit grower of Rafiabad in Baramula district.

The fate of this crop has made growers sceptic on the production levels of subsequent varieties.

"In Baramula district alone more than one tonne of fruit has prematurely fallen and subsequently rotten while 15 per cent of the total apple produce has gone waste’’, says Ghulam Rasool Bhat, president, Fruit Growers and Dealers Association, Baramula.

The most affected areas include Rafiabad, Pattan, Sopore, Baramula and other villages in north Kashmir. Similar reports have poured in from Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, Lethpora and Awantipora in south Kashmir.

Though the fruit production industry of the state is apple oriented with 40 per cent of the total area under fruit being occupied by apple and 60 per cent of the population in north Kashmir engaged in apple cultivation, farmers have been facing hardships due to government policies.

"And, though the market price of apple has remained static, the cost of apple production has increased tremendously with rising prices of pesticides and fertilisers, say growers.

" To add to the fruit growers woes substandard pesticides, fungicides and fertilisers have flooded the market," says Mr Bhat.

However, state officials say that the government took steps of far reaching nature which included introducing advance technologies and new varieties of apple, cherry, almond, plums, strawberry and peaches from different countries under various projects. These include the Indo-Australian project (1981-87), the Indo-Italian project (1986-91), the Indo-Bulgarian project (1990-93) and the Indo-Dutch project (1995-97).

Under the new technologies,substantial number of root stocks have also been introduced so that existing gestation period of eight-nine years is reduced to three years .

However, the growers claim that the government has not touched upon the real issue as the Kashmir growers and dealers do not even have a license to export fruit to other countries directly.

Moreover, infrastructure hurdles have affected apple production and consumption indirectly.

"Every year two lakh tonnes of fruit are wasted for want of cold storage and inadequate transport facilities and availability of wooden boxes," says Mr Bhat.

The closure of saw mills within 8 km radius of the forest cover without any alternative provided has made it difficult to procure wooden boxes for apple storage.

The government should provide plastic bags as in Himachal or take these units to a particular place where it is easy for all to procure it, says a dealer.

Growers are also concerned about government policy regarding the production, distribution, market infrastructure and pricing of fruit and vegetables.

The growers insist that granting industrial status to the sector is the only way to bail out lakhs of farmers.

"Against 4 per cent interest on agricultural loans provided by the Reserve Bank of India, commercial banks charge 14 to 18 per cent putting extra burden on the farmers", they say.

"If the government grants industrial status we will get insurance cover besides soft loans’’, the growers said.

Sikh bodies' plea to PM on Pak visas
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Nov 1 — Three Sikh organisations, the Gurdwara Prabandhak Board, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the State Akali Dal, have urged Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to take up with the Pakistani government the issue of granting permission to Sikhs living in Jammu and Kashmir for visiting Sikh shrines in Pakistan.

In a joint statement issued here today by Mr Sudershan Singh Wazir, president, the Gurdwara Prabandhak Board, Mr Gurdev Singh Ishar, president, Shiromani Akali Dal and Mr Jagdev Singh, president, state Akali Dal, the Akali leaders expressed resentment over the way Islamabad was creating hurdles in the way of Sikh pilgrims aspiring to visit the shrines in Pakistan. They requested Mr Vajpayee to direct the External Affairs Ministry to get in touch with Islamabad so that the required visa was given to the Sikh pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir for visiting religious places across the border.

These leaders appreciated Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah for having raised the issue with the Prime Minister. They appealed to Dr Abdullah to maintain pressure on Mr Vajpayee so that Pakistan was persuaded to grant permission "to our community members to visit shrines in Pakistan".

The Akali leaders hailed re-election of Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra as SGPC president.