Kun Darorian (Katra), July 25
Due to the gradual decrease of paddy yield with the closure of the Ban Ganga canal two decades back, farmers of Kun Darorian village have no reason to smile at the upcoming Katra Railway station on village land.

Krishan Singh and several other heads of families in the village have surrendered their agricultural land to the Railways for the station which will cater to thousands of pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.

The villagers, who had never thought beyond farming, now find themselves lost in the fast- growing economy of the adjacent Katra town.

With nearly 500 big and small hotels at Katra, this village gives a deserted look as the farmers now are finding it difficult to survive with very small left-over land holdings.

"We used to grow vegetables and other crops and sell those in Katra and other nearby towns before the land was taken over by the Railways," said Krishan Singh.

He also lamented the closure of the Ban Ganga canal two decades back which was done to meet the water needs of city hotels and other commercial establishments.

Krishan Singh has been left with a mere 3 kanals, which will soon be divided among his three sons who now leave every morning in search of labour.

"Life is not only tough, but it's also embarrassing to do odd jobs as we lived as 'zamindars' (landlords) till now," said Ramesh Singh(36) and still unmarried.

"Who will give a daughter to a pauper?" explained an old man, accompanying Ramesh at a tea stall in a village corner.

This tea stall has become a place for the men to share views in the light of the growing economy of Katra, the holy town which never sleeps as pilgrims from across the country keep scaling the illuminated Katra-Vaishno Devi trek round the clock.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, during a recent visit here, had assured jobs to the families whose lands were acquired,but so far no official had approached them to fulfil the CM's verbal promise.

A couple of families with their land just in front of the upcoming Railway station have raised four shops, hoping a good income through self-employment in times to come.

But they feared land grab. They explained,"Men of highly influential traders of Katra with political backup threaten us".

In one such case, a hotelier of Katra has been allegedly influencing revenue officials to conduct a survey of the fencing around the station, said Mani Ram, whose 5 kanals stood between the station and the land purchased by the hotelier.

The hotelier wants to build a hotel in front of the station. 

Kishtwar, July 25
Nightlife has returned in Kishtwar, which virtually had turned into a ghost town after the eruption of militancy in this mountainous belt. The streets, which used to wear a deserted look after 6 pm some time back, nowadays have been witnessing a rush of customers doing shopping till 10 pm.

After 17 years nightlife has revived in this town, thanks to the courage shown by people.A night festival has been started and this event has removed fear from among the masses. Several events are being organised every evening at the Chopan grassy plain and hundreds of people participate in these events.

Most attracting item in the festival is the circus show which really is a new thing for the younger generation of the town.This circus has been attracting people from far-flung and hilly areas every evening .

“I was just 10 years’ old when last time the circus came to Kishtwar,” said former legislator Bali Bhagat who could not control his emotions while recalling the return of old days in the town.

Every evening a large number of people come here to witness cultural items in the festival which indicates that common masses are fed up with bloodshed and destruction.

Before the eruption of militancy, Kishtwar was one of the most advanced and lively towns. But after the emergence of the gun culture, it virtually turned into a ghost town where shopkeepers used to put up the shutters before sunset and curfew-like situation prevailed in the evening. 

Reasi, July 25
Migrants camping at the Talwara camp today showed black flags to a team of district administration officials and held a demonstration against the discriminatory attitude of the Jammu and Kashmir government regarding their difficulties.They refused to accept free ration given by the state government.

Raising slogans against the authorities, a large number of displaced migrants asserted that they would not take ration from the authorities till the government provided them all packages being given to the migrants from other parts of the state. They gave a 10- day ultimatum to the district administration and threatened an indefinite fast if their demands were not met.

Hundreds of migrants, including a large number of women,gathered outside the Talwara migrant camp as they were informed about the visit of the team to distribute ration among them. As the team reached in the camp, displaced people resorted to sloganeering against the administration for not accepting their long-pending demands. “We are not beggars. We are also citizens of Jammu and Kashmir, but the state government is treating us like outsiders, beggars”, shouted Vimla Devi and refused to accept flour and rice from the officials.

Similar views were expressed by Lal Singh, a migrant from Dhaki Kot and rued for the past nine years authorities have been dodging with one or other pretext. “We have decided to launch a decisive struggle this time”, he said.

The people who gathered there resorted to shouting slogans. As the anger of people rose, officials decided to slip away from the scene.

Meanwhile, president of the Migrant Action Committee Balwan Singh said their struggle would continue till their all demands were accepted. He said migrants had decided not to take ration.

As many as 994 families of displaced people have been living in “hellish” conditions in Talwara and adjoining localities. These people migrated from the upper reaches of Reasi and Rajouri districts after the militancy erupted. A majority of the families has been living since 1998, but denied relief being given to themigrants of the Kashmir valley. They have been demanding relief on a par with the displaced people of the valley.

Jammu, July 25
A group of Sikhs today protested against World Wrestling Federation (WWF) wrestler Booker-T, objecting to his wearing trunks with the design of a 'khanda', a Sikh religious symbol.

Sikhs burn a tyre in protest against WWF wrestler Booker -T, who had worn trunks with a Sikh religious symbol in a bout, in Jammu on Wednesday. — Photo by Anand Sharma

The protesters blocked the Narwal bypass road for a few minutes and raised slogans against the WWF and the Ten Sports channel, which telecast Booker-T's bout in which he wore the religious symbol on the back of his trunks.

The protesters, under the banner of the Kashmir Sikh Sangat, have also written a letter to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) authorities and the Akal Takht Jathedar to take up the matter with the Ten Sports channel, the Sikh body's general secretary Randhir Singh Bali said.

"This act has hurt sentiments of the Sikh community," he said. 

Udhampur, July 25
A civilian was killed by militants in the Marwat-Guha area of Doda district this morning.

Reports reaching here said militants kidnapped Chaman Lal of Mangota village of Doda district on Tuesday night. His body was recovered this morning in the Nehal Dhar belt of the Marwat area and his throat was found slit. Deceased Chaman Lal ,a shepherd, had gone to Nehal Dhar with his cattle from where he was kidnapped by militants.

Meanwhile, security forces reportedly busted a hideout of terrorists and recovered 5 kg of RDX and arms and ammunition in the Seoj Dhar area The hideout, included a mini-surgical unit, a communication centre and war-like store house, they said. Acting on a tip-off, troops launched a major cordon and search operation.

It is believed that militants hiding in the hideout escaped.

The recoveries from the hideout included 5 kg RDX, two under-barrel grenade launchers, nine hand grenades and 13 detonators other things.