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Tuesday,
July 30, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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13 hurt in
grenade attack Pak
targets 42 border outposts Yatra:
security men leave nothing to chance People
seek relief from drought at shrine
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Increase in coded
messages from PoK
Election
of Hurriyat chairman put off Gujjars,
Bakerwals for separate state NCB
warns travellers to S. Arabia BSF
jawan kills self at Raj Bhavan
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13 hurt in grenade attack Srinagar, July 29 Elsewhere, at least four persons including three militants, were killed in separate incidents in Kashmir valley since yesterday. Decomposed body of a suspected militant was recovered at Nagri Malpora in Kupwara district today. The police here said that 13 civilians were injured in a grenade explosion near Rajpora Chowk in Pulwama district this afternoon. The grenade targeted a vehicle of the security forces but missed it and exploded on the road, causing injuries to the passersby. National Conference activist, Mohammad Amin
Kathloo, numberdar was shot dead at Peth Gathi Baba in Tangmarg area of Baramula district last evening. Two foreign militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Sona Pindi Gali Kalaroos in Kupwara district last night. The security forces foiled an infiltration attempt by a group of militants from across the LoC near Eagle Post in
Tangdhar, Karnah in Kupwara district. One foreign militant, Saddam Hussain of PoK was killed in the action. Unidentified militants kidnapped and subsequently killed Fatima Bibi at
Aloosa, Bandipore in Baramula district of north Kashmir. Security was tightened in Pulwama early today following the visit of Union Minister of State for External Affairs and President of ruling National Conference Omar Abdullah to Waibug village, 5 km from the scene of the blast. Omar was inaugurating a bridge at the village when the explosion occurred, they said adding the blast had no impact on the function. Militants shot at and injured one Mohammad Afzal Bhat inside his house at
Path-Diyalgam in Anantnag district of south Kashmir last night. Bhat, a painter by profession, was
hospitalised. A porter working with security forces was injured in a land-mine blast near the Line of Control in Bijhama area of Uri sector in Baramula district last night, added sources. Meanwhile, a report from Baramula said Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate mortar and artillery shelling, targeting civilian areas and security force installations in Machil sector late last night. The intermittent shelling by the Pakistani troops continued throughout the night, it added. However, most of the shells landed in an open field without causing any damage to life or property. In another incident, security forces shot dead a Hizbul Mujahideen and a
Lashkar-e- Toiba militant at Mamankote and Salabala Gool in Udhampur district today. Some arms and ammunition were also recovered from the slain militants. The body of another militant was recovered at
Batal. |
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Pak targets 42 border outposts Jammu, July 29 They said the Pakistani troops opened fire on border outposts in
Kanchak, Arnia, R.S. Pora, Samba and Ramgarh sectors in Jammu division. Indian troops retaliated and an intermittent exchange of fire continued till this morning. The two sides also exchanged fire overnight in Bhawani and Noushera sectors, the sources said, adding that there was no report of any casualty on the Indian side. The Pakistani Rangers also shelled forward posts along the LoC in Kargil sector of the frontier region of
Ladakh, forcing the Indian troops to retaliate. PTI |
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Yatra: security men leave nothing to chance Baltal (Sonmarg), July 29 And inside, CRPF personnel were regulating the entry of pilgrims having a darshan of the ice lingam of Lord Shiva at a height of 3952 metres. This camp site, 99 km from Srinagar, remains busy throughout the month-long pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine which culminates with the full moon of Shravan coinciding with Raksha Bandhan every year. The yatra which began on July 22 is scheduled to be concluded on August 22 this year. Even as pilgrims arriving from outside the valley have to traverse an additional 150 km from Khannabal to reach this place, it takes them only around five hours to reach the cave shrine at a distance of about 12 km from here. “This is the toughest but the shortest possible route to the cave”, said an official here. Only 800 pilgrims were being allowed on this 12-km-long track on the directions of the commission set up following the tragedy in 1996, in which over 250 pilgrims were killed due to heavy rain. “The track has been widened and facilities further developed, and therefore, around 1500 pilgrims are allowed every day”, said camp commander of the CRPF, overlooking the security of the area. Throughout the day there are long queues of light and heavy vehicles, carrying pilgrims to this base camp, outside the main entrance to the camp site. Security personnel take no chance and ensure checking of each and every vehicle, the pilgrims and their baggage. The job of registration of pilgrims was entrusted for the first time to the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd this year. Over 80 branches of the bank made the registration from June-end to mid-July. This base camp site on the bank of a stream which originates from glaciers and is opposite to the mountain slope covered with lush green pine trees, is full of hustle and bustle of the pilgrims dotted by locals, engaged as labourers, ponywallahs, vendors and transport operators. The base camp is beneath the sky touching Zojila Pass, enroute the Srinagar-Leh highway, linking the Kashmir valley with Ladakh. Unlike Pahalgam, which remains in focus during the yatra period for being the base camp for the pilgrimage, there is least involvement of local populace here. Only taxi and bus operators from Sonmarg, Ganderbal, Kangan and Srinagar strive to make a buck out of the pilgrimage. For Ali Mohammad, a tea stall owner outside the main entrance to the camp, it is tough to make a livelihood. Only a small number of such vendors have been allowed to set up their stalls outside the camp. “Labourers have a lot of work here”, said a local woman, whose son had been engaged for work at the camp site. The government have also allowed a limited number of langars in the area, while the state Tourism Department has set up tented accommodation for pilgrims. For many pilgrims, after their return from the holy cave it is a long wait for entry in the accommodation sites, as they are not allowed without frisking and checking. |
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People seek relief from drought at shrine Srinagar, July 29 “Whenever a natural calamity hits us hard, we pray to God and pay obeisance at this holy shrine”, said a villager. He added that in case of a drought, which had hit the area hard this year damaging the paddy crop, or heavy rains which caused damage and destruction “we pay obeisance at this shrine and offer prayers”. “God listens to us here and we are not disappointed”, said a woman. The men and women, accompanied by a group of drummers, converged from different villages and marched to the shrine. The procession led to the blockade of the Khannabal-Pahalgam road for over one hour. The road remains busy throughout the day with the coming and going of the Amarnath pilgrims these days. Nearly 4,000 pilgrims arrive from Jammu to Pahalgam every evening and an equal number starts from Pahalgam for Jammu every morning. The shrine of Sheikh Zainuddin Wali is situated on a hillock on way to the famous hill resort of
Pahalgam. The road to the shrine branches off to the right from the main Anantnag-Pahalgam road. A few hundred meters walk or drive takes one to the foot of the stone stairs leading to the shrine. The mausoleum is located inside a deep cave atop the hillock, about 100 meters higher than the main road. Sheikh Zainuddin Wali was born at Banderkote in the Kishtwar area of Doda district and was orphaned in childhood. He came in contact with Sheikh Nooruddin
Noorani, who changed his life. Under his guidance, he attained spiritual heights envied even by his own guru. Many miracles are associated with the spiritual
gaint, including bringing back to life a slaughtered lamb. He passed away in 1448 AD. Every year in early April, the annual Urs is observed at the shrine which marks the beginning of the farming season in south Kashmir. Thousands of people take out a torchlight procession and accompanied by drummers reach the shrine in the evening on the occasion of the annual
Urs. |
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Increase
in coded messages from PoK Jammu, July 29 “The cross-border managers of terrorist outfits are increasingly passing classified messages reassuring the cadres that the ban on infiltration is temporary and asking them to step up activities in the months to come,” he said. “It shows lack of serious intent on the part of Pakistan to curb cross-border terrorism.....It is a commonly known fact that the control stations are practically co-located with Pakistan army units and, therefore, cannot operate with such impunity without the sanction of the Pakistan Government,” the spokesman said. The spokesman was quoting the findings of an analysis of the volume and contents of the terrorist radio traffic over five weeks from May 21, one week prior to General Musharraf’s speech, to June 24, four weeks after it, carried out with a view to determining whether Pakistan has laid restrictions on the terrorist organisations to stop cross-border terrorism.
PTI |
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Election
of Hurriyat chairman put off Srinagar, July 29 “Most of our first line and second line leaders are under arrest. So, we have put off the election of chairman for the time being,” Hurriyat executive member Moulvi Abbas Ansari said. Mr Ansari said chairman Abdul Gani Bhat would continue in office till a decision on election was reached. Mr Bhat’s term ended on July 25 and no decision could be reached at the Hurriyat meeting held last Monday. Jamaat-e-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik and People’s League chairman Sheikh Abdul Aziz are all under arrest facing various charges. All three are members of the powerful executive council of the Hurriyat Conference. The Hurriyat Conference also ruled out participating in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, ignoring pleas by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, saying India had rejected the basic tenets of the visiting
American official’s suggestion. “How can we accept participation in the elections when the External Affairs Ministry has rejected the first and foremost parts of Powell’s suggestion,” Mr Ansari said. Asked whether it would participate in the elections if the Centre acted upon Powell’s suggestion, Mr Ansari said “the conglomerate will meet and decide on it.”
PTI |
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Gujjars, Bakerwals for separate state
Jammu, July 29 “We demand that the Government of India carve out a separate state under the name Gujaristan from Jammu and Kashmir for Gujjars and Bakerwals,” the All-India Gujjar Parishad (J and K) unit president, Mr Sham Sheer Hakla Poonch, told reporters here. He demanded that the proposed state should include areas where the two communities were in a majority. Gujjars and Bakerwals numbered over 25 lakh in Jammu and Kashmir, he said. Mr Poonch threatened that if their demand was not met, they would be compelled to take “drastic steps”. “The Gujjar and Bakerwal communities continue to be economically, socially, politically and educationally backward,” Mr Poonch said, adding that separate statehood was essential for their progress. He alleged that though the communities had been granted the Scheduled Tribe status in 1991, they had not derived any benefits. Mr Poonch also criticised the alleged indifferent attitude of the National Conference government which led to resentment among members of the two communities.
PTI |
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NCB warns travellers to S. Arabia
Jammu, July 29 “All Indian citizens, particularly those from Jammu and Kashmir, travelling to Saudi Arabia should note that trafficking of narcotic substances is a capital offence there and they should take adequate precautions to ensure that they do not unknowingly or inadvertently carry drugs with them,” NCB Intelligence Officer R.C. Bhatt said. He said they should not accept gifts from travel agents or other persons or carry any packages or articles on behalf of any one else without being fully satisfied about the contents. Mr Bhatt said investigations had revealed that a number of Indian nationals apprehended with drugs had been executed in Saudi Arabia over the past few years.
PTI |
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BSF jawan kills self at Raj Bhavan
Jammu, July 29 Police sources said the jawan, identified as T. Channiya of 142 Battalion, committed suicide in a bathroom near his barracks here at around 7.45 am today. The sources said he fired three bullets. Senior police officials rushed to the spot and seized the weapon. The Governor of the state was not present at Raj Bhavan at the time of the incident, the sources added.
UNI |
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Baltal
(Sonmarg), July 29
In video: We bring you a story on ponies and their owners in
Kashmir, who render yeoman service in the Amarnath yatra by carrying
devotees, food and other essential supplies up the difficult mountain
terrain. (
