Jammu, January 19
An imminent revolt seems to be brewing in the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee with several party leaders rallying behind Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, who was recently made to resign as the Education Minister and also as the PCC president following the allegations of corruption.

A section of the PCC leadership has already rallied behind Peerzada.

According to the PCC spokesman, Ravinder Sharma, those leaders who visited Peerzada at his residence today, included PCC vice-president, Ali Mohammad Bhat, District Congress Committee Srinagar president, Ali Mohammad Sofi, District Congress Committee, Jammu president, Om Chopra, PCC secretaries Amolak Singh and Anil Chopra, a few MLCs and others.

Besides the leaders, about 2000 party workers gathered at the residence of Peerzada. They were shouting slogans in support of Peerzada and Sonia Gandhi. While the anger against Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was understandable, but nothing was pronounced there.

Peerzada seemed to had taken enough precautions to ensure that nothing untoward happened that could provoke disciplinary action against him.

While it may be too difficult to ascertain whether the allegations levelled against Peerzada by independent MLA, Shoaib Lone were correct or not, but he (Peerzada) had already started gaining sympathies from various quarters. It is being alleged that he was being deliberately selected out by his rivals who wanted to get him removed from the post of the PCC president. They have been arguing had the government been so "intolerant" towards corruption, at least six other ministers should already have been out of the ministry.

Meanwhile, Azad's announcement that Peerzada had resigned from the post of the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, notwithstanding, there continues to be the ambiguity whether his resignation has been accepted or not. And in case it has been accepted who has been given the charge of the PCC's president.

So far the party high command has not come out with any clarity whether Peerzada has resigned and his resignation has been accepted.

Even Peerzada himself was vague. He has consistently been maintaining that he has offered his resignation to party president Sonia Gandhi. But did he resign or not, remains a million dollar question. Nothing official has come out on the issue so far.

New Delhi, January 19
With Jammu and Kashmir due to face Assembly polls later this year, the Congress is keen not to lose time in taking a decision on appointing new PCC chief in the state.

Sources said the issue has been discussed at the highest levels in the party and the effort is being made to evolve a consensus in consultation with the state leadership. The Kashmir group of the party has also deliberated the issue.

The proposal being contemplated at present is of appointing a senior leader as PCC chief who will be assisted by three working presidents from each of the regions of the state.

Water resources minister Saiffudin Soz, minorities commission chairman Mohammad Shafi Quershi and party leaders Abdul Ghani Vakil, Mohammad Aslam are among those whose names have been discussed as likely candidates for the PCC chief. While Qureshi was appointed minorities commission chairman only a few months back, Mohammad Aslam belongs to the Jammu region. Vakil is seen as a leader who may not be acceptable to the alliance partner PDP.

Sources said Soz is being considered as the frontrunner, but there is opposition to his appointment from some senior leaders in the state. There is muted campaign from a section of the Congress in the state that the new PCC chief should be someone who has served the party for long years. Soz had joined the Congress some years back after leaving the National Conference.

Sources said leaders opposing appointment of Soz as PCC chief feel that it could lead to creation of two centres of power in the state Congress. These leaders are considered close to Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. They have suggested Azad should be given the charge of PCC in the election year.

Those supporting Soz’s candidature for the post say it will help raise the party’s profile in the valley. Though the Congress has more strength in the Jammu region, the party is keen to improve its tally in Kashmir. Azad hails from Jammu region of the state.

Soz, who has been a union minister for the last two years, is unlikely to resign from the cabinet if he is appointed PCC chief. Senior party leader Pranab Mukherjee had also worked as president of West Bengal unit of the Congress while being a union minister.

The Congress is also contemplating appointing working presidents from regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

A decision on new PCC chief has been necessitated following resignation of Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed over corruption charges.

Srinagar, January 19
After days of snowfall and rains, clear weather paved way for the opening of the 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar highway today. Traffic police officials said they have allowed movement of traffic from both sides and have cleared the way for the stranded vehicles.

Though Qajikund, the first major station in Kashmir for those coming from Jammu, received snowfall and rain to the measurement of 4.4 mm today, the highway was later opened. Higher reaches have also witnessed snowfall and rains.

However, a clean sky sent the mercury down by several degrees and the minimum temperature in Srinagar, which had been hovering above zero degree C for the last few days, touched minus 2.4 degree C last night.

The minimum temperature in summer tourism destination Pehalham touched minus 5.2 degree C while it was minus 4.7 in Kupwara. Meanwhile, two houses collapsed in Kokernag in Anantnag district due to strong wind causing minor injuries to a woman and her daughter, police said.

Jammu, January 19
Protesting against acute water shortage in Jammu West assembly constituency National Conference (NC) activists led by district president Chander Mohan Sharma today burnt an effigy of PHE minister Mohammed Dilawar Mir here. Shouting slogans against PHE minister and PHE chief engineer, NC activists described Congress-led coalition government as an utter failure in providing even the basic amenities to the people.

Addressing the agitating party activists outside PHE office at BC Road here, Sharma threatened to intensify the agitation if government failed to start Sitlee filtration plant in Nagrota within the next 15 days.

He said densely populated localities in Jammu West assembly constituency, particularly New Plots, Sarwal, Prem Nagar, Jawahar Nagar, Indira Colony, Janipur, Krishna Nagar and Lakkarmandi had been facing acute water shortage for more than a year.

Later, he also met PHE superintending engineer, who apprised him of the work on the filtration plant being executed under triple shifts and would be completed by the end of January. It may be mentioned here that Sitlee filtration plant on the banks of the Tawi River, was washed away in flashflood on September 3, 2006.

Jammu, January 19
There are several hundred unauthorised LPG sale outlets in the state and more importantly, their sub-dealers have been appointed by none other than the owners of registered sale outlets to supply cylinders to their customers.

This information has been revealed by official sources and substantiated by eyewitness accounts, who have visited these illegal outlets many a times.

According to a senior official of the Consumer Affairs Department, initially the customers have been registered with the authorised dealers but it was difficult for them to get the refill done as these outlets were located in far away places.

A meet with a customer revealed that these outlets were the result of huge increase in the demand of LPG cylinders. “Till three years ago I and my neighbours used to get our cylinder refilled from Srinagar,” says Abdul Qayoom of Ganderbal.

But as the number of customers swelled, the owners of the registered sale outlets set up sub-dealers, who received a truckload of cylinders two to three days a week for supply in their respective areas.

He said the government report indicates no LPG sale outlet in Ganderbal when on the ground there are more than four.

People living on the outskirts of Jammu city refilled their LPG cylinders through the sub-dealers though they are registered with the authorised dealers in the city.

The government report indicates that in the three Assembly constituencies of Jammu, there were 20 authorised LPG sale outlets. It says there are over 11.61 lakh LPG consumers in the state out of which 2.45 lakh consumers were in Jammu city, which includes 1,972 commercial connections.

Meanwhile, the district of Jammu tops the list of registered and authorised LPG sale outlets with 27 centres followed by Srinagar with 17. Kargil is at number three place with 13 outlets. Leh has eight.

According to a Government report, among the eight new districts carved out in the state Ganderbal and Ramban are the only districts where there are no registered LPG sale outlets.

Anantnag district has six, Kulgam, Pulwama, Budgam and Kishtwar have one each; Kupwara, Bandipore and shopian two each. Baramulla, Kathua and Samba districts have four each. Rajouri and Poonch having three each and Udhampur five.

Jammu, January 19
Family members of late Vishwa Mitter Bakshi, a former IPS officer and a reporter with The Tribune, have donated two kanals of prime land in the picturesque valley of Sanasar to the police department. The revenue record and other relevant papers were handed over to the director-general of police (DGP), Kuldeep Khoda, by his son Swadesh Mitter Bakshi. Late Vishwa Mitter Bakshi was a former deputy inspector-general of police (DIG).

Before joining the police, late Bakshi worked as a reporter with The Tribune in Srinagar during 1930-31 after having completed law from Lucknow. He had reported the famous incident of July 13, 1931, and the subsequent riots in Srinagar for the newspaper.

The director-general of police paid rich tributes to the late police officer and said late Bakshi had made history in the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Jammu, January 19
The state government has taken up the issue of opening the Balnoi-Tatapani route with the Centre to facilitate the easy movement for families who got separated during the partition.

This was stated by minister of consumer affairs and public distribution, Taj-Mohi-ud-din, while replying to a question on behalf of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Taj said, “There are many families in the border districts of J&K which got separated as a result of partition and the subsequent wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971 between the two countries”.

Adding he said, “The Balnoi-Tatapani route which was opened on November 21, 2005, to facilitate the movement of members of the divided families, was closed on June 26, 2006, following the damage caused to the infrastructure by heavy floods in Mendhar river. The matter of re-opening the route has already been taken up with the Union ministry of home affairs.” Replying to another question regarding the compensation to the militancy-affected families in the state, the minister told the House, “The government has already kept 50 per cent appointment quota under SRO 43 for militancy-affected families. 

Jammu, January 19
This might be quite unprecedented in the history of the subcontinent. While millions and millions of people who migrated between India and Pakistan at the time of partition, and settled down wherever they chose to, a few lakhs continue to live with a “refugee” tag. Their only fault - they don’t know where they belong to.

There are a few lakh refugees living in different parts of the Jammu region. While they were as unfortunate as millions others who had to leave their home, destiny had established that greater misfortune lies ahead of them. For they were going to be people who would not belong to anywhere. Although Indian citizens, they do not have any permanent address in India. About the 6,000 families had migrated from west Pakistan to Jammu at the time of partition, thanks to Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, they could not be granted citizenship rights in the state although they are claimed to be Indian citizens. However, all those who migrated from the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) had no such problems as they came from the same state.

Only yesterday the state government ruled out granting them citizenship rights. Replying to a question in the state Assembly, revenue minister Aijaz Ahmed Khan said west Pakistani refugees were not state subjects of Jammu and Kashmir and hence were not eligible to be granted permanent resident certificates.

Earlier Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, while speaking during the thanks motion to the Governor’s address, expressed his helplessness on the issue. He observed that it was a human problem and needed to be handled as such.

Azad added that when it came to granting these people citizenship rights, he could hardly do anything. In fact no government can ever do anything for these people for the obvious reason that it could disturb the demographic profile of the state, he added.

At the same time, the state government several years ago had decided to give option to all those who had migrated from the state out of the country to Pakistan, to come back and settle down here. The legislation known as the Resettlement Bill is still pending decision in the court. This was being done for the people who had left the country for good and hardly showed interest in returning.

Udhampur, January 19
On-going tension between two rival groups of labourers has hit the work on Katra-Qazigund railway project. One group led by the CITU has launched an agitation against discriminatory policy of the Konkan Railway-engaged in the construction of this project. Another group of the labourers has been opposing CITU moves.

Although the rival faction were opposing each other since long, situation took an ugly turn when CITU had given a call of indefinite strike on January 8, its rival faction came out openly against the strike.

CITU leaders have charged the management with exploiting the labourers by not implementing labour laws. Two days back, both the factions came out openly against each other and some miscreants fired some shots in the air. The authorities have imposed Section 144 in Kanthan, Judda, Dharote, Dhanour, Khanikote and Sawalakote villages of sub division Mahore in the Reasi district.

Violation of section-144 by any group or person would be dealt under law.

Jammu, January 19
Strawberry growers in Mahabaleshwar export the red juicy fruit to France and Belgium but their counterparts in the Jammu region, who made this cash crop a success story in the state have been left high and dry, thanks to a nonchalant state government.

After sustaining losses worth over Rs 1.50 crore due to rains and hailstorm in March last year and no relief from the state government, this year strawberry growers of the Jammu region find the going tough.

Owing to heavy losses, the area under cultivation in Kathua, Jammu and Udhampur districts has also come down this year. Talking to The Tribune, Joint Director of the Horticulture Department J.L. Sharma said, “Though the yield this year would start coming from February the land under cultivation is less compared to last year.”

“If weather stays calm we would be having a good crop, more than the local requirement” he said, adding “still there are areas in the state where it has not reached.” Responding to a query, the joint director said, “We haven’t received any offer from the big companies as of now but after hearing that the Jammu region has been fast emerging as a producer of quality strawberry some of them have started evincing keen interest.”

“Once again we are at the mercy of God as the government despite its promise to compensate last year’s losses has done nothing and last month’s hailstorm has sounded a death-knell for us,” he added.

Singh said, “A delegation of strawberry growers had met Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who had assured us of compensating losses but so far no help has come to us.”

He, however, guessed that despite rains and hailstorm at a few places, the yield would be close to 2 lakh kg this year. A single grower spends Rs 26,000 per kanal for planting a good variety of strawberry while it costs Rs 20,000 per kanal to growers, who plant average quality sprouts.