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| Sunday, December 10, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Time to begin talks:
Yasin BRO yet to give nod to Siachen road Bunker scheme faces rough
weather Jammu DGPC’s
suspension flayed |
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Time to begin talks: Yasin NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (PTI) — The Hurriyat Conference has said it does not doubt the sincerity of attempts by India to bring peace and solve the vexed Kashmir issue but stresses that a dialogue process should begin soon. Senior Hurriyat leader and Chairman of JKLF Yasin Malik said: “We do not doubt the sincerity but only the time will tell about it... Pakistani government has also responded positively, we also welcomed it but we want that a political dialogue must be initiated to resolve the Kashmir dispute.” “Yes, it (peace process) should work. So, none (India, Pakistan or Hurriyat) has tried to discourage the process,” Mr Malik said in an interview to “Darasal” programme to be telecast tomorrow on Doordarshan News. Stating that the entire leadership of the Hurriyat Conference had in one voice welcomed the ceasefire offer, Mr Malik said: “It is necessary to start a purposeful dialogue to solve the Kashmir affair in order to have peace in South Asia.” “In this regard, Hurriyat leaders have also said that they would like to go to Pakistan and speak to Mujahideen leaders so that a peaceful atmosphere can be created for a genuine political dialogue,” Mr Malik was quoted in a release by the producer of the programme, New Delhi Communication Network. Asked whether Hurriyat leaders wanted to visit Pakistan as “mediators”, Mr Malik replied “look, it is not playing the role of a mediator. People of Jammu and Kashmir are party to the dispute. We want to go to Pakistan to talk to the Mujahideen leadership there. We want to talk to them to create a peaceful atmosphere for a genuine political dialogue.” Asked about the stand of New Delhi, which has rejected any tripartite talks on the Kashmir issue with Pakistan, Mr Malik said “talks are not priority....we have the issue of creating a peaceful atmosphere.” The JKLF chief clarified that the Hurriyat leadership wants to go to Pakistan to meet militant leaders because “without taking them into confidence the entire process would be meaningless.” Equating Mr Vajpayee with slain Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin, Mr Malik said he wished Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee should play the same role as “Rabin played between Arab and Israel...It was believed that this problem would never get solved.” Asked whether Kashmiri pundits should be included in this peace process, Mr Malik said: “Kashmiri pundits are part of Kashmiri land. They are residents of Kashmir. They have every right to live in Kashmir. There will be no discrimination between Hindus and Muslims and everybody will enjoy equal right.” He also dismissed the suggestions that the militancy was hijacked by foreign mercenaries and said “90 per cent people in the struggle are Kashmiris.” |
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BRO yet to give nod to Siachen road JAMMU, Dec 9 — The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is yet to accept the challenging task of constructing a road from the base camp to the world’s highest battlefield — the Siachen glacier in eastern Ladakh. The BRO has been instrumental in constructing a motorable road from Leh, capital of Ladakh, to the far end of Nubra valley from where the route goes up to the 19000-ft-high Siachen glacier, which has been the scene of intermittent armed duels between the Pakistan and Indian troops since 1984. However, the BRO has not turned down the challenging suggestion of linking the Siachen glacier with the base camp by road. But, with the area remaining buried under thick snow, coupled with frequent avalanches, the task seems to be daunting. In the meantime, the BRO has carried out the difficult task of linking with roads the remote and hilly areas in Doda, Poonch, Rajouri and distant villages with the district headquarters. According to Lt-Gen A.K. Puri, Director-General, BRO, the organisation has built a mountain road linking Paddar with Dechan in Doda district. This road has brought scores of villages in the far-flung areas closer to the subdivisional headquarters. Similarly, the BRO has accepted construction of roads on several difficult routes on the request of the state government in Jammu and Kashmir. At present, about a 1400-km stretch of roads in the state were under the BRO, whose engineers and soldiers perform the difficult task of renovating and widening these roads. General Puri told newsmen here today that the BRO could have completed widening, renovating and building new roads at a faster rate had financial problems not crept in. He claimed that the credit for keeping the Jawahar Tunnel, considered to be the gateway to the Kashmir valley, open round the year goes to the BRO. He said that the BRO carried out renovation of the two tubes of the tunnel, each measuring 2547 and 2531 metres. The work had cost over Rs 26 crore. In reply to a question, he said the tunnel was not on the verge of collapse. He explained that the soil around the tunnel was so solid that it could withstand the traffic for another 100 years. The BRO has employed over 1.10 lakh labourers and workers, out of which 70,000 are casual labourers. Gen Puri said that the most daring task for the men of the BRO was to keep the 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway open to traffic round the year. He stated that various road strips passed through or over avalanche-prone zones. Besides this, the soil pattern and the sandy slopes usually resulted in landslides during rain and snow, disrupting traffic. The men of the BRO had to work round the clock to clear the highway of millions of tonnes of soil and clay. |
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Bunker scheme faces rough
weather URI, Dec 9 — The construction of 2,200 underground bunkers for the safety of civilians along the LoC in Kupwara and Baramula districts during shelling is facing rough weather. Although the construction has been started by residents, it remains incomplete, allegedly due to the apathetic attitude of the government. Official sources revealed that Rs 1 crore each had been sanctioned in favour of the Deputy Commissioners of Baramula and Kupwara districts for disbursement among the residents for the construction of underground bunkers. The scheme envisaged the construction of 1,000 bunkers and 100 community bunkers near mosques. The cost of each bunker would be Rs 20,000 and Rs 35,000 would be sanctioned for community bunkers, according to officials of the civil administration. While the size of individual bunkers, meant for members of a single house would be 7 ft by 11 ft, that of community bunkers would be 20 ft by seven ft, particularly for places of worship. A number of bunkers around this township close to the LoC, are incomplete. Two such bunkers are lying open, one of them close to the house of Lall Din Khan. His house was damaged when a shell hit it about two months back. “Yeh hum ney khud hee banaya hai... Is par sou (100) admi lagey, koi paisa nahin detey hain....”, he said, pointing to the digging work. It awaits GI sheets and cement, subject to the release of funds. He alleged no compensation was given to him after his house was damaged. “Patwari demands huge amounts for the release of funds”, he alleged. The residents blame the local authorities for arbitrary disbursement of cash for the bunkers. “Only those affiliated with the ruling party get the cash”, said Ghulam Mohiuddin, another villager. He claimed that the bunkers were being sanctioned in favour of “favourites” who did not even require them. Police officials reveal that 28 civilians were killed and at least 140 others were injured due to shelling along the LoC in the two districts this year. Further, at least 171 houses were totally damaged and 350 houses partially damaged in the shelling. The construction of underground bunkers was sanctioned by the Central Government two months ago and the state government had planned to get the bunkers completed by December 15. Most of the bunkers might not be completed by this year. “We have no reports of the completion of any bunker”, confided a senior officer in Srinagar. “Unless the GI sheets are laid, these bunkers will remain incomplete”, he added. The release of funds in phases after duly certifying the progress of the construction led to the delay, officials claimed. According to sources, the state government is contemplating the construction of another 5,700 bunkers. The scheme awaits sanction from the Central Government. |
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Jammu DGPC’s
suspension flayed JAMMU, Dec 9 — The Sikh community in Jammu has criticised the suspension of the District Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (DGPC) by the State Gurdwara Prabandhak Board recently. Various Sikh organisations, including the Sikh Progressive Front, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) and the Shiromani Akali Dal, have flayed the board in this regard. Mr S.S. Wazir of the board, suspending the DGPC, had alleged that the committee office-bearers had misappropriated funds and had not responded to his notice. He also said the DGPC had not been functioning as per the “expectations” of the Sikh community. The Sikh organisation stated that Mr Wazir had pointed out that the suspension of the DGPC had been approved by the SGPC at its meeting here recently. Sikh leaders said during the past several years, Mr Wazir had not been able to convene even a single meeting of the SGPC which had 15 members, eight from Jammu and seven from Kashmir. As such, the contention that the suspension of the DGPC had been approved by the SGPC was untenable since 10 of the 15 members were not present at the meeting which is the minimum quorum. The President of the DGPC, Mr Surinder Singh, said under Rule 63-B of the Jammu Kashmir Sikh Gurdwara and Religious Endowment Act, 1973, the SGPC had the powers to dissolve or suspend regional and not district bodies. Mr H.S. Raina, President, Akali Dal (B), said the SGPC had become defunct and only the secretary had the powers to convene a meeting which was not done. He said thus the suspension of the DGPC was not valid. Mr Rajinder Singh, President, Sikh Progressive Front, appealed to the DGP, Mr A.K. Suri, to intervene in the matter. |
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