J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

One killed, 24 hurt in Pulwama blast

Srinagar, August 31 One person was killed and 24 others were injured, seven of them seriously, when militants hurled a grenade near bus stand, Pulwama, in South Kashmir this afternoon.

A policeman injured in a grenade blast in Pulwama being taken for treatment on Tuesday. — Photo by Amin War

Azad’s brother escapes unhurt in attack

Cash crunch affects employment
5 lakh educated unemployed in state
Jammu, August 31
In less than two years, the job seekers’ queues outside the houses and office chambers of ministers in Jammu and Kashmir have thinned conspicuously . One finds a handful of unemployed youth or their parents at these locations waiting for favours from the ministers.

8 IAS, KAS officers transferred
Srinagar, August 31
The Jammu and Kashmir Government has ordered the transfers and postings of eight IAS and KAS officers.

2 jawans killed in accidental fire
Srinagar, August 31
A Border Security Force jawan was killed today when a bullet from his rifle pierced through his chest at a security camp in the Kulgam area of Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.

One killed, 24 hurt in Pulwama blast
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 31
One person was killed and 24 others were injured, seven of them seriously, when militants hurled a grenade near bus stand, Pulwama, in South Kashmir this afternoon.

Three militants have also been killed in separate incidents in Baramula district of North Kashmir since yesterday.

The police here said that a pedestrian was killed and 24 persons were injured, seven of them seriously, when militants lobbed a grenade in the bus stand at about 4 p.m. today. Those injured included five police personnel. The seriously injured seven persons, three of them police personnel, were shifted to different hospitals here. One pedestrian identified as Mohammad Ayub Bhat of Wogulgund in Pulwama district succumbed to his injuries in the district hospital, Pulwama.

Two militants, one of them a Pak national, were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Nowpora, Sopore in Baramula district yesterday. The Pak national was identified as Nasir-ud-Din, alias Talha Janbaz, while the identity of the other was yet to be ascertained.

One militant of Hizbul Mujahideen was killed in an encounter with the security forces in the Panzulla area of Baramula district yesterday. He was identified as Ghulam Hassan Malla, alias Amer, of the same area. Two AK rifles, five magazines, 60 rounds and four hand grenades were recovered from the site of the encounter, the police said.

Azad’s brother escapes unhurt in attack
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 31
Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s brother today escaped unhurt in a terrorist attack in the Doda district here.

However, his security officer was seriously injured, as terrorists fired indiscriminately at the car in which he was travelling from Soti in the interior area of Gandoh to Doda town.

The police said Mr Mohammad Abbas Azad was attacked at about 9 a.m. Terrorists fired at his vehicle from the roadside. The driver fled the vehicle safely, but some bullets hit the security officer.

A police escort fired at the ultras, but they managed to flee. Additional police forces were rushed to comb the area.

Cash crunch affects employment
5 lakh educated unemployed in state
M. L. Kak

Jammu, August 31
In less than two years, the job seekers’ queues outside the houses and office chambers of ministers in Jammu and Kashmir have thinned conspicuously . One finds a handful of unemployed youth or their parents at these locations waiting for favours from the ministers.

The drop in the number of visitors to the ministerial bungalows is the result of the ministers’ failure in providing jobs to the educated unemployed youth. Not only the rural belts of the state but the urban areas as well have, therefore started witnessing simmering discontent and resentment against the PDP-led coalition government from which the people had expected “a miracle”.

Sources said the figure of educated unemployed youth had touched five lakh, which included over 2.5 lakh unemployed graduates. They said since the unemployed youth had started treating employment exchanges as “irrelevant”, not all of them registered their names with them with the result that the exchange figures reveal a number of 1.5 lakh youth as unemployed.

According to the state government sources, the hands of the PDP-led government have been tied by a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Centre by the former NC government in 1999.

The MoU was revived in 2002 under which new jobs were not to be created and only those candidates were to be given jobs who were selected by the Public Service Commission and the State Subordinate Recruitment Services.

All that the coalition government could do was to appoint people in different departments on contract basis. Of more than 70,000 youths given jobs during the past two years, a majority of them were recruited as teachers on contract basis under the Rehbr-i-Taleem scheme. Each one of them is entitled to a monthly wage of Rs 1,500 per month.

During the NC rule, more than 60,000 youth had been recruited in the police after four battalions were raised. But during the past two years, only one battalion of the auxiliary police force has been sanctioned for which interviews were held but appointment letters are yet to be issued.

The government sources said that without an adequate financial back-up from the Centre “We cannot go into a crash employment drive because of a continued financial crunch.”

According to the Finance Department sources, out of the yearly budget allocation of Rs 10,659 crore, over Rs 3,200 crore are spent on the wage bill. Besides, the yearly expenses on power procurement have risen to Rs 1,250 crore while the revenue is yet to cross Rs 350 crore. This, too, has contributed to the cash crunch, thereby forcing the government to go slow with the recruitment of educated youth in various departments. Already various departments and public sector corporations are overstaffed.

The state government has sent another communication to the Centre requesting it to scrap the MoU and allow the state to provide jobs to the educated youth, failing which the law and order problem may assume bigger dimensions.

However, the Centre has asked the state to first enhance the tax collection and reduce wasteful expenses, including the size of the grant it has been providing to the public sector undertakings for meeting their costs of establishment. The Chief Minister, Mufti Sayeed, is said to be worried about this development despite the success his government has shown in enhancing the level of collection of tax arrears, including the sales tax and the excise duty.

Mufti Sayeed has been trying his best to woo big industrial entrepreneurs from outside the state for setting up units in Jammu and Kashmir which could provide jobs to the local youth. It was as a result of his efforts that the Centre agreed to raise seven battalions of the Territorial Army — four in the Jammu region and three in the Kashmir Valley — for which recruitment has started, though in a phased manner.

Sources close to the Chief Minister said many other schemes were being cleared for increasing the job potential in the state.

8 IAS, KAS officers transferred
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 31
The Jammu and Kashmir Government has ordered the transfers and postings of eight IAS and KAS officers.

Mr Amit Kushari, Financial Commissioner, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, has been transferred and posted as Financial Commissioner, Labour and Employment.

Mr Khursheed Ahmad Malik, Commissioner-Secretary, Labour and Employment, has been transferred and posted as Commissioner-Secretary, Consumer Affairs and Public Administration.

Mr Naveen Kumar Choudhary, Vice-Chairman, Jammu Development Authority, Jammu, has been posted as Special Secretary, Tourism.

Sheikh Nisar Ahmad, under orders of posting as Additional Chief Electoral Officer, has been adjusted as Special Secretary, Technical Education.

Mr K.B. Jandial, Director, Information, Jammu and Kashmir, has been transferred and posted as Vice-Chairman, Jammu Development Authority, Jammu. The charge of the post of Director, Information, shall be held by Mr Farooq Ahmad Renszu, Joint Director, Information, till further orders.

Mr Tashi Dorje, awaiting orders of adjustment, has been posted as Special Secretary, Ladakh Affairs, vice Mr Sonam Landop, who retired on superannuation today.

Mr R.C. Sharma, awaiting orders of posting, has been posted as Deputy Commissioner (Central) in the office of Financial Commissioner (Revenue).

2 jawans killed in accidental fire

Srinagar, August 31
A Border Security Force jawan was killed today when a bullet from his rifle pierced through his chest at a security camp in the Kulgam area of Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.

The sources said constable Chaman Lal, posted at 90 Bn of the BSF at Neelu in the Kulgam area, was killed by a bullet from his own service weapon this morning.

Jammu: A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was killed in accidental fire from his own rifle in Doda district, official sources said.

The CRPF jawan, identified as Hav. K. Paswal, was preparing for guard duty when his rifle went off and the bullet pierced through his skull in Doda district last night, they said. — PTI