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April 29, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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APHC talks of room for
parleys DISTRICT DIARY 23,000 PSU employees in catch-22 position Drought: Central team in
valley |
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Srinagar-Leh road opens to
traffic Steps to sort out
problems of Gujjars
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APHC talks of room for
parleys Jammu, April 28 An indication to this effect was given by several APHC leaders, including its Chairman, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat. Professor Bhat has made it clear he and his conglomerate have not rejected talks but have laid down some specific guidelines which, if accepted by the government, can pave the way for the start of the parleys. Others said, “We have not closed our door for negotiations.” They said the government should modify its stand on the issue and “we will definitely reciprocate.” Observers said despite its decision not to take part in the talks when a “crowd of leaders” was expected to be present, the APHC was under internal and external pressure to be amenable to reason and to difficulties which the government was faced with. As far as the internal pressure is concerned several separatist groups, though they may not be of much strength, besides several mainstream political leaders have been keen to participate in the talks. Some ethnic groups have conveyed a clear message to the Prime Minister and others that their leader be invited to the talks. Among those include Shias, Gujjars, Pandits, Sikhs and Buddhists. Certain APHC leaders have formed an impression that in case the talks start and the government is able to hook some local leaders of militant outfits they may get isolated. At the same time they are under the impression that Delhi too may be forced by the world community, especially the US Government, to concede one of the several demands of the APHC so that they too can join the peace process. Many among the APHC are convinced that if the five-member team is allowed to visit Pakistan the APHC may not insist on inviting or involving Pakistan in the dialogue. The APHC is in the grip of one major ego. It had put forth one demand for allowing its leaders to visit Pakistan which was refused. In the given circumstances it cannot join the peace process unless this demand is conceded. If the APHC does this it will be blamed for having tried to stoop to conquer. Even in the winter capital some organisations have started pleading with the APHC for joining the peace process. Several Sikh organisations held a meeting here today which was chaired by Mr Mohinder Singh. Leaders of the state unit of the Akali Dal, the AISSF and Bhai Kanahiya Jee Nishkam Seva Society participated in the meeting. A resolution adopted at the meeting urged the APHC to take part in the talks with the government on the Kashmir issue. The resolution said that by taking part in the parleys the APHC could help the parties in hammering out a peaceful and permanent solution to the Kashmir issue so that peace and communal harmony were maintained in the state. The Sikh organisations also requested the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to allow the APHC leaders to visit Pakistan. The Prime Minister was also urged that representatives of various Sikh organisations too be invited for talks with Mr Pant. However, the state unit of the BJP has said the APHC has rejected the talks offer because they are toeing the line of Pakistan. The party president, Mr D.K. Kotwal, told newspersons here today that it was expected the APHC would not take part in the talks in the absence of clearance from Pakistan whose policy the conglomerate was following. Mr Kotwal wanted the government to revive its policy on tackling militancy without abandoning the peace process. He said some experts on anti-terrorist measures should be consulted and a new policy on the matter framed and implemented so that there were no killings of civilians. He also demanded a better deal for the members of the village defence committees (VDCs). He said there was no provision for ex gratia and they continued to fight militants with obsolete weapons and without basic facilities. Meanwhile, the Jammu Mukti Morcha has contested the claim of the APHC that it was a representative of the people. The morcha leaders, including Prof Virender Gupta, have urged the Centre to continue the peace process and hold talks with genuine representatives of the people of the state, especially from Jammu and Ladakh. They said the APHC leaders were not interested in the welfare of the people but were engaged in pleading the case and cause of Pakistan. |
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Hurriyat stand not right: Shah Srinagar, April 28 “If the Government of India sincerely wanted to pave way for such a solution of the Kashmir issue, the parties who consider the issue disputed, should and would feel no hurdle to present their contention before India and enter into any dialogue without fearing whether those talks fail or succeed. However, the bitter realities of the history of bilateralism should be taken into cognisance”, stated Mr Shah, chairman of the Awami National Conference, at the end of the day-long working committee meeting. “Let us come on the table for consensus”, he said in reply to a question. He categorically stated he was neither pro-Pakistan nor pro-India but pro-independence and sought to know the views of the over 40 lakh population in PoK. “We are ready for talks, but Kashmir problem cannot be solved unless all three parties — India, Pakistan and people of Kashmir — are involved”, he said. Hurriyat’s rejection of talks was not a good stand, which had been supported by militants, he said, adding that it “means we have no argument”. He said he was among the initiators of plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir as “a matter of strategy for 22 years”. In this connection, he also referred to his father-in-law and founder leader of the national conference, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, saving that the Sheikh “changed strategies to solve the problem”. Mr Shah said the Central Government did not allow leaders from Pakistan and PoK to attend his conference in Jammu last month which was later postponed. A delegation of his party would be visiting New Delhi to impress upon the government to grant visa to people from different schools of thought from Pakistan and PoK for an intra-Kashmir meeting. |
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Hurriyat
stand suicidal: JMM Jammu, April 28 Talking to TNS yesterday, they said the pre-conditions of granting passports to its members’ visit to Pakistan and making Pakistan a party in the peace process for holding talks had exposed the Hurriyat leaders in their true colours of being stooges of Pakistan. The Hurriyat Conference was not fighting for the cause of the people of Kashmir, as its leaders proclaimed, but were merely fulfilling the designs of their master, Pakistan. This step of the Hurriyat would prove to be suicidal for it and completely isolate it from the masses, they added. |
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DISTRICT DIARY UDHAMPUR There is congestion at the entrance to the bus
stand. Incoming passengers usually alight about 100 metres from the stand as they find it difficult to engage porters and autorickshaws
there. Besides, the exit gate is towards City Light cinema. Taxi and autorickshaw stands are also located in front of the cinema
house. In this area, too, there always a rush leading to congestion. Another problem at the bus stand is the lack of drinking water for passengers. A video coach service from Udhampur to Jammu has been started now. The fare in the case of the local buses is Rs 21 per head but video coaches charge Rs 25 per head. However, as the video coaches run non-stop, they take less time than the local buses to reach Jammu. Therefore, people prefer to travel by these coaches. This has adversely affected the business of the managements of the local buses. People are now demanding that video coaches should be run on other
routes, too. Residents have complained that the services of the Telecommunication Department here are not up to the mark. There are often faults in telephone lines connecting Udhampur to Doda,
Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Ramban, Reasi, Jyotipuram, Katra ,Ramnagar, etc. It takes the department a long time, sometimes weeks, to set things right. In some rural areas, telephone connections have been sanctioned but for the past one year no connection has been provided. Some senior citizens of Udhampur had applied for telephone connections in the hope that they would get these at low rates. However, it is reported that the department is charging more than the normal rates from this section. The condition of roads and lanes in Udhampur town is poor. Almost all roads have potholes. The drainage system is in bad shape with the result that dirty water from drains flows on to the lanes as well as roads in the main bazars. The Public Health and Telecom Departments often carry out digging work on roads making matters worse. Residents have demanded that the lanes and roads should be repaired on priority. |
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23,000 PSU employees in catch-22 position Jammu, April 28 The employees of 22 PSUs have been on general strike for the past 45 days. They have staged repeated demonstrations in Jammu and Srinagar, blocked traffic on the main roads and suffered injuries during police lathi charge. Even their family members and children have held series of protest demonstrations. Many have courted arrest and despite several rounds of talks there has been no improvement in the
situation. Government figures indicate that during the strike period these state-owned units have suffered losses to the tune of over Rs 20 crores. And the government needs Rs 10 crore to release the instalments of COLA. As per the government argument except Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd, the rest of the state-owned undertakings have been in the red and their accumulated losses have touched over Rs 1,000 crore. On the other side, the government has to provide annual budgetary support to all the 22 undertakings and in
several cases the wage bill of the employees is also met from the government’s budgetary support. On an average, the undertakings have a wage bill of over Rs 150 crore per year. A majority of the employees of the undertakings have started feeling the pinch of no work, no wages. Some of the officers told this correspondent that they had been banking on credit facility from shopkeepers for meeting
domestic requirements. Some of the employees had to borrow money for paying the school fees of their wards and for purchasing books and other items after the results of the examinations were declared last month. If on the one hand the state government has failed to reduce the level of losses, on the other hand, these very undertakings have become houses for job seekers. Ministers, legislators and bureaucrats have absorbed their favourites in these corporations in hundreds with the result that during the past 20 years the number of employees has increased from over 8,000 to over 23,000. This is besides the several thousands daily wage workers. The employees blame the government for not fulfilling its commitment made to them regarding the instalments of COLA and pay arrears. The government has neither implemented the recommendations of the Godbole Committee, which had suggested the immediate downsizing of the establishment and winding up of those undertakings which had no chance of survival, nor taken steps for overhauling the machinery and work culture to bring the corporations out of sickness. Employee leaders say: “We have been doing our job and whatever task is assigned to us is completed. It is not in our hands to make old machine function without any breakdown. It is not our job to overcome the problem of raw material and weak market cover.” |
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Drought: Central team in
valley Srinagar, April 28 Officers of the agriculture, horticulture, PHE, irrigation, animal husbandry and rural development departments apprised the team of the measures proposed in the contingency plan to combat the drought like situation in the valley, an official spokesman said. The team members suggested that alternate kharif crops needed to be introduced in drought-prone areas and asked for formulating long-term plan under the integrated watershed development programme under which there was scope to provide succour to farmers. In order to assess the affect on kharif crops, the team arrived here on Thursday. It visited various areas of Kupwara and Baramula districts in north Kashmir, including Kupwara, Tangmarg, Pattan, Mirgund, Sopore and Watlab areas, and assessed the situation. Mr Afzal presented a copy of the plan formulated for providing help to the farming community. The plan envisages a demand of Rs 1 crore for taking up employment generating work in the affected areas. |
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Srinagar-Leh road opens to traffic Srinagar, April 28 The strategic highway, which is closed for about six months in a year due to cold, was reopened yesterday. “The credit to establish and maintain this vital link between the Kashmir valley and Ladakh goes to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) which has to undertake snow clearance operation on a gigantic scale every year,” he said. The spokesman said a road stretch of 75 km between Gagangir and Drass, spreading almost equally on either side of Zojila, lying on the great Himalayan range, received heavy snow precipitation and experienced very adverse climatic conditions. The road stretch between Gagangir and Mechoi was completely riddled with some mighty avalanche-prone areas, he said.
PTI
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Steps to sort out
problems of Gujjars Jammu, April 28 Addressing a high-level meeting here yesterday, the Chief Secretary directed the SPs and SHOs concerned to organise meetings with representatives of the community. The services of the Gujjar and Bakerwal Development Board would be sought to advise the nomads to keep identity cards with them during their journey for security checks if required at any point. The Chief Secretary directed the officials concerned to maintain strict vigil at Udhampur and Ramban to check the smuggling of bovine animals effectively. |
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