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Thursday,
March 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Hurriyat
forms panel for deliberations in Delhi National
Conference members stage walkout
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One
killed, eight injured in blasts DGP’s
house, office attached Bank
appointments to be probed
Valley
still cut off Army
chief meets Saxena, troops No
power, no tariff: minister
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Hurriyat forms panel for deliberations in Delhi Srinagar, March 5 The committee was constituted after over three-hour-long deliberations by the seven-member executive committee presided over by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chairman, Mr Abdul Ghani Bhat, at the party’s Rajbagh headquarters today. This decision was taken at its weekly meeting attended by the seven executive members, including the chairman, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, former chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Moulvi Abbas Ansari, Sheikh Ali Mohammad of Jamaat-e-Islami, Peer Hafeezullah Makhdoomi of the People’s Conference and Khalil Mohammad Khalil of the People’s League. An APHC spokesman told TNS that the executive committee held deliberations on various issues related to a “meaningful and purposeful” dialogue for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue. He reiterated APHC stand on the peaceful resolution of the pending Kashmir issue to ensure an everlasting peace in South Asia. The spokesman, however, did not disclose APHC’s response to the appointment of Centre’s interlocutor, Mr N.N. Vohra and its stand over possible meeting with the new pointman. A meeting of the general council comprising 23 constituent members to discuss the issue of the appointment and possible talks with the new interlocutor on Kashmir, was held at the party headquarters here on Thursday last. The meeting was inconclusive and was scheduled to meet again to reach a consensus over the APHC response to have or not to have any negotiations with Mr Vohra. The Hurriyat Conference had earlier declined to have any negotiations with former interlocutor on Kashmir, Mr K.C. Pant. It had, however, had a series of negotiations with the Kashmir Committee led by the former Union Law Minister, Mr Ram Jethmalani, last year both here and in the Capital. Senior separatist leader and chief of the J&K Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Ahmad Shah had also had negotiations with Mr K.C. Pant and Ram Jethmalani’s Kashmir Committee. Reacting to the appointment and the scheduled visit of Mr Vohra to Jammu and Kashmir, a spokesman of the DFP said all “such exercises in the past have proved to be futile”. Moulana Abdulla Tahiri, a senior leader of the DFP, told TNS that such exercises in the past were not successful, even as the DFP had taken the initiatives to come forward for a dialogue with different leaders “under dangerous circumstances”. Any final decision regarding the party’s response to have negotiations with the new interlocutor Mr N.N. Vohra, would be taken at the executive committee meeting after the return of its president Shabir Ahmad Shah, who is at present in the Capital. PTI adds: In the backdrop of a suggestion by Bill Clinton that Irish model be followed to resolve the Kashmir issue, the Hurriyat Conference is likely to send a letter to the former US President requesting him to be a mediator. Hurriyat sources today said after a meeting of its executive that this would be part of the 24-party conglomerate's major diplomatic exercise to press for a dialogue on the Kashmir issue. Umer Farooq said Clinton's suggestion was worth considering. Another former US President Jimmy Carter, he claimed, was also ready to help in the resolution of the issue. Some members of Carter Institute had been trying to visit Kashmir to take an on-the-spot view of the situation, he added. |
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National
Conference members stage walkout Jammu, March 5 During question hour the NC members and those belonging to the ruling PDP and the Congress had heated exchanges. The trouble arose when the PDP and the Congress members, including Mr Yogesh Sawhney, Mr Raman Bhalla and Mr Ghulam Ahmed Saroori, berated the former NC Government for discrimination while releasing funds under different rural development schemes. The ruling members demanded a probe by a House committee. Trying to defend his party colleague, Mr Sharief Din Shariq of the NC chided some Congress members which drew a loud protest from them. The Health Minister, Mr Lal Singh, intervened and wanted Mr Shariq to withdraw his words. Mr Shariq, however, tried to amend his remarks. The Minister for Rural Development, Peerzada Mohd Sayeed, informed the House, in reply to a question, that a former Minister of State for Rural Development had released Rs 50 lakh and Rs 30 lakh in two areas of Marh and Purmandal, which fell in his constituency while other areas received petty sums. The problems of unemployment and electricity shortage dominated the discussion in the House. Members were critical of the way consumers were forced to pay power tariff when they were not supplied any electricity for weeks. A member from Gurez highlighted the problems of his area, saying that only one MW of power was available and of this 50 per cent was supplied to the Army. He said consumers were forced to pay the power tariff when in their areas even the transmission lines had not been laid. The Power Minister, Mr Sharief Naz, informed the House that efforts were afoot to increase power generation and import. When members criticised the power tariff collection procedure, the Finance Minister, Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beig, intervened and told the agitated members that under the Cabinet decision the consumers would not be told to pay any tariff if the power supply remained disrupted for 15 days at a stretch. He said the government would seek an explanation from officials of the Power Development Department who had charged tariff from people when the supply was not available for a fortnight and wherever reimbursement was called for people would get back the amount. Mr Raman Bhalla’s resolution demanding the government to declare its recruitment policy generated a heated discussion in the House in which members cutting across party lines expressed deep concern over the problem of unemployment. Mr Bhalla of the Congress was supported by Mr Yogesh Sawhney (Congress), Mr Dilawar Mir and Mr Mian Altaf (both NC). Mr Bhalla and Mr Sawhney criticised the former NC Government for discriminating against the Jammu and Ladakh regions in the matter of recruitment in government offices. They said during the past six years the NC Government had recruited over 1.50 lakh educated youths and out of this not more than 20,000 youths belonging to the Jammu region were given jobs. As tempers ran high, the Finance Minister, Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beig, announced that the government would formulate a recruitment policy in consultation with members of all parties, including the NC. He said this policy would be tabled in the House during the current Budget session. While expressing concern over the problem of unemployment, he said job avenues in the state were limited and the state government and other parties should mount pressure on the Central Government for an economic package which could cover a job package also. He wondered why the NC Government had failed to secure an economic package from the Centre when it was part of the NDA Government. It was after Mr Beig’s assurance that Mr Bhalla withdrew his resolution. During zero hour, Mr Ali Mohd Sagar (NC) drew the attention of the government towards continued “extortion and excesses” being committed by the men of the SoG and the renegade militants. He referred to a recent incident in which two women were forcibly married to two renegade militants. He said the PDP-Congress coalition had failed to fulfil its commitment to disband the SoG and putting an end to excesses. Mr M.Y. Tarigami of the CPM moved a calling attention motion on the non-fulfilment of the demands of teachers by the government. Replying to the calling attention motion, the Education Minister, Mr Harsh Dev Singh, said most of the demands raised by the Teachers’ Forum had been conceded by the government. He said the government had agreed to end anomalies in the teachers’ pay scales, lowering of the age for admission to schools and the introduction of English from First standard. He informed the House that the demand for leave encashment could not be accepted as the teachers availed of summer and winter vacation. He also announced in the House, during zero hour, that the winter vacation for educational institutions would be extended by one week because of the weather in the Kashmir valley. |
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One killed, eight injured in blasts
Jammu, March 5 The farmer was injured seriously when he walked over a landmine in the Jamanbela area of Akhnoor border belt in Jammu last night, the sources said. Four persons, including a woman, were injured in a blast triggered by militants near an army post in Jammu division’s Poonch district, the sources said. The time-deviced IED, planted by militants near an army post at Ajot village in the district, exploded around 10 a.m. injuring the four, the sources said. The injured were rushed to hospital where the condition of one of them was stated to be serious. In another incident in Poonch, a scrap seller and three others were injured when a mortar shell which he had purchased along with other scrap exploded when he tried to break it open. The injured have been hospitalised. In another incident a group of militants snatched the arms and ammunition of Village Defence Committee members from a house in Rajouri district and left behind a letter asking all VDCs to surrender their weapons to the Al-Badr outfit, the police said today. They said the militants, who raided the house in Badayal village in the Kandi area of the district last night, took away three rifles and 300 rounds. Before fleeing the spot with the weapons, the ultras handed over a letter to VDC members asking them to surrender their arms to the outfit. However, the militants did not cause any harm to the people present in the house. The police and security forces have launched hunt to track down the ultras, they
added. PTI |
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DGP’s house, office attached
Srinagar, March 5 A Division Bench passed the orders yesterday on a report by a three-member committee that construction in the prohibited area was going on, in spite of the court orders against it. “Prima facie, this is a contempt of court,” the Bench comprising Mr Justice Nissar Ahmad Kakroo and Mr Justice Pramod Kohli said. It also directed the DGP and the Managing Director, of the Police Housing Corporation, Madan Lal, to be present in the court tomorrow when the contempt proceedings against them come up for hearing. Mr Justice Kakroo said the state, swift in razing illegal construction in other areas, had been a silent spectator in the green-belt case. He also said the inquiry-committee members, on visiting the area, had found the construction afoot. They were not allowed to enter the premises. He said the state owed an explanation to the Court as to how the work was allowed and that no further work should be made in the area. The court said obstruction of the court committee amounted to its contempt and the house of the DGP should be attached by the Principal Secretary Home, Mr S.D. Singh. In its report submitted two weeks ago, the committee had said that in an on-the-spot investigation on January 8, it found that the construction work was on at the DGP’s office-cum-residence. On January 13, during another inspection, the committee members were stopped by the security guards at the site, who said they had orders from higher-ups not to allow in anyone, including officials. The Farooq Abdullah government had planned a multi-crore complex on the bank of Dal Lake where the residences of the Chief Minister and the state police chief were being built and Rs eight crore had already been spent on it when the new government stop the work. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Housing and Urban Development Minister, Mr Ghulam Hassan Mir, said the construction had already been completed.
PTI |
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Bank appointments to be probed
Jammu, March 5 Replying to a calling attention motion moved by Mr Mohammad Aslam, Mr Zargar said the Deputy General Manager of NABARD and Deputy Registrar Cooperatives, who are also the members of the Board of Administrators had been appointed as inquiry officials. The minister said large scale irregularities had taken place in the appointment and management of finances in the bank during the previous National Conference (NC) regime. “Besides Rs 9 crore granted to the bank under debt relief package, more than 100 appointments were made in the bank in clear disregard for rules and regulations. The irregularities committed by the bank in preparation of fake debt relief claims is being investigated by the Crime Branch,” he added. Mr Zargar said the Secretary of the bank had already been arrested by the Crime Branch and his services had been terminated. He warned of stern action against all erring officials. Similarly irregularities had taken place in JAKFED also where around Rs 300 crore have been embezzled, he said.
UNI |
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Valley still cut off
Srinagar, March 5 Life limped back to normal here after remaining out of gear for several days because of submerged roads and failure of the power and drainage systems. A traffic police official said today that a long stretch of the highway between Ramban and Ramsu had been washed away, but all small vehicles stranded on the highway had been allowed to proceed towards Srinagar. However, no light vehicle had been allowed out from Jammu or Srinagar, he said. About 500 trucks loaded with essential commodities are also stranded on either sides of the highway. Sources said the Border Roads Organisation has been pressed into service to clear the highway. In Srinagar, most roads still remained submerged due to melting of snow. A flood-like situation still prevails at Badshah Nagar, Natipora, Azadbasti, Bemina, Mehjoor Nagar, and Nowgam Banapora. Meanwhile, the airlink between the Valley and the rest of the country was restored yesterday. Mr Parvez Dewan, Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, said the administration had pressed in men and machinery to provide the affected with relief. He said 102 de-watering pumps had been pressed into service in Srinagar and 15 diesel-generator sets had also been used for quick results. Additional fire engines have been rushed in and the water supply from Rangil Alestang, that was affected due to land slides on Monday, has been restored today. Regarding power supply in the Valley, the Divisional Commissioner said 98 per cent had been restored in Srinagar, while restoration was on in the upper belts of some districts that had been heavy snowfall and extensive damage.
PTI, UNI |
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Army chief
meets Saxena, troops Jammu, March 5 Gen Vij called on the Governor in Raj Bhavan, where Mr Saxena and he are said to have exchanged notes on militancy in the state and the situation on the border. The Army chief, earlier, visited troops in the field and appreciated their morale. He also had detailed discussions with senior functionaries of the Northern Command, during which, he was told about the successes in preventing infiltration from across the LoC and operations against militants. |
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No power, no tariff: minister
Jammu, March 5 In reply to a supplementary question by Mr Kaif-ur-Rehman in the Assembly here, Mr Beigh said there would be inquiry into each such case in Karnah tehsil where recovery had been made. He said officials responsible for such acts would face tough action.
UNI |
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In video: Heavy snowfall in and around
Leh is leading to blockades on highways, connecting these
regions to the rest of India.
