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More routes across LoC, says Mufti
Ministers ask Mufti to defer panchayat poll
Sonia refuses to meet ministers
Ladakh vision document focuses on trade, tourism
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Ansari comes in way of Hurriyat unity
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More routes across LoC, says Mufti
Srinagar, May 9 Talking to media persons on opening of civil secretariat for summer here on Monday, Mr Mufti said senior officers of the administration in Jammu recently visited Poonch to explore the early opening of Poonch-Rawlakote road. The matter regarding the movement of trucks on the Jhelum Valley Road as already agreed to by the two neighbours, was also being considered, the Chief Minister said. He said the construction of the Mughal Road connecting the Kashmir valley with Rajouri-Poonch would be taken up soon, for which the government had earmarked Rs 50 crore during the current year. Denying reports that people from the occupied Kashmir were claiming property here, the Chief Minister said some vested interests were spreading a disinformation campaign. He assured that nobody would be dispossessed from the property allotted to him under the Evacuee Property Act. “The Act itself defends their rights”, he said
adding not a single instance of property claim had been received and in one case highlighted by media the person had only given a press statement. When asked about the Pakistan’s stand over hydroelectric projects like Baglihar and Kishengaga, the Chief Minister said an atmosphere of amity and understanding was prevailed across the two countries. The Centre was ready to remove the apprehensions of Pakistan on the Kishenganga hydel project and reaffirmed that there was no violation of the Indus Water Treaty in the construction of Baglihar hydel project. He said the design of the Baglihar project was in conformity with the provisions of the treaty and his government was ready to remove any misgiving on this account Chief Minister claimed that the normalisation process was gaining momentum and added that there was no alternative to peace and those who were still holding the gun should give it a chance. He said when the process of dialogue and normalisation was on, the gun should stop talking. Rejecting violence as a means to put one’s point of view across, the Chief Minister said this approach only brought misery and pain to the people of the state. He said innocent and poor persons were being killed. People who had nothing to do with politics were being killed. He cited the killing of his nephew, Ateequllah Shah who was gunned down recently in Beijbehara and said he was not even remotely connected with politics and was a daily-bread earner for his family. He also cited the instance of the Chairman, Pattan municipality, who had borrowed money for the repair of a local drain. He asked the champions of human rights to take note of such killings. |
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Ministers ask Mufti to defer panchayat poll
Jammu, May 9 Official sources said here today that the government had planned to hold the elections in May-June. According to these sources, the ministers asked him to defer the poll by three months. Since the tourist traffic to the Kashmir valley had picked up and holding the panchayat poll may affect the flow. Also the summer vacation in the educational institutions in various parts of the country was expected to increase the pilgrim traffic to Mata Vaishnov Devi Shrine. Secondly, the annual Amarnath Yatra was to begin from June 21 and the authorities expected more than two lakh pilgrims during the one-month long yatra. A large number of security personnel would be required for ensuring security to the pilgrims. Thirdly, the state unit of the Congress was in favour of having more time for pre-poll preparations. Official sources said that if the Chief Minister accepted the suggestion the panchayat elections may be held in September-October.
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Sonia refuses to meet ministers
Jammu, May 9 These leaders had reportedly sought an appointment with the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and the party General Secretary, Mrs Ambika Soni, who looks after the party affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, but both of them are learnt to have refused to grant them an audience. The Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, who leads a faction of the party here, had met Ms Sonia Gandhi and other Central leaders of the Congress following the defeat of his nominee in the Legislative Council elections and complained to them about cross-voting by legislators of the other faction. However, the high command has refused to meet the other faction, which indicates that it has not relished the widening groupism in the state unit of the party that has caused two successive jolts to the party although it was a coalition partner in the government. Firstly, the Congress failed to get its nominee installed as Mayor of the Jammu Municipal Corporation because of cross-voting by four councillors and then lost the seat in the Upper House because of cross-voting by party MLAs. The party high command had recently sent Mr Ved Prakash here to study the problem and submit a report about the cross-voting. He is learnt to have submitted the report to the Central leadership that was apparently unhappy with the developments here. There are indications that some of the ministers who were trying to twist the arm of the party leadership might be dropped in a reshuffle of the ministry that is expected in the near future. Among those who returned here yesterday after having failed to meet Ms Gandhi and Mrs Soni were Mrs Suman Bhagat, Health Minister, Mr Raman Bhalla, Minister of State for Transport, Mr Madan Lal, Member of Parliament, and his brother, Mr Shyam Lal Sharma, who is a member of the Assembly. These leaders are considered anti-Mangat Ram. Mrs Bhagat had created a scene in Raj Bhavan where she got engaged in arguments with Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad when she was not given a ministerial berth in the Mufti Cabinet. However, she managed to become a minister in a later expansion. What came as an embarrassment for the Congress and the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, was the Opposition National Conference candidate, Mr T.S. Wazir, managed to secure 37 votes although the party’s strength in the Assembly was only 26 when the elections for the Upper House seats were held last month. The Congress nominee, Mr Shivdev Singh, who was earlier considered as a sure-shot winner, finally ended up polling only 18 votes.
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Ladakh vision document focuses on trade, tourism
Srinagar, May 9 Inaugurating a two-day “Consultation Workshop on Ladakh Vision Document 2025”, the first of its kind at SKICC here today, the Mufti said, “modernity should be blended with all” for social and economic development of the region. He said there was no problem of resources, though the frontier cold desert region of Ladakh was faced with lack human resource. He assured the organisers, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, of all possible help to fulfil its positive recommendations. “I do not know how they will blend it with modernity. There is a scarcity of human resource and great potential for tourism,” the Chief Minister said. He held there was a need to involve all people from all its areas in tourism for the overall development of the region. The Mufti and the Deputy Chief minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, reaffirmed that the coalition government was working in unison for the overall development of all the three regions of the state, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister also pointed out that the issue of allowing Mansorvar yatra from Leh was easy and it was being given a serious consideration. The Minister for Science and Technology, Mr Rigzin Jora, from the Ladakh region said the need of the “Vision Document 2025” was felt in view of the “hostile and challenging” atmosphere faced by the people of the region. The document according to the Chief Executive Officer, LAHDC, Mr Rigzin Spalbar and convener of the vision committee, Mr Jigmeet Tapka, was necessitated for the unique geographical and cultural atmosphere of the region. “As new life styles, practices and social mores enter the Ladakhi community against the backdrop of centuries’ old indigenous traditions and culture, uncertainty and confusion reign supreme in the minds of the region’s local populace”, the document points out. It is felt that to deal with this situation, “there is a need to evolve a framework that allows Ladakhis to seamlessly integrate the old with the new”. Another reason behind the vision is based on the rapid decline that the region’ s resources, natural, social and cultural, have witnessed in the recent past.
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Traders stage protest against VAT
Srinagar, May 9 The Chief Minister, Mufti Sayeed, was received by his ministerial colleagues, the Chief Secretary, Dr S.S. Bloeria, and other senior officers at the main gate of the Secretariat building. He was presented a ceremonial guard of honour by the contingent of the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Deputy Chief Minister, Mangat Ram Sharma and other members of the Council of Ministers were also present. Later he held a meeting with his ministerial colleagues after a round of some of the offices in the Secretariat. The day was marked by strike of traders in protest against the implementation of VAT in the state. A group of traders, who attempted to take out a protest march from the central Lal Chowk towards the Secretariat to press for their demand, was prevented to proceed ahead. They were dispersed after the police resorted to lathicharge near Amirakadal. All shops and business establishments remained closed across the valley in response to the call given by the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation. Over 4,000 employees, including 2,200 from the Secretariat, arrived in the winter capital here during the past 10 days as part of the bi-annual exercise of shifting of the offices between Srinagar and Jammu. These include the offices of the Chief Minister, his ministerial colleagues, Commissioner-Secretaries and other officers, which require transportation of truckloads of the office records from between the two capitals of the state. |
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Ansari comes in way of Hurriyat unity
Srinagar, May 9 “Jinke raste alag hon, woh kabhi nahin mil sakte hain (those having divergent views and stand on different issues can never unite),” Maulana Ansari told reporters after a marathon four-hour-long meeting at the Hurriyat’s Rajbagh headquarters here. Asked if they (moderates) had differences with Mr Geelani, the former Hurriyat chairman said, “Of course, yes. Mr Geelani says talks with India are futile and instead should be held with Pakistan. We are for talks with everyone — both India and Pakistan. There are differences on basic issues. How can we unite?’’ Today’s crucial executive council meeting remained inconclusive. Another top leader, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, refused to comment on today’s deliberations. “Decisions are yet to be taken and announced,” he said. The executive council will meet again tomorrow to give a final shape to the unification process, besides taking a decision on a host of other issues, he added. — UNI
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