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Overtaking Turns Fatal For Bus Passengers
Soz’s appointment: State Cong still a divided house
Official found absent
Police armoury to be modernised soon
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NC to hold CWC session
Association demands revocation of ad
River Tawi on verge of extinction
‘Release salaries of SPOs’
National Winter Games begin
Kashmiri Pandits seek Rs 28,000-cr package
Power Shortage
Major-Gen Kishan Singh
Separatists viewing Pak poll
Musk deer captured
Govt to open anganwari centres
BSP woos Gujjars to expand base
9 shops gutted
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Overtaking Turns Fatal For Bus Passengers
Jammu, February 18 According to eyewitnesses, the mishap occurred when the driver of the ill-fated bus which was booked to its capacity tried to overtake another vehicle. The accident occurred when the bus (JK02G-1495), which was on it way to Bani from Basoli, fell into a gorge. “While the driver was trying to overtake another vehicle he lost control and the bus fell into a deep gorge, an eyewitness said. However, the eyewitnesses alleged that prompt action by the local police could have saved more lives. “It were the local people and passers-by who came to the rescue of the passengers trapped in the bus. If the police had acted promptly, more precious lives could have been saved, an eyewitness said. The injured passengers were shifted to the district hospital in Kathua, while 14 of the seriously injured were shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu, for specialised treatment. The condition of 8 of the injured is stated to be critical. Speaking to The Tribune, SSP, Kathua range, J.P. Singh said, The accident occurred due to the driver’s negligence, while he was trying to overtake another vehicle which was on the same route. He lost control over the bus and the bus fell into into a gorge.” Police sources said five of the deceased had been identified as Mohammed Saif, resident of Purna Basoli; Venu, wife of Lal Singh of Nagrota Jammu; Noon Devi, wife of Veeru of Phoul; Banu Begum, wife of Ghulam Kadir of Banu and Sapna Devi, daughter of Balwant Singh of Khour. However, the identity of the other five who died in the accident could not be ascertained yet. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed profound grief over the loss of precious human life in today’s accident. He conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved families and has instructed the health authorities and district administration to provide best possible medicare to the injured.
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Soz’s appointment: State Cong still a divided house
Jammu, February 18 “Despite stiff resistance to Soz’s nomination, AICC President Sonia Gandhi in run up to the next assembly elections in the state went ahead with her scheme of things appointing him as PCC president,” they added. “Though Soz’s name had been doing the rounds since Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed resigned on January 17 following corruption charges by Shoaib Lone (sitting legislator), yet a section in the state Congress had been lobbying hard for Azad,” they said, adding “Azad too had been yearning for the coveted post.” “Azad and Soz in the past had estranged relations and Sonia’s salvage exercise in run up to the next assembly elections may not deliver the desired results,” they added. Political pundits in the state feel that Soz’s nomination to the coveted post vis-à-vis groupism and recent political setbacks to the party may affect Congress prospects in the next assembly elections. Talking to The Tribune a party reluctantly leader said, “Groupism certainly casts negative repercussions on the party,” “When Peerzada was at the helm of affairs we obeyed him and now Prof Soz has been appointed by AICC President, we had no other option than to obey him as well.” Ever since Peerzada’s resignation on January 17 Azad had been frequently visiting New Delhi to meet Sonia Gandhi. When contacted, another PCC leader said, “Though AICC President has chosen a man having vast experience but Prof Soz has never did any thing good or bad to anyone in the state.”
“Prof Soz is still considered to be an outsider in the PCC compared to Azad and two other contenders who were in the fray,” he added. “When elections are barely a few months away, dissension within the party is evident from recent political developments. First Vikas Dutt, son of Pandit Tarlochan Dutt, joined the National Conference and the other day Congress MP Dr Karan Singh’s son Ajatshatru Singh after parting ways with the Congress joined the arch-rivals,” he added. He said, “The Congress at this juncture cannot afford to lose its election winning leaders and to reverse the trend Prof Soz has to do some damage control at the earliest.” |
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Official found absent
Srinagar, February 18 Renzu in his order said the teams would be headed by senior-level officers to monitor the availability of essential services and allied activities in the district. The team headed by additional deputy commissioner (ADC), Budgam, inspected office of the assistant regional transport officer (ARTO) and found him absent from duty. Earlier, people belonging to remote areas had complained that the ARTO was not monitoring transport services and as a result of it, some sumo operators were charging high rates. —
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Police armoury to be modernised soon
Jammu, February 18 The police central stores at Zewan in Srinagar and the other in Jammu would be supplied the material required for overhauling the police armoury. Official sources said here today that among the items to be procured for overhauling the armoury included two cartridge disfiguring machines with a capacity of disfiguring two to five tons of empty fired cartridges, rifle rack steel, high-speed hack saw blades, rifle oil rod cleaning equipment for SLRs, rifles and pistols and rifle linseed oil. The sources said overhauling the armoury was an annual drill but this year there had been some delay in completing the exercise and directions had been issued to the concerned authorities to get the tools and other equipment required for updating the armoury by the end of next month. The state government has decided to grant some concession to those local small-scale units that had the means to supply some of the required items. The sources said overhauling of the armoury had become imperative in view of the ensuing Assembly elections and in the context of reports that groups of militants were planning to sneak into the state from across the LoC soon after the border routes became passable with the melting of snow from April onwards. |
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NC to hold CWC session
Jammu, February 18 A party spokesman said here last evening, the party patron Farooq Abdullah, president Omar Abdullah and party general secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmad will hold the sessions, which will be attended by all the members of Central Working Committee, sitting party MLAs and district presidents from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions. The party has been in virtual hibernation for all these years of the Congress-People’s Democratic Party alliance rule. While the leaders remained mostly away, the workers were left unattended. The party did not perform and effective role as opposition. Barring the last session, when the NC forced the adjournment of the Assembly session, the party remained mostly inert. It is now that the patron Farooq and his president son, Omar have been trying to shake the party of its inertia. The party is hoping to capitalise on the “anti-incumbency” factor. However, it has so far mainly been targeting the People’s Democratic Party and not the Congress. While criticising the PDP, the NC leaders, including Farooq Abdullah, have been singing peans to Azad. |
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Association demands revocation of ad
Jammu, February 18 The association has also demanded extension to engaged engineers whose five-year agreement would cease on July 17 this year. Addressing mediapersons here today, association president Sami Pandita said, “Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) under an obligation should invite applications from graduate civil engineers of the Jammu and Kashmir only, but the Corporation vide advertisement number KR/CO/P/USBRL/01/2008 dated February 7 has now invited applications from graduate engineers of the entire country.” “Despite militancy and demanding conditions, we performed our work with dedication and sincerity. However, instead of extending our agreement, the KRCL has invited applications on all-India basis,” said Pandita. “Leave aside extension, no preference has been given to the working engineers in the fresh advertisement,” he said, adding that “Most of the civil engineers have crossed the upper age limit. Instead of considering our case sympathetically, the KRCL has delivered a death-blow.”
“The state is already facing militancy from the last 19 years and youth here faces acute dearth of job avenues. This advertisement of the KRCL has led to further exploitation and harassment of the engineers,” he added. Pandita said, “Working engineers have already gone on an indefinite strike from February 14 and, hence, we request the state government and Union government to help us.”
Association vice-president Ajay Bhat said, “For the last over a year the KRCL had been giving false assurances of giving extension to the working engineers but nothing has been done.” Bhat said, “We demand immediate revocation of the advertisement and extension to the engaged engineers. Otherwise, we would fight for our rights and can go to any extent.” |
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River Tawi on verge of extinction
Jammu, February 18 A Jammu and Kashmir State Pollution Control Board (JKSPCB) official said, “Around 23 channels of waste discharge continue to flow directly or indirectly into the Tawi from Kishenpur Manwal right up to Makwal.” “The river has been polluted and it can be saved only if a cleansing drive is undertaken on a large-scale besides, imposing strict restrictions on the people from polluting it,” he said. “The content of dissolved oxygen in one litre of water should be 6 mg but water in the Tawi from PHE lifting point at Bagh-e-Bahu up to Bhagwati Nagar has 1.3 to 1.4 mg dissolved oxygen per litre,” he said. “Similarly, the biological oxygen demand level should not be less than 2 mg per litre but it fluctuates from 8 mg per litre to 40 mg per litre,” he added. In a recent survey conducted by the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), 32 out of 33 water samples lifted from different places of the capital city were found unfit for human consumption. A JKSPCB official further said, “Apart from the Tawi, waters of the Chenab in Akhnoor, Basantar in Samba, Ujh in Kathua, Devika in Udhampur have also been found polluted in terms of the two main parameters.” Under Monitoring of the Indian National Aquatic Resources (MINAR) programme, the JKSPCB submits reports of rivers, lakes and other water bodies to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) but not at regular intervals. “Though the JKSPCB had established two monitoring stations, one in the Tawi beneath the main bridge and another beneath Akhnoor bridge in the Chenab but they had been closed in 1997 and the practise of sending quarterly report was resumed from May 2004,” he said. A JMC official on the conditions of anonymity said, “Despite repeated reminders waste discharge, including bio-medical waste from hospitals is still dumped into the river.” “The waste discharge from the Regional Research Laboratory also flows into the river,” he said. It may be mentioned that the Jammu city has no solid waste management plant. Though the JMC had acquired some land near Kot Bhalwal on the outskirts of the city to come up with a solid waste management plant but the project remains a distant dream. |
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‘Release salaries of SPOs’
Udhampur, February 18 In a statement issued here, Niaz pointed out that due to non-release of their salaries for the past six months, these SPOs had been facing hardships and their woes had compounded manifold. He said police officials deployed in hilly districts had not been paid wages since the past five months. |
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National Winter Games begin
Srinagar, February 18 This is for the third time that these games are being held in the picturesque and snow-clad meadows of Gulmarg. The National Winter Games were earlier held in 1998 and 2003. About 500 sportspersons from various states, including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and host Jammu and Kashmir besides, Chandigarh, Shimla Ice Skating Club, ITBP, IISM, HAWS, GMVN, MSI, AVLI, DMAS Manali, Army, and Navy are participating. Several events like ice hockey, ice skating, alpine and skiing will be held during the event. Sky-diving by daredevils of the Air Force was a treat to watch. March-past by participants, demonstration by snow vehicles and a scintillating cultural programme formed the highlights of the function. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Kashmir had been the pioneer and backbone of Indian tourism because it offered more than just scenic beauty. Welcoming the participants, sports lovers and tourists, Azad said Kashmiris were known for their warmth of hospitality and care for guests. “We welcome tourists from every part of the country and abroad. The Chief Minister said the state offered a variety of experiences for tourists and no other part of the world could offer so much. He said the state had exotic natural beauty as also a rich cultural and religious heritage which made it a crown of India. He requested the tourists to act as ambassadors of the state and share their experiences with people across the country and abroad. President of the IOA, Suresh Kalmadi, appreciated the state government and administration particularly, the Tourism Department for arranging facilities for participants and other visitors. He said such events would help boost tourism in the state. He assured that all possible help would also be extended in future for holding such events in the state. Earlier, tourism secretary, Naeem Akhtar, while welcoming the dignitaries and sportspersons said it was due to Kalmadi’s efforts that the 5th National Winter Games were being held again in Gulmarg. |
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Kashmiri Pandits seek Rs 28,000-cr package
Jammu, February 18 Addressing mediapersons in Jammu, chairman of the Panun Kashmir Agnishekhar said: “Our demand is that Central government should sanction a comprehensive rehabilitation package worth Rs 28,000 crore till we return to our homeland.” “The amount has been worked out by an expert committee of the Panun Kashmir”, he added. Alleging the successive state and Central governments for their failure to address the problems of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits, Agnishekhar said: “This package is demanded on account of losses suffered as a direct consequence of migration and failure of the government to compensate the displaced community for the last 18 years.” The displaced community has also demanded an employment package of 15,000 jobs against the posts of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley. Agnishekhar has also demanded the government to set up an enquiry commission to go into the cause of genocide and exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits and to fix responsibility for the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism in the valley. He said the KP temple bill was introduced immediately in the next session of the assembly. “The bill was inexplicably not passed in the present session and the temple land mafia given sufficient time to appropriate the properties of our shrines”, he said. He also demanded that a minority commission be set up for the state and the Kashmiri Pandits be declared a minority in the state. “The recent decision of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in this regard could become a reference point”, he said.
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Power Shortage
Srinagar, February 18 A large number of villagers from Qazipora-Watapora on Bandipore-Sopore road converged on the main road this morning and started marching towards the district headquarters town of Bandipoa, about 3 km away. However, the police tried to stop the demonstrators and created barricades and urged the people to stop from marching towards Bandipore. When all efforts were in vain, the police resorted to lathicharge and fired in air to disperse the protesting villagers. People in several areas of the newly created Bandipore district have been crying hoarse for the restoration of power supplies with several roads in the upper reaches remaining to be under snow after the recent snowfall. Meanwhile, the PDP general secretary and MLC Nizam-u-Din Bhat has demanded magisterial probe in the alleged police highhandedness against peaceful demonstrators of Watpora-Qazipora-Bandipora, who were demanding restoration of snapped electricity supply to their area. He has strongly condemned the brute police action against the agitators. Stating that instead of addressing public’s genuine demand of restoration of power supply to consumers who pay their tariff in time, what the brute force applied is in no way tolerable in a democratic set up. Bhat has demanded strong action against the guilty police personnel, who have gone berserk and are responsible for Watpora incident.
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Major-Gen Kishan Singh is GOC
Srinagar, February 18 Major-Gen Kishan Singh during his career has held a number of coveted command and staff appointments. He was Brigade Major during the Punjab insurgency and Colonel General Staff of 19 Infantry Division at Baramulla. He commanded his own unit 2/9 Gurkha Rifles before commanding an Infantry Brigade at Udaipur. He was also Brigadier General Staff at Jodhpur. The General has been an instructor both at Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and Defence Services Staff College at Wellington. He today took over the reins of Victor Force from Major-Gen S.K. Bhardwaj, who now proceeds to take over command of Junior Leaders Wing at Infantry School, Belgaum. |
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Separatists viewing Pak poll
Jammu, February 18 In an exclusive interview with The Tribune chairman of separatist Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Ahmed said only a politically stable Pakistan could help resolve long pending Kashmir issue. “We have been closely following elections in Pakistan, as the outcome of the election would have a greater impact here,” Shah told The Tribune. Adding, he said, “We don’t stand to support any political party in Pakistan, as all the political parties there want a resolution of Kashmir issue, so we are not concerned which party wins or which does not.” He said whatever form of government got elected in Pakistan it would take the initiatives to resolve the Kashmir dispute with India. Shah, whose party recently joined the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Molvi Umar Farooq, said the ongoing general elections in Pakistan would bring out a surprise for the people of the entire region of South Asia. While reiterating the demand of his party for the active participation of Kashmiris in any dialogue going on between India and Pakistan, Shah said, “No resolution on Kashmir can be reached without the active participation of Kashmiri people.” Adding, he said, “As all governments in Pakistan weather military or civil have been supporting the fact that Kashmir conflict can only be resolved with the active participation of Kashmir people, so every time the ball lies in India’s court, so India needs to show seriousness.? “When the NDA-led government at the Centre initiated confidence building measures with Pakistan over Kashmir, the Congress gave full support to the NDA, that was a good sign for Kashmiri people, as now people in India would also be going for general elections in the coming few months, so the people in Kashmir have a hope on the upcoming governments of both the nations,” Shah Said.
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Musk deer captured
Srinagar, February 18 They said personnel of Nigeen police station recovered a three-year-old musk deer at Kundanhpeth Habak Shanpora. Later, the captured deer was handed over to the Wildlife authorities at Dachigam. This was for the second time that any wild animal was caught before attacking people in the valley. Last week, people at Anchidora in south Kashmir district captured a leopard in the village. More than 24 persons were killed and about 40 others wounded by wild animals in the Kashmir valley during the past one year. However, in retaliation, people also killed four wild animals in the valley during the same period. — UNI |
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Govt to open anganwari centres
Srinagar, February 18 Vakil said 6,500 anganwari workers would be posted within a month adding that 268 posts of supervisors were lying vacant in the Social Welfare Department (SWD). He said during the past 3 years, 40 new degree colleges were opened in the state and 8 new districts had been carved out. He said this would go a long way in bringing development and would open new avenues of employment for the youth. He said during this period, the Central government had provided funds liberally for the consolidation of infrastructure. Regarding the Kashmir issue, the minister said India and Pakistan should sit together to solve the problem amicably. He said the Congress had always advocated a solution to the Kashmir issue through dialogues saying that violence was no way to solve any problem. — UNI
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BSP woos Gujjars to expand base
Udhampur, February 18 The SRO-294 is a Reservation Act implemented in Jammu and Kashmir in 2005. As the Act imposed certain pre-conditions in granting reservations, the weaker sections have strongly opposed it. They have also demanded that certain “controversial” conditions be deleted from the Act. The state government had repeatedly promised to amend the Act but it failed to do so. It was only after this that the BSP took up this issue to garner support. Through its campaign, the BSP has been trying to consolidate its vote bank, while cornering the coalition regime as well as its rebel groups. At a time when the Bahujan Samaj Movement headed by expelled leader, Dr Sat Paul, has been working assiduously to strengthen its base in the Jammu province, this issue has provided an opportunity to BSP leaders to consolidate its eroding vote bank. Apart from SCs, Gujjars, Bakerwals and OBCs have also opposed the Act. Hence, BSP leaders are concentrating on these sections to expand its base in new areas. Recently the BSP organised a rally of OBCs in which the issue of SRO-294 was discussed and party leaders vowed to expose the Act tooth and nail and provide justice to the weaker sections. Many BSP leaders were of the opinion that bringing the OBCs and STs in its fold was necessary to perform well in the next Assembly elections. “We will bring all weaker sections under our banner”, said Tulsi Dass Langeh, a senior BSP leader. Langeh, who has widely travelled in different areas of Reasi district to woo Gujjars and Bakerwals, claimed that the party received an encouraging response as far as the participation of Gujjars and Bakerwals was concerned. To woo Gujjars and Bakerwals, the BSP is the only party which had been opposing the ST status for Paharis, he added. Similarly, the party has deputed some senior leaders to expand its base among OBCs by taking up the issue of the implementation of the Mandal Commission Report in the state and Amendment in SRO-294. The BSP recently received a jolt when its prominent OBC leader Hans Raj Chargotra joined the PDP.
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9 shops gutted
Srinagar, February 18 Official sources said the fire broke out in Iqbal market last night and before the flames could be brought under control, it engulfed nine shops. However, timely action by locals and fire tenders saved a nearby temple. Sources said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. No one was injured in the incident, they added. Meanwhile, in another incident, a kitchen and a cowshed were damaged in fire at Chandhara in Pulwama district this morning. In another accident, a man was injured when he was hit by a vehicle at Kaka Sarai chowk. He was later hospitalised. — UNI |
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Jammu, February 18
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