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| Saturday, February
17, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Pandemonium in J&K Assembly Rs 22.15 cr spent on development
works J&K violence victim
dies in AIIMS |
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Pandemonium in J&K Assembly Jammu, February 16 The members walked to the well of the House shouted slogans against troops which had opened fire on a group of demonstrators protesting against the alleged custodial death of a militant in Haigam village in Sopore on Thursday in which six persons were killed and 20 others were wounded. The moment the Speaker entered the House to start today’s proceedings several members, including Mr M.Y. Tarigami (CPM), Mr Dilawar Mir, Mr Farooq Mir, Mr Abdul Rehman Veeri, Mr Safdar Ali Beg, Mr Sadiq Ali were on their feet. They raised their voice against what they called violation of human rights by the security forces. More than 30 NC members joined the chorus and kept on shouting slogans demanding severe action against the killers. Mr Abdul Rehman Veeri of the PDP, Mr Tarigami of the CPM, Mr Farooq Mir of the NC and others squatted in the well of the House. Mr Tarigami pleaded with the Speaker that his motion for adjournment of the House be adopted. For more than 15 minutes members belonging to the NC, the PDP, the Janata Dal and the CPI disrupted the proceedings. they shouted “stop this massacre. Stop this bloodshed,” They announced they would not allow the House to function. Many NC members shouted down two BJP members, Mr Ashok Khajuria and Mr Piara Singh who said someone among the protesters in Haigam had opened fire. Mr Farooq Mir and Mr Mujahid Mohd. Abdullah of the NC raised their voice and demanded immediate action against the killers. They said “blood of innocent people was being shed.” The Speaker, Mr Abdul Ahad Vakil, pleaded for patience. He said members could raise the issue in a dignified manner. But the members kept on shouting slogans condemning the Army action. Mr Vakil said he associated himself with the sentiments of the members. He said the security forces belonged to the country and they should not violate human rights. He suggested to the agitated members to show “absolute restraint” because “We are passing through a difficult phase.” He urged them not to get divided over minor issues. He said winning of peoples’ heart could improve the atmosphere. He expressed sorrow on his behalf and on behalf of the members over the loss of “precious lives.” He said the security forces were doing a great job by defending the borders and if someone had committed any violation the members should express their sentiments strongly but in a decent way in the light of the difficult situation in which the state had been placed. As the members demanded a statement from the Chief Minister or the Minister of State for Home, both of them were not present in the House at that time, the Speaker directed the government to make a detailed statement. This did not restore order. The moment Mr Vakil asked an NC member to raise his first question the agitated members walked out of the House. But for five ministers all other members went out of the House forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for half an hour. He later announced the suspension of question hour also. When the House met after 45 minutes members were again on their feet. But as the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, entered the House he succeeded in silencing the agitated members. On the direction of the Speaker he made a brief statement on the incident. He said five persons were killed and 20 others were injured in the firing incident. He said the state was passing through a difficult period and the Haigam incident was heart rending. He said preliminary reports had revealed that people were protesting against the killing of one militant in custody. There was some altercation between the protesters and Army officials. He said the Army authorities said that the protesters had stoned Army vehicles. He said the Prime Minister also phoned him up to know the details of the incident and he informed him that such incidents added to “our difficulties.” Dr Abdullah announced that the entire incident would be probed by a sitting Judge of the state High Court. The probe report would be completed within 15 days and the same was to be tabled in the House. He suggested to the members to restrain their sentiments because of the difficult situation “We are passing through and we do not know what turn the future will take.” He said killers should be executed but reminded the members that they should not raise storms as “We cannot control all storms.” Mr Abdul Rehman Veeri of PDP walked out of the House as he was not satisfied with the statement of the Chief Minister though Dr Farooq Abdullah had suggested to the members not to seek political mileage out of the Haigam incident. The Speaker ruled that dicussion on the issue could take place only after the judicial report was tabled in the House. Later, during zero hour more than 12 members belonging to the NC, the PDP, the Congress and the CPM condemned the Haigam incident. Some of the NC members, including Mir Saifullah, blamed the security forces for having killed several thousand people in Kashmir during the past 11 years. They said people in Kashmir had been sandwiched between Pakistan and India and between the guns of the security forces and the militants. The Chief Minister denied emphatically the Army’s contention that the police opened fire in Haigam. He said the police did not fire a single shot nor they opened fire in the air. |
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Rs 22.15 cr spent on development
works Kathua, February 16 This was disclosed yesterday at a meeting of officers held under the chairmanship of the District Development Commissioner, Mr Mehbaab Iqbal, to review the physical and financial achievements of different departments. The meeting was told that out of Rs 22.12 crore Rs 24.19 lakh had been expended on the agriculture and allied sectors, Rs 90.5 lakh on soil and water conservation, Rs 66.23 lakh on animal husbandry, Rs 28.34 lakh on rearing sheep cry, Rs 4.5 lakh on fisheries, Rs 10.16 lakh on forest and Rs 24.73 lakh on social forestry. Besides, Rs 64.78 lakh had been incurred under SGSY, Rs 35.73 lakh under GGSY, Rs. 34.29 lakh under CD and panchayat sectors, Rs 5.71 lakh under the development of Gujjar, Rs 51.68 lakh under minor irrigation, Rs 45.46 lakh under handicrafts, Rs 18.77 lakh under industry sector. In addition, Rs 2.13 crore had been expended on R and B, Rs 5.87 crore on general education, Rs 39.09 lakh on youth, Rs 2.85 crore on health, Rs 3.50 lakh on the PHE, Rs 19.591 lakh on social welfare and Rs 34.21 lakh on self employment programme in the district during the period. About 11,821 hectare had been brought under high-yielding varieties of paddy, 13.567 hectare under maize, 13,680 hectare under wheat and 1585 hectare under oil seeds during kharif season and 2,690 hectare under pulses, 655 hectare under vegetable and 430 hectare under fodder. To boost the agriculture production, 800 quintal of high-yielding varities of seeds were distributed among the farmers. Besides, 807 tonne of chemical fertilisers were also made available to farmers. Under plant production, 849 hectare had been covered. Under animal husbandry, 18,035 insemination and 867 natural services were provided. |
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J&K violence victim
dies in AIIMS New Delhi, February 16 Dr R K Sarma, Medical Superintendent of AIIMS, told TNS here that Dharminder Singh was brought to the institute at about 9.40 pm yesterday in a comatose condition by a team of the Defence ministry. He said the youth, who had a gunshot injury on his thighs, was on artificial support system before he was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). The youth’s body has been sent for post-mortem. A press release issued by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) here said that the youth’s body would be cremated in Jammu tomorrow. |
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Doctor killed in mishap Kathua, February 16 According to the police, the collision took place at Kalibari on Kathua-Jammu national highway this morning. The deceased has been identified as Dr Subash Chander (42), RMP at Sanji More village. The injured have been identified as Nitu Singh, Bharat Bhushan, daughter and son of the deceased, respectively, and Sohan Lal of Dhani Bhakta village.
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