J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Natwar Singh’s proposal dismays separatists
Jammu, September 12
Kashmiri separatists are feeling a bit dismayed over the recent suggestion given by Foreign Minister, Natwar Singh, that Pakistan should talk to elected representatives of the people in Jammu and Kashmir because leaders of Hurriyat conference alone do not represent Kashmiris.

Bid on CPM activist’s life, daughter killed
Srinagar, September 12
A CPM activist escaped a bid on his life while one of his daughters was killed and another injured as militants attacked his house with a grenade in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police spokesman said today.

Power supply restored to Gandhi Nagar
Jammu, September 12
Power supply to the posh Gandhi Nagar here was restored after 25 hours this afternoon after replacement of a transformer that got burnt yesterday. This was the third major power breakdown here in the past fortnight during summer.

Kashmiri Pandits set out for Delhi on foot
Jammu, September 12
Over 100 Kashmiri Pandits embarked on an ardous “march on foot” from Jammu to Delhi today.

Silk production losing sheen
Jammu, September 12
Jammu and Kashmir no more enjoys the top position in silk production and has been relegated to the third place because of unrealistic policy of the state government towards sericulture.

Villagers protest against student’s death
Baramula, September 12
Irate villagers took to the streets and held demonstrations at Devar Anderbug Lolab in north Kashmir to protest against the death of a student in security force firing, official sources said.

Protest against ban on turban in France
Jammu, September 12
A demonstration was organised here today by various Sikh organisations against the French Government that has banned wearing of turban by Sikh students. Mahant Manjeet Singh of the Dera Nangali Sahib led the demonstration.

Members of the Sikh community protest against a ban imposed by the French Government on wearing religious symbols, including turbans, in schools, in Jammu on Sunday. — AFP photo

5 jawans killed, 4 hurt in mishap
Baramula, September 12
At least five soldiers were killed and four wounded when their vehicle met with an accident in North Kashmir late last night.

Probe sought

Natwar Singh’s proposal dismays separatists
M. L. Kak

Jammu, September 12
Kashmiri separatists are feeling a bit dismayed over the recent suggestion given by Foreign Minister, Natwar Singh, that Pakistan should talk to elected representatives of the people in Jammu and Kashmir because leaders of Hurriyat conference alone do not represent Kashmiris.

A former chairman of the APHC, Molvi Abbas Ansari, told this correspondent today that Mr Natwar Singh’s suggestion was “motivating us to contest the Assembly election.” He said “we have made it clear that election is no solution to the Kashmir issue. Had it been so the matter would have been resolved in 1951 when the first Assembly poll was held in Jammu and Kashmir.”

The Molvi made it clear that “we are not against Islamabad or Delhi if they open the dialogue channel with those elected to the Kashmir Assembly but we have one major reservation in this exercise as those elected do not question the state’s accession to India.”

He said if talks were held with those who treated Kashmir as India’s integral part, the dispute would not “arise at all.”

Another senior separatist leader, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, said” “We want settlement of the Kashmir issue as per the wishes of the people of the state. We want a solution that is acceptable to our people, to India and to Pakistan.”

This being the basic issue, he said, any dialogue with those elected to the Assembly could hardly resolve the problem.

Molvi Ansari gave a clear impression that the Congress led UPA Government at the Centre had “totally departed from the path adopted by the erstwhile NDA Government.” He said Delhi was not only wavering on the issue of resumption of talks with “us” but it had also started expecting us to travel to Delhi for the dialogue without being invited.”

He made it clear that “we will not go unless an offer for the resumption of dialogue was sent to us.”

In the meantime, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chief of Tehrik Kashmir Hurriyat, has convened a session of the delegates of the conglomerate in Srinagar on Tuesday. In the convention he will unfold a broad outline of the talks he had with the Pakistan Foreign Minister in Delhi recently and seek the support of his supporters for the line he had adopted for involving Kashmiris in the India-Pakistan talks.

Mr Geelani has announced that the ongoing Delhi-Islamabad talks would not lead to a permanent settlement of the Kashmir issue unless Kashmiris were involved in the parleys. He has been harping on the grant of right of self determination to the people of Kashmir.

Bid on CPM activist’s life, daughter killed

Srinagar, September 12
A CPM activist escaped a bid on his life while one of his daughters was killed and another injured as militants attacked his house with a grenade in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police spokesman said today.

The incident occurred last night at Pooniwah in the Kulgam area. While Jalaluddin escaped unhurt, his two daughters — Tahira Bano and Naseema Bano — were injured.

The two were shifted to a hospital where Tahira succumbed to her injuries. — PTI

Power supply restored to Gandhi Nagar
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 12
Power supply to the posh Gandhi Nagar here was restored after 25 hours this afternoon after replacement of a transformer that got burnt yesterday. This was the third major power breakdown here in the past fortnight during summer.

Residents of the locality were also without drinking water supply for the past 30 hours.

Electric supply to the area had failed yesterday at 1.10 pm and was restored at 2.20 pm today. People had to spend the night without fans.

Residents of the locality near the Tawi bridge blocked traffic to protest against failure of the authorities to restore electric supply.

The Chief Engineer of the power department, Mr G.L. Garoo, said the delay occurred because a new transformer had to be brought from elsewhere.

Power supply had remained suspended till after midnight also on Friday. A couple of days ago, residents of Gandhi Nagar, Trikuta Nagar, Nanak Nagar and Gangial remained without electric supply as some equipment at the Gladini station got burnt.

The Power Development department (PDD) has come under severe criticism for the frequent power failures that were taking place in addition to the curtailment of nearly nine hours a day. It is being alleged that substandard equipment was responsible for these breakdowns. A controversy had arisen some time ago over the purchase of substandard transformers and meters worth lakhs of rupees by the department.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in his latest report has pointed out purchase of substandard Trivector Static Energy Meters (TSEMs) worth Rs.51.63 lakh from a Pune-based firm. In another case, the department purchased 500 sets of 11 KV isolators costing Rs 21 lakh although 202 sets were already available in the stock.

The CAG has pointed out that the Chief Engineer, electric planning and design wing, purchased feeder control and relay panels in excess of requirement resulting in locking of Rs 17.13 lakh.

Kashmiri Pandits set out for Delhi on foot
Our Correspondent

Jammu, September 12
Over 100 Kashmiri Pandits embarked on an ardous “march on foot” from Jammu to Delhi today.

Wearing black badges, the youths left their Muthi migrant camp for Delhi. Inhabitants of the camp bid them farewell. Kamlawati (65) said: “When my son failed to get a job for several years he had no alternative but to participate in the padyatra to Delhi.”

According to Mr R.K. Bhat, chairman of the steering committee of the Pandit youths belonging to various organisations, who led the peace march, said: “We will pass through Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ambala, and Chandigarh and will present a memorandum to parliamentarians in a bid to awaken them to our plight for the past 15 years.”

“On an average we will be walking 25 to 30 km per day to finish the 630-km distance to Delhi,” he said.

Mr Bhat and Mr Vinod Raina, secretary of the committee, said: “The youths have been give a raw deal by the successive state and Central governments. In government departments and admission to professional colleges, we have faced discrimination.”

They said: “We want the Centre and the state governments to take measures to ensure suitable rehabilitation of the migrants.”

Other participants said: “Most of the 3.50 lakh Pandits who had fled the valley in 1990, had been living in miserable conditions in camps in Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua and other places.

Dr Ajay Chrungoo, chairman of Panun Kashmir, said: “The only way to rehabilitate us was to concede our demand for a homeland within the valley. However, this demand had been turned down by both state government and the Centre on the plea that “vivisection of the state is not in the interest of the nation.”

Even Kashmiri separatists have opposed this demand, saying that “it will lead to permanent segregation of the two communities which had lived in peace in Kashmir for centuries.”

The state government had initiated a plan for resettling some families in security zones in Kashmir where separate clusters were being constructed. However, a majority of Kashmiri Pandit bodies rejected the plan saying that “we do not want to live like caged animals.”

Silk production losing sheen
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 12
Jammu and Kashmir no more enjoys the top position in silk production and has been relegated to the third place because of unrealistic policy of the state government towards sericulture. Those engaged in rearing of cocoons are switching over to other trades, as they were unable to earn their bread out of sericulture.

The funds being provided by the centre for the development of sericulture were reportedly not being properly utilised in the state.

Concerned about the plight of the sericulture industry in J&K, a special package of Rs 9.27 crore was sanctioned by the Prime Minister for revival of the infrastructure.

The target of the sericulture department to produce 15 lakh kg of cocoon annually has failed as the production has hardly touched 8 lakh kg. The production target was scaled down twice, even then it could not be met. The average yield of cocoon was 28 kg per ounce of seed against the norm of 40 kg per ounce.

It is learnt that about 6 lakh kg of cocoons were produced in Jammu, while the Kashmir valley contributed only about 2 lakh kg.

It is being claimed by the authorities that terrorism and import of silk from China was responsible for the decline. The three silk factories owned by the government have turned almost sick.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has taken a serious note of the erratic functioning of the sericulture department that has been investing more than Rs 20 crore per year to produce only about 7 to 9 lakh kg of cocoons of which only 2.40 lakh kg is actually transactable.

A sum of Rs 109.52 crore has been spent by the department for producing 12 lakh kg of transactable dry cocoon during the past 5 years. The cost of cocoons worked out to Rs 73.50 crore against which only Rs 25.35 crore were realised on sale.

The CAG has pointed out that under a centrally sponsored programme in 1998, the sericulture department purchased incomplete rearing kits worth Rs 1.26 crore that had an adverse impact on the yield of cocoon.

The survival rate of mulberry plantation during the past five years was as low as 41 per cent. 

Villagers protest against student’s death

Baramula, September 12
Irate villagers took to the streets and held demonstrations at Devar Anderbug Lolab in north Kashmir to protest against the death of a student in security force firing, official sources said.

The sources said the security forces allegedly fired upon a Class XII student, Pervaz Ahmad Khan, in a case of mistaken identity, when he was returning from a nearby forest last night.

Pervaz died on the spot.

Later, villagers, mostly women, blocked roads and raised slogans against the security forces.

The villagers claimed that the security forces fired at Pervaz without any provocation.

Later, the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police visited the village and assured the villagers that an inquiry would be conducted into the incident.

Meanwhile, the police has registered a case against the security forces for allegedly killing two cousins at Shopian in Pulwama district on Thursday.

The case was registered after people agitated against the security forces, alleging that the forces killed Rizwan-ul-Haq and Muzaffar Ahmad Ganie without any provocation. The Station House Officer (SHO) of Zainpora police station has been directed to investigate the incident and report to the Divisional Commissioner within a week.

However, the defence authorities said both were killed in an exchange of fire between the security forces and militants. — UNI

Protest against ban on turban in France
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 12
A demonstration was organised here today by various Sikh organisations against the French Government that has banned wearing of turban by Sikh students. Mahant Manjeet Singh of the Dera Nangali Sahib led the demonstration.

He urged the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to intervene in the matter and ask the French Government not to interfere in the religious matters of the Sikhs.

The demonstrators raised slogans against the Government of France and described the ban as illegal.

A large number of youth participated in the demonstration.

5 jawans killed, 4 hurt in mishap

Baramula, September 12
At least five soldiers were killed and four wounded when their vehicle met with an accident in North Kashmir late last night.

Official sources said that an Army vehicle was on the way to Karlpora from the border area of Keran when it skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge at Shangli, killing five soldiers and wounding four. — UNI

Probe sought

Jammu: The United Forum of Trade Unions (UFTU) has demanded a judicial inquiry into the police firing on workers of the railway project at Banihal, on Friday. One person was killed and 12 injured in the incident. A meeting of various trade unions was held here on Saturday under the chairmanship of Mr K.K. Bakshi, convener of CITU, to discuss the situation.

CONFERENCE: An international conference on sustainable habitat for cold climate will be held at Leh from September 16 to 18. The conference is being organised by the Army’s Chief Engineers. Experts from Italy, Singapore, Canada and France are expected to participate.