Jammu, January 2
Activists of the ruling coalition, the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have started lobbying for the eight seats of the Legislative Council that will fall vacant next month. These elections are likely to generate yet another tussle between the Congress and the PDP on the sharing of seats.

Four seats each reserved for the J&K divisions are falling vacant on February 27 with the retirement of the sitting members.

The Congress-PDP coalition is poised to grab at least six of these seats in case the opposition National Conference (NC) does not succeed in engineering cross voting. Among the retiring stalwarts is the chairman of the Legislative Council, Mr Abdul Rashid Dar and a senior Congress leader, Mr Ghulam Rasool Kar.

However, the NC will be a loser in the 36-member House as most of the retiring members belong to the party or its allies. Thirteen seats will be vacant in the house next month as the four seats reserved for the panchayats would be filled only after elections for these institutions were held. A seat reserved for the Doda district is also lying vacant.

While the Congress high command may again give the ticket to Mr Kar from the valley, but a lot of activity has started in the Congress camp that might stake its claim for six seats, sources said.

The PDP is expected to claim at least four seats, but the local Congress leaders may not oblige Mufti Sayeed this time. Both parties relations strained during the past few days.

It is to be seen which way Mr Dar goes as he had parted ways with the NC when the controversial Women’s Bill, which sought to deprive those woman of property rights who married outside the state, came up before the Legislative Council. Mr Dar had won the council seat on the NC ticket but he refused to oblige the party leadership that wanted the Bill to be passed.

The Congress and the PDP had locked horns on the sharing of the four seats of the Assembly for which by-election was held recently.

On the other hand, the Congress would try to avail itself the opportunity of installing its own members particularly for a larger number of vacant seats of the Kashmir valley where it has a marginal representation in the legislature.

Other retiring members include, Mr G.N. Shaheen, Mr Brij Mohan Sharma, Choudhary Hussain, Mr Nazir Ahmed, Mr Mohammad Iqbal (All NC) and Mr Abdul Rehman Takroo (CPI).

Srinagar, January 2
The Jammu and Kashmir police is recruiting around 4,000 personnel besides upgrading all its wings for improving efficiency, director general of state police Gopal Sharma said today.

“We are a large police family and our strength is increasing day by day. Soon we will be having four new armed battalions (around 4,000 personnel),” director general of state police Gopal Sharma said today.

Recruitment process for the new battalions was going on across the state, he said.

Mr Sharma said for improving efficiency in the force all wings of the J-K police had been upgraded and modernised. Thrust is on infrastructure building and strengthening communication facilities, he said.

He told jawans and officers of the force that prevailing scenario in the state has put additional responsibilities on them to meet various challenges apart from normal policing.

The police chief told the force to win the hearts of the people. “While pursuing our goals, all of us should keep in mind that we have to emerge as a people-friendly force,” he said.

The force lost 72 jawans and officers in 2006 while protecting the lives of the people, He said and assured the families of the deceased that their “welfare and well-being is our prime concern”.

Mr Sharma said they had improved surveillance by adopting latest technology. “Surveillance cameras have been installed at Srinagar and Jammu which will enable the scan of activities of unwanted elements,” he said. — PTI

Jammu, January 2
As many as 69.50 lakh pilgrims have visited Mata Vaishno Devi shrine located at Trikuta hills in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir in 2006, officials said here.

Of these, 41,490 pilgrims paid obeisance at the shrine on the last day of 2006, they said.

They added that though 60,000 pilgrims had arrived at the base camp at Katra, only 41,490 of them were lucky to get the Shrine Board’s yatra slips to climb to the shrine for performing puja.

This was the third largest group of pilgrims who paid obeisance at the shrine in the history of the Mata Vaishno Devi.

On August 15, 2005, 44,442 pilgrims paid obeisance to Goddess Vaishno Devi, while again on August 15, 2006, 42,000 yatris had darshan at the shrine, they said.

Despite heavy rush of pilgrims, the management of the shrine and the police had made adequate security arrangements for worship at the cave shrine, they said. — PTI

Jammu, January 2
Two persons were arrested today on the charge of impersonating as militants and trying to extort money from people in Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior police official said.

Abdul Hameed and Farooq Ahmed were held in the Gangwas-Kastigarh area, Doda SSP Manohar Singh said.

A toy pistol and a toy grenade, with which they were threatening people and extorting money in different areas of the district, were recovered. A case has been registered against them. — PTI

Jammu, January 2
Security forces shot dead a top militant of the Al-Badr outfit in a gunbattle in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir early today, a top Army official said here.

Acting on a tip-off, 38 Rashtriya Rifle personnel along with the police launched a search operation in Tarnai forest belt in Manjakote area of the district and shot dead the militant, identified as Bilal, he said. — PTI