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Sunday,
June 22, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Uproar in
House over killings Special
Assembly session on VAT Raw deal
to Jammu: Mufti on defensive
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Water
sources dry up in kandi areas Men, women and children of Parjani village in the kandi area of Samba get water from a tanker as drinking water sources have dried up because of hot summer.
— A Tribune photograph Rights
issue: J&K govt ropes in consultant Army
plans operations in Doda 4 hurt
as cops, protesters clash
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Uproar in House over killings Srinagar, June 21 Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed could not give a statement over the killings in militancy as the stipulated time of the question hour was over. Some of the Opposition members also protested for not raising their listed questions as time was wasted in the pandemonium. All efforts of the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr A R Veeri, pleading that NC members were confusing the issue, proved to be futile. He was replying to the questions by Haji Abdul Rashid of the Congress and Mir Saifullah of the National Conference. The Opposition members claimed that figures given by the minister on behalf of the Chief Minister in-charge of the Home Department, were confusing. Mr Veeri claimed that 1,268 persons had been killed in militancy since the coalition government took over, as against 1,563 killed during the corresponding period last year. Some of the NC members claimed that there was no mention of those killed by the security forces and the custodial deaths. Cutting across partly lines some of the members, including the CPM MLA, Mr M.Y. Tarigami, described the debate over the number of killings as unfortunate. Earlier, in a written reply to Haji Abdul Rashid presented by G.M. Saroori of the Congress, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, said 34,709 persons were killed in the state between May 1990 and March 31, 2003. These included 10,940 civilians, including 804 females. There were 144 custodial killings and 3,931 persons were missing during the period, the minister stated. In reply to a related question by Mir Saifulla of the National Conference, the minister said 346 civilians had been killed by militants during the past six months, 58 others were killed in cross firing. As many as 672 militants and 167 security forces personnel were also killed during the past six months, the minister stated. He said some people had lost their lives due to the prevailing situation in the valley and admitted that there had been some complaints of custodial killings in which inquiries were conducted and action had been taken wherever indicated. The Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, intervening on the question of providing adequate staff in government schools and hospitals, announced that all cases of attachment of employees and inter-district transfers due to security reasons would be reverted. He said the presence of teachers and doctors and paramedical staff in their respective institutions would be ensured. He said the upgradation of many schools had been effected after many years and the filling up of vacancies would not be possible under the state plan. He said his government had already approached the Central Government to defreeze the appointments so as to ensure smooth functioning of the educational institutions. In his reply the Education Minister, Mr Harsh Dev Singh, said many middle and high schools had been upgraded to high and higher secondary level. He said proposals for teaching and non-teaching staff had been taken up with the Planning Department and postings were being made by internal adjustment. He said the government wanted to cancel all such recommendations for inter-district transfers and attachments on security grounds. The Opposition members, however, resented the proposal, even as they pleaded for providing adequate staff at all levels. While there were heated exchanges between the ruling coalition partners and the opposition National Conference, some of the other members, including Ashwini Kumar (Independent) and Manjeet Singh (BSP) went to the well of the House and sought the Speaker, Mr Tara Chand’s attention towards the wastage of time as their questions could not be taken
up. The Assembly also witnessed exchange of allegations between the government and opposition National Conference over the issue of setting up of an accountability commission to bring to justice corrupt public servants, including chief ministers. Trouble started when Shariefuddin Shariq of the National Conference accused the government of not being “sincere” about setting up the commission in the state, soon after Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig moved a motion seeking extension till last day of the next session of the House for the presentation of the report of the select committee on the subject. Mr Shariq accused the government of adopting “delaying tactics” saying it had shelved the idea of setting up of the commission. Mr Shariq was joined by his party colleagues including A.M. Sagar who said it was “inefficiency and inaction” on the part of government that had delayed the setting up of the commission. |
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Special Assembly session on VAT
Srinagar, June 21 After moving the Jammu and Kashmir Value Added Tax Bill, 2003, today, he agreed to the suggestion of the members to hold a thorough discussion on this document of vital public importance. The 116-page Bill in an extraordinary gazette envisages replacement of Sales Tax by a “more rational, transparent, easy to implement and trader-friendly VAT regime” providing for uniformity in the tax structure across the country. The House passed four amendment Bills with regard to the Jammu and Kashmir Passengers Taxation Act, 1963, Jammu and Kashmir Motor Spirit and Diesel Oil (Taxation of sales) Act Samvat 2005, Jammu and Kashmir Entry Tax on Goods Act, 2000 and Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Member’s Pension Act, 1984.
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Raw deal to Jammu: Mufti on defensive Jammu, June 21 These allegations have also embarrassed the Congress party , the largest coalition partner of the Mufti-led government. The issue of discrimination against the Jammu region came to the fore once again during the recent visit of Mr N.N. Vohra, Centre’s interlocutor here when many political parties, social organisations and individuals brought to his notice such instances of “stepmotherly” treatment to the region. The Mufti has made it a point to refute these allegations from public platform and also in the Assembly. The Mufti in a speech at the Jammu university in the presence of Mr Vohra claimed that there was no discrimination against Jammu in the matter of development and what was lacking was the sense of participation in governance. The Congress leaders are also trying to justify the Mufti’s stand. The opposition parties are accusing the Congress of having failed to protect the interests of the Jammu region. Outbursts of Deputy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Mangat Ram Sharma, against the Panthers Party on the issue of discrimination indicate the setback the party has received on the matter. The Panthers Party is also a coalition partner of the Mufti-led government but has been raising the discrimination issue against Jammu in the Assembly and outside. Not only Mr Sharma, but also Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig, have tried to check the Panthers Party. The government has come under criticism not only on the matter of discrimination in allocation of funds to the Jammu region, but also for the “meagre” representation to the region in the services, particularly the state secretariat. The government has itself given the figures that of the 25 secretaries in the secretariat, only eight were from the Jammu region and out of the 182 Special Secretaries, Additional Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries, Under Secretaries and Private Secretaries in the secretariat, 67 were from Jammu. |
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Water sources dry
up in kandi areas Jammu, June 21 About half a dozen villages near Samba on the Jammu-Pathankot highway are without water for the past one week as the machine of the nearby water pumping station at Jatwal has got burnt. Residents of Parjani surrounded a tanker which came to the village to supply drinking water. The villages of Katha, Diani, Chak Jangi and Sargal in the area are also facing an acute water crisis. Men, women
and children, carrying pitchers and other utensils on their heads, can be seen searching for water in the kandi areas. More than 500 natural water sources have dried up in the Domana area near here causing a lot of inconvenience to the people. The Public Health Engineering department is unable to meet the demand for water tankers because of which private tanker owners are doing a brisk business. They charge Rs 450 for supplying a tank of water. Sainik Colony, Channi Himmat, Trikuta Nagar, Roop Nagar and many other localities are facing an acute shortage of water. Drinking water is being supplied on alternate days or twice a week in these areas. |
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Rights issue: J&K govt ropes
in consultant Srinagar, June 21 A police spokesperson today said that DGP Gopal Sharma had invited Mr D.K. Arya, a consultant with the ICRC, to deliver lectures on human rights. He would also hold seminars and group discussions on “An approach to human rights training to police” from June 23 to June 28. He said the training was part of the government’s efforts to ensure that no human rights violations were committed even while fighting militancy and in the face of the gravest of provocations.
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Army plans operations
in Doda Jammu, June 21 According to official sources, the Minister of State for Defence, Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, has suggested to the Army authorities that Hill Kaka type operations were called for in the mountainous regions of Doda, Kishtwar and Bhaderwah where the militants have built safe sanctuaries. Since Mr Gupta represents the Doda-Udhampur constituency in the Lok Sabha, he has identified hilly belts (altitudes ranging between 9,000 and 14,000 feet) where a series of operations by the security forces on a small scale failed to destroy the hide-outs of the militants. The sources said the minister had called for multidimensional operations in which men of 15th and 16th corps were involved on the Hill Kaka pattern. Senior police officers, who have been posted in Doda district from time to time since 1995, when militancy took roots in the belt, said since militants usually camp in alpine forest belts, they had succeeded in giving a slip to the security forces. They said there were scores of places in Doda district where it took a column of security personnel four to six days to scale the heights for smashing the hideouts. Invariably these operations have failed to flush out militants who escape hours before the security forces cordon off the area. This is so because militants dominating the upper reaches of Kishtwar monitor the movement of the security forces. These militants either escape to other heights or cross over to south Kashmir. It is in this context that Mr Gupta is said to have suggested to the Army authorities to seal the mountainous routes linking Kishtwar with areas in Anantnag and Pulwama districts. During the past several years, bigger groups of militants, after infiltrating into the Jammu sector from across Poonch and Rajouri, have been found to have sneaked into south Kashmir via the Kishtwar passes. Once these mountainous routes were blocked, the swelling ranks of militants in south Kashmir could be checked. Hill Kaka type operations, according to security experts, were called for in the upper reaches of Udhampur district where militants have established their hide-outs in several areas, including Gool, Arnas, Mahore, Gulabgarh, which has posed security problems in Reasi and the adjoining areas. |
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4 hurt as cops, protesters clash Baramula, June 21 Official sources said a demolition squad along with a police party went to Hartar, 10 km from Sopore, to remove the illegal construction on government land. As the squad reached there, the occupants of the land threw stones injuring a constable. The police fired into the air and also resorted to lathi charge to disperse them. Three persons were wounded in the clash.
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Ultras kill 2 women Jammu, June 21 |
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