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Detractors bay for Mehbooba blood
Some wait for whole night to welcome
Strike sees police, protesters clash, 7 hurt
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Ahead of union railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s visit, Jammu railway station being given a facelift. Tribune
photo by Anand Sharma
Tulip garden catches Bollywood fancy
Security tightened at Vaishno Devi
Highway closed, rains to continue
17 Tibetans held in Leh
Sports meet to destress forces
School kids to hold heritage rally
APHC to set up units
Militant hideout busted
Sinha, Azad greet people on Navratras
President to visit state
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Detractors bay for Mehbooba blood
Jammu, April 5 But Mehbooba Mufti little realised that even though she may have outwitted her main political rival Omar Abdullah, president of the National Conference, almost all political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their affiliations now wanted to censure her for what she had said in Pakistan. Both Mehbooba and Omar had gone to Pakistan to attend the Pugwash Conference in an apparent bid to draw mileage for the forthcoming assembly polls in the state. While, Omar returned shortly after the conference, Mehbooba stayed back and hit headlines for her joint press conference with co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, Asaf Ali Zardari and meetings with Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) chief Nawaz Sharief and Sardar Abdula Qayoom Khan, formerly President as well as Prime Minister of Azad kashmir. She has since returned, but the utterances of Mehbooba while in Pakistan have given her detractors a reason to hit out at her. He public proclamations in Pakistan will continue to provide her detractors a whip to hit her till the state polls, expected sometimes in October/November this year. It started with Omar, who wanted Mehbooba to clarify her stand on her “dual power sharing with Pakistan at the national level” and tell the people if this “was a map of their self-rule” concept. He has asked her to come out clearly with her proposed “three-step approach” as suggested by her in Islamabad. But other political parties are not that forgiving. Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party Bhim Singh has reacted sharply by not only describing the statements made by Mehbooba as “dangerous challenging the sovereignty of the country vis-à-vis J&K”, but has gone a step further by challenging the Congress for continuing to patronise the PDP despite its “anti-national stand on Kashmir”. Bhim Singh sees a clear provocation for rekindling the “anti-national and communal” agenda of Jamat-e-Islami in the political activities of the PDP. Demanding the dismissal of the Congress-led government in J&K he has questioned how the Centre could tolerate a government that has been accusing the Army of excesses and attempting to generate hate among communities and promote anti-national sentiments.” The state BJP is more direct in its attack. State BJP spokesperson Hari Om has demanded criminal proceedings against Mehbooba on charges of “sedition”. Besides other things the BJP has strong objections to Mehbooba using the term “supra-state”. Mehbooba is a member of the Lok Sabha and the BJP has decided to approach the Lok Sabha Speaker and President to seek action against a sitting member of parliament for “anti-national activity from a foreign soil.”
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Some wait for whole night to welcome
yatra
Jammu, April 5 Though it had entered the state of Jammu and Kashmir from Lakhanpur late last evening, it could not reach Jammu city before today morning as it had to halt at several places. “We had been standing on the roadside since 9 pm last night to welcome the yatra in the city, however, the Yatra reached here at around 6 in the morning, but we stood here for the whole night and finally succeeded in having a glimpse of it,” said Paramjeet Singh, a resident of Digiana Pully, Jammu. The drizzle in the night could not stop Sikh devotees from standing on the roadside to welcome the yatra as braving the cold and the rain thousands of Sikh devotees with folded hands, waited for the yatra to pass. The yatra which was scheduled to rest at Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Nanak Nagar, reached its destination early in the morning, where thousands of Sikh devotees thronged the Gurdwara to pay their reverence to the rare hand written ‘Bir’ of Guru Granth Sahib and the weapons of Guru Gobind Singh. Defying the heavy rainfall that lashed Jammu city since late last night thousands of people of all ages and from all walks of life, gathered at various places to wecome the yatra. Amid tight security and devotion of the followers the yatra in the form of a nagar kirtan left for R.S. Pura village where it would remain for the day and was scheduled to return back to Gurdwara Digiana Ashram where it would halt for the night. “This is a lifetime opportunity for us to witness the event, so how could a mere rain stop us from taking part in it,” said Manider Kaur, a resident of Nanak Nagar locality. Meanwhile, Jammu city had to witness traffic chaos following the tight security arrangements undertaken for the smooth conduct of the yatra as many roads in the city were sealed for vehicular traffic. People travelling by air were advised to arrive at the Jammu airport early in the morning to avoid any inconvenience due to heavy rush of the yatra towards the airport road. Meanwhile, the yatra presented an example of secularism as people of all faiths paid their reverence towards the Guru.
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Strike sees police, protesters clash, 7 hurt
Srinagar, April 5 The clash occurred when the police and the CRPF tried to prevent protesters, chanting pro-separatism slogans, from holding a march in the downtown, a stronghold of secessionists and flashpoint for violence. A local police official said they baton-charged the crowd and fired tear gas to disperse the unruly mob and at least four civilians and three cops were injured. The strike was called for today to protest the “inhuman” treatment given to Kashmiri militants in jails across the country. Commercial establishments were largely closed while transport services ran fitfully. There was low attendance in schools and colleges. Unite Jehad Council, an umbrella group of militant organisations based in Pakistan, and Kashmir Bar Association, which is also supportive of separatists cause, had also supported the call. The bar had recently alleged that many Kashmiris are wrongly arrested in different Indian cities and passed off as militants. They said Kashmiris lodged behind bars on militancy charges are picked for torture by jail authorities. They demanded a stop to these actions. Separatists also wanted all Kashmiri prisoners to be lodged in Srinagar jail so that their family members could meet them more conveniently, but officials have ruled it out on security reasons as there have been attempts in the past to free these prisoners by attacking cops or storming jails. |
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Lalu to flag off ‘Garib Rath’ today
Jammu, April 5 The express comprising 12 coaches with 81 seats each would operate between Jammu Tawi to Kth Godown, Uttar Pradesh. During the recent railway budget, Lalu had announced absorption of license holder porters in the railway department to the rank of gangman. The announcement gave thousands of porters a reason to smile. “He has done what no other minister ever dared to do for us. He not only made our lives secure, but also secured the future of our family members,” said Mangat, a porter at Jammu railway station. He added, “This is his first visit to Jammu railway station after he took the historical decision. We would give him a warm welcome. For us, he is next to god.” “We have hired drumbeaters who would play the welcome beats for our honourable guest,” said Raju, another porter. Meanwhile, the railway station is being given a facelift in view of Lalu’s visit. “We have been busy repairing tubelights, glow-signs and other boards. We have also deployed extra sweepers to keep the platform clean,” said an officer of the railway department. Security arrangements have been beefed up to avoid any untoward incident and extra police force has been deployed at the station. “Our men are monitoring all type of movements in and around the railway station,” said a senior officer, crime and railways department.
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Tulip garden catches Bollywood fancy
Srinagar, April 5 Over 10,000 visitors have visited the wonder garden during the past five days, said a top official of the floriculture department during the visit of Governor Lt-Gen S.K. Sinha (retd) today. “It is yet another significant addition to the garden enrich city of Srinagar,” observed Sinha. He was briefed about the varieties of tulips planted in the garden and the perspective planning drawn up to develop it in the coming months by covering the remaining area. The sprawling garden laid in terraces will have a water stream running in the midst of tulip beds with Zabarwan in the backyard. This will make the setting more enchanting with already installed fountains adding to the garden’s grandeur. At least two prominent film makers from Mumbai have been making inquiries about the possible shoot in the garden, director, floriculture Dr G.Q. Naqash said. The Governor and the First Lady, Premini Sinha, were impressed by the rainbow effect of the 600 kanal garden, the home for 12 lakh tulips of 60 varieties - red, orange, purple, white, pink, parrot and yellow. The scene must be beyond the imagination of poets and artists.
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Security tightened at Vaishno Devi
Udhampur, April 5 The authorities have also decided to expedite the process of installing surveillance cameras, scanners, smart cards and other sophisticated instruments to further strengthen the security grid at Bhawan and on the track. These security measures were taken following directions of Union Minister of State for Home Shriparkash Jaiswal, who visited this shrine and reviewed security arrangements. During his stay, the minister interacted with senior officers of the police and security forces and reviewed whole security grid. The Union Minister of State for Home convened a meeting of the senior officers of the police, security forces and intelligence agencies to devise a joint strategy to deal with the repeated threats of militants to storm this most revered shrine. |
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Highway closed, rains to continue
Srinagar, April 5 Traffic officials said they stopped the traffic as continuous rains in the past 24 hours had resulted in cases of landslide and they would allow traffic once Border Roads Organisation clears the road. The weather department has forecasted rains in the region for the next 24 hours and said upper reaches in the valley would receive snow. The rains have brought down the maximum temperature below the normal, thus reversing the trend in the month of March when the temperature was more than normal. The maximum temperature in Srinagar today was 14.8°C against the average 17°C but the minimum temperature at 9.6°C was more than the yearly average of 6°C. Drizzle in the last 72 hours has changed the weather scene in the valley and people seen sans woolens during daytime a few days back have reverted to warm clothes. “This hint of the unexpected is the best thing about valley's weather,” Zaman Qadir, a youth, said.
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17 Tibetans held in Leh
Srinagar, April 5 Large number of Tibetans in Leh have been on demonstration for days to show their solidarity with their countrymen in China. Chering Dorjey, the president of Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council, told The Tribune over phone that the Tibetans have been holding peaceful demonstration against Chinese crackdown on their countrymen in Tibet. “I am surprised as to why they have been arrested. They have been sitting on demonstration for many days,” he said. Leh SSP Alok Kumar conformed the arrests and said those were made for violating the permit law. “They were trying to cross a checkpost in Upshi, about 70 km off Leh city. One needs to have a permit to enter the area and they did not have it,” he said. Official sources said these Tibetans, most of them living in refugee camps, were trying to go towards the Chinese border to attract public attention to their cause and were arrested. They have been booked under Section 4 of Public Safety Act. |
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Sports meet to destress forces
Jammu, April 5 The objective behind holding the sports meet has come from none other than the forces head, DGP, Kuldeep
Khoda. Khoda today said, “It will inculcate a spirit of cooperation, competition and promote working in unison in the force”. Inviting the people to be a part of the festivities, Khoda said it would bring people and the police closer - resulting in a de-stressing exercise. Each of the six police zones, namely the armed, training, Kashmir, Jammu, Home Guards and “Intelsect” (comprising CID, training, security, crime,
traffice, etc) will give the people a message, “J&K Police striding ahead”. In all about 400 police personnel would participate in the games that would be closely watched for talent among the force, Khoda said. |
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School kids to hold heritage rally
Srinagar, April 5 The meeting presided over by Additional Commissioner, Kashmir, Abdul Rashid Mir decided that the day in Kashmir would be celebrated in the name of Shahr-i-Khas wherein the heritage contours of Srinagar city, particularly the old city, would be highlighted. In this connection, a heritage rally of schoolchildren would be held on April 15, 2008, the rally to be flagged off by the Divisional Commissioner, at Partap Park will culminate at the Nehru Park. Besides, seminar and exhibition would be held at Badamwari, Srinagar, on April 19 to be addressed by scholars and experts.
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APHC to set up units
Jammu, April 5 Senior APHC leader Shabir Ahmed Shah said, “We plan to cover Jammu and later Kargil and Leh in Ladakh region, where party units are to be established.” He said work on establishing APHC units in the districts of Pulwama, Kupwara, Anantnag, Budgam and other districts in the Kashmir valley was nearing completion. In reply to a question, Shah said all constituents of the separatist conglomerate had agreed to suspend their separate party activities and whatever political activity each district unit carries out would be in the name of APHC. |
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Rajouri, April 5 In the operation, troops busted a militant hideout and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including five RPG rounds, four RPG boosters. — TNS
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Sinha, Azad greet people on Navratras
Jammu, April 5 Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in his message expressed hope that the auspicious occasions would be harbinger of peace and prosperity in the state.
— TNS |
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President to visit state
Srinagar, April 5 The Chief Minister met the President at Rashtarpati Bhawan and discussed with her current development and political scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, an official spokesman said. Azad extended invitation to the President to visit the state during summer. |
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