Labour shortage delays expansion
JAMMU, July 26 — Labour problem is said to have affected the expansion of telecom facilities in several parts of the Jammu region. The Department of Telecommunications has already procured electronic telephone exchanges for augmenting the telephone facilities.

Attack on police post: 1 cop killed, 10 hurt
SRINAGAR, July 26 — At least one policeman was killed and 10 injured when militants attacked police station Shaheed Gunj in the heart of city with hand grenades and automatic weapons this evening.

Third batch of pilgrims leaves
JAMMU, July 26 — The third batch of 3471 pilgrims has left Jammu for Pahalgam, the base camp of the cave shrine yatra at Amarnath in the Lidder valley of Anantnag district of South Kashmir today, official sources said.

NC fears Mufti more than Cong
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 26 — With Mufti Mohd Sayed out of the Congress, the ensuing Lok Sabha poll in six constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir will prove to a battle of nerves for the National Conference, the BJP and the Congress, the three main contestants.

Though the Mufti camp has yet to decide whether the new regional party will contest from all six seats or concentrate on the three constituencies in the Kashmir valley, it seems to be certain that the regional outfit may hit the National Conference in Kashmir and the Congress in the Jammu region.

The Mufti's slogan of unconditional dialogue with the militants may find supporters only in Poonch, Rajouri and Doda areas. The Mufti, for the illiterate or innocent voters, is a leader of the Congress and hence those who have been traditional supporters of the Congress may again side with him as they did between 1988 and 1996 when he was in the Janata Dal.

Some of the prominent Congress leaders, including Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, have been making fresh bid to persuade the Mufti to change his decision of having quit the Congress.

Several senior Congress leaders have sent a communication to AICC President, Sonia Gandhi that she should now onwards take keen interest in the Congress affairs in Jammu and Kashmir and solve the problem of groupism by giving genuine Congressmen, who have remained ignored all these years, their due place in the organisation.

Attempts are being made to halt the exodus of Congress from the organisation to the Mufti camp.In this connection, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, AICC General Secretary, and Congress leader Ahmed Patel, have been told to remain in touch with senior Congress leaders and workers in Jammu and Kashmir and persuade them not to quit the Congress. This process had been initiated after reports reached the Congress high command that some of the Gujjar leaders belonging to the Congress, were planning to join the National Conference. These leaders have felt their position unsafe in the Congress with the Mufti out of the organisation.

One senior National Conference leader, who is also a ministerial colleague of Dr Farooq Abdullah, denied reports that after the formation of the regional party headed by the Mufti, the National Conference and the Congress will forge an alliance in Jammu and Kashmir. He said "there is nothing left of the Congress in the state and why should we join hands with an organisation that is like a sinking boat."

The minister admitted that the proposed regional party to be floated by the Mufti and his supporters would pose some problems for the National Conference in the Kashmir valley. But as far as the Congress was concerned "we have no challenge from it anywhere". He accepted that the ruling party faced a tough challenge from the BJP in Jammu and Udhampur constituencies.

Though the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) too has presence in Jammu with senior Congressmen and a former minister Thakur Randhir Singh projecting Mr Sharad Pawar as the saviour of the nation, the party is not going to have any significant impact in the poll.

J&K minister unwilling to contest
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 26 — Supporters of Finance Minister Mohd Shafi have lodged a protest with Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah for having decided to field him from the Baramula constituency in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

When the National Conference working committee met in Srinagar today it finalised the names of candidates for six Lok Sabha seats and the moment the name of Mr Shafi was announced for the Baramula constituency, the Finance Minister is said to have walked out of the meeting. He had already informed the Chief Minister that he was not willing to contest the Lok Sabha poll because even after winning the poll he would not be able to deliver the goods as an MP since he had remained pegged to the state politics for the past 20 years.

Informed sources said senior bureaucrats have played their role in persuading the National Conference chief to cast the dice in favour of Mr Shafi because as Finance Minister he would not spare those bureaucrats who indulged in corrupt practices.

The sources said several senior ministerial colleagues of Dr Abdullah had felt uneasy over the growing image of Mr Shafi and in order to clip his wings his name was suggested for the Lok Sabha poll.

The working committee sprang a surprise when it decided to field Mr Ram Pal, Parliamentary Secretary, as NC candidate for the Jammu Lok Sabha constituency. The party has retained Mr R.S. Chib for the Udhampur constituency.

Despite his unwillingness Revenue Minister Ali Mohd Naik has been nominated as party candidate to contest from the Anantnag constituency. The son of the Chief Minister, Mr Omar Abdullah, will contest from Srinagar from where he was elected during 1998 poll. The party has decided to field Syed Hussain from the Ladakh constituency from where he had been elected to the 12th Lok Sabha in 1998.

Pak shells hit IOC depot

KARGIL, July 26 (PTI) — An Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) depot on the Kargil-Leh highway was hit by Pakistani shells in the wee hours today causing a massive fire that destroyed a large quantity of lubricants stored there.

About 90 barrels of lube oil were destroyed, IOC sources in New Delhi said adding that the exact cost of damage was yet to be ascertained.

The depot, located in the plateau area on the highway, was hit at 2.30 a.m., official sources here told PTI.

The fire was extinguished within hours, the sources said.

The shells landed on barrels of mobile oil, coolants and gear oil, official said, adding that the blaze continued for four hours.

JAMMU: A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan was injured when Pakistani Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing along the international border in R.S.Pura and Samba sub-sectors of the Jammu frontier since Sunday, official sources said here on Monday.

Pak Rangers located along resorted to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing after a day’s lull in 14 different areas along Samba, R.S. Pura areas around 11.30 p.m.

A BSF jawan, Surinder Singh, posted at a forward post in R.S. Pura received a volley of bullets when he was on guard duty on Sunday night, sources said.

He was admitted to a government hospital where his condition is now stated to be stable.

BSF troops guarding the border returned the fire, sources said, adding that the exchange of fire continued for about five hours till Monday morning.

Meanwhile, BSF troops noticed some movement near a border outpost on Monday when a group of infiltrators in Samba sub-sector reached deep inside the Indian territory.

The troops arrested four infiltrators from there, who were later identified as Bangladeshi nationals.

Curfew relaxed in Bhaderwah

JAMMU, July 26 (PTI) — The authorities today relaxed curfew for six hours in Bhaderwah town of Doda district following improvement in the situation, police sources said here.

Curfew was clamped in the town on Friday in the wake of communal tension after a group of people violently protested against the killings of two Muslim youth in the town by some unidentified persons on Thursday last.

The sources said as the curfew relaxation period for five hours passed off peacefully yesterday, the authorities today relaxed curfew from 6 am to 2 pm.

No untoward incident was reported during the relaxation period, the sources said, adding that police and paramilitary troops continued to patrol the sensitive areas of the town with a view to maintain law and order.

Elsewhere, two security men were among three persons killed in different militancy related incidents in Doda, Udhampur and Rajouri districts of the Jammu region since last evening.

In Jammu, the president of the state unit of the BJP Mr D. K. Kotwal, demanded a probe into the incident in Bhaderwah.

The sources said that militants, as many as 25 in number, last night attacked a picket manned by the CRPF in water point area in Doda, killing a jawan.

A volley of bullets hit Head Constable Mani Ram of 33rd battalion of the CRPF and he succumbed to his injuries in the district hospital.

A special police officer Dewan Singh was fatally wounded in another attack by militants in the Hansa Gail area of Udhampur yesterday.

A militant was killed in the Korranak area by the security forces early yesterday and an AK rifle and some grenades were seized.

Labour shortage delays expansion
Telecom facilities in Jammu
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 26 — Labour problem is said to have affected the expansion of telecom facilities in several parts of the Jammu region. The Department of Telecommunications has already procured electronic telephone exchanges for augmenting the telephone facilities.

Under the augmentation plan the posh Trikuta Nagar colony in Jammu, Talab Tilo area in the city and parts of Kathua and its adjoining areas have been identified for expanding the telephone facilities and upgrading the exchanges. The telecom authorities have been unable to implement the plan of increasing the capacity of several telephone exchanges because of shortage of labour. For each new exchange cables have to be laid and the same exercise is required for upgrading the telephone exchanges.

During the past several months the laying of cables has been delayed because of acute shortage of labour. Local labour is not available and those from other states opt for the Kashmir valley in view of the sultry summer conditions in the plains. The telecom authorities and those booked for laying the cables had arranged a groups of labourers for carrying out the task of laying the cables. Usually it has been seen that they work for a week and then pack off for Kashmir or Himachal.

According to Mr T.Chandrashekhar, General Manager, Telecommunications, "If we are able to complete the cable laying operations within the next three to four months people in Jammu will be able to have a telephone connection on demand."

He said the equipment for giving 6,000 new phone connections was ready and the only reason for the delay was shortage of labour force. He is worried that after November when the durbar moves from Srinagar to Jammu the state government imposes restrictions on digging for laying transmission lines for security reasons. He and his colleagues are trying hard to get the labour force and complete at least 70 per cent of the cable laying exercise before the government offices reopen in Jammu in the first week of November.

Attack on police post: 1 cop killed,
10 hurt

SRINAGAR, July 26 (UNI, PTI) — At least one policeman was killed and 10 injured when militants attacked police station Shaheed Gunj in the heart of city with hand grenades and automatic weapons this evening.

Official sources said militants lobbed hand grenades followed by firing with automatic weapons towards the police station Shaheed Gunj this evening.

Eleven policemen were injured in the incident.

The wireless operator who was seriously injured died in the hospital.

JAMMU: The authorities today relaxed curfew for six hours in Bhaderwah town of Doda district following improvement in the situation, police sources said here.

Third batch of pilgrims leaves

JAMMU, July 26 (PTI) — The third batch of 3471 pilgrims has left Jammu for Pahalgam, the base camp of the cave shrine yatra at Amarnath in the Lidder valley of Anantnag district of South Kashmir today, official sources said.

Amid unprecedented security arrangements following the militants yesterday’s attempt to blow up yatra carvan near Nashri on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, 3471 yatris left in 195 vehicles around 6 am from M.A.M. Stadium in the heart of Jammu city, sources added.

Of these 3471 yatris, 2973 were men 334 women, 18 children and 146 sadhus, sources said, adding that they have crossed Ramban safely, when reports last came in.

The road santisation programmes have been intensified along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the route to Amarnath yatra, as more road opening parties (ROPs) have pressed into service to foil any attempt by militants to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) en route, sources added.

With the third batch, the total number of pilgrims who left Jammu for Pahalgam have gone up to 9088.