Rajouri, March 12
More than three months after the Army shifted Nariyan-based 27 Infantry Division to the North East, it has filled the gap by shifting two units to the area for guarding the Line of Control (LoC).

It is also shifting two units one each from frontier districts of Poonch and Rajouri to the valley.

Reliable Army sources said after shifting the 27 Infantry division comprising three brigades from Nariyan area near Nowshera to the North East in view of the alleged threat from China, the Army authorities are filling the gap by attaching two units, 27 RR posted in Kalai area and 40 RR in Mandi area, in the Poonch to the ace of spade infantry division for manning the LoC and also to provide security to the people.

In view of the forthcoming Assembly elections, the Army authorities are also moving 20 RR posted in Argi Daleri here and 45 RR from Potha area in Poonch district to the Srinagar-based 15 corps for providing security during the elections.

The sources said all these units, which are being relocated, are part of the Romeo Force, which is looking after the counter insurgency operations in these two border districts.

Whereas two of the army units, supposed to carry out counter insurgency operations, posted to Poonch district are being shifted to the Nariyan area in Nowshera to counter the infiltration and manning the LoC, the other two one posted to here and the other posted in Poonch will now move to Srinagar-based 15 Corps to ensure security during the forthcoming elections in the state.

Jammu, March 12
The Jammu and Kashmir Mineral Ltd has auctioned 40 precious sapphire stones, extracted from the paddar mines in Kishtwar district of the state, in an attempt to generate revenue for the firm.

The state government has entrusted Jammu and Kashmir Mineral Ltd (JKML), a state government undertaking, to conduct the auction.

JKML has already generated revenue worth Rs 58 lakh by selling 18 sapphire pieces on its first day of auction here, JKML general manager Abid Sohail said.

The remaining 22 pieces would be auctioned today, for which bidders had come from across the country and abroad, he said.

The sapphire kept for auction was extracted from the paddar mines between 1998-2004, he said, adding that these precious and semi-precious stones, which were known for their durability and beauty all over the globe, were used for ornaments and had rare medicinal values.

Sohail said regular extraction of the sapphire from the paddar mines was stopped after militancy erupted in the state. Besides, lack of expertise also put a stop on the extraction.

After 1988, when the first auction was conducted in Srinagar, sapphire extraction and selling was banned by the court, following a litigation filed in 1989 alleging favouritism in issuing mining rights.

Though officially-sponsored commercial extraction did not take place later on, however, JKML managed to extract minor quantities of sapphire stones between 1998 and 2004.

He said, “We are planning to make more such auctions a regular feature so as to attract more buyers not only from India, but also from other parts of the world.” — PTI

Prominent among those who joined the party were Luddar Mani, Joginder Singh, Darshan Singh, Rakesh Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Pawan kumar, Narinder, Somenath, Rani Devi, Vidya Devi and Vimla Devi.

Assar (Doda), March 12
Rekindling hope of inhabitants of Sheeraj belt of Ramban and Doda districts, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad laid the foundation stone of Rs 16-crore motorable Trungal bridge on the Chenab at Assar.

Inhabitants, around one lakh, of more than 60 villages, have been facing hardship as this entire belt has been cut off from rest of the state after the two foot bridges got submerged in the Chenab.

Since June 2006, these areas have been cut off and for earning a living residents have to risk their lives every day as they have to cross the Chenab regularly by boat rowed by untrained local youths.

The residents got more fearful after three students were drowned in this area while crossing the Chenab to reach their school in September 2007.

For the last one year, residents of this belt have been agitating for the construction of a bridge on the river.

The 325-meter long single-span bridge over the Chenab will be the first of its kind in the state and would be completed in one year.

Two foot suspension bridges in the area were submerged under the poundage of the Baglihar hydel power project.

Another foot suspension bridge is being constructed at Marsoo. Before the construction of the Bhagaliar project, the Sheeraj belt was connected with two foot bridges located at Trangul and Korapani villages.

The Chief Minister laid emphasis on the need for and his government’s commitment to better road connectivity, especially in areas located in the mountains.

He said his focused attention on road infrastructure development, supported by liberal central assistance, will see all villages connected with block and tehsil headquarters in the next four to five years.

He asked engineers and related personnel to ensure speedy completion of development projects so that benefits accrue to the people on ground without long wait.

He also called upon people to remain vigilant and said that while appreciating good work they should also keep an eye on poor quality or lax work, adding that his aim is to ensure that funds earmarked for development activities are 100 per cent utilised on these.

Azad said the three regions of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh have been accorded equal opportunities in matters of development even as the areas neglected so far with regard to basic services taste the fruits of development for the first time.

He said that eight new districts were created in the state to expand development activities aimed at equitable progress of cities and villages.

He said at mere 5 per cent road connectivity, the erstwhile Doda district stands at the bottom in the country’s road infrastructure map. He said the government’s effort is to increase connectivity and build roads in all villages.

Srinagar, March 12
Congress president Saifuddin Soz batted for nuclear deal in his maiden public rally after assuming the charge of party in the state, but refrained from making any attack on his principal opposition rival, the National Conference.

Soz, who is also a Cabinet minister in the UPA government and is being seen here as a hand-picked man of the high command, spoke at length about issues hogging the headlines, including Shiv Sena's ranting against Biharis, in New Delhi and how the Congress was trying to make Communists see reason and let it sign the nuclear deal with the USA.

In fact, the only party which drew flak from the Congress president was the BJP, which has little relevance in valley's politics. He said BJP was a divisive force and was not interested in the uplift of Muslims and Dalits, and the "successful" tenure of the UPA has rattled its president L.K. Advani.

Soz also offered assurance to striking road transport workers, who have gone on strike again after reaching a compromise with the government saying they have been shortchanged, and said he would take the matter with the CM to give them a fair deal.

The only time he came close to touching an issue that dominates the political discourse of Kashmir when he said his party was interested in continuation of dialogues with separatists and referred to talks between the Mirwaiz group of Hurriyat and the Centre in the past.

He told the rally, which attracted a decent crowd in the Sher-e-Kashmir Park, that the development state had seen in the past few years was unprecedented. He harped on the secular traditions of the Congress while asking people to strengthen his party's hands.

Soz also showed signs of his party's interest in going through the nuclear deal when he said his party believed nuclear power as the best option in India which suffered from acute shortage of electricity.

Earlier, Cabinet minister Taj Mohiuddin asked Soz to "repay" the Congres workers who had been working for the party in valley.

He said the Congress, which had been playing second fiddle to first the NC and now the PDP in the valley, the government in the state should work to "provide jobs to workers and their children" after doing "a lot for the people" before facing election later this year.

Srinagar, March 12
The night sky in Kashmir Valley is dotted with the amazing sight of thousands of migratory birds heading north these days, indicating the avian visitors are moving back to their summer homes.

Hundreds of geese, mallards and teals are now leaving for Siberia, China, Eastern Europe and the Philippines after inhabiting the bird reserves of the Himalayan region for nearly six months.

“As the temperatures start rising, the migratory birds start taking wing,” said Master Habibullah, 65, a keen bird watcher who lives in north Kashmir's Chanduna village close to the Shallabugh bird reserve in Ganderbal district.

“Each year these hardy souls travel thousands of miles with navigational precision to reach their winter homes in the valley. They travel in highly disciplined formations with the eldest of the flock leading the way.

“These birds expend tremendous amounts of energy during their flight. A goose weighing three kg at the start of the annual migration would weigh just one and a half kg after completion of the journey,” added Habibullah.

This year a record number of migratory birds had visited the valley. “There were over 600,000 birds in the Hokarsar bird reserve alone this year. Their number was around 400,000 in Shallabugh, 500,000 in Hygam and around 200,000 in the Mirgund bird reserve,” said an official of the Wildlife Protection Department here.

The species of migratory birds that inhabit the valley during the winter months include graylag geese, mallards, teals, pochards, wigeons and shovellers.

“The bar-headed geese don't come to the valley. They visit the Ghana bird reserve in the Jammu region of the state,” said the official.

Although shooting of birds is prohibited under the state’s wildlife protection laws, there have been reports of poaching this winter at a number of places outside the bird reserves in the valley.

“Scores of poachers are seen each evening lined up with their guns outside the bird reserves taking shots at the flying birds as they leave for the night's feeding in the fields,” said Habibullah.

“It is painful. Besides killing these poor creatures, the poachers inflict injuries on scores of others, crippling them for life,” he added.

Describing the flight patterns of the birds to his grandchildren in the evening as hundreds overfly his house in the village, Habibullah gives a small lesson in conservation.

“The well being of these birds has a direct bearing on our life. In the complex ecological pyramid all creatures form the building blocks of life.

“One crumpling block can bring down the whole pyramid.” It is heartening to see that Habibullah's grandchildren, who will inherit the legacy of bird watching from him, seem to understand his words. — IANS

Srinagar, March 12
Peoples Democratic Forum (PDF) chairman and transport minister Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen has stressed the need to carry forward peace process, strengthening Indo-Pak friendship and resolve all issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir amicably.

Addressing a public meeting in Budgam district yesterday, the minister said initiatives taken by the coalition government under its Common Minimum Programme, the PDF had contributed its full might in the process of restoring normalcy and kick-starting comprehensive, planned and balanced development of all the areas.

PDF-led by Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen is one of the constituents of the Congress-PDP coalition government in the state.

“Left over and backward pockets were given focused attention in the development process started by the coalition government to bridge the gap between under developed and developed areas,” he said and added that this process would get continuous impetus.

Hakeem Yaseen held that many conspiracies had been hatched against the PDF but people rejected the elements behind such designs showing firm faith in the programmes and policies of this party.

He said the party would get further strengthen with the public support and work for all over socio-political and economic development of the state.

He appreciated Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for his endeavours to give fillip to the development in the state.

He said by Azad’s personal dynamism and high reputation as a national leader, he had managed ever-highest financial support for Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in large-scale development in all public service sectors especially education, health, roads, bridges, PHE.

Jammu, March 12
President of the National Conference (NC) Omar Abdullah today alleged that the Congress-People's Democratic Party coalition in the state had deliberately put a halt on the employment process for the time being to facilitate last minute recruitments before the elections.

Addressing a public meeting at Basholi in Kathua district, the NC president said the recent government order directing the administrative departments to stop referring vacancies to recruitment agencies only showed that it wanted to postpone the recruitment process at the cost of welfare of educated unemployed youth.

He apprehended that close to the election, the government might dole out employment on a pick-and-choose basis discarding merit and eligibility and would indulge in nepotism and corruption to appease some thereby depriving the eligible unemployed youth of their due.

Omar said such type of election stunts would harm the interest of the unemployed youth who were already suffering due to the apathy of the present coalition government.

The NC president said his party would have special focus on the unemployed youth of the state.

“We are formulating a policy to meet the challenge of unemployment as we will give special focus to the youth in our election manifesto,” he added.

Addressing the local problems of the area, the NC president said “If we return to power, we will ensure that the area would be developed and brought on the tourist map.”

He said the NC would ensure that the Punjab government lived up to the promises made to the people displaced by the construction of the Ranjit Sagar dam.

Jammu, March 12
Two much euphoria seems to being created over the Third Front in Jammu and Kashmir as proposed by the expelled People’s Democratic Party leader Ghulam Hassan Mir.

The media hype to his expulsion and his big claims about the inevitability of the Third Front notwithstanding, ultimately it may prove to be a non-starter.

The political formations and alignments in the state are clearly defined. And the parties Mir is talking about to be the constituents of the proposed Third Front have practically no political stakes in the state.

Even the Hurriyat, Mir is hinting to be talking with, may not involve itself with him, if at all it will like to get involved in any sort of political activity.

At best Mir's exit might have a limited impact on the PDP, which in itself is a constituent of the people with individual aspirations and ambitions than any ideology.

And all its leaders have come from one party or the other only in order to serve their individual aspirations.

Even Mir has himself admitted that he felt suffocated in the PDP as it was being dictated and dominated by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba Mufti in an “autocratic manner.”

Otherwise there is no ideological difference anywhere, as there was no ideological cohesion either, even for the sake of argument.

There hardly remains any space for the Third Front in Jammu and Kashmir. In Jammu the battle lines are already drawn between the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Panthers Party and also the National Conference (NC). Besides, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has also its pockets of influence.

In the Kashmir valley, under the current circumstances, as long as the Hurriyat stays away from the election process, it is most likely going to be a battle between the Congress-PDP alliance and the NC.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has also some presence in the southern Kashmir, particularly the Kulgam area. So where does Mir place his Third Front?

However, Mir has succeeded in sparking off a rebellion within the PDP. Another sitting legislator Sarfaraz Khan has already raised the banner of revolt.

There are a few more sitting PDP legislators reportedly waiting for the right occasion. Besides, some former legislators have already parted ways with the PDP. Mir's claims to the contrary notwithstanding, his purpose is probably being solved.

Weakening the PDP, if not wiping it out, which he has left “for the people of the state to decide.”

Jammu, March 12
With a dream to fly high up in the sky, hundreds of young girls have joined various airhostess training institutions in Jammu city.

With a boom in the country’s aviation sector and the launch of various new airlines in the domestic and international market, more and more young girls in the region see the aviation sector as a better career option.

“I am educated and fulfil all the criteria to be a good airhostess. So in order to shape my skills, I joined an airhostess training institute in Jammu that recently opened its outlet here,” said Minakshi Sharma, an airhostess aspirant.

With the opening of various airhostess training institutes in the city, these young girls are happy as they can finally fulfil their dreams of flying high.

“I always wanted to be an airhostess, given the glamour and the remuneration involved in the field. But I had nowhere to go so as to attain the required skills, but after getting training at one such airhostess training institute in Jammu, I appeared for interviews. Now I am hopeful of getting selected in an International airliner,” said Anuradha Kaul, another airhostess aspirant.

Earlier those girls who wanted to take a career in the aviation sector had to go to other states like Punjab and Delhi to get trained.

But soon after these institutes opened up their outlets in Jammu, they saw a tremendous response amongst young girls.

“Earlier it was very difficult for a girl like me to even think of pursuing a career as a airhostess because we could not afford to go out of the state and join an institute there. But after the opening of various such institutes in the city, it has become easy for hundreds of girls like me to look for a career in the aviation sector,” said Rupinder Kaur, who recently got selected in Kingfisher Airlines as an airhostess.

The people who run such airhostess training institutes in Jammu feel “overwhelmed” with the tremendous response they are getting from young girls who have joined their institutes to undertake airhostess training.

“We are overwhelmed with the tremendous response that these young girls have shown to our institutes,” said one of the directors of an airhostess training institutes in Jammu.

Adding he said, “Our success rates are also high as almost every girl who successfully completes the course in our institute gets placed in good airline. Not only this, we also help our students to get good placements.”

To provide these young girls on the job training and exposure in the aviation industry, these institutes have tied up with various airlines who take these airhostess aspirants as interns and provide them field training.

He sentenced the convict to simple imprisonment for five years and fined
him Rs 2000.

Srinagar, March 12
Allaying speculations over any poll alliances with other political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz here today said that the Congress had developmental programmes at hand.

He said that the Centre’s doors were open for dialogue with separatists as it was the only way out to make a forward movement and added that dialogue with Pakistan was awaited for the installation of a new government there.

Talking to mediapersons here Soz said that he and Chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had decided to work together to strengthen the Congress in the state.

After addressing a public meeting he told mediapersons that the Congress could play a vital role in the development and progress of the state that had suffered a lot during the past 18 years of turmoil.

"I have adopted Sonia’s philosophy that politics is service to the people", Soz said in his remarks. The Union Minister, who took over as the PCC chief last month added that he had come to the valley with a strong message from the Congress president Sonia Gandhi "to tell workers to help people".

When asked about any possible alliance ahead of Assembly elections in the state later this year, Soz pointed out that there was no such proposition at the moment.

"The coalition has been doing very well for the past five years and there has been a lot of relief to the people", he asserted.

Referring to the ongoing dialogue with Pakistan, the union minister said that due to the recent elections and prevalent situation there the dialogue process had slowed down.

He added that the secretary level talks were a necessary part of the bureaucratic process in the dialogue between the two neighbouring countries.

"We are happy that democratic process is on in Pakistan and a new leadership has to come forward", Soz said.

He pointed out that doors for dialogue with the separatist Hurriyat Conference were open and stressed the need for a continuity of the process , though there had been some stalemate in the talks.

Udhampur, March 12
The “accidental” fire from the loaded revolver of a businessman in front of the Udhampur deputy commissioner’s office left two persons, including an Army jawan, injured while some others have narrow escape.

Although the police has termed the firing incident as accidental, a case has been registered against one Ranvir Singh alias Mantoo of Shiv Nagar, Udhampur.

Udhampur SP Anil Mangotra said the police was investigating the matter, although circumstantial evidences and statement of eyewitnesses established that it was result of the mishandling of the weapon by the owner.

With his loaded .32 pistol, Ranvir Singh had gone to the office of the Deputy Commissioner to get his revolver license renewed.

The revolver reportedly “misfired” while being taken out by Ranvir from his picket to show it to the officials who were renewing the weapon licenses.

Two persons namely Sita Ram of Bakshi Nagar, Jammu and an Army jawan Lakshan Reddy, who were standing near Ranvir, got injured.

Fire shots created panic in the overcrowded complex of the Deputy Commissioner's office. The policemen deployed in the complex rushed towards the room of the Deputy Commissioner.

As a large number of people were present in the complex at the time of incident, there was virtual stampede as they ran outside to save their lives. People presumed it that there was firing between two rival groups.

Cops seized the pistol from Ranvir Singh and the injured were immediately shifted to the Udhampur from where the Army jawan was discharged after treatment.

It was the result of the extended yatra period that over 2.50 lakh pilgrims visited the shrine. This year the board expects that about five lakh pilgrims will visit the holy cave.