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GOC of 15 Corps assures peaceful Amarnath yatra 6 killed in valley, 82-mm bomb defused |
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Farooq urges G.M. Shah to return to party-fold VHP rally to demand
2-month yatra People surrendering LIC policies in J&K 3 killed, 12 hurt in Kashmir mishaps
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Big rush of pilgrims at Katra Katra (Jammu), June 14 Officials of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (VSB) managed to issue 32,000 tickets by the night and more than 17,000 were waiting for their turn today. The pilgrimage resumed when the rush cleared. However, 10,000 more pilgrims have
poured in by this evening. More than 21,700 pilgrims left this base town for the cave shrine by 3 pm and a large number of them were heading here from Jammu. Most of the pilgrims were from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan. Elaborate security arrangements have been made by deploying the Army and CRPF personnel in and around the town and the pilgrimage route. A large number of pilgrims were stopped at Jammu last night where almost all the hotels and serais were jam-packed. Those who managed to proceed towards here were stopped enroute by the traffic police that had set up pickets on the highway. Mr Rohit Kansal, Additional Chief Executive Officer of the shrine board, said last night over 14,000 pilgrims were on the waiting list and their number increased to over 20,000 this morning. Pilgrims were forced to remain indoors till the noon as it rained heavily here. Restaurants and auto-rickshaw owners did a brisk business as the latter were shuttling between here and the Ban Ganga carrying devotees to the take-off point of the pilgrimage. An autorickshaw owner, Rajinder Kumar, said he was earning around Rs 500 per day since Saturday. There are over 250 autorickshaws in this small town who are dependant on the pilgrimage. The rush was unmanageable outside the office where the tickets for the pilgrimage were being issued. A long queue of men and woman extended outside on the road. As many as 3.70 lakh pilgrims have arrived here in the past 15 days. The figures show that 24.05 lakh pilgrims have visited here so far since January 1, which was 4.22 lakh more than the corresponding period last year.
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GOC of 15 Corps assures peaceful Amarnath yatra Srinagar, June 14 Talking to mediapersons on the occasion of 53rd raising day of the 15 Corps, Loeut-Gen Sharma said the Army would coordinate with the police and other security agencies to ensure a peaceful yatra in the upper reaches of south Kashmir. He also condemned the recent grenade attack in a hotel in Pahalgam, which served as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra. Those responsible for the attack were not well wishers of the people of Kashmir, he said adding that all efforts would be made to track down those responsible for the attack. Replying to a question on the infiltration of armed militants from across the border, Lieut-Gen Nirbhay Sharma said it was difficult to say whether it had come down or increased. He added that attempts were being made by the armed militants to infiltrate into the valley, but the troops were determined to foil these attempts. He informed that several attempts of infiltration had been made during the past few weeks while at least five infiltrators were killed in the Kupwara sector last week. The main function to celebrate the 53rd Raising Day was organised at Badami Bagh Cantonment, where the GOC laid wreath at the war memorial and guard of honour was presented to those martyrs of 15 Corps who sacrificed their lives for the honour of the country. The corps was raised in Calcutta in 1942 and took part in Burma operation in the World War II from 1942 to 1946. It was re-designated as the J&K Corps, then 21 LoC area, thereafter 5 Corps, and finally on January 4, 1955 it moved to Udhampur and renamed as 15 Corps. It was shifted to Srinagar on May 1, 1972, and is responsible for the defence of the valley area of Jammu and Kashmir. Its troops are deployed on the LoC and also in counter-militancy role in interior areas. |
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6 killed in valley, 82-mm bomb defused
Srinagar, June 14 One person, who was injured along with 20 pedestrians in a grenade explosion at Handwara on Saturday, succumbed to his injuries in hospital here today. He has been identified as Mohammad Sultan. Two persons, including a woman were killed and another injured when militants hurled a grenade at their house at Kunzer in the Tangmarg area of Baramulla district last night. The police said that a woman, Aisha Begum, a guest in the family, died on spot, while the house-owner, Abdul Fateh, and his son, Shabir Ahmad, were injured in the explosion. Abdul Fateh later succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to hospital. The incident of grenade explosion followed the killing of one Fayaz Ahmad Ganai at the Kunzer bus stand earlier in the day. Sources said that there was a link between the two incidents, which took place within hours. One militant of the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen outfit, identified as Bashir Ahmad Ganai, was killed in an encounter with the police near Beerwah in Budgam district today. One AK rifle, two magazines and 15 rounds were recovered from the site of the encounter, police said. An unidentified militant was killed in an encounter with security forces at Lachipathar, Handwara, in Kupwara district yesterday. The recoveries made from the spot included one AK rifle, two magazines, 950 rounds, 193 sniper rounds, 18 RPG rounds, five long pipe bombs and eight mortar bombs. Unidentified militants shot dead an orchard watchman, Khazir Mohammad Sheikh, in the Bijbehara area of Anantnag district today. The police recovered the body of Abdul Rashid Bhat from the outskirts of Takiya Farooq Shah village in the Kanoora Khan Sahib area of Budgam district yesterday. He had been earlier kidnapped by some unidentified persons from the village, the police said. JAMMU: Army troops today averted a major tragedy near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir by defusing a powerful 82-mm mortar bomb in the Khour border belt, 30 km from here, official sources said. During the border build-up in 2002, the Army troops had left one active war arsenel, 82-mm mortar bomb in Khour border village near the LoC in Jammu district, they said. Some villagers engaged in agriculture work found the big bomb and informed the nearby army unit early today, they said, adding that troops recovered the mortar bomb and defused it safely. — TNS and PTI
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Farooq urges
G.M. Shah to return to party-fold Srinagar, June 14 This appeal from Dr Farooq Abdullah came while he addressing on the occasion of the ceremony to mark the fourth day of the death of a senior NC leader and former minister, Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah, who passed away here on Friday. Rich tributes were paid to the former minister as a number of party leaders and workers participated in the ceremony. Most of National Conference leaders, relatives and friends were present on the occasion. Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah was the uncle of former Chief Minister G.M. Shah. Former Chief Minister G.M. Shah, who had been close to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, disassociated himself from the National Conference in 1984 to constitute the Awami (Peoples) National Conference and unseated Farooq Abdullah from the post of Chief Minister. Farooq Abdullah had first taken over as the Chief Minister following his father’s death in 1982, and held the position again after the 1983 Assembly elections. He was unseated by his brother-in-law G.M. Shah with the support of majority of the members in the Assembly to become the Chief Minister as he constituted the Awami National Conference. He remained the Chief Minister for about two years. Mr G.M. Shah, at the head of the Awami National Conference has been advocating peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue process and an end to the ongoing sufferings of the people of Kashmir. His party did not participate in any elections held in the state since 1996. Dr Farooq Abdullah has asked Mr G.M. Shah to join the party to strengthen it and pave the way for an end to the sufferings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. |
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VHP
rally to demand 2-month yatra Jammu, June 14 Meanwhile, opposing Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s “interference” in the functioning of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, the state BJP president, Dr Nirmal Singh, has urged the people of Jammu region to forget their political differences and pressurise the Congress-supported PDP-led government to increase the period of the yatra from one to two months. He said the scriptures stipulated the yatra period from Vyas Purnima to Raksha Bandhan. He appealed to the Governor, who is also Chairman of the shrine board, to ask the state government to reverse its decision. Dr Nirmal Singh criticised the coalition government for shifting the Amarnath Yatra base camp from Jammu to Pahalgam and said the move was designed to not only harm the economic interests of the people of Jammu, but also to fleece the
yatris. |
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People surrendering LIC policies in J&K Srinagar, June 14 However, the LIC reversed the decision in April, 2004. The agitated policy holders, who surrendered their policies in protest against the LIC decision, said the Kashmir valley remained disturbed even now. Mr Qiesar Ahmad, working in a private company, said he was forced to surrendered his two policies because of this new rule. He said he was getting pay from his employers after two or more months so was some time unable to deposit the premium in time. "The LIC must understand that the situation in Kashmir has not improved," he said. An LIC agent confirmed that his business suffered due to the decision of the LIC administration. "Most of my clients are working in private companies and government undertakings and so they are not getting their salaries regularly. The LIC management should reconsider the decision since we have now competition with other insurance companies," he said.
— UNI
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3 killed, 12 hurt in Kashmir mishaps Srinagar, June 14 One of the constables, Mr Abdul Khaliq, died in the hospital, the sources said. Two persons were killed and 11 others wounded when their Matador turned turtle at Pulwama in south Kashmir this morning.
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Farooq Abdullah bereaved Srinagar, June 14 A spokesman for the National Conference said a condolence meeting was held here under the chairmanship of its provincial president, Dr Mehboob
Beigh, here today. The meeting expressed its grief and sorrow and conveyed their condolences to the bereaved family members. |
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