J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Black marketeering of ration: PDP for probe
Udhampur, September 9
Officers of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department have been maintaining guarded silence over reported black marketeering of the ration meant for poor people, but the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), a coalition partner in the regime, today took to streets against this and demanded a probe into the scandal.

PDF chief for Ramzan ceasefire 
Srinagar, September 9
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) and minister for transport Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the militants to announce ceasefire during the holy month of Ramzan to create a conducive atmosphere for the peace process.

4 militants killed in Kupwara
Srinagar, September 9
In a joint operation the Army and Kupwara police has eliminated four militants believed to be of the Lashkar-e-Toiba in the Machil area of Kupwara.According to SSP Kupwara Vijay Kumar, the Special Operations Group of the police received tip-off on the presence of some militants inside the LoC at Muthal Nar in the Machil area of Kupwara district.

15 IAS, KAS officers transferred
Srinagar, September 9
The government has ordered the transfer and posting of 15 IAS and KAS officers, an official spokesman said here.Sunita Sharma,special secretary, ARl and Trainings, holding the additional charge of the post of commissioner of inquiries has been posted full-time commissioner of inquiries.

Jawan hurt in encounter in Poonch
Jammu, Sepember 9
An Army jawan was injured in an exchange of fire with militants near Nagi post on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district last night, reports here said.

Muslim Gujjars’ appeal to PM
Want Sachar panel to record their plight 
Udhampur, September 9
Muslim Gujjars today appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to incorporate amendments in the Sachar Committee report to include problems and difficulties faced by nomadic Muslim tribes of India, as this section had been left unaddressed and unattended by the committee, constituted by him to asses the social, educational and economic status of Muslims in India.

Cong blamed for raw deal to Jammu 
Udhampur, September 9
Buoyed up at “over-whelming” response of people on the issues raised by the party after quitting the Congress-led coalition, the Panthers Party has stepped up activities in the district. The party has also started activities in Reasi district while senior leaders have been concentrating on areas bordering their constituencies.

• Rail link for Katra soon

Black marketeering of ration: PDP for probe
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, September 9
Officers of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department have been maintaining guarded silence over reported black marketeering of the ration meant for poor people, but the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), a coalition partner in the regime, today took to streets against this and demanded a probe into the scandal.

The police here has seized a truck carrying 45 quintals of flour meant for sale from the government ration depots of the town. According to official records, the truck driver had lifted 90 quintals of flour from the CAPD Department store, but only 45 quintals was found in the vehicle when it was intercepted by the police. This ration was meant for BPL families.

Some residents reportedly informed PDP activists about the sale of government ration in the market. On complaints, PDP activists, along with the police, intercepted a truck of the department. On checking it was found the driver of the vehicle had an official order of lifting 90 quintals of flour from the central store. It was alleged that 45 quintals of ration meant for the supply in government ration depots had been already sold in the market by the driver with the connivance of some officials of the department.

The police arrested the driver and impounded the vehicle. After the recovery, PDP activists marched in a procession and demanded a probe into the episode.

Director, CAPD, B.D. Sharma refused to speak on this issue as he was outside the state these days.

District PDP president Surinder Singh alleged the black marketeering of ration meant for BPL families had been going on as some officials of the CAPD Department were involved in this scam. 

PDF chief for Ramzan ceasefire 
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 9
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) and minister for transport Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the militants to announce ceasefire during the holy month of Ramzan to create a conducive atmosphere for the peace process.

He said since there was an improvement in the situation, there should be no hesitation if the government initiated to announce ceasefire with the militants. He said the implementation of the ceasefire would help create conducive atmosphere for dialogue process and settlement of the Kashmir issue.

Addressing a public meeting in Budgam district yesterday, Hakeem Yaseen reiterated that dialogue was the only way for settling all issues and redressing grievances.

Terming development and uplift of the far-flung areas a priority of the coalition government Hakeem Yaseen said various projects had been initiated by the government for ushering development and prosperity in these areas.

He stressed on the operation of truck service on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road which, he said, would boost the economy of the state and asked for expediting trade and commerce on the route. Hakeem called for an early implementation of the recommendations of the working groups constituted by the government to look into the problems faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He added that the step would give a fillip to development in political, economic and social fields .

4 militants killed in Kupwara
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 9
In a joint operation the Army and Kupwara police has eliminated four militants believed to be of the Lashkar-e-Toiba in the Machil area of Kupwara.

According to SSP Kupwara Vijay Kumar, the Special Operations Group of the police received tip-off on the presence of some militants inside the LoC at Muthal Nar in the Machil area of Kupwara district.

He said a joint operation with 7 Garhwal of Rashtriya Rifles was launched and the target area was cordoned off. The miliitants, he said,opened indiscriminate fire on the police which was retaliated during which four unidentified militants were gunned down.

He stated the militants appeared to be foreigners and were believed to be of the LeT . However, efforts were on to ascertain their real identity, he added.

15 IAS, KAS officers transferred
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 9
The government has ordered the transfer and posting of 15 IAS and KAS officers, an official spokesman said here.

Sunita Sharma,special secretary, ARl and Trainings, holding the additional charge of the post of commissioner of inquiries has been posted full-time commissioner of inquiries.

Anal Kumar Gupta has been posted additional district development commissioner, Kathua, against vacancy. Mehmood Rana,deputy director in the Directorate of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Jammu, has been posted joint director (Administration) in the directorate.

Tasneem Maajid, additional secretary, Science and Technology, has been transferred and posted joint agrarian reforms commissioner, Jammu, against vacancy. Mohammad Amin Bhat, general manager, DIC, Pulwama, has been transferred and posted additional district development commissioner, Budgam, relieving the additional deputy commissioner, Budgam.

Mohammad Akbar Mir, general manager, DIC, Budgam, has been transferred and posted additional district development commissioner, Baramula, against vacancy. Abdul Hamid, general manager, DIC, Anantnag, has been transferred and posted joint director (Administration) in the Directorate of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Kashmir.

Dr Abdul Rashid, director, Land Management, Jammu Development Authority, has been transferred and posted joint director, J&K Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural Development (IMPA), against vacancy. Jehangir Mir, joint registrar, (Administration),Cooperatives, has been transferred and posted additional secretary, Home Department, against vacancy.

Daulat Ram Sharma, personnel officer in the Directorate of School Education, Jammu, has been transferred and posted additional secretary, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, against vacancy. Ghulam Rasool Wani, special assistant to minister for agriculture, has been transferred and posted additional secretary, Agriculture Production, against vacancy. Ali Asgar Choudhary, project officer, DRDA, Jammu, has been posted director, Land Management, Jammu Development Authority, on deputation vice Dr Abdul Rashid.

Asif Hamid Khan has been posted joint registrar (Administration), Cooperatives. Mohammad Aslam Qadiri, deputy director, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Kashmir, has been transferred and posted programme officer, ICDS, Budgam, against vacancy. Roshan Lal, CDPO, Rajouri, has been transferred and posted deputy director, Employment, Udhampur, in his own pay and grade against vacancy. 

Jawan hurt in encounter in Poonch
Tribune News Service

Jammu, Sepember 9
An Army jawan was injured in an exchange of fire with militants near Nagi post on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district last night, reports here said.

The jawan, identified as Til Bahadur Thapa of Gorkha Rifles, received bullet injuries in an operation against miltants at Nagi post in Kishna Ghati at Salotra village of Poonch district, an Army spokesman here said.

Muslim Gujjars’ appeal to PM
Want Sachar panel to record their plight 
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, September 9
Muslim Gujjars today appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to incorporate amendments in the Sachar Committee report to include problems and difficulties faced by nomadic Muslim tribes of India, as this section had been left unaddressed and unattended by the committee, constituted by him to asses the social, educational and economic status of Muslims in India.

In a letter to the Prime Minister,the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation,an organisation working on various aspects of tribal and nomadic communities of India,has stated that the committee reports focused only on the issues of settled Muslims, including OBCs, BPL, MBC, other lower castes, and ignored the Muslim nomadic tribes of India,including Scheduled Tribe Gujjars of J&K and Himachal,which needed to be amended.

Dr Javaid Rahi,national secretary of the foundation,in a press note said it was surprising the committee report comprising over 404 pages did not incorporate even a word or term of "nomadic Muslims" or "Muslim tribes".Therefore, no such step had been suggested in its recommendations for the rehabilitation of Muslim nomads and other upliftment, as their problems were different and worse than other settled Muslim communities.

He pointed out that the report was also silent on the legitimate rights of tribesmen, including mobile system of education, right of franchise for Muslim nomads among other things.

Cong blamed for raw deal to Jammu 
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, September 9
Buoyed up at “over-whelming” response of people on the issues raised by the party after quitting the Congress-led coalition, the Panthers Party has stepped up activities in the district. The party has also started activities in Reasi district while senior leaders have been concentrating on areas bordering their constituencies.

After Udhampur district, the party now eyes some new areas where it had failed to do well in last Assembly elections. Today former education minister and MLA Ramnagar Harsh Dev Singh addressed public meetings in Kathua district which touched his home constituency. Harsh Dev addressed many corner meetings in Billawar and Basholi villages .

Although Billawar and Basholi are new areas for the Panthers Party, Harsh Dev received an encouraging response as a good number of people turned up in these meetings to hear him.

Seizing the opportunity, the Panthers Party MLA raked up only those issues which concerned the people of Jammu region. He highlighted the issue of discrimination against Jammu region and repeatedly mentioned unfair treatment to the migrants of Jammu.

The party plans to make us of the suspension of its MLA from the Assembly and lathicharge on party activists during a procession of Talwara migrants.

Harsh Dev tried to convince people he was suspended from the Assembly as he had announced to raise long-pending demands of people of Jammu region on the floor of the House. He attacked the Congress for discriminating against Jammu region.

Rail link for Katra soon

Udhampur, September 9
Katra,base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, will be connected by railway soon as the construction of the 25-km-long Udhampur-Katra railway track is underway on a war footing. The track will be completed as per the schedule.

Agencies gave this information to divisional railway manager, Ferozepur division, V.K. Gupta, who inspected the construction . — TNS