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Border migrants loath to return Hurriyat welcomes Pak decision HC calls for record in poll case 4,367 more teachers to be appointed |
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25 children from valley on education tour Withdraw travel advisories, minister urges nations 
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Border migrants loath to return Akhnoor, November 30 At a migrant camp in Palwan, a few kilometres from this township, 1,200 persons from four villages have been putting up in slum-like conditions since 1999. Their villages — Samoo, Chaprial, Thangial and Kajrial — are located less than a kilometre from the Line of Control. Life for them has been harsh in the absence of any measures at rehabilitation and means of earning a livelihood. They were forced to abandon their fields and all material possessions to escape the continuous barrage of enemy artillery. “We spent four days in the jungle and move across the country on foot,” Mangal Das, a resident of Samoo recalled. “It took about two months for the residents of the four villages to get together at one place.” Surviving on meagre dole from the state government, they have little option but to stay put. There are no employment opportunities for them elsewhere and the question of returning back does not arise. “We will not go back unless we are sure that it is totally safe for us to stay there and cultivate our fields,” Lal Chand, Numbardar of Chaprial village, said. “We want assurances that we will never come under fire again”. The government gives a financial assistance of Rs 400 per head to each family in the camp, besides providing 11 kg rice or flour. Financial assistance is up to Rs 1,600, even if the number of family members is more. Part-time labour, setting up small-time shops to sell vegetables and provisions or tea stalls are just about all they have been reduced to from cultivating fields and rearing animals. This has caused resentment on two accounts. The assistance is much lower than that provided to those who have migrated from other areas in the state due to militancy, who get Rs 750 per head. Second, there have been additions in families due to births and marriages, but no review of allowances has been carried out by the government. “We belong to the same state as other migrants and have suffered equally. then why this discrimination,” questioned Mangal Das, a resident of Samoo. The migrants have been living in tents, most of which are in tatters. Some have built mud huts with thatched roofs. Even a school set up for migrants is housed in tents. In fact, supplying sarkanda grass, collected by locals from areas adjacent to the LoC, for building thatched roofs has become a small enterprise. As Bodh Raj, Naib Sarpanch of a nearby village puts it: “This is about all the work that is left.” For this, he has to cross Army check posts and obtain a pass after depositing his identity card. One of the biggest problems, migrants said, was lack of medical facilities at the camp. During emergencies, especially after evening, there was no means of communication with Akhnoor. Villagers said there had been numerous cases of snake-bites. Ruing the lack of support or assistance from the government, Basakhi Ram, also from Samoo, said whenever they had gone to local officials with complaints regarding non-receipt of financial assistance or rations slips, they had been assured that an official delegation would visit the camp to take stock of the situation. So far, not a single official had set foot-here, he said. |
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Hurriyat welcomes Pak decision Srinagar, November 30 "It is a welcome step, signalling progress in the peace process" between India and Pakistan, but this was not enough and more steps needed to be taken to resolve the Kashmir issue, Hurriyat chairman Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari said here. Opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road and allowing Kashmiris to travel freely across the Line of Control would also lead to better ties between the two countries, he said. A dialogue between all parties concerned was necessary for the resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people, Mr Ansari said. Welcoming the Pakistani move, rebel Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said the focus should now be on resolving the Kashmir issue. Restoration of flights was welcome but "we have to ponder over the reasons which led to their snapping in the first place," he said. —
PTI |
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HC calls for record in poll case Jammu, November 30 Mr Justice S K Gupta allowed the prayer of the petitioner Ravinder Kumar and directed the Returning Officer of the election yesterday to produce the relevant record and hand it over to the Registrar of the High Court. The entire record of the election of MLCs was already sealed in terms of the court order dated June 1, 1999. Mr Ravinder, who was sponsored by journalists as a consensus candidate of Opposition parties, had filed the election petition in May, 1999, challenging the election of all six candidates of the then ruling NC. In the petition, it has been alleged that the original notification of election was changed at the eleventh hour by a subsequent notification at the behest of the ruling NC government, as a result of which four candidates were declared elected unopposed. —
PTI |
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4,367 more teachers to be appointed Srinagar, November 30 Stating this at a meeting of the education officers here yesterday, Minister of State for Education Abdul Rehman Veeri said 4,367 new teachers would be appointed under the programme. About 1,828 centres under the Education Guarantee Scheme would also be set up in the valley and an educational volunteer each engaged for these centres. School Education Secretary Mohammad Manzoor Bhat and School Education Director G A Peer also attended the meeting. Enumerating various steps taken by the coalition government for improving quality of education in tune with modern standards, the minister said construction of schoolbuildings and computer labs and creating additional accommodation for schools facing shortage of accommodation were among the main projects being planned this year. He said Rs 3.21 crore had been earmarked for setting up 153 computer lab units, which were under execution. Another 20 such labs would be established in the valley at a cost of Rs 42 lakh next year. Mr Veeri said the building for the State Institute of Education was under construction at Srinagar at an estimated cost of Rs 1.50 crore. Besides, six district institutes of education costing Rs 10 crore were under construction in various districts of the valley. The minister said 223 schoolbuildings at a cost of about Rs 10 crore were under construction in the valley under NABARD. Mr Veeri said under the 11th Finance Commission, nine more schoolbuildings at a cost of Rs 1.47 crore were nearing completion in the valley. —
UNI |
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25 children from valley on education tour Jammu, November 30 These children met the Commander, Northern Command,
Lieut-Gen Hari Prasad, at Udhampur last evening before leaving on the tour, which will also take them to Agra and Fatehpur
Sikri. The tour has been organised in view of the militancy in the state that has had a negative effect on the children. Raised under shadow of the gun with scant exposure to the outside world had resulted in their lagging behind their contemporaries elsewhere in the country. During his interaction with the children, the Commander wished them the very best for their tour and hoped that it would be educative and entertaining. The children will be guests of the Western Naval Command at Bombay where they will be taken to Essel World. They will also see the Taj Mahal and meet the Army Chief, Gen N.C.
Vij. |
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Withdraw travel advisories, minister urges nations Patnitop, November 30 "We urge foreign countries to withdraw travel advisories against the state which is limping back to peace and normalcy. It is now as safe as America and is the most beautiful travel destination of the world," Tourism Minister Ghulam Ahmed Mir said here. "It is the responsibility of the powerful countries, including America, to help us to restore peace and normalcy... By sending more and more tourists from their countries to revive tourism and thereby create economic activity here," he said. These countries and their embassies should send delegations to see for themselves the present security conditions in Kashmir, the minister said. The security situation in the state could be gauged by the fact that 140 national and international conferences, including Congress Chief Ministers’ conference led by party chief Sonia Gandhi and Ambassadors’ Conference, were held here. As many as 23 countries, including the USA, France, Britain and Germany, had issued travel advisories asking their citizens not to travel to Kashmir as it was unsafe after the emergence of militancy in 1989. As many as 53.28 lakh tourists and pilgrims had visited the state in the first 10 months of this year, the Mir said. Similarly, 1.56 lakh pilgrims had visited the cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir. The Tourism Department had decided to celebrate Christmas to attract more tourists this year at Gulmarg Snow Land, the minister said. —
PTI |
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9 killed in road accident Srinagar, November 30 Official sources said a Sumo on way to Tanghdar from Karnah overturned on the road near Tanghdar, resulting in on-the-spot death of nine passangers and injuries to two others. —
UNI |
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