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Sunday,
October 6, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Farooq siphoned off funds: Azad Kotwal insecure from
within Forces fan out in Doda Repoll in Kathua, Anantnag, Pahalgam Sikh bodies urge people to vote |
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More power cuts on anvil in J&K Srinagar, October 5 While the level in water resources of various hydroelectric stations has come down drastically, Jammu and Kashmir is poised for darker days ahead during winter months due to lack of sufficient power. Infiltration continues
unabated: GOC
Kupwara SP
transferred Bodies of 2 minor sisters recovered Evangelist’s remarks
spark protests
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Farooq siphoned off funds: Azad Jammu, October 5 Mr Azad has gone a step ahead by announcing that once the Congress formed the government he would “cut the hands which tried to shift the state’s money, meant for development, to London and Johannesburg,” where Dr Abdullah has gone recently. Mr Omar Abdullah has described the Congress charges as a “canard”. He posed a question to Mr Azad: “Where was he when the state passed through a difficult and tough phase? Where was he (Azad) when people were being killed in the state?” He ridicules Mr Azad for retaining his chair in the Rajya Sabha where he had been elected because of the support of the National Conference. For Mr Omar Abdullah the current turmoil in the state was the result of blunders committed by the Congress which pursued ill-conceived policies. Mr Azad has hit back saying that Dr Abdullah has looted both India and Pakistan by “seeking money from one in the night and from the other during the day.” He has pledged to uproot the NC from the state. As the Congress and the NC are fighting a wordy duels, in comes the BJP leaders, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, who blames both the Congress and the NC for the miserable plight of the people in Jammu and Kashmir. Describing the Congress and the NC claim of forming the government as “a wishful thinking”, Prof Gupta has accused the NC leadership of having diverted major portion of the security-related expenses, released by the Centre, to unproductive sectors and a big chunk of the funds had been spent on the purchase of gadgets and furniture for the ministers. He finds a supporter for his assertion that the NC was on its way out in the PDP President, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The Mufti said the NC would be “uprooted by the people” and the ruling party had already “foreseen its defeat which was indicted by the sudden trip to South Africa by Dr Farooq Abdullah.” There is one interesting thing in the exchange of “pleasantries” among top leaders of these parties. While the Congress is more bitter in criticising the NC than the BJP, the BJP is less critical of the Congress than the NC. The PDP is more pungent in berating the NC than the Congress and the BJP. |
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Kotwal insecure from
within Bhaderwah (Doda), October 5 Many supporters of the BJP alleged that Mr Kotwal was not receiving the backup from the senior leaders that he was supposed to get because of the tough contest that has emerged here. Moreover, the seat was prestigious for the BJP because Mr Kotwal was heading the party in Jammu and Kashmir. The state BSP president, Sheikh Abdul Rehman, who is also the sitting MLA, Mr Aslam Goni, who has resigned as advocate-general to contest on the ruling National Conference (NC) symbol and Mr Mohammad Sherif Niaz of the Congress, who is closely related to the PCC chief, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, are among the main contestants here. Some supporters of Mr Kotwal today apprised Mr Rajnath Singh, BJP general secretary and in-charge of party affairs in Kashmir of the “ground realities” and urged him to despatch some senior leader here to campaign for Mr Kotwal. They pointed out that only one day was left for the campaign to close, but no senior leader, except the Union Minister of State for Defence, Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, and the party spokesman, Mr Anil Shastri, have visited here. Mrs Sushma Swaraj, Minister for Information and Broadcasting cancelled her visit at the last moment yesterday. Mr Kotwal’s supporters suspect that someone was trying to ensure his defeat. In the last election in 1996, Mr Kotwal was defeated with a margin of 4355 votes by Sheikh Abdul Rehman who received tacit support of the NC which did not field its candidate here. They point out that the Congress candidates were receiving encouragement as Mr Azad was addressing a series of public meetings even in the far-flung areas everyday. Mr Ved Prakash Rathore and many other activists of the BJP have reached here from Jammu and other places to work for Mr Kotwal. It is being pointed out that a party activist, Mr Dalip Singh, has jumped into the fray as an Independent with the backing of a senior of the BJP. He can harm the prospects of Mr Kotwal in Gandoh and Bhalesa segments. Mr Kotwal has high hopes as he and his other supporters believe that the Muslim votes will get divided among the three influential candidates of the community. Mr Chaman Lal Gupta was hopeful that the BJP was in a position to win the Bhaderwah and Ramban seats. It is being pointed out that foolproof security arrangements have not been made for the candidates. The police escort vehicles of Mr Kotwal broke down in the terrorist affected Bhalesa area where he had gone to campaign yesterday. Mr Kotwal retreated to an election meeting here without any police protection. In his election rallies, Mr Kotwal is accusing the NC and the Congress of being responsible for the terrorism and turmoil in the state. He complains that although Mr Azad has become a member of the Rajya Sabha with the support of the NC, but no development has taken place here. The road connection to Bhalesa has not been completed in the past several years. Even in the past, Mr Kotwal had been keeping the morale of the people high by delivering fiery speeches against the terrorists. Mr Omar Abdullah, has made a string of promises with the electorate and has been indicating that Mr Goni will be inducted as a minister in case he was made victorious. The Goni clan has its own influence in the area. The BSP candidate, Sheikh Abdul Rehman, in a calculated move had introduced Bill in the Assembly earlier this year seeking to create a separate division for the Muslim-dominated areas of the Doda and Udhampur districts along the Chenab valley. The election on October 8 will indicate as to how much mileage he was able to draw out of this move. |
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Forces fan out in Doda Doda, October 5 Keeping in mind that the entire district touching the boundaries with Himachal Pradesh and the district of Kargil, Anantnag and Udhampur has witnessed the worst type of terrorism, the authorities have declared all the 534 polling stations as sensitive, 243 of these are hyper-sensitive. It is difficult to drive on the road diverting to Doda district from Batote on the Jammu-Srinagar highway as convoys of the military, BSF, CRPF, Punjab Armed Police, Railway Protection Force, Madhya Pradesh Special Armed Force and security personnel deployed by the Centre are these days heading towards the assigned places. Hundreds of buses, trucks and small vehicles carrying security forces keep moving on the road. Traffic jams have become a common sight because of the large scale movement of security forces. Besides the normal strength of troops deployed here, it is expected that about 45,000 additional personnel of security forces will reach here by tomorrow. A three tier security will be provided to each polling booth with the outer ring manned by military personnel. More than 100 companies of the BSF alone had moved in till yesterday. There were apprehensions that the terrorists might try to disrupt polling in this district. Military and BSF personnel will be deployed on hill tops and various vantage positions to keep an eye on the ultras. The entire district has been divided into 28 zones each of these being manned by a magistrate. At least 64 polling stations are in the farflung mountainous areas which are not even linked by roads. Reports indicate that Pakistan militants and foreign mercenaries rule the roost in these places. Helicopters will be used to fly 244 polling officials to these places. |
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Repoll in Kathua, Anantnag, Pahalgam Srinagar, October 5 The decision was taken after some of the candidates complained of malpractices, which were verified by returning officers in the two segments that went to poll on October 1 in the third phase of election. The repoll will take place at two polling stations in Baktoot, one each in Hadrukutha-Sofiapora and Wullerhama in Pahalgam segment, and Taraf Sanji in Kathua segment, they said. The repolling will take place from 7 AM to 4 PM on October 8 when six segments of militant-dominated Doda district and Lolab segment in Kupwara district go to polls, the sources said. Polling in Lolab segment earlier was scheduled on September 16 in the first round of polls but were countermanded due to the killing of National Conference candidate Mushtaq Ahmad Lone by militants on September 11 during an election rally.
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Sikh bodies urge people to vote Jammu, October 5 At a meeting of the leaders of the Youth Shiromani Akali Dal, AISSF, Sikh Naojawan Sabha, Youth Akali Dal and the Bhai Kanahiya Nishkam Sewa Society here today under the chairmanship of Mr Mohinder Singh, chief organisor of the Bhai Kanahiya Nishkam Sewa Society, the Sikh bodies said a free and fair poll in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir with reasonable participation of voters was a slap on the face of those who had tried to raise hurdles in the completion of the election process. These Sikh leaders, including Mr Narbir Singh, Mr Paramjit Singh, Mr Kulwant Singh and Mr Kultar Singh, said successful poll process revealed that the people of the state were not with the militants and wanted peace. They said the free and fair poll in the state should convince the international community that people in Kashmir participated in the elections and it should persuade Pakistan to keep its hands off Kashmir. The Sikh leaders appealed to the voters in Doda district to vote for the NC candidate. They said the NC was the only political organisation that had support of the people in all three regions of Jammu and Kashmir. |
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More power cuts on anvil in J&K Srinagar, October 5 According to an electricity board official, Kashmir, there will be a two-hour power cut during the night, which has already come into effect for the past one week. The curtailment is being made in two groups on alternate days. It is in addition to the summer schedule which regulates about 15-hour power supply daily in different parts of the valley. Likewise in the Jammu region, an additional two-hour curtailment has been effected this week besides the power curtailment or loadshedding schedule in practice. The water discharge in the hydro-electric power projects in the Kashmir valley has declined from a level of over 7,000 cusecs to 2,000 cusecs which has led to a decline in power production much before the onset of winter — about two months ahead. The power production in the Uri civil hydel project has come down from 450 MW to 250 MW. There has also been a decline in power supply from the Northern Grid, which has been providing power to Jammu and Kashmir to overcome its increasing demand, mostly during the winters. The National Conference government, which came to power in 1996, had taken various measures to recover the unpaid power tariff during the first seven years of militancy. The government also announced various sops to the consumers to recover the pending bills to make payment to the Northern Grid. The revised power curtailment schedules have been enforced to make way for more supplies from the Northern Grid to overcome the increased demand during the winter months. The latest increase in power curtailment has led to a crisis in different parts of the state. With the result, most of the consumers in the private and public sectors have started switching over to the use of petrol or diesel-run generators. There has been an increase in the air and environmental pollution in both winter and summer capitals, Jammu and Srinagar, of the state. |
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Infiltration continues
unabated: GOC Srinagar, October 5 Talking to reporters after flagging off a group of 20 women from the border area of Uri in North Kashmir for “Desh Sampark Yatra” here this evening, Lt-Gen Patankar said there was no let-up in the infiltration. He said infiltration declined in June last, but was resumed during the recent months. He said militants’ mentors from across the border would like to send as many armed militants as possible before the high mountain passes get closed for the winter months due to heavy accumulation of snow. Referring to the state of infiltration at present Lt-Gen Patankar made it clear that it was in no way different from that of last year. He pointed out that the increase in infiltration had nothing to do with the ongoing elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Lt-Gen Patankar described as baseless the allegations of coercion by the Army during the ongoing elections in the state, particularly in Kashmir Valley. “We have created a conducive atmosphere for the conduct of smooth polls so that people feel free to participate in the elections,” he said. Later he flagged off “Desh Sampark Yatra” of a group of 20 women from different far-flung villages near the LoC in the border area of Uri on a three-week tour of the country. The group of women, first of its kind from the valley, will visit Delhi, Agra, Gulbarga, Bangalore, and Mumbai as part of the ‘Op Ujala’. The tour has been organised by the local unit 15 Maratha of Kala Pahar Brigade under the aegis of Dagger Division. Brig Ramesh Halgali, who was also present on the occasion here highlighted the salient features and main objectives of the
yatras. |
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Kupwara SP
transferred
Srinagar, October 5 Dar, who has been asked to report to Director-General of Police
A.K. Suri for further posting, has been replaced by Leh SP S.D. Singh, official sources said. Earlier, Station House Officers of Sogam and Lalpora were shifted on the directions of the EC following allegations against them.
PTI |
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Bodies of 2 minor sisters recovered Srinagar, October 5 The girls, went missing while returning from school on October 3, the sources said. Their bodies were recovered from a migrant’s house, the sources said. The cause of the death would be known only after post-mortem examination the sources said. Tension gripped the town as residents demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.
PTI |
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Evangelist’s remarks
spark protests
Srinagar, October 5 Angry protesters forced the closure of the market and threw stones on passing vehicles in the Maisuma area of Srinagar. In downtown Srinagar, residents staged a protest march leading to the closure of shops and business establishments. Similar reports were received from Handwara and other areas in Kupwara district, Sopore and adjacent areas in Baramula district and parts of south Kashmir Pulwama and Anantnag districts, official sources here said.
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