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Ministers reach fire-hit village
Cong plays Dalit card in Kundal’s elevation
Militant’s family told to leave India
He lost 22 family members in tribal invasion
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Centre to rehabilitate child labourers opened
Engineers, contractors to get incentive
Anganwari workers threaten stir
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Ministers reach fire-hit village
Udhampur, October 24 In view of a severe cold wave in the Wardwan area, the authorities concerned have dispatched a large number of sleeping bags and woollens besides tents to the village. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, who visited the village, demanded that government should construct sheds with iron sheets for the affected families to protect them from severe cold wave. After returning from the village, she told The Tribune that 185 families had lost everything, including their livestock, so the immediate need was to start a community kitchen by
the authorities. Meanwhile, a senior minister and officers from the police and civil departments camped in the village to supervise the rescue operations. A team of senior doctors, paramedical staff has been looking after the injured with the help of Army. Since morning, ministers and officers have been visiting the village to express sympathy with the affected families. While finance minister Tariq Hamid Qarra was accompanied by Mehbooba Mufti, Congress ministers Peerzada Mohammed Sayed, who is also PCC chief and minister of state for relief and rehabilitation, Prem Sagar Aziz have rushed to the village on the directions of the Chief Minister. Jammu range IGP S.P. Vaid told mediapersons that adequate relief material had been dispatched to the village. Ruling out any sabotage, he termed the fire as accidental. He said the civil authorities had announced to give 15-day ration to the affected families free of cost while the police had sent one-week ration for them. Meanwhile, DGP Kuldeep Khooda, during his visit to the village, announced to recruit one person each from affected families as special police officer. The police department has sanctioned Rs 10 lakh as relief for the families, he added. The PDP has announced a cash relief of Rs 2 lakh besides other material for the affected families. National Conference patron and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and party president Omar Abdullah have demanded more relief for
the families. |
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Cong plays Dalit card in Kundal’s elevation
Jammu, October 24 Although his being a Dalit has nothing to do with his appointment to the top post, the ruling Congress is trying to make it so. Obviously with an eye on imminent elections to the state Assembly scheduled to be held next year. Kundal is not the
senior-most IAS officer in the state. He certainly did supersede a few of his seniors. But, most of them were left with a limited period in service ranging from a month to few months only. He was a natural choice for the top job. Not just because of his seniority, but also for his efficiency and
integrity. He is one of the few officers who had been honoured by the state government for
their honesty. Obviously, the Congress did not have a better choice than Kundal. And it was just a coincidence that Kundal happened to be a Dalit and the Congress is now trying to cash it on. This was too obvious when the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) spokesperson Ravinder Sharma held a press conference at the party headquarters here yesterday, proclaiming the Congress to be a party that appointed a Dalit as chief secretary for the first
time in 60 years of Independence. While Kundal is too decent to react about the parochial politicisation of his appointment, but a section of Dalit bureaucrats has taken serious exception to his
appointment. It indicates as if Kundal has been appointed to the top post just because
he is a Dalit. This negates all other qualifications of an officer who has served in the state with distinction on different posts and that too during turbulent times. Kundal succeeds Chewan Phunsong another distinguished bureaucrat who belongs to the Ladakh region. People residing in the Ladakh region have been granted ST status for the backwardness of the area. It had given another reason to the Congress to claim, “Phunsong was the first person from the ST community that too from the Ladakh region to be the Chief Secretary of the state”. He had been appointed chief secretary during the Congress regime. |
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Militant’s family told to leave India
Rajouri, October 24 Owing to alleged negligence on the part of the security and intelligence agencies in verifying the credentials of the visitors travelling to India from Pakistan, the family had been allowed to travel to the native place of the militant in this border district. Noticing the blunder committed by the security and intelligence agencies, the department had asked the family to present themselves at the CID headquarters in Jammu. Intelligence sources said four of the family members of a divisional commander of Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit, Muhammad Fareed, son of Ghulam Nabi of the Daraj area in Buddal tehsil of this frontier district, including his mother-in-law Soba Bibi of Gujranwala in Pakistan, his wife Shahnaz Begum and two of his children Manan Mir and Sonia Mir, crossed over to this side of LoC through Wagah border on October 12. The family members of the militant (who got married in Gujranwala of Pakistan) are travelling on two passports bearing number JF073239 and AA8971261 and have come here on a 45-day visa, the sources added. The sources said the family had come here to see the maternal uncles of militant’s wife Shahnaz Begum, Muhammad Shafi and Ghulam Nabi, sons of Muhammad Din of Mora Karag. They also reportedly visited the in-laws of Shahnaz (parents of Fareed) at Daraj in Buddal, sources added. Reliable sources claimed that Muhammad Fareed is already in the district after he crossed over to this side of LoC a few months ago. Police sources said Muhammad Fareed joined militancy in 1991-92 and travelled to Pakistan for arms training. He remained active in the Buddal area before he was arrested and detained for two years, the sources added. He joined militancy again in 1997 and got active in the Buddal, Kandi and Darhal areas. He was involved in a number of militancy-related activities and was elevated to the rank of divisional commander for Rajouri and Poonch, after he carried out an IED blast in 2004 in Kandi. A BSF jawan was killed and seven were injured in the explosion, the sources said. He crossed over to Pakistan in 2004 and got married to Shahnaz. Meanwhile, the family is back in the town after producing themselves at the CID headquarters in Jammu. |
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He lost 22 family members in tribal invasion
Jammu, October 24 “On the fateful night of October 21, 1947, Pakistan launched a tribal invasion in Kashmir. They went on a killing spree,” said Tandon. “We had no prior information regarding the invasion, so we could not leave the place. The invaders came and stared killing everyone. Their slogan was ‘Hindu ka zar and Sikh ka sar’ (property of Hindu and head of a Sikh).” While recalling the events of October 21, Tandon said: “The invaders entered our house and killed everyone who was present there. They killed 22 members of my family.” However, his parents and his six brothers and two sisters were saved by a Muslim neighbour, Sai Mohammed Khan Awan. “He gave shelter to us in his house. Thus we were saved from the killer tribesmen.” After staying with their Muslim neighbour for a few months, the Tandons then took shelter in a camp of the Red Cross society, which managed to send them to India. Some of the members of his family, who took shelter with another Muslim friend, could not make it to the camp and were held back in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. “We could not locate two of my cousins, Mohan Lal and Kanshi Nath, but later we came to know that they had christened to Shiekh Ghulam Rasool and Sheikh Abdul Rashid,” he recalled. Khalid Hussain was among the passengers who boarded the first Karwan-e-Aman bus from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad on April 7, 2005. “Khalid made queries about my cousins and finally we were able to locate the children and the family of both of my cousins.” Tandon, his brother Basti Ram Tandon and his son Subash decided to go to Muzaffarabad for a family reunion. The hope, they had nourished for over half a century, became a reality on October 6, 2005. But, what could have been a happy ending again turned into a disaster as two days later on October 8 a devastating earthquake struck the region and the celebrations soon turned into mourning. “The house, where we were staying, turned into rubble, my brother Basti Ram and two members of my cousin’s family died on the spot. My son and I was wounded badly.” said Tandon. Tandon and his son once again want to visit their relatives in Muzaffarabad for which Tandon has applied for a travel permit. “Before I close my eyes, I want to visit my place of birth once again and to meet my relatives,” he said, adding, “I only pray that what my family has been through doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future and the peace and tranquillity should prevail in the two countries.” |
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Centre to rehabilitate child labourers opened
Udhampur, October 24 Thirtysix children earlier working as domestic servants have been enrolled by this first centre inaugurated by DC, Udhampur, O. P. Kalandari, who is also chairman of the district unit of the National Child Labour Programme (NCLP). During her visit to the state in August, chairperson of the National Advisory Board on Child Labour Jyoti Setiya chose Udhampur for the NCLP programme, due to backwardness of this district. After her visit, the district administration with the collaboration of the Labour Department had started a campaign to identify the sectors where children were engaged as
labourers. |
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Engineers, contractors to get incentive
Srinagar, October 24 Speaking at Investiture Ceremony 2007, the Governor said the awards would not only bring efficiency in the administration but also improve the work culture. He appreciated the anti-corruption drive of the Azad government, saying that it had become imperative as the cancer of corruption was eating up the vitals of social fabric. General Sinha congratulated the awardees
for distinction achieved by them in different disciplines. — TNS |
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Anganwari workers threaten stir
Udhampur, October 24 The workers, who were engaged by the Social Welfare Department, expressed surprise that despite being government servants they had been denied all privileges and perks being given to other government employees. |
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