J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Three airports declared hyper-sensitive
Jammu, August 23
Following reports that fidayeen might attack vital government establishments, airports at Srinagar, Amritsar and Jammu have been declared “hyper-sensitive”. After the fidayeen attack at Jammu railway station, in which 13 persons were killed the state and the Central governments have taken elaborate security measures to sanitise Srinagar, Amritsar and Jammu against any attack by the Pak-trained suicide squads.

Panel examines CAG report
Srinagar, August 23
A meeting of the Public Account Committee of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative was held here yesterday under the chairmanship of Sheikh Abdur Rehman, MLA.

Leh gets 12 crore for Annual Plan
Srinagar, August 23
The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has asked the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council to draw up a revised annual plan for Rs 50 crore for the district.

BJP begins anti-CM stir 
Jammu, August 23
The state unit of the BJP, led by Mr D.K. Kotwal, launched its first phase of agitation against what it called the “misrule” of the Farooq government by staging a demonstration here today.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and his former political rival and former state Congress president Ghulam Rasool Kar enjoying a cultural show at Tagore Hall in Srinagar on Thursday. — PTI photo

Unauthorised schools asked to close down
Kathua, August 23
About 100 unauthorised public schools functioning in the district have been asked to close down. The Chief Education Officer has served notices to the proprietors of the schools asking them to immediately close down their educational centres and also forwarded the copies of the notification to parents and guardians asking them not to send their wards to these institutions.

Development work reviewed
Kathua, August 23
The Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and MLA, Bani, Malik Ghulam Hyder presided over a meeting of the newly, elected sarpanches and panches of the Bani block held here yesterday. He also took stock of various rural development works being undertaken in the block.

Floriculture Dept earns Rs 1.25 lakh
Srinagar, August 23
The Floriculture Department has earned a revenue of Rs 1.25 lakh from the sale of cut flowers and flower plants during the last fiscal year. The sale target for the current year has been fixed at Rs 4 lakh .

Three airports declared hyper-sensitive
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 23
Following reports that fidayeen might attack vital government establishments, airports at Srinagar, Amritsar and Jammu have been declared “hyper-sensitive”.

After the fidayeen attack at Jammu railway station, in which 13 persons were killed the state and the Central governments have taken elaborate security measures to sanitise Srinagar, Amritsar and Jammu against any attack by the Pak-trained suicide squads.

After Jammu airport a three-tier security system has been introduced. The six-feet boundary wall, encircling the airport, is being raised to eight feet and over it a three layer barbed wire is being installed to prevent intrusions. The deployment of police and paramilitary forces has been restructured under which BSF personnel will man the outer area, the CRPF inside the lounge and police personnel placed in between the BSF and the CRPF deployment.

In addition, two quick reaction teams (QRTs) of the BSF have been deployed. Men of the QRTs will man the entrance and monitor passengers’ movement on the runway during the taking off or landing of the aircraft.

According to Mr Amjad Parvez Murtaza, SP, Anti-hijacking, the QRTs will be in action within seconds of an alarm that will be followed by the CRPF and the police operation.

He said reports had indicated that militants had no plans of hijacking aircraft but instead fidayeens had been trained to storm the airports and other crowded places to carry out gun and grenade attacks.

It is in this context that the entry of private cars, three-wheelers up to the main entrance of the waiting lounge has been prohibited. Taxi operators have been facing inconvenience as there are no shelter sheds for them outside the main entrance on the road. Taxi operators say that they feel secure once they are allowed to park their vehicles within the airport premises.

The airport authorities said the ongoing expansion programme will be completed within a year and a separate enclosure will be set up for the taxi operators.

Mr R.K. Singla, Director, Airport, said a team of experts from the IB and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security had discussed the security set-up in Jammu for two days and more measures were being taken to ensure the safety of passengers and the aircraft.

Reports said since Jammu airport was ringed by inhabited colonies there were fears that fidayeen could launch attack from within the residential houses. But security experts said that a proper surveillance had been ordered to keep a watch on the movement of people.

At the same time the strengthening of the security arrangements in and around Srinagar, Jammu and Amritsar airports had been completed in a record time.

Against this plan to strengthen security measures in and around Jammu railway station had been slow when the threat of militant attack at the railway station was more real. The delay was due to lack of unanimity among different agencies that had to be involved in sanctioning funds for fencing the railway station, for installing flood- lights and for setting up police barriers.

Except for usual checking of passengers and the deployment of additional forces to keep a watch on the coaches of running trains the 80 km Jammu-Samba rail track, which at places runs quite close to the border, is yet to witness any foolproof security system.

A senior police officer said the Railway Ministry should implement the recommendations made by the experts of the crime and railway police without further delay.

Panel examines CAG report
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 23
A meeting of the Public Account Committee (PAC) of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative was held here yesterday under the chairmanship of Sheikh Abdur Rehman, MLA.

An official spokesman said the committee examined the audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India for 1998-99 pertaining to the Food and Supplies Department. The committee deliberated on various aspects like compiling of proforma accounts, distribution system, recoveries from defaulters, disposal of empty gunny bags and setting up of sale outlets.

It directed the department to submit the proforma accounts for from 1998 to 2002 to the state government as demanded by the CAG in the audit report.

The PAC directed the department to stop making advance payments for carriage of foodgrains in Jammu division and adopt the same procedure was is being followed in the valley. The committee was informed that presently about 50 truckloads of food grains were reaching the valley daily which was supplied to the border areas for building sufficient stocks for winter.

Meanwhile, a meeting to discuss and approve the action plan for the Centrally-sponsored scheme, Tribal sub-plan was held at Kargil yesterday. The meeting was presided over by the Principal Secretary to the government Social Welfare Department, Mr N.R. Gupta. The District Development Commissioner, Kargil, Dr Din Mohammad, and district officers participated.

According to an official spokesman it was decided that Rs 80 lakh would be spent during the current year under the sub-plan in this district. Of these, Rs 18 lakhs was envisaged to be spent on the Rural development sector, Rs 16 lakh on social welfare schemes, Rs 10 lakh on Agriculture, Rs 7 lakh on soil conservation, Rs 6 lakh on command area development and another Rs 6 lakh on the Animal husbandry sector.

Leh gets 12 crore for Annual Plan

Srinagar, August 23
The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has asked the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) to draw up a revised annual plan for Rs 50 crore for the district.

The plan allocation for the district had earlier been approved at Rs 38 crore, an official spokesman said giving details about the joint Cabinet-cum-district Development Board meeting held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister at Leh yesterday.

He said various issues of development and administrative affairs relating to the district were discussed at the meeting.

It was decided to upgrade two primary schools and one middle school each in the six blocks of the border district to middle and high schools, respectively during the current year, the spokesman said.

Dr Abdullah also announced the release of Rs 50 lakh for the construction of boys and girls hostels at Jammu and Srinagar for Ladakhi students.

Under the power sector, Rs 4 crore were sanctioned for purchase of fuel for diesel power generators, besides Rs 2 crore for the completion of the Martselanla hydel project. All under-execution power projects in the district would be provided the requisite funds for early completion, the meeting decided.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Councillor, LAHDC, Thupstan Chhewang, gave a resume of the development scenario in the district.

About the promotion of tourism, it was disclosed that the tourist influx, particularly domestic, had increased by over 30 per cent this year. The increase was attributed to the holding of the three national- level events like the Ladakh festival, Sindhu Darshan and Budha Mahotsav at Leh, the spokesman said, adding the events had a positive impact on the economy of the district giving it a prominent place on the international tourist map. PTI

BJP begins anti-CM stir 
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 23
The state unit of the BJP, led by Mr D.K. Kotwal, launched its first phase of agitation against what it called the “misrule” of the Farooq government by staging a demonstration here today.

Party activists took out a procession and raised anti-Farooq slogans. They also burnt the effigy of the Chief Minister.

Demonstrators demanded improved electricity and drinking water supply. They accused the state government of “engineering” a power crisis in the Jammu region despite the fact that the realisation of power tariff arrears was 80 per cent higher than in the valley.

They alleged that a major share of the Central funds for development were being spent on the valley and demanded equal distribution of funds between the two regions.

Mr Kotwal and other senior party leaders, including Mr Hans Raj Dogra and Mr Chander Mohan Sharma, said instead of concentrating on the problems of people, ruling National Conference leaders were raising extraneous issues like grant of greater autonomy to the state.

The BJP leaders demanded a separate competent authority for the Jammu region because the authorities concerned had allegedly shown a pro-valley bias in the selection of candidates to professional colleges.

They expressed concern over the continued nexus between some state government officials and separatists and demanded screening of the entire state administration.

They also demanded a fair share in the state services for educated youth belonging to the Jammu region.

Unauthorised schools asked to close down
Our Correspondent

Kathua, August 23
About 100 unauthorised public schools functioning in the district have been asked to close down. The Chief Education Officer has served notices to the proprietors of the schools asking them to immediately close down their educational centres and also forwarded the copies of the notification to parents and guardians asking them not to send their wards to these institutions.

The Chief Education Officer has also sent the copy of the notification to the senior police officers for its immediate compliance. The public schools which have been ordered to close down include Pawan Jyoti Academy, Budhi (Barnoti zone), Unique Academy, Thanun, Bharti Public School, Bhallar, Bharati Public School, Nunri, Bharti Public School, Merath, Bharti Public School, Dhabdal, Bharti Public School, Padyari, Maherd Public School, Nihalpur, Amrit Singh Academy, Jathana, Shanti Niketan Academy, Jathana, Modern Children Academy, Padras, Kumar Academy, Ban, Kumar Academy, Seswan, Oriental Academy, Bakkrah, New Model School, Danoh, New Model School, Walanwalla, Jandiak Convent School, Ghair, Presentation Convent School, Sanji Morh, Gurdev Public School, Bandore, DAV Public School, Sanji Morh, Bharat Public School, Chandwan, Little Flower School, Rajbagh, Nav Bharat School, Chack Chabba, Shishu Model School, Nagri Parole (Kathua zone), Little Public School, Jakhbar, Little Star Convent School, Kathua, Pioneer Convent School, Kalibari, New Millennium Public School, Nagri Parole, Saraswati Vidyalaya, Kalibari, Tony Scholars School, Kathua, R.S. Academy, Panjwari, Nursing Vidyapeeth, Milani (Gagwal zone), Modern Ramu Academy, Saratian, Public School, Sararan, Prem Memorial Academy, Paloona, Tony School, Gurha Morh (Sallan zone), P.E.M. School, Hiranagar Morh, National Academy, Gurah Mundian, Kumar Academy, Sprain, Public Modern School, Satooram, New Janta Academy, Bana Chack, Hari Palace Public School, Amoola (Baddu zone), KMP School, Dandwala, Public Vidya Kendra, Mahanpur, D.S.M.P. School, Mehtabpur, Lakhanpur School, Shivalik, Bal Niketan, Hydel, Morning Glory Public School, Maha, Dogra Public School, Lakhanpur and R.S. Golden Academy, Kharote Morh.

Development work reviewed
Our Correspondent

Kathua, August 23
The Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and MLA, Bani, Malik Ghulam Hyder presided over a meeting of the newly, elected sarpanches and panches of the Bani block held here yesterday. He also took stock of various rural development works being undertaken in the block.

Addressing the meeting Mr Malik called upon the panches and sarpanches to work with more zeal and dedications and formulate panchayat-wise development plans.

He said the popular government under the dynamic leadership of Dr Farooq Abdullah had fulfilled its commitment by holding panchayat elections and gave powers to people’s representatives for the allround development at the grassroots level.

Referring to the development programme launched in the Bani block, Mr Malik said adequate funds were available and money would not come in the way of the development process. He said a number of poverty alleviation scheme had been launched both by state and Central Governments for the uplift of the weaker sections of the society.

He said the government was fully aware about the problems of the backward area of the state but he sought the cooperation of panches and surpanches to help the executing agencies for the completion of various rural development works like road communication, water supply schemes and the construction of school buildings.

Floriculture Dept earns Rs 1.25 lakh
Our Correspondent

Srinagar, August 23
The Floriculture Department has earned a revenue of Rs 1.25 lakh from the sale of cut flowers and flower plants during the last fiscal year. The sale target for the current year has been fixed at Rs 4 lakh .

This information was given to the Minister of State for Tourism and Floriculture, Ms Sakina Itoo, during her visit to the Plant Introduction Section at Chashmashahi yesterday, an official spokesman said. Spread over an area of 367 kanals, the garden at Chashmashahi is the biggest in the state and provides flowers and plants to people and all government gardens and parks.

Various kinds of imported and indigenous varieties of flower plants were now available there, the spokesman said.