 |
Monday,
August
27,
2001, Chandigarh, India  
|
12 ultras killed; 5 cops hurt in J&K
Attack on Poonch police station: CM orders
probe J&K Sikhs oppose trifurcation of
state |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Farooq announces 5 cr for Baramula Farooq unhappy with shahtoosh
ban J-K census manipulated: MP State govt ‘ignoring’ Gujjars,
Bakerwals Bhutan to take part in Ladakh
festival
|
|
12 ultras killed; 5 cops hurt in J&K Srinagar, August 26 Three heavily-armed Pakistani intruders were killed when they tried to sneak into Poonch district of Jammu from across the border through the Saja sector late last night, they added. Three more militants were killed in similar attempts to sneak into the valley from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the Hapatnar and Machil sectors of Kupwara district early today. The sources said a large cache of arms, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the slain militants. The Army busted a militant hideout in the Razdan pass near the LoC and seized five RPG rockets, 10 boosters and a pistol with 100 rounds. The Army also recovered some sophisticated weapons and documents during searches conducted at the hideouts of Jemial-ul-Mujahideen and Al-Fate outfits in the Bandipora area of Baramula district last night, the sources added. Unidentified militants shot dead a person at Bijbehara in Anantnag district today. Meanwhile, Senior Jammu and Kashmir Congress leader Taj Mohiuddin survived an attempt on his life as a powerful blast rocked his house in the border town of Uri in Baramula district. The bomb went off around 6.30 pm yesterday, but no casualty was reported, official sources said here today. Five personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police were injured when militants blew up their vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED) at Lolab in the frontier district of Kupwara in north Kashmir today, the police said. The militants had planted the IED on the main road at Thandoosa village, about 100 km from here, and triggered it when the SOG vehicle was passing the road. JAMMU: Five militants belonging to Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) were among eight persons killed in separate incidents in the Jammu region since Saturday, official sources said here on Sunday. Troops launched an operation in the Shahpur area of Surankote tehsil of Poonch district on Sunday and in the ensuing encounter, three LeT militants were killed on the spot and a large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosive material was seized. In another encounter, troops gunned down two LeT militants in the Peeru area of Rajouri district on Sunday, they said adding two AK rifles, one pistol, two IEDs and a pencil bomb were seized. An ISI activist, identified as Abdul Rasheed was killed when he infiltrated in the Hiranagar area of Kathua district on Saturday, the sources added. One Village Defence Committee member, Hem Raj, was killed by militants and his body was recovered from the Kuntwara area of Doda district on Sunday. One militant was killed by troops in the Banihal area on Sunday.
PTI |
|
|
Attack on Poonch police station: CM orders
probe Jammu, August 26 The inquiry commission would be headed by Mr Ashraf Bedar, Inspector-General Police. Dr Abdullah told reporters here today that the commission would go into the circumstances in which the police did not retaliate and anyone found guilty of dereliction of duty would be dismissed. The Chief Minister who appeared to be angry, said that the commission would also find out whether the two militants, killed by the police on Saturday in Poonch, were the same ones who attacked the police station. This announcement was made an hour before the Chief Minister flew to Poonch along with the Director-General Police, Mr A.K. Suri. On reaching Poonch Dr Abdullah visited the police station and talked to the officials to know the pattern of the militant attack. He repeated his announcement regarding an inquiry even when the Director General Police defended the police functioning in Poonch district. What has surprised several police officers in Jammu and Poonch is the way the Chief Minister chided the police role when the same police had been instrumental in eliminating 159 militants in Poonch district alone in the past over three months. This included those five militants who were killed in Poonch and Surankot yesterday and the police claimed that the two eliminated in Poonch had launched the armed attack on the police station. Reports from Poonch and other eyewitness accounts said that the Superintendent Police and his Deputy had come out, after informing the Army regarding the militant attack, to retaliate. However, the militants, who still were inside the police station, pounded their vehicles with Pika gun fire. Since the attackers had killed six policemen on the spot and wounded another only two policemen, one operator and the SHO, were left there. The two survived because they bolted the door of their rooms and for them there was no possibility of opening the fire. The militants, two to three in number, had positioned themselves in such a way as it would have been suicidal for the SHO to return the fire. |
|
|
J&K Sikhs oppose trifurcation of
state Jammu, August 26 Chief Minister, Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Farooq Abdullah appreciated the contents of the resolution which said that Maharaja Ranjit Singh has spent his time consolidating the entire state and expanding its territory. It said that “We will not allow the process of disintegration through trifurcation of the state.” Moving the resolution Mr S.S. Wazir said that the three regions, Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu, with diverse culture and language of the state represented the soul of India and any attempt to divide the state could damage the secular fabric and the spirit of unity in diversity. Through another resolution the Gurdwara Prabandhak Board demanded the installation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue in Jammu and a road named after him. The resolution also sought government help for the construction of a public utility hall in the name of Lion of Punjab. The Chief Minister promised to take up these demands with all seriousness these deserved. Dr Abdullah and other Sikh leaders, including Mahant Manjit Singh, and Mr Rangil Singh, a former minister, emphasised the need for following the ideals of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who was described as one of the greatest nationalists and secular leaders of the country. The Chief Minister decried those politicians and fundamentalists who tried to use religion for their personal promotion and political gains. He said that people should reject such politicians because there was no place for those who kept on fuelling the controversy over mandirs and
masjids. |
|
Farooq announces 5 cr for Baramula Srinagar, August 26 He said there was need to protect human rights and take necessary measures in this direction. According to an official spokesman, the meeting that continued for over four hours discussed sectorwise development in the district. The Minister for Agriculture and Cooperative and the Chairman, District Development Board, Baramula, Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, other ministers, Member Parliament Shariffudin Shariq, legislators, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Mr Khursheed Ahmad Ganai, and various Heads of Departments were also present. The Chief Minister announced an additional Rs 5 crore over the current year’s already approved annual district plan of Rs 61.65 crore. In response to the demand for more funds, he said he would monitor the works for two months and then release another Rs 5 crore. Dr Abdullah took exception to the encroachment on government land and asked the district administration to reclaim it. |
|
|
Farooq unhappy with shahtoosh
ban Srinagar, August 26 Addressing a state-level cooperative conference here, the Chief Minister said if it was true that the Tibetan antelope, chiru, was actually killed to obtain the wool for shahtoosh, then through the hundreds of years’ poaching the animal ought to have been extinct long ago. He said the ban on shahtoosh had completely downed this once famous industry of the valley. Pointing towards such laws affecting artisans’ livelihood, the Chief Minister said, “Before making a law we must consider its
effects also”. He said the installation of mechanised units for manufacture of handicrafts would not be encouraged in the interest of the livelihood of thousands of artisans whose bread and butter came from the traditional crafts. Pashmina sector, which was the only solace for some of those associated with the age-old shawl manufacturing in Kashmir, is also faced with rough weather. First, the introduction of machines for de-hairing has affected the livelihood of many associated with the job. Second, the introduction of modern machines have also affected people who spin the yarn on hand driven wheels and earn livelihood for their families. Third, supply of substandard pashmina wool in the markets which has adversely affected its business, according to the experts here. The ban imposed by the Union Government over the manufacture and sale and purchase of the shahtoosh shawl has marred the livelihood of thousands of artisans and others related with this job in the Kashmir valley. The argument put forth by the environmentalists has been that the Tibetan antelope, chiru, is being killed for procuring the shahtoosh wool. But, the traders and artisans associated with the shawl industry have been claiming that the chiru is not being killed to procure the wool. The traders’ associations here have been agitating over the decision of the Central Government banning the shahtoosh shawl. They have been pleading for the lifting of the ban. The Chief Minister said he did not approve of the imposing a ban on manufacture of certain handicrafts without first thinking about the alternative job opportunities for the people engaged in the trade.
|
|
J-K census manipulated: MP New Delhi, August 26 Mr Datt, who has met both Mr A.B. Vajpayee and Mr L.K. Advani recently, has compared the state’s 2001 Census data with the 1998 voters’ lists. He pointed out several factors which have raised apprehensions among the state’s populace about the authenticity of the latest Census figures. No census was carried out in the state in 1991. The BJP MP says that according to the latest figures of the J-K Directorate of Census Operations, the population of the Kashmir region (54,41,341) was now 54.03 per cent of the state’s population and that of Jammu region (43,95,712) came to 43.65 per cent. In 1981, Kashmir region’s population (31,34,832) made up 52.37 per cent of the state’s population and that of Jammu region (2,718,113) 45.39 per cent. Raising doubts over the growing difference, Mr Datt points out that while the population of Kashmir had increased by 73.57 per cent from 1981 to 2001, that of Jammu increased by 61.71 per cent only. “The region-wise population figures have to be considered in the context of the migration from Kashmir that took place in early 1990s,’’ Mr Datt emphasises. Elaborating, he says that since census operations envisage physical verification of actual residence, the population figures of 2001 for the Kashmir valley must have been arrived at after deducting the population of migrants which is believed to be at least four lakh. On the contrary, population figures for the Jammu region of 2001 include the migrants. Most of the migrants have settled in and around Jammu city and Udhampur. The MP says that contradictions become evident while comparing the 2001 Census report with the 1998 voters' lists of the two regions. There were 24,64,906 voters in the two parliamentary constituencies of Jammu region in 1998. In the Kashmir region, where there are three Parliamentary seats, the total number of voters in 1998 was 24,10,220. The migrants from the valley, most of whom are now in Jammu, have not yet been removed from the voter list of the valley as the election authorities arrange for their voting through postal ballot. “There are more voters in the Jammu region as compared to Kashmir, yet the population of Kashmir is more than the Jammu region,” wonders Mr Vaidya. Maintaining that there were minimal chances of voters’ list being manipulated because of competitive politics, the BJP MP says that doctoring census figures was easier. Demanding a sample survey in some constituencies of both the regions to ascertain if the latest Census is accurate, Mr Vaidya cites the case of Kupwara (Kashmir region) and Kathua (Jammu region) where the latest census shows a marked difference in population growth rates. “While the latest data shows the population of militancy-infested Kupwara district rising by 38.5 per cent despite migrations and crossovers to PoK, in Kathua the population has grown by 21 per cent only,” says Mr Vaidya. Warning that any doctoring of population figures would only suit Pakistan’s designs in the state, Mr Vaidya has called upon the Centre to establish the truth by ascertaining the correctness of the Census figures. |
|
State govt ‘ignoring’ Gujjars,
Bakerwals Jammu, August 26 Senior Gujjar leaders have cited it as yet another instance of “total discrimination” against the ethnic tribes in Jammu and Kashmir. In fact, the initial mistake was committed by the state government when it did not bring these 298 mobile schools under the purview of Operation Black Board. Till 1986, about 10,000 primary schools were single teacher institutions. Under the centrally-sponsored Operation Black Board, a majority of such schools in each block were provided a second teacher after 1986. But the government ignored the 298 mobile schools which had been established for the children of the Gujjar and Bakerwal tribes. These mobile schools drew a positive response from the children belonging to the Gujjar and Bakerwal tribes which is borne out by the official figures released recently. As per the government report, the enrolment in these schools had increased from 9.54 lakh in 1992 to 9.64 lakh in 1998. However, over the past over two years, the dropout rate among students has increased. According to Haji Buland Khan, vice-chairman of the Gujjar and Bakerwal Advisory Board, the increase in the dropout rate was the result of poor facilities in the mobile schools. He said a single teacher could not cater to the requirements of the students up to the primary stage. It was Haji Khan who drew the attention of the state government to the plight of the Gujjar and Bakerwal students in the mobile schools. As a result, the state government wrote a number of letters to the HRD Ministry seeking financial assistance for converting single teacher mobile schools into two teacher institutions. In response to the communication from the state government, the Secretary, HRD Ministry, said as Operation Black Board had ceased to be in force, the request for financial assistance could not be considered. In reply to another communication, the ministry informed the state government that it could apply for financial assistance under the Experimental and Innovative Programme for Education, another centrally-sponsored scheme. The state government forwarded the request, but there was no response from the Central Government. Haji Khan wrote a letter to the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, on December 10, 1998, after he found that there was no suitable response to a series of letters exchanged among the Chief Secretary, other state government functionaries and the HRD Ministry. Dr Joshi has so far not replied to the Haji’s letter. Instead senior functionaries in the ministry have been harping on the expiry of the cut-off date for Operation Black Board. What has peeved the Gujjar and Bakerwal Advisory Board is the reluctance shown by both the state and Central governments in providng a second teacher to 298 mobile schools at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore per year. Several Gujjar leaders said if the Central Government had adopted an “indifferent” attitude, the state government could have earmarked the meagre sum of Rs 2 crore for the scheme on its own. They referred to the government report which had revealed that the state had nearly six lakh migratory population comprising Gujjars and Bakerwals who move from one pasture to another during the summer and winter seasons. They said had there been two teacher institutions with better facilities, these schools would have attracted the adults also. Haji Khan said if the government continued to adopt an “unhelpful” attitude, the illiteracy rate among the two ethnic tribes would assume alarming proportions. Other leaders alleged a sinister move on the part of the state government to keep the Gujjar and Bakerwal tribes in “isolation” and illiterate so that they were not able to get their share in the state services and professional colleges. Haji Khan said since the Gujjars and Bakerwals had been given Scheduled Tribe status, special measures were needed to improve facilities in mobile schools. He said there was a need to upgrade these schools to the middle and, later, to the higher secondary standard. |
|
|
Bhutan to take part in Ladakh festival Srinagar, August 26 Mr Dewan said a communication from the embassy in this regard had been received by his office. Ladakh has a very deep relationship with Bhutan because a majority of the population of both places belong to Drug Pa Buddhist sect, he added.
PTI |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
