J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

NC to deliberate on poll alliance
Jammu, January 21
The main opposition National Conference has started an exercise aimed at finding an ally for contesting the ensuing Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which has six parliamentary constituencies.

Sonia failed to address people’s issues,
says BJP
Jammu, January 21
The state unit of the BJP has accused the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, of “humiliating people of the Jammu region” during her Tuesday public rally here when she said that she had handed over power to the PDP in the “national interest”.

Reliance to set up IT institute in J&K
Jammu, January 21
The Reliance Industries will set up an institute of management and information technology in Jammu and Kashmir soon. Modalities for the institute were discussed by a Reliance team with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at a meeting here last evening, an official spokesman said.

BRIEFLY

A woman walks behind a fence of a security installation in Srinagar on Wednesday. Security checks and patrols have been intensified in the state ahead of India's Republic Day celebrations. — Reuters

YOUR TOWN

Jammu Srinagar

Soldier, 4 militants killed
Srinagar, January 21
Six persons, including four militants and a soldier, were killed in the Kashmir valley during the past 24 hours.

Morcha’s plea to trifurcate state
Jammu, January 21
The Jammu Mukti Morcha, headed by Prof Virender Gupta, today conveyed to the Governor, Mr S.K. Sinha, that trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir was the only way to resolve the turmoil in the state.

Traditional dancer from Jammu and Kashmir on the state tableau during the press preview of the forthcoming Republic Day parade in the Capital on Wednesday. — Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal

NC to deliberate on poll alliance
Our Correspondent

Jammu, January 21
The main opposition National Conference has started an exercise aimed at finding an ally for contesting the ensuing Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which has six parliamentary constituencies.

The National Conference, which won five of the six seats in the last Lok Sabha poll, is at present keen to go it alone on all the six seats. However, a section of its leaders, particularly those belonging to the Jammu region, favour a tie-up with the BSP.

These leaders are said to have informed the party bosses that the tie-up with the BSP in the 1996 Assembly poll has proved fruitful for both.

The working committee of the National Conference started a three-day meeting here today in view of the Lok Sabha poll.

A senior National Conference leader said that the strategy the party was likely to adopt for the poll will be discussed. He disclosed that the issue of tie-up with the BSP will also come for discussion.

He said the National Conference has decided to contest all the six seats and the party President, Mr Omar Abdullah, will be party candidate from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency which had elected him during the previous poll.

Sonia failed to address people’s issues, says BJP
Our Correspondent

Jammu, January 21
The state unit of the BJP has accused the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, of “humiliating people of the Jammu region” during her Tuesday public rally here when she said that she had handed over power to the PDP in the “national interest”.

In a signed statement issued here today, the BJP spokesman and vice-president, Dr Hari Om, said “the two-day visit of Ms Sonia Gandhi to Jammu had left people in the region crestfallen because she had no comment on the issues that bother the Jammuites, which include the implementation of the Wazir Committee report, setting up of the delimitation commission and end to the continued discrimination of the people”.

He said that Sonia Gandhi had simply targeted the BJP-led NDA government without replying to “our 11specific charges levelled against the PDP-led coalition government”.

Dr Hari Om said that both the Congress and the Panthers Party had promised a series of sops for the people of the Jammu region but not a single promise had been fulfilled.

Reliance to set up IT institute in J&K

Jammu, January 21
The Reliance Industries will set up an institute of management and information technology in Jammu and Kashmir soon.

Modalities for the institute were discussed by a Reliance team with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at a meeting here last evening, an official spokesman said.

The institute will start functioning from July this year with an intake capacity of 250 students. It will offer Futuristic courses in five streams of information and communication technology, biotechnology, health, tourism and medicinal and aromatic plants.

The Reliance team was led by head of Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Gujarat, Kud Chadker.

Forty students would be taken in each of the streams for under-graduate courses and 60 for the integrated five-year course and both the classes would start functioning simultaneously, he said.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be signed between the Jammu and Kashmir government and the Reliance for the purpose. Twenty per cent of the seats in the institute would be reserved for the students of Jammu and Kashmir.

The institute, to be set up in the vicinity of Srinagar, would gradually have the status of a deemed university with autonomy and to introduce new courses as per the job market requirements and draw up its own academic calendar, he said adding a technical team of the Reliance would visit Srinagar in the first week of next month for selection of the site. — PTI

Soldier, 4 militants killed

Srinagar, January 21
Six persons, including four militants and a soldier, were killed in the Kashmir valley during the past 24 hours.

A report from Baramulla said an encounter took place between security forces and militants at Bandipora during which a soldier and a militant were killed.

The encounter ensued after a patrol party of security forces was fired upon by the militants hiding there.

An official spokesman said an encounter took place at Sonabrari in south Kashmir district of Anantnag during which two Lashker-e-Toiba militants identified as Abu Talha and Abu Muslim, residents of Pakistan, were killed.

He said one security personnel also sustained injuries during the encounter and was hospitalised.

The encounter ensued after a search party was attacked by the militants hiding in a house. The house was also damaged in the exchange of fire, the spokesman said, adding that two AK assault rifles, one wireless set and 122 rounds were recovered from the site of the encounter.

He said another LeT militant identified as Abu Hamza, was killed in an encounter with the security forces at Bramer-Narsar village in the same district today.

One pistol, one magazine and three rounds of ammunition were also recovered from the slain militant. Security forces recovered a bullet-ridded body of one Manzoor Ahmad Shah, an employee of the Education Department, from Wasoora village in south Kashmir district of Pulwama today.

He said militants fired towards the house of one Ghulam Rasool Tantray at Watnar-Kokernag village in Anantnag district, damaging the house.

However, none was injured in the incident, the spokesman said.

He said security forces apprehended one militant at Kreshpora Nagri and at his instance one AK rifle, three magazines, one ammunition box, 5 kg RDX, one UBGL, two UBGL Shells, five hand grenades, two wireless sets, two detonators and 94 rounds were recovered from a nearby field in the village. — UNI

Morcha’s plea to trifurcate state
Our Correspondent

Jammu, January 21
The Jammu Mukti Morcha, headed by Prof Virender Gupta, today conveyed to the Governor, Mr S.K. Sinha, that trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir was the only way to resolve the turmoil in the state.

The suggestion was given to the Governor by a team of morcha leaders, led by Prof Gupta, who called on Mr Sinha here today.

The morcha leaders informed the Governor that since the three regions in the state, Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh, had distinct cultural historical, political and geographical identity three separate states needed to be carved out for ending regional discrimination and tension.

The leaders also sought the Governor’s intervention in carrying out fresh census and in setting up delimitation commission so that people of the Jammu region got due representation in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha.

BRIEFLY

LANDMINE BLAST
JAMMU: A villager, Krishen Lal was critically injured in a powerful landmine explosion in R.S. Pura town near the Indo-Pak border on Tuesday, official sources said. Krishen Lal was on way to his fields in Saina village when he stepped over a landmine.