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Rain, landslides force suspension of yatra
Planning panel not to fund
Project
Army to bring Kargil on
world tourist map
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PM, Musharraf urged to speed up peace process
Army opens centre to help men handle stress
Residents want areas to remain in Udhampur
J ammu highway reopens for one-way traffic
Villager’s hand chopped off
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Rain, landslides force suspension of yatra
Udhampur, July 8 The seventh batch of 2,666 pilgrims, which left this morning from Jammu, was returned from Udhampur as their cavalcade was not allowed to proceed further due to landsliding. On the hand, thousands of passengers, including Amarnath pilgrims, and hundreds of vehicles have been stranded on both sides of the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu highway. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) control room, Shakel Ahmed Beig, who is nodal officer monitoring the movement of the yatra, told The Tribune that the pilgrimage had been suspended due to heavy rain and land sliding at many places on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. He said the cavalcade of yatris which left early morning today from Jammu has returned to the base camp. Earlier this morning, the seventh batch of pilgrimage comprising 83 vehicles left from Jammu amidst rain. As the batch reached Udhampur it was stopped by the authorities due to blockade of highway near Samroli, 25 km from here. As rain continued for more than two hours, the highway witnessed landslides and shooting stones at eight places so the yatra remained stranded at Udhampur till 3.30 pm. Although the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) pressed machines and workers into service to clear the landslides, the authorities decided to suspend the yatra. All vehicles of the seventh batch were returned to Jammu. A senior Traffic Police officer said there were heavy landslides in the Krol and Didoor stretch between Ramban and Ramsoo which led to total closure of the highway. He said one-way traffic was restored at 4 pm for quite some time, but it was again stopped due to fresh landslides and shooting stones. Reports reaching here said heavy rain had been hampering the operation to clear the blockade. Many Amarnath yatris, who were coming from Kashmir, were also stranded besides hundreds of vehicles carrying essential commodities to and from Kashmir.
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Planning panel not to fund
Project Snow Leopard
Jammu, July 8 Sources said the commission had refused to fund a separate snow leopard project and had asked the five state governments to merge the project with ongoing schemes for the conservation of wildlife. Project Tiger and Project Elephant will also be merged in the main scheme in the 11th plan. The Union Ministry of Environment on July 31 last year set up a committee under the chairmanship of additional director- general of forests (wildlife) to draft strategy and action plan for the formulation of Project Snow Leopard. Chief wildlife wardens of J&K, Himachal, Uttarakhand Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, which are considered home to snow leopard, were, besides others, included as members of the committee. The committee, set up on the recommendation of a national workshop at Leh in July last year, is learnt to have prepared a report within stipulated eight months with inputs of all five states and strategies to protect the endangered species. Disallowing separate funds for the project, the commission has asked these governments to formulate strategy within existing wildlife schemes by earmarking 3 per cent of the total outlay for this purpose. The commission is also learnt to have suggested the Wildlife Departments should pursue a landscape level approach by focusing on the entire terrain where snow leopards move. Confining to the wildlife sanctuaries will not be a proper approach. Wildlife experts had hopes on the conservation of snow leopard in the high altitude when the committee was set up. However, the action of the commission has disappointed them. They expressed concern over the fast dwindling number of the species in the country where estimates put the number of snow leopards at only 500 with about 60 per cent of their population in the Ladakh region. The five Himalayan states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal , Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, the abode of the snow leopard, have expressed inability to conserve the species unless the Centre announces a project on snow leopard. The Leh workshop had stressed the species could be conserved only through a focused strategy and action plan. It was essential local communities were involved in conservation efforts. Population of snow leopard in the world went down to 1000 in 1960s, but now it is estimated to have increased to more than 3500. Snow leopard is found in China, Bhutan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Burma, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and India. The Centre had been going slow on the conservation of the snow leopard as it was 20 years ago that concern was expressed about the decreasing population of the species at an international symposium on snow leopard held at Srinagar in 1986. Wildlife experts have expressed concern over the gradual opening of the snow leopard areas to development pressures threatening its habitat. The Ladakh area has remained neglected from wildlife conservation point. Piecemeal efforts for the conservation of the snow leopard have been made from time to time. A scheme for its protection was formulated in 1988 when an area of 18,627 sq km in the five states was brought under its conservation. Protection of snow leopard again came into focus in 2004 at a two-day workshop at Jammu and a concept paper was drafted to initiate the project snow leopard. At the workshop at Leh, representatives of all five states shared concern that the high altitudes of the country were generally close to international borders, some of which are also conflict zones. The presence of military and paramilitary forces often harmed interests of wildlife. The issue required to be addressed under a project on snow leopard, they had suggested. |
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Army to bring Kargil on
world tourist map
Kargil, July 8 The GOC said the Army would give full support to identify and develop tourist places, including the Suru valley, to make the district a major attraction for global tourism. Kargil hit the headlines in 1999 when hundreds of intruders from Pakistan occupied almost all major heights near the Line of Control (LoC) in the district. It later took about two months for the Indian Army to push back the intruders. Nunkun, the highest peak in the region, beautiful rocks, natural water falls, historic Imambadas and Panikhar are also in Kargil. He said the projects undertaken by the Army under Operation Sadbhavana would not only be completed, but new projects would be taken in hand for the benefit of locals. The GOC said there were already good schools, multipurpose computer centres, tailoring and knitting centres where local youths were being given training. The local residents complained that only 10 to 15 youths of the district were appointed in the Army during the last recruitment drive against more than 100 recruitments in the Ladakh Scouts. They
alleged that youths from Leh were brought in five buses to Drass in the district when the last
recruitment was held. The residents further said about 90 per cent jobs were given to youths from Leh after ignoring the locals. The GOC assured that pre-recruitment training would be given to the youths of the district to help them compete during the recruitment in the Army. About the demand of constructing 45-km-long Panikhar-Pahalgam road, the officer said he would take up the matter with the civil authorities.
— UNI |
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PM, Musharraf urged to speed up peace process
Srinagar, July 8 “The ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan appears to have slowed down. We appeal to the Prime Minister and Musharraf to speed up the process and resolve Kashmir issue to the entire satisfaction of the two countries, including people of Jammu and Kashmir,” SP general secretary and MP Shahid Sidique told reporters here. He said the two countries should take advantage of the present peaceful situation in the state and resolve the issue. Sidique said internal problems being faced by Pakistan for the past few months was one of the reasons for the slow speed of the ongoing peace process. The Pakistan President was preoccupied with internal problems of that country, he said. The SP leader said the resolution of Kashmir issue needed political will and risk. Both countries had to take the ongoing peace process to the logical conclusion and ensure everlasting peace in the region, Sidique said. He also counselled militants to forget the past and extend full support to the ongoing peace process so as the issue was resolved. Sidique said his party in Jammu and Kashmir had been strengthened after the veteran politician of the state Sheikh Abdul Rehman took the charge of the state unit.
— PTI
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Army opens centre to help men handle stress
Srinagar, July 8 “The leadership and self-development centre has all facilities to provide an organised relaxation for troops, so that the man on ground is full of vigour and enthusiasm while performing his duties,” a defence spokesman said. General Officer Commanding of 15 Corps Lt Gen A.S. Sekhon inaugurated the centre at Awantipora headquarters of Victor Force, a counter-insurgency unit of the Army supervising anti-militant operations in Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian districts of south Kashmir, the spokesman said. The centre has a synthetic volleyball court, gymnasium and yoga centre, recreation hall and guest room for junior commissioned officers and personnel of other ranks.
— PTI
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Residents want areas to remain in Udhampur
Udhampur, July 8 Villagers of Mansar,Channi and nearby localities today demonstrated against the decision of the authorities to include their areas in newly carved Samba district and demanded to remain part of Manjalata tehsil and Udhampur district. After the demonstration, residents announced to form a committee to launch an agitation in the area. A deputation of the residents later met former education minister Harsh Dev Singh in this regard. Residents alleged ignoring their aspirations, the government had included their areas in Samba district. They said it was not viable for them to be part of Samba district. The demarcation of new districts has been snowballing into a big controversy in Udhampur district. Villagers of four panchayats, Panthal, Sool, Kakrayal and Pagta, were demanding that their areas should not be included in the newly carved Reasi district, whereas residents of Mansar have also decided to oppose the decision of the authorities to include their areas in Samba district.
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Jammu highway reopens for one-way traffic
Jammu, July 8 The highway was reopened for one-way traffic at around 1830 hours after BRO men cleared a portion of the road, official sources said. Landslides caused by rains in Samroli forced closure of the highway at around 0800 hours, they said. — PTI
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Villager’s hand chopped off
Srinagar, July 8 An official spokesman said unidentified masked people chopped off the left hand of one Mohammad Afzal Sheikh with a sharp-edged weapon outside his Berigam, Qazigund, house last evening. The injured was admitted to hospital.
— UNI |
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