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Decision to open Poonch-Rawlakot road welcomed
2 MLAs eyeing ministry land in soup
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Gandhian awards presented
Two HM militants among 3 killed
Disaster management body mooted
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Decision to open Poonch-Rawlakot road welcomed
Poonch, January 30 The army has started reconstructing the road on this side of the Line of Control (LoC). In fact buses and trucks are already plying on a major part of the road and what remains to be done is to construct a patch of about 4 km to link Chakan-da-Bagh, which is the last Army post on the Indian side. Thereafter, the passenger bus will enter Titrinote village of PoK. Maj-Gen V.K. Datta, GOC of 25 Division, said work on construction of the road was in progress and it would be completed within the stipulated time. Landmines in the 4 km stretch along the border fencing leading to Chakan-da-Bagh have already been removed to facilitate construction of the road, sources said. Although the India and Pakistan governments had opened the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road first because of political compulsions, reopening of the Poonch-Rawlakot road would be a major confidence building measure for this area as almost 70 percent of the families that were divided between J&K and PoK belong to the districts of Poonch and Rajouri. Of the nearly 225 passengers who have so far boarded the bus to Muzaffarabad from Srinagar, the majority of them belong to Poonch and Rajouri. The frenzy among people on both sides of the LoC here was witnessed when the Chakan-da-Bagh post was opened for exchange of relief material following the killer earthquake last October. While opening of four other points for the purpose at different places was a peaceful affair, the Pakistani police resorted to firing, bursting teargas shells and lathi charge to contain a mob that tried to surge towards the Indian side to have a glimpse of their separated relatives and friends. During a recent meeting on the LoC, the Deputy Commissioner of Rawlakot district of PoK, Sardar Mohammad Farooq, said people on his side were also anxiously waiting for restrictions to be lifted on their movement between the two sides. The DSP of the Bagh area in PoK, M.Musa, said separated families in his area were anxiously waiting to meet their relatives on the Indian side of the LoC. The trading community on both sides is also keen that transportation of goods between the two places should also be allowed so as to bring prosperity there. |
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2 MLAs eyeing ministry land in soup
Jammu, January 30 A number of Congress legislators from Jammu and Kashmir are these days camping in Delhi where they are reportedly pleading their individual cases for being inducted into the ministry. The State Accountability Commission (SAC) today ordered Mr Raman Bhalla, a Congress MLA, to personally appear before it in an alleged case of misuse of power. In another development, a criminal case has been registered against Mr Yogesh Sawhney, another Congress MLA, by the police in Delhi for allegedly beating up an officer of Kashmir House. Mr Sawhney, who is considered Mr Azad’s blue-eyed boy, is alleged to have become furious when the officer, who recently underwent a bypass surgery, was unable to oblige him by providing a room in Kashmir House. The MLA is alleged to have mercilessly beaten up the officer who was admitted to the ICU of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Both these MLAs were in the run for a ministerial berth reportedly in the hope that Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, Transport Minister, might be made the Speaker of the Assembly and they could recapture the chair to represent Jammu city. Mr Bhalla and Mr Sawhney were ministers in the previous government of Mufti Sayeed. However, with such cases coming up against the two, Mr Azad might have to undertake a lot of exercise to get their names okayed from the party high command. Some legislators took the opportunity to plead their cases before the party bosses during the recent Congress meeting in Hyderabad. |
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Gandhian awards presented
Jammu, January 30 The award-giving ceremony was held at the Deewan-e-Aam in the old palace complex here this morning. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was also present on the occasion. The Governor said the defence forces had further endeared themselves among the people by coming to their rescue and rehabilitation during the time of crisis. He recalled with pride the services of the IAF in rescuing people during a snowstorm early last year and earthquake on October 8. He said that the IAF rose to the occasion to save people in distress and compared it with showering of bombs by the Air Force of Pakistan on their own people in Waziristan and Baluchistan. During the 15 years of militancy in J&K, neither the Indian Army used artillery or heavy weapons and nor was the IAF used in anti-terrorism operations, he added. Meanwhile, functions were held at several other places in the state to mark the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi. |
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Two HM militants among 3 killed
Srinagar, January 30 Elsewhere in the valley militants killed one person and injured another while the security forces arrested six suspected people overnight. He said troops of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and para regiment along with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a search operation at Ladoora in village, Pahalgam, about 100 km from here, last evening following information that militants were hiding there. During the search operation, militants hurled a hand grenade and resorted to indiscriminate fire leading to a clash in which two HM commanders — Jameel Choudhary and Rashid Hajam — were killed. Two AK rifles, four magazines, one wireless set and two hand grenades were recovered from the slain militants. The spokesman said militants shot dead one person at Yaripora while Javid Ahmad Dar was shot at and wounded at Bijbehara in Anantnag district last night. The injured was hospitalised. He said the police arrested five militants along with three hand grenades at Ganderbal. However, the security forces, during a routine checking of vehicles at Arihal crossing in Pulwama district, recovered one hand grenade, one UBGL grenade and 176 live cartridges from a passenger bus. The driver of the bus was arrested, he said.
— UNI |
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Disaster management body mooted
Jammu, January 30 Mr Azad, who was inaugurating a regional workshop on disaster management here, said tremendous advancement had been made in the field of science and technology, but no method had been developed to predict an earthquake. He appreciated the administrative reforms commission for organising the workshop here as the state was recently hit by two disasters, earthquake and snowstorm. He said communication along with awareness and preparedness could play a big role in prompt and timely response in the wake of disasters. |
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