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Seven
terrorists killed in Jammu Pilgrim
flow to Vaishno Devi slackens
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| Resolve
Kashmir issue for peace, says Jamaat-e-Islami Srinagar, January 7 The Jammu and Kashmir Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) today said it would not join the Hurriyat Conference (Geelani), but continue to make efforts to unite the two factions of the amalgam. Civic
elections: PDP, allies to contest independently J&K
Congress to be reorganised Jammu, January 7 The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to call global tenders for the extraction of sapphire from mines at Paddar in the Doda district. A mining plan would be drawn to tap these mines.
Wing Commander A.S. Bedi
(retd)
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Seven terrorists killed in Jammu Jammu, January 7 Four terrorists belonging to the Hizbul Mujaheedin were killed in a gunbattle with the Army and police at Khari in the Banihal area of Doda district. The encounter has started last morning and lasted till the early hours today. The security forces had launched a search in the forests of the area following reports of the presence of militants. The terrorists opened fire on the police when a search was started. The killed terrorists have been identified as Ghulam Qadir (code Khatial), Mohammad Akbar (code Ehsan ul Haq), Mohammad Ramzan (code Farooq) and Mohammad Arshad (code Amjad). Three AK rifles, eight magazines, one pistol, 8 hand grenades, one wireless set and some ammunition were recovered from them. In another incident, soldiers killed a terrorist at Mendhar in Poonch district. Reports said two terrorists were killed in the Rajouri district. Srinagar: In the second such incident in four days, militants snatched weapons from police personnel at a picket in Pulwama district in South Kashmir, official sources said here today. Militants attacked the police picket last night at Danga village in the Shopian area of the district, which was resisted by nine cops on duty, the sources said. However, the militants overpowered the cops and decamped with three self-loading rifles, a .303 rifle, 300 rounds of ammunition and four bullet-proof jackets, they said. On Friday night, militants snatched weapons from police personnel guarding the minority community in Budgam district of Central Kashmir. Four cops were suspended and charged with cowardice following the incident. |
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Pilgrim
flow to Vaishno Devi slackens Katra, January 7 Against 13,180 pilgrims visiting the shrine on January 1, a day before the terrorist attack, the number nosedived to 7,173 Monday last. Officials of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board confirmed there was a decline in the number of pilgrims following the terrorist attack. As many as 11,007 pilgrims visited the shrine on January 2 and 11,185 the next day. However, the number declined to 9,072 on January 4. It was 7,351 yesterday. A porter, Ram Kumar, said the flow of pilgrims had reduced virtually to a trickle after the attack. The hustle and bustle was missing these days, although the authorities had made adequate security arrangements, he added. Most pilgrims travel by train up to Jammu from where the onward journey is undertaken in passenger buses. The terrorist attack at the railway station, which claimed seven lives, including two terrorists, has scared away pilgrims. The bazars here, which generally remained crowded round the clock, wear a deserted look these days. The long queues at the security checkpost at Banganga, where the yatra slips are checked, are missing. The shrine board has infrastructure for handling about 30,000 pilgrims every day. The current decline in the number of pilgrims has upset local traders, pony owners and others. This has also affected the helicopter service as the number of sorties between here and Sanji-Chhat has come down to 10 to 15 per day against about 30 earlier. |
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Resolve Kashmir issue for peace, says Jamaat-e-Islami Srinagar, January 7 "We have decided not to join any faction of the Hurriyat till they are united,’’ a JeI spokesman told reporters here. He said the decision was taken by the Jamaat’s Majlis Shoura, the highest decision-making body. However, he said, efforts to unite all separatist organisations, including both factions of the Hurriyat headed by Moulana Abbas Ansari and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, would continue. The spokesman was commenting on reports that the JeI had decided to extend support to the Hurriyat headed by Mr Geelani, a former Jamaat leader. He said without resolving the Kashmir issue, peace in the sub-continent could not be achieved. ‘’The JeI will continue its efforts to find a peaceful solution to the vexed issue.’’
— UNI |
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Civic elections: PDP, allies to contest independently Jammu, January 7 The state Election Commission last evening announced the elections for these bodies. The BJP has decided to contest these elections without electoral understanding with any other party. The Municipal Council of Jammu was superseded in April 1980 and thereafter the elections were never held. This is for the first time that the civic bodies of the two capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar have been upgraded as Municipal Corporations. Mr Bhim Singh, chairman of the Panthers Party which is a coalition partner in the government, told on the phone from Delhi, that his party would contest the elections on its own. He said that the Panthers Party was not consulted either by Chief Minister, Mufti Sayeed or the Congress party before announcing the elections. Mr Bhim Singh said that the Panthers Party would contest all seats of the Jammu and the Srinagar Municipal Corporations. There was a difference of opinion also in the Congress for an alliance for the 71-member Jammu Municipal Corporation. While Deputy Chief Minister, Mangat Ram Sharma, said that the Congress would have an electoral tie up with other coalition partners of the Mufti government, including the PDP and the Panthers Party. Mr Yogesh Sawhney, who represents the city constituency in the Assembly, said that there was no question of sharing seats with any other party. Mr Sawhney, however, said that the final decision would be taken by the party high command. But the Congress was strong enough to contest the elections on its own. Any understanding could be reached with other parties after the elections. On the other hand, the BJP has already decided on “exposing” the ruling alliance. Dr Nirmal Singh, state BJP chief, to finalise the strategy, held meetings of senior leaders of the party here today and yesterday. The notification said that the election for the Jammu Municipal Corporation would be held on February 11 and for the Srinagar Municipal Corporation on February 7. Municipal Councils of Poonch, Kathua and Udhampur will go to polls on February 11 and those of Anantnag, Baramula and Sopore on February 19. The 30 Municipal Committees of Srinagar and an equal number of Jammu will go to the polls on February 9 and February 11, respectively. |
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J&K Congress to be reorganised Jammu, January 7 Soon after taking over as president of the PCC, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, had not completed formation of the PCC and the working committee. The circles said that Mr Azad submitted his resignation over a month ago and the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, had not taken any decision on the matter. Mr Azad, it is learnt, has preferred to function as AICC general secretary to being head of the PCC in Jammu and Kashmir. He is said to have conveyed to the AICC leaders that as general secretary he had not been able to devote full time to party affairs in Jammu and Kashmir. In case the AICC leaders fail to find a suitable replacement of Mr Azad the party may have two to three working presidents, one for the Kashmir valley and the other for the Jammu region. This would lessen burden of party work for Mr Azad. The Congress sources said that an attempt would be made to have one man for one post so that those party leaders who were members in the council of ministers headed by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed might not be given any senior post in the PCC. A couple of senior party leaders have suggested to the AICC leadership that working presidents for Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu be installed to decentralise activities in the organisation. These steps are being taken to revamp and strengthen the organisation after the AICC President received reports that the party had failed to redress peoples’ problems and aspirations which included implementation of the Wazir Committee Report. |
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Global tenders for sapphire mining Jammu, January 7 A mining plan would be drawn to tap these mines. The decision was taken at a meeting here today which was presided by Chief Minister, Mufti Sayeed. He ordered that a team of experts should be sent to Paddar for deciding modalities for the preparation of an integrated mining plan. The Chief Minister stressed for a strategy to exploit other mineral resources of the state, including 95 million tonnes of gypsum. He said that 114 industrial investment proposals worth Rs 900 crore had been received by the state government came to power. It was decided to set up emporia in important cities for the marketing of handicrafts. It was also decided at the meeting that steps would be taken for revival of the public sector units by taking measures like a cut in the strength of employees. Golden handshake will be offered in the PSUs which did not have the possibility of revival. Five PSUs have suffered a total loss of Rs 558 crore. The HMT factory at Srinagar is being revived and modernised by the Centre with Rs 40 crore investment. |
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Tracing IAF history JAMMU: Having come to limelight by producing a series of films on patriotism and moral values, Wing Commander A.S.Bedi
(retd) is these days busy with his “dream project” of making a documentary tracing the history of the Indian Air Force (IAF) through the eyes of Field Marshal Arjan Singh. Bedi has a passion for making films on the defence forces, patriotism, national integration and human and national values. He came into limelight as the story writer of the superhit movie “Silsila” starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor and
Rekha. Yash Chopra directed the film. Bedi said the film on former Air Chief Arjan Singh, would be completed within the next two months and thereafter he would make films based on the sacrifices made by soldiers. The documentary in hand revolves around the emotional experiences of Field Marshal Arjan Singh during his career in the IAF since 1938, particularly his participation in the wars of Burma, Pakistan and the Chinese aggression. The IAF museum in Delhi has been made the basis for tracing its history. Bedi recently filmed Field Marshal Arjan Singh for four days in Delhi. He says it is very easy to talk about war, but no one can imagine the feelings of a soldier during a conflict on the front. A stint on the border should be made compulsory for the bureaucrats so that they can understand the real problems of soldiers. Besides this would also help build national character. Bedi does not relish the current trend of producing TV serials highlighting the negative points of society or relationships that are having a bad effect on the new generation. As TV takes you right into the bedroom of a house, it should encourage films based on human values, nationalism and patriotism. He regretted that his proposal for producing a TV serial
“Lakshya”, based on sacrifices made by soldiers, had been awaiting approval of the Doordarshan authorities for the past three years. He had done a lot of research in the field and forward areas to prepare the proposal. His wife Preeti, who is equally talented, ventured into the field of film-making with him. Bedi served in the IAF from 1961 to 1968 when he sought premature retirement to devote full time to films. While in service, he was attached with Doordarshan for two years when he produced a popular 12-episode serial “A date with the Air Force”. Many episodes of the serial were telecast twice or more. Thereafter, he wrote, directed and produced the most popular serials of that time “Zindagi
Zindagi”, “Yeh Gulistan Hamara” and “Anmol Rishtey”. Because of the strong patriotic contents of “Yeh Gulistan
Hamara”, the serial was introduced by great actor Dalip Kumar and the title song sung by Sunil Dutt. He produced telefilm “Parwaaz” starring Naveen Nischol to commemorate the diamond jubilee of the IAF during 1992—93 followed by “Samandar” with 23 episodes that took the Indian Navy to the hearts of the masses. Bedi has also produced several other
tele-films and serials for which he won awards. Prominent among the awards are the Indira Gandhi National Integration Priyadarshini Award (1991) and the India Education Centre Award for Contribution to the media (1993). He produced four feature films for Doordarshan during 1983—84 when he was attached to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Among these films are “Gulab Ki
Yaad” (a film of Jawaharlal Nehru) and “Barfeely Seemayain” (a film of the Siachen glacier). |
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Jammu, January 7
