Jammu, April 7
The acute shortage of fungicides and pesticides, whose formulation come from China, has hit the fruit business in the state. The fruit growers believed this is happening due to ongoing preparations for the Olympic Games in Beijing, where 40 units manufacturing fungicides and pesticides have been closed down on environmental concerns.

The president of Fruit Growers and Dealers Association in Baramulla, Ghulam Rasool Bhat, who was in Jammu, said, “The formulation for these pesticides and fungicides come from China, but due to the ongoing preparations for the Olympic Games besides other reasons, the formulation was not coming to India.”

He said China had to close down 40 of its units that were manufacturing fungicides and pesticides due to the concerns shown by international community of its ill effects on environment.

“With acute shortage of fungicides and pesticides, fruit growers in the state especially in the valley are made to suffer,” he added.

He blamed the Indian government on its failure to make alternate arrangements for the supply of these products.

He said the local manufacturers have started taking advantage of the restricted supply from China and are now selling their products at exorbitant rates.

The fruit growers apprehend that due to lack of supply from China the sale of spurious fungicides and pesticides would increase in the valley.

“The local manufactures have already started taking undue advantage of the decline in the supply from China and have increased the price. The sale of spurious fungicides and pesticides has also gained momentum in the valley,” Bhat said.

The usage of spurious chemicals have already harmed the fruit business of the state to a large extend and many new fruit diseases have emerged which are resistant to these chemicals. “There is a nexus going on at a higher level between the government and the manufactures of these chemicals. There is a monopoly of few distributors in the state and the government is not allowing other players to come into the sector,” he said.

Rajouri, April 7
Ever heard of a school where no Class 8 student is able to pass the examination. If you haven’t, please visit the Government Middle School Leeran in Darhal tehsil.

Sources in the district Education Department said of the 22 students, who appeared in the Class 8 examination in the session (March 2007-8), no one has passed the examination.

They said this has caused huge embarrassment to the chief education officer, who besides heading the Education Department at the district level was also entrusted the job of conducting the Class 8 examination.

Interestingly, the Government Middle School Leeran is not alone in showcasing poor results. In Government Middle School Pakora in Manjakote zone only one of the 34 students, who appeared for the 8th class examination, managed to pass the exam.

These students put the blame on teachers and accuse their mentors of not teaching them seriously during the whole session.

Taking their grievances, they have met the chief education officer and urged him to conduct re-examination.

“Frankly speaking we failed in the examination just because of the fact that our teachers didn’t teach us during the whole session. They were too busy with giving private tuitions and indulged in this practice even during the school hours,” complained an aggrieved student, who got below 10 marks in one of the subjects.

“Since we belong to poor families we couldn’t manage the money for private tuitions and hence failed,” he added.

He further demanded that school education department should conduct their re-examination and should take strict action against the teachers.

A senior officer in the district Education Department said the CEO had ordered an inquiry into the matter and strict action would be taken against the teachers of these schools if found guilty.

Talking over the phone from Jammu, A.K. Raina, Director, School Education, said they would verify the facts from the CEO office Rajouri. “If the result of any government run school is 0% or even below 5%, it is matter of shock for us,” the director said. “If the allegations against teachers are found true, proper “strict” action will be initiated against them,” he assured.

Srinagar, April 7
The hike in rentals against land under the Army has not brought much cheer to the owners in Khundroo area of south Kashmir where 162 acres of land falls under ammunition depot that suffered a heavy damage in a fire incident on August 11 last year.

It has, however, got a varied response from various mainstream and separatist parties ahead of the Assembly elections due later this year.

According to the locals in Khundroo, over 15,000 kanals of land in different categories belonging to the farmers from different adjoining villages including Khundroo, Sombran, Puhloo and Nowgam has been taken over by the Army for the purpose of ammunition depot.

“The hike is not fair. It is unacceptable to us,” said Abdul Ghani, a resident of the area. He said the hike in rentals was only an eyewash, adding that the rent fixed per kanal of orchard land per annum was at least five times less than what one could get from the fruit production per annum.

The people of the area are already facing hardships, and many had suffered losses in ammunition depot fire mishap last year. There had been no judicial disbursement of the compensation against the damage caused to life and property of the residents, another villager told The Tribune.

Even as the Army had cleared the entire area comprising 13 villages of the unexploded material within a short span of time after the accident, there have been several incidents of the explosion of untouched material causing at least one death and injuries to several others over the past six months.

“We are afraid of going into the fields to prepare for the farming season,” said the farmers adding that many accidents had taken place during recent months.

The decision to effect a regular revision of the rentals to the land under the Army, compensation to those affected in Khundroo last year, and vacation of security forces from the government and private accommodation by the security forces had come up in the discussions between Chief Minister and union defence minister A.K. Antony here in October last year.

The area of 162.5 acre of private land under ammunition depot at Khundroo belonging to the farmers falls in four different categories of the agriculture, horticulture and maizeland, for which they are compensated by payment of annual rents.

A report to effect the revision of rentals for land under the depot was submitted to the government early last year, according to the district officials. This had been done after consultations with Agriculture and Horticulture Departments of the state government fixing up the annual rent per kanal of land, according to the productive capability of each category of land.

The earlier annual rates of rent to the farmers ranged between Rs 413 and Rs 1,575 for per kanal of land in four different categories, which now have been hiked manifold.

Srinagar, April 7
The Public Commission on Human Rights, a constituent of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, with the support of other groups and individuals here has announced the convening of an International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice.

This was formally announced by Parvez Imroz, founder of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Society as one of the four convenors at a press conference here recently. Other convenors present included US-based Dr Angana Chatterji, journalists Gautam Navlakha of Economic and Political Weekly and Zaheer-ud-Din from Srinagar.

The Tribunal will hold its investigations and hearings during one year to inquire into the architecture of military presence, militarisation, and governance in Kashmir, and their subsequent and continued impact on civil society, political economy, infrastructure, development, local government, media, bureaucracy, and the judiciary.

It also proposes to inquire into the actions of the institutions of the Central government, as widely established by human rights organisations, to examine the structure of militaristic violence on the part of state institutions, and examine conditions of injustice therein, it stated.

The Tribunal will confine its investigation to the period between November 2003, when the Indo-Pak ceasefire began, and 2009, with supporting investigations related to the period between 1989-2003.

Srinagar, April 7
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former Chief Minister of Bihar, Rabri Devi and former Union minister Sharad Yadav were among prominent personalities who visited the tulip garden here today. Former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was also among others who visited the garden in the foothills of Zabarwan overlooking the Dal Lake.

The Railway Minister, who is currently on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir, was overwhelmed by the bewitching beauty of the garden which he described as awe-inspiring. He said he would ask his ministry's officials to organise meetings here, adding that there was no reason for anybody to feel scared from visiting this place.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who inspected work on several ongoing development projects also took stock of the progress on the upcoming legislature and museum complexes and the beautification of the Jhelum banks in the summer capital, besides visiting the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden. The garden where the tulips are in full bloom these days was inaugurated by the UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi on March 29.

It has emerged as a great attraction for tourists and locals who are seen thronging the place. Since it was thrown open for public on March 30, as many as 16,000 visitors, including local people and domestic and foreign tourists, have visited this flori-marvel till Sunday and felt awe-struck by its beauty.

Union railway minister Lalu Prasad today said hard rocks in the Kashmir region have delayed the beginning of train services in the valley. Initially scheduled for the last year, the minister said they would begin soon.

Reasi, April 7
Though world attention on the migrants from the Kashmir valley, now settled in various parts of Jammu and other cities, has brought adequate relief, there are many who still find life worse than hand-to-mouth existence.

Over 2,200 migrant families, both Hindus and Sikhs from areas close to the Line of Control (LoC) and other highly militant infested regions of the Jammu region are on the verge of starvation with the state simply refusing to provide subsistence allowance or ration for “want of funds”.

“For the past three months, no one in the migrant camp at Talwara has got a single paisa as relief and many people, quite a few widows and octogenarians are on the verge of starvation as they can neither fend for themselves nor do they have any family members to depend upon,” says 80-year old Suran Chand with tears 
in his eyes.

He had moved to this camp in 1998 along with hundreds of others following a spurt in selective killings.

Following a Supreme Court directive to treat migrants from all regions of the state at par with Kashmiri Pandit migrants from the Kashmir valley, the Jammu and Kashmir Government had announced that it would give each individual in this camp 9 kg atta, two kg rice and 10 litre of kerosene oil in addition to Rs 1,600 in cash 
per family.

People on the initial registration of migrants list made way back in 1998 received some ration and money sporadically, but since the last three months the district administration has washed its hand off by saying, “We have no funds.”

A Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JKLI) soldier Chain Singh, who retired way back in 1969, is too old today to even take care of himself. But he had to migrate after his nephew Jagdev Singh was killed in front of his eyes in his native Tuli village in Tehsil Mahore in Reasi district by militant.

“We fought for the nation and earned our pension, now the government says whenever I get the migrant relief, it would deduct my pension from it. Is this how a nation treats its soldiers?

I gave my life for the nation, today at 80 I am helpless, old and without a roof on my head,” says this proud and valiant soldier.

He says with folded hands, “Please tell the government that there are 31 ex-servicemen like me in this camp and several widows of ex-servicemen who need the government’s attention.”

The wounds from personal tragedies are still fresh in most minds. Bhagat Ram, now 78-year-old, migrated from Dhakikote village after 26 people from four families were wiped out in Prankote in April 1998, forcing a mass migration from villages like Narkote, Prankote, Dhakikote and Kot Chilwag.

The camp has over 71 Muslim families besides too. These Muslims moved to this camp after 16 Muslim Gujjars were massacred at Kot Chilwag in Rajouri district in the year 2000.

There are countless names like Lakhu Ram, Kicchu Devi, Wali Khan, etc who now depend upon people in the locality to look after them after they lost their kin to militant violence. Most people in the Talwara migrant camp work as manual labourers at Reasi earning Rs 120 every fourth or fifth day depending upon the availability of work.

There is talk that some women have been forced into prostitution to survive. Incidentally, it is pertinent to mention that most of these migrants were farmers and have sizable pieces of land, which have been lying barren for the past 10 years as they do not want to return out of fear of being killed. Balwan Singh, president of the Migrants Union, said many people in the camp were very sick and needed urgent treatment, but had no money. Eight-year-old Amrik Singh has lost sight in both eyes for want of treatment.

Jammu, April 7
Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and national vice-president of the BJP, Shanta Kumar, today demanded that action should be taken against president of the ruling coalition partner in the state, Mehbooba Mufti, against her remarks on “dual power sharing” over Kashmir in the recently held Pugwash conference in Pakistan.

Shanta who is in Jammu to discuss BJP’s strategy over the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, while condemning the remarks of PDP chief said, “I wonder how she speaks about dual control and self-rule. We condemn her remarks,” he said.

He added, “We demand that action should be taken against her according to law. Her statement is against the Indian Constitution and has challenged India’s sovereignty.

The entire nation has shown resentment against what she said on Kashmir in Pakistan.”

He said the abrogation of Article 370 was on the priority agenda of the BJP, and when it came to power in the Centre, it would take measures to abrogate it.

“Last time, our government was a coalition government at the Centre, so we had to follow the common minimum programme.

But when our party comes in power, we would abrogate Article 370 from the constitution as Kashmir is an integral part of the country,” he said.

Launching an attack on the Congress-led UPA government in the Centre over the issue of price rise, he said, “Being an election year, the UPA government presented a people-friendly budget and to appease the farmers it announced a loan waiver, but the rhetoric of the people-friendly budget was exposed when inflation in the country reached a new high.”

Jammu, April 7
The common man is worried about inflation as the prices of essential commodities have soared up.

The Tribune spoke to people in Jammu to find out what affect inflation had on their lives. “The entire household budget has been affected. Everything seems to be on fire as with every passing day, the prices are reaching a new high.

While there is no increase in income, the costs of essential commodities have increased many times,” said Mukesh Manhotra, a resident of Roop Nagar, Jammu.

He added, “I was planning to purchase a cooler this summer but its price has increased so much that I cannot afford to purchase it now.”

Manju Sharma, a resident of Nai Basti locality said, “I am worried with the soaring prices of essential commodities. Some people might not be in a position to purchase grocery from the market.”

“Now we have to compromise with our diet as well, be it pulses or vegetables, everything has become costlier,” she said.

Some people ridiculed the statement of the Union finance minister who said that it was for the country’s development that inflation had to be there.

“How can you call a country a developed one when its citizens are forced to sleep without meal? This is just a mockery of the system as the government needs to fulfil the basic needs of its citizens then making high rise buildings,” said Ashok Gupta, a resident of Rehari, Jammu.

The worst-affected with inflation is the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community who said they had to manage everything with the relief they got from the government.

“The relief amount given to us has not been increased, but inflation has attained a new high. If the trend continues we may be forced to starve,” Madan Lal Pandita, a displaced Kashmiri Pandit said.

Meanwhile, grocers said they had registered a sharp decline in the sale of pulses and other cereals in Jammu. “People don’t buy pulses anymore as the price has increased manifold,” said Ashok Pardhan, a grocer.

Jammu, April 7
There has been a considerable decline in the number of incidents of suicide and fratricides in the Army deployed in the rugged terrain of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Army faced a serious setback when many of its soldiers and officers fell victims to incidents of suicide and fratricide. Recently the Army launched Operation “Milap” and so far the results have been encouraging.

“After Operation Milap that was launched to check the stress level among Army personnel, there has been a considerable decline in the incidents of suicide and fratricides in the force,” PRO of the ministry of defence Lt-Col S.D. Goswami told The Tribune.

Under Operation Milap that was aimed at de-stressing the soldiers working under harsh circumstances various measures were taken by the Army to help stressed soldiers and officers from taking the “extreme step.”

Army authorities had always linked the increase in number of the incidents of suicide and fratricide with the growing stress level among soldiers, mainly due to their domestic circumstances. But after the introduction of Operation Milap, Army says things have started to change gradually.

“Management of stress is being done in the Army now. Seminars on stress reduction are held regularly. Services of religious teachers, doctors and trained mental health mentors are being used regularly to de-stress the soldiers,” said the PRO.

Junior commissioned officers (JCO) who serve as a link between soldiers and officers are being given specialised training to handle soldiers who were under stress.

Various high-level inquiries conducted by the Army headquarters revealed that majority of stress among soldiers was due to domestic problems and not due to operational hazards.

The main problem that the Army observed was that soldiers felt uncomfortable in sharing his domestic problems with a colleague or with officers.

To further redress this problem, the Army has opened a telephone helpline service for soldiers called “Sathi.”

“Sathi” has been established at every command-level and base hospital and telephone numbers have been circulated to everyone. Soldiers call on these numbers and their problems are addressed,” said the PRO, who is based in Jammu.As compared to 23 incidents of suicide and six incidents of fratricide in 2007 in the Northern Command, this year only six cases of suicide by jawans, have been recorded.

Jammu, April 7
Former chief minister and patron of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has said the coalition government had laid a solid foundation of mutual trust and confidence among different regions of the state.

Addressing a public meeting at Chakroi village in the R.S. Pura sector, Sayeed said the biggest achievements of the coalition regime was that it had created a conducive atmosphere for initiating the peace process and took confidence building measures (CBMs) to normalise relations between India and Pakistan.

“The Previous NDA regime headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the present UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh whole-heartedly supported initiatives taken by us for restoring peace in this region,” Sayeed said, while recalling the historic rally of then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Kashmir, on April 2002.

Adding he said, “Despite tension on the border at that time, Vajpayee fully convinced with our convictions, had made a historical announcement from Kashmir which ultimately led to easing of tension on the border.”

“Whatever steps we have taken for restoring peace, successive governments at Delhi endorsed our stand,” he said.

“Since formation of the PDP, we have been advocating that dialogue is the only means for solving all problems,” he said.

Jammu, April 7
The People’s Democratic Party, which shares power with the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, has decided to contest 70 out of 87 Assembly seats during the ensuing election.

In 2002 poll, it had contested 59 seats and had won 16. However, the PDP may not contest 70 seats in case there was a pre-poll alliance with the Congress, according to party general secretary, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat.

He confirmed that though there were more than five months for the election, mainstream political parties have started shortlisting party candidates for contesting the poll.

The party leadership has already shortlisted 30 candidates, who would be fielded in the election. This includes all the 18 sitting MLAs and three MLCs. Besides this, the party leadership may prefer those candidates, who had lost the 2002 poll by a narrow margin.

Bhat said in case there was no pre-poll alliance with the Congress, the PDP would field party candidates from all the constituencies in Poonch, Rajouri and Doda districts. Besides this, party candidates will be fielded in Suchetgarh, R.S. Pora, Vijaypur, Bishna, Banihal and Marh constituencies.

On the other hand the National Conference has decided to contest all the 87 seats when in 2002 it had fielded party candidates in 85 constituencies and won 28 seats. Provincial president of the National Conference, Ajay Sadhotra, said, “We do not want to be caught napping. We have also started selecting candidates for each constituency and so far more than 35 candidates have been shortlisted.”

He said ultimately the Parlimentary Board of the party would approve the list of candidates prepared by Dr Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, party president.

In reply to a question, he said so far the possibility of forging an alliance with some likeminded organisation seems to be bleak.

The Congress plans to field all 20 sitting MLAs and has decided to contest about 80 seats. In 2002 poll, it had fielded party candidates in 78 constituencies and had won 20 seats. There is a possibility of fielding those seven independent candidates, who had, after winning the 2002 election, joined the Congress as associate members, as party candidates. It has also shortlisted over 30 partymen who would get the mandate.

According to leader of Panthers Party in the state assembly, Harsh Dev Singh, “We have decided to contest at least 50 seats and 25 party candidates have already been shorlisted as party nominees.”

In the last election it had fielded party candidates in 36 constituencies and won four seats.

The BJP had contested 58 seats and won one seat. So far it is yet to decide whether it will repeat all the party men in the next election or concentrate its energies and resources in two dozen constituencies.

As far as the BSP is concerned it has already selected half a dozen candidates but the going for it will be tough because the lone partyman, Manjit Singh, who had won in 2002 poll has joined the PDP.

In addition to this the decision of the rebels to form National Bahujan Party is likely to cast a thick shadow on the performance of Mayawati loyalists.