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Security
beefed up as campaigning ends in Srinagar
Attack
on PCC HQ not to hit poll process: CM |
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Mufti
pats bureaucracy on the back Woman
killed, large cache of arms seized J&K
Bar Association sets up unity force Principals,
lecturers resent golden chance to students Release
grant to farmers, says minister 
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Security beefed up as campaigning ends in Srinagar Srinagar, April 24 Militants fired three grenades at the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) office at M A Road here yesterday, injuring 12 persons. Nearly 12
others had been injured in a grenade attack on a campaigning vehicle of the National Conference here yesterday. National Conference president and candidate from the constituency Omar Abdullah escaped unhurt while two others were injured when his motorcade was attacked in Budgam district on Tuesday. A grenade explosion had also taken place when NC patron Fariooq Abdullah was on his election tour to the Raithan area of Budgam district near here a day earlier. There are 7,29,038 voters in Srinagar district, including 41,7,755 male and 3,11,283 female voters. In Budgam district there are 3,24,695 voters including 1,87,714 males and 1,36,981 females. There are also 56,963 migrant voters from Srinagar and 3,624 migrant voters from Budgam districts who will cast their votes in Delhi, Jammu and Udhampur. There are 759 polling stations in Srinagar district which have been categorised into two groups, including 593 hyper-sensitive and 166 sensitive polling stations, in view of security threats. Similarly in the Budgam district there are 321 polling stations including 164 hyper-sensitive and 154 sensitive. Only three polling stations in the district are normal. The main contest is between the opposition National Conference (NC) president and former union minister Omar Abdullah and ruling PDP candidate Ghulam Nabi Lone. The Congress, an alliance partner of the PDP, did not field its candidate following seat sharing agreement between the two parties. But, in Baramula, the Congress breached the agreement and fielded its old stalwart, Mr Ghulam Rasool Kar. Other parties that have fielded their candidates from Srinagar include the BJP, the Panthers Party, the BSP, the Awami League, the SDP and six Independents. Mr Omar Abdullah, who was elected from Srinagar in 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha elections, is contesting for the third consecutive term. |
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Attack on PCC HQ not to hit poll process: CM Srinagar, April 24 Talking to mediapersons here today, Mr Mufti Sayeed said such incidents were not uncommon and were taking place in other states too, adding that people had learnt to live with the situation. The election process, he said could not be stopped. The Chief Minister said a conducive atmosphere had been created for the electorate to exercise their right to vote without any fear. All efforts had been made to ensure free and fair elections in the state. Mr Mufti said security arrangements for the remaining phases of the poll were in place. He said the few incidents, that took place recently, were aimed at intimidating the electorate but their massive participation showed it had not worked. Meanwhile, a spokesman of the PCC blamed the previous government of the National Conference for such attacks on the PCC headquarters in which two Congress leaders and other staff members had a miraculous escape. He said the coalition government had taken various measures for maintaining peace in this trouble-torn state. Meanwhile, addressing election rallies in Budgam and Ganderbal on the concluding day of campaigning today in Srinagar constituency, the Chief Minister said its adversaries had now fallen in line and were stressing on a dialogue to resolve issues. Welcoming the change, he said his party had always been pressing for a dialogue and reconciliation. The Chief Minister said the PDP had never claimed that it had a solution for the Kashmir problem or a magic wand to produce one instantly but the party pushed forward its policy of resolving problems through dialogue. Mufti Sayeed asked the people to send those people to Parliament who could raise their voice about the problems confronting Kashmir and uphold its identity. |
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Mufti pats bureaucracy on the back Jammu, April 24 Addressing a high-level meeting of Financial Commissioners and Commissioners/Secretaries here on the closing day of the Secretarial and other Darbar move offices to the summer capital of the state, Mufti Sayeed said that the large-scale participation of the people in election rallies of parties and the polling process had strengthened democracy in Jammu and Kashmir. Mufti Sayeed also praised the administration for implementing development agenda as per aspirations of people. He said people were appreciative of the efforts of his government to institutionalise recruitment whereunder 26,000 teachers alone had been recruited under Rehbar-e-Taleem scheme as per norms without any complaints. Mufti Sayeed stressed the need for faster execution of modernisation of power transmission and distribution system in Jammu. He was told that the power grid Corporation had taken up survey of laying of transmission line from Srinagar to Leh. The Deputy Chief Minister, who also addressed the meeting emphasised that after the move of offices to Srinagar, the Minister and Secretaries should keep visiting Jammu on rotation to redress problems of people. He said adequate resources should be made available and coordination ensured between the agencies to provide water through tanker service to the people. He directed the Power Development Department to make arrangements for standby electric transformers in Jammu so that people for best possible power supply. |
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Woman killed, large cache of arms seized Srinagar, April 24 An official spokesman said body of a female was found at Chanthan Checkpora in the central Kashmir district of Budgam today. The security forces busted three hideouts in Baramula, Doda and Poonch and seized a large quantity of arms and ammunition and ration during overnight raids. The seizure included one AK rifle, six magazines, about seven kg deadly RDX, two pouches, three grenades, one 15 kg IED, 1,500 kg of ration, two RPGs, 15 detonators, one binocular and about 200 rounds of ammunition. However, no one was arrested, he said. An independent candidate from the Anantnag parliamentary constituency, Mr Ramesh Kumar, today escaped unhurt when militants opened fire on his motorcade in the Kulgam area of south Kashmir, official sources said. The militants opened fire on the cavalcade of Mr Ramesh Kumar in Brazloo village, around 3 pm while he was campaigning in the area, the sources said. While Mr Kumar escaped unhurt, a policeman in his escort vehicle suffered minor injury. The vehicle was slightly damaged in the attack, they said. Anantnag is going to poll in the fourth phase of elections on May 5.
— UNI |
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J&K Bar Association sets up unity force Srinagar, April 24 Mian Abdul Qayoom, president of the High Court Bar Association said here today that the efforts were on for the unification of different separatist organisations. He said for the past two months, the Bar had taken the initiative to set up the Ittehadi Force that would include all such groups. “We have been meeting leaders of different organisations like the JKLF, Shabir Ahmad Shah (DFP), the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Peoples League and others in this direction,” Mian Abdul Qayoom said. The unity efforts among separatist organisations were necessitated, particularly after the split in a separatist conglomeration of the 23-member Hurriyat Conference, when former chairman and firebrand Jamat-e-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani disassociated himself from the group led by Moulvi Abbas Ansari last year. This followed differences over the indirect participation of one of its constituents, the Peoples Conference, in the 2002 Assembly elections, as he alleged that four candidates had been fielded in the north Kashmir. The issue had been taken up by the Abbas-led APHC, earlier stating that its constituent, the Peoples Conference, in no way was associated with the election process. But, Geelani maintaining his stand disassociated from the APHC. Later the Peoples Conference of former APHC leader Abdul Ghani Lone was also divided into two with each of his sons, Mr Sajjad, representative in the APHC, and the younger one, Mr Bilal Lone, chairman, leading the separate factions. The APHC (Abbas), however, owned Mr Bilal Lone and recognised him as the leader and representative of the Peoples Conference. After the APHC split, the JKLF, led by Mohammad Yaseen Malik, also stayed away from either sections of the Hurriyat Conference, and lately announced that he was not associated with any of the two factions. Senior separatist leader, Shabir Ahmad Shah who was expelled from the APHC in 1996, has also been away from the two
Hurriyats. Following the split last year with Syed Ali Shah Geelani leading the breakaway group, the Abbas-led faction deputed its founder chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, for unity efforts. |
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Principals, lecturers resent golden chance to students Kangra, April 23 Vice-President of the Himachal Pradesh Technical Teachers Association Puneet Sood said here yesterday that despite the opposition of Gazetted lecturers to ‘Golden Chance’ to detained students. The Technical Education Board granted the facility to the students. Deputy Director of Technical Education J.D. Sharma at Sundernagar, he said that to relax any rule concerning the Examination was within the power of the Technical Education Board. The decision of the board was against the interests of the students. He said that it was a short-term benefit for the detained students but was not the larger interest of the students in the long term. Mr Sharma said that the Technical Education Department had conveyed its views to the Board authorities. He said that the students who were granted this relaxation would be left with 12 to 13 papers pending at the time of their completion of the final semester. This would prove harmful for the students and their parents in the present educational scenario. A Principal of a Government Polytechnic College said, “The Board’s decision to grant ‘Golden Chance’ to the students again this year is most unfortunate, anti-student and disastrous for their future”, “Why the Board authorities sought our views, views of the lecturers and the Technical Education Department”. He said “As a teacher I feel pained that where are we leading our coming generation. Such steps would create stumbling blocks in the way of he technical education students”. Another lecturer and member of the Technical Teachers Gazetted Association said that when the Board had to take this decision why was it not taken in the beginning so that detained students could have continued classes for the next semester falling by the end of the next month. He said that it was not the theory part of the education only but practical and the Laboratory work would never get complete within the stipulated time thus they would again be the sufferers. The Lecturers Association said perhaps the Board decided to give relaxation to the Polytechnic College Students who had reappear in four subjects only by allowing them to continue in their regular studies in the next semester benefiting 102 students in this state. He said that the remaining 150 students were granted “Golden Chance” after 20 days. The Polytechnic College students boycotted their classes from March 10, last in support of their demand for a “Golden Chance” to the 252 detained students and a meeting to discuss the issue was held by the Board on March 27, which was attended by Dr S.S. Sen, Joint Director Technical Education, Principals of the Polytechnic College besides the representatives of the Gazetted Lecturers of the Polytechnic Colleges. The Technical Education Department authorities besides the Principals and Gazetted Lecturers opposed a “Golden Chance to the students as it was not in the large interest of the students. Mr B.R. Rahi Chairman of the Board of Technical Education said that this ‘Golden Chance’ was the last chance to these students and it won’t be repeated. The Board took the decision to accept the demand of the students to grant them the last ‘golden Chance’. |
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Release grant to farmers, says minister Jammu, April 24 Mr Gupta, who was addressing election rallies in various border villages of Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district today, said the Defence Ministry had sanctioned grants for the payment of compensation to farmers in lieu of the damage to crops because of Army movement but the state government was creating hurdles in releasing the money to farmers. He added that compensation had been released to farmers in Punjab and Rajasthan, but the farmers here were still awaiting it. Mr Gupta held that successive state governments were responsible for not providing drinking water supply in kandi areas. Health services and road network were also poor, he added. |
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Bodies of 2
schoolgirls taken out from canal Jammu, April 24 The guards at the front gate of the BSF headquarters saw the three floating in the canal at Polura on the outskirts of Jammu city this afternoon, they said. They immediately swung into action and took out the woman and the two girls who were wearing school uniform. They were shifted to the BSF hospital in the area where the doctors declared the two children brought dead. One of girls has been identified as Vashli Bhagat student of LKG at Peoples Academy Achool at Domana on the outskirts of Jammu city, they said.
— PTI |
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Jammu, April 24 The pilgrims from Himachal Pradesh were on way to Vaishno Devi shrine, the sources said, adding their vehicle overturned after it was hit by a truck yesterday. The injured identified as Sandeep, Ladi, Rajinder, Jasbinder and Vinod were later removed to a nearby hospital by the locals there, the sources said. The police has registered a case.
— PTI |
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6 officers inducted
into IAS Jammu, April 24 The others inducted into the IAS are Mr M.S. Khan, Mr G.A. Peer, Ms Tanveer Jehan, Mr R.K. Thusoo and Mr
A.K. Raina. |
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