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Currency idea will materialise despite roadblocks: Mufti
Mehbooba sings papa’s dual currency tune
PDF, CPM give formal nod to join third front
PM may transfer power project to state
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Three lakh people in state disabled
Indian System of Medicine
Disabled armyman wins pension battle
Few takers for family welfare schemes in valley
Inflation leaves residents fuming
Dogri, Kashmiri in translation project
Gujjars protest ‘misuse’ of funds
Five militants killed
One shot at in land dispute
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Currency idea will materialise despite roadblocks: Mufti
Sunjwan, April 19 Addressing a public rally, here this evening, Mufti said, “A day will soon come when dual currency would be working in the state.” Trying to justify his scheme of things, the former chief minister asked, “When Saarc countries have been pondering over single currency and free trade by 2014, why can’t the state become a model for them?” Before Saarc countries materialise their plans, why shouldn’t we start it first and set an example for them, said Mufti. “The National Conference had asked the PDP to bring a resolution for the purpose but we are not amateur like them,” said the PDP patron while drawing attention of the gathering on the NC’s autonomy resolution, which has been gathering dust despite being passed in the Legislative Assembly. “We feel that first a unanimous consensus should emerge,” he said. He claimed that he didn’t believe in spreading rumours for the sake of politics and said, “Whatever we say in public is not run of the mill and thoughtless utterances.” Mufti also expressed regrets over the reaction of the BJP and the Congress to his proposal. He said when the PDP headed the coalition government for first three years, both the parties supported the PDP in peace initiatives and other confidence building measures. Mufti said, “We still stand by our suggestion of free trade, dual currency and people-to-people contact between the two parts of Kashmir. Claiming that the PDP has a roadmap towards Kashmir resolution, he said, “Time has come to soften the stand and see things in right perspective for the larger interest of peace and stability in the region.” He felt that trans-LoC bus service should not remain confined to divided families only but also should be extended to other people as well. PDP ministers Abdul Aziz Zargar, Pir Mohammed Hussain and Manjeet Singh also attended the rally. |
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Dismiss govt: BJP
Jammu, April 19 State president of the BJP, Ashok Khajuria, has asked the Governor to dismiss the coalition government for maintaining silence on the “anti-national” remarks made by senior leaders of the PDP. “The Congress, the Centre and the state have become mute spectators and are helplessly watching the anti-national activities of senior leaders of the PDP,” he said. Khajuria said, “Former chief minister and PDP patron Mufti Sayeed and his daughter, MP and president of the PDP, Mehbooba Mufti, have launched an anti-India campaign, but the Congress has failed to take any action against them.” He said his party would intensify its campaign to educate people to generate public opinion about the implications of what the ruling alliance was doing in the state. |
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Idea unfortunate: Charak
Jammu, April 19 Though he ruled out any differences between the Congress and the PDP in the backdrop of former chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s dual currency proposal but described it unfortunate. Responding to a query, he said Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, AICC president Sonia Gandhi and Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz have already responded to Mufti’s proposal. He, however, felt that the PDP patron should avoid raising such sensitive issues before the people. “Whether it is the PDP or the National Conference, raising such sensitive issues could prove lethal,” he added. Charak said in the backdrop of upcoming elections, the political parties in a bid to woo people raise different issues but they should not cross the limit. |
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Mehbooba sings papa’s dual currency tune
Srinagar, April 19 The PDP president said the idea was aimed at enhancing cross-LoC people-to-people contact through trade. The currency issue was a vital element of trade and cross-LoC trade through relaxed borders was not possible without addressing it simultaneously, she added. Mehbooba said with the IPL and ICL taking the centre stage of cricket and Lahore Baadshah's becoming the current craze in our cities, this region might be showing the way to effectively denationalise the game that has in the past been sparking riots. She said through the suggestion of using Indo-Pak currencies across the whole state, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was trying to devise the nuts and bolts to take the movement on cross-LoC cooperation forward. Mehbooba said the opposition from various political parties and groups was aimed at maintaining the political division and status quo in the region that would be harmful to the state and the country. She said the mounting global economic stress has reiterated the urgency of creating regional economic blocs to tide over the commodity and energy crisis. “By marking the historic beginning in that direction from Jammu and Kashmir, India and Pakistan could emit the message of political stability, democratic grandeur, economic renaissance and visionary leadership qualities,” she added. The PDP president said the major contribution of the Indo-Pak peace process was that it brought forth the larger world of opportunities at the people’s level. “Trade between the two sides is picking up, sports are back and intellectual interactions are becoming frequent and common,” she said. |
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PDF, CPM give formal nod to join third front
Jammu, April 19 The JKDP’s constitution has been drafted and would be released shortly and that too after the united front took its birth. However, the PDF and the CPM will not be guided by the constitution of the JKDP. Once the front was formed it would adopt a common minimum programme and would have a common poll manifesto. Hakim Mohd Yasin today said, “I have decided to support Mir in his mission of floating a third front.” In reply to a question, he said he was not going to ditch Mir. He confirmed that several leaders were in touch with one another. Mir was reportedly in touch with three other MLAs, Ghulam Mohiuddin Sofi, Usman Majid and Abdul Majid Wani, in a bid that all those who had won the 2002 election as independent candidates joined the proposed front. Mir indicated that the proposed front would campaign against the family rule as being perpetuated by the PDP and the National Conference. The main thrust of the front would be to resolve the problem of unemployment. He seemed to be banking on the support of those from the National Conference, the Congress and the PDP, who would be denied the party tickets for the ensuing Assembly elections. Till date the JKDP is yet to be a political force to reckon with. But Mir was confident that a number of prominent political leaders would join his organisation. In this connection, he was trying to woo the Awami National Conference, headed by G.M. Shah, a former chief minister, to the proposed front. He is also engaged in roping in some moderate
separatists. |
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PM may transfer power project to state
Jammu, April 19 Since Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had been keen to get the prestigious power project commissioned by the Prime Minister and hence the formal inauguration had to be deferred. Azad and PDP patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed have mounted pressure on Dr Manmohan Singh to transfer the power project to the state sector. The project was completed at a cost of over Rs 4,960 crore. However, the state government has been demanding transfer of the project from the NHPC to the state sector because the state has been getting only 12 per cent of the total electricity as its
share free of cost. The remaining 340 MW are being diverted to the northern grid. It is not yet decided whether the Prime Minister will announce transfer of the project to the state or cover it under the proposed joint venture between the State Power Development Corporation (SPDC) and the NHPC to harness the vast potential of hydel power generation. Once cleared it would be 51:49 joint venture. During his visit to Jammu the Prime Minister may also announce some sops for the West Pakistan refugees, who have been agitating in favour of grant of citizenship rights. President of West Pakistan Refugee Association, Labha Ram Gandhi, said here today, “Grant of citizenship rights and compensation for immovable property the refugees had left behind at the time of migration from Pakistan in 1947 and onwards are our main demands.” The Congress leaders here said the party would be able to draw mileage in the ensuing election if the Prime Minister announced transfer of Dul Hasti power project to the state sector or the 51:49 joint venture between the NHPC and the SPDC and offer cash incentives to refugees from Pakistan settled in Jammu for the last 60 years. Gandhi lamented over the way political leaders have dished out promises to them during election years and all those commitments were never fulfilled. He said, “We shall be highly grateful to Dr Manmohan Singh if accepted our demands.” |
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Three lakh people in state disabled
Srinagar, April 19 Inaugurating a rehabilitation camp organised by the Voluntary Medicare Society for the hearing-disabled here today, Karra said due to the turmoil the number of disabled, both physical and mental, had increased manifold in the state and there were an estimated three lakh disabled persons in Jammu and Kashmir. He said for the protection of the rights of the disabled persons, the state government had already enacted a law under the Jammu and Kashmir Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1998. He said in addition to the legal framework extensive infrastructure had been developed in the state for the welfare of the persons with disabilities including setting up of a composite rehabilitation center. The minister said in 2003 the state government had hiked the monthly pension of the disabled persons from Rs 150 to Rs 200 and it was proposed to be taken to Rs 500 in a phased manner, an official spokesman said. Referring to the national scenario, Karra said there were around 70 million disabled persons in the country and in 2006 the Government of India announced a National Policy for the persons with disabilities. He said the national policy recognised that persons with disabilities were valuable human resource for the country and sought to create an environment that provides them equal opportunities, protection of their rights and full participation in society. He said India is also a signatory to the Declaration on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asia Pacific Region and is currently participating in the negotiations on the UN Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. He said the National Handicapped and Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) has been providing loans on concessional terms for undertaking self-employment ventures by the persons with disabilities through the state governments and the panchayati raj institutions at the village level, intermediary level and district level have been entrusted with the welfare of persons with disabilities. |
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Indian System of Medicine
Jammu, April 19 It may be mentioned that the ISM directorate was carved out of the directorate, health services, in 1987. But the recruitment rules became a reality only in December, 2006, bringing a sigh of relief to officials and employees. The missing rules had resulted into a spate of litigations filed by officials and employees vying for seniority. The directorate of ISM as of today has approximately 1,000 officials and employees. Director, ISM, Dr A.K. Dar said, “Recruitment rules to the directorate were framed in December, 2006, and the Sadr-e-Riyasat (SRO) has also been issued by the government.” “There are several measures in the pipeline to refurbish the ISM in the state,” he claimed. However, official sources told The Tribune that the state government had turned a blind eye to a high court decree in 2002, wherein the former had been asked to frame recruitment rules. He said for nearly 20 years, around 1,000 officials and employees faced stagnation due to missing recruitment rules and feeble executive rules. He said a considerable number of employees had attained superannuation by contesting litigations in the court of law. An official of the ISM directorate said since 1987, the directorate had witnessed 10 directors, which included four bureaucrats Iqbal Khandey, Ashok Parmar, Dr K.B. Gupta and Dr Samat. The bureaucrats were given additional charge of the ISM directorate but missing recruitment rules resulted into a spate of litigations filed by officials for seniority, he added. However, after present incumbent Dr Abdul Kabir Dar repeatedly dashed off reminders to the state government requesting it to frame recruitment rules to end all controversies, the government finally framed them in December, 2006. |
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Disabled armyman wins pension battle
Jammu, April 19 The petitioner was also entitled to arrears of disability pension w.e.f April 12, 1999 to be paid within a period of three months from the date copy of judgment is made available.
Lal was enrolled in the Army on November 21, 1970. He participated in various operations but due to extreme stress and strain of the Army service, Lal developed cervical spondylosis and was
hospitalised. He was invalidated out of the Army in the year 1992. His disability was assessed at 30 per cent and was granted disability pension accordingly, as per the assessment made by the Medical Board. The petitioner was again subjected to successive Re-survey Medical Board, which also assessed his disability at 30 per cent but Principal Controller Defence Accounts, on its own in consultation with Medical Advisor (Pension) Vide Communication dated April 12, 1999 reduced disability of petitioner from 30 per cent to 11-14 per cent. It is not in accordance with rules, as disability of petitioner, assessed at 30 per cent by the Medical Board and also by successive Re-survey Medical Board cannot be reduced further in consultation with Medical Advisory (Pension). On notice, the Government of India filed counter affidavit taking stand that disability of the petitioner is neither attributable nor aggravated by military service. He was brought before the Re-survey Medical Board on November 25, 1998 and his disability was assessed at 30 per cent (permanent). |
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Few takers for family welfare schemes in valley
Jammu, April 19 According to the recent survey, in the Kashmir division, over 2.72 lakh contraceptive pieces were distributed among people during 2006-2007 against over 17.02 lakh in the Jammu region. Those who used oral pills, their number in the Kashmir division was over 48,000 against over 1 lakh in the Jammu region. It was only in IUD insertion that the Kashmir division registered higher growth than the Jammu region where it witnessed over 18,000 insertions in 2006-2007 against over 11,000 in case of
the latter. The number of sterilisation operations were conducted on 7,281 people in the Kashmir division against over 12,000 in the Jammu region. As compared to males more females have undergone sterilisation. In Srinagar district, 3,804 women underwent sterilisation against 14 men. In Kargil, Kupwara and Anantnag not a single male had undergone sterilisation. It is only in Udhampur district, which has recorded highest number of men having accepted sterilisation. In this district 170 males underwent sterilisation against 84 in Jammu, 86 in Kathua, 13 in Poonch and three in Rajouri. Official sources said the Directorate of Health Services has formulated a plan under which more family welfare camps would be organised in all the 22 districts in the state where incentives would be given to those who would underwent sterlisation. Exhibitions would be held for explaining to women the harmless impact of taking oral pills for
birth control. |
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Inflation leaves residents fuming
Rajouri, April 19 They allege that the soaring prices of the essential commodities have broken their back and if the prices of the essential commodities continue to move up, then they will have no other option but to come on roads and protest. They say prices of eatables like cereals, pulses, vegetables and fruits have registered 20 per cent increase in the last couple of weeks. “It is high time that the governments at the Centre and state take some pro-active steps to check the rising prices. If the trend of rising prices continues like this, a common man will starve,” fumes shopkeeper Vijay Kumar. “The government should act and act fast,” he adds. Another resident and housewife Shameema Begum says, “It has become quite difficult to manage. The government should fast bring the prices down.” A senior officer of the district administration says increase in prices is nationwide phenomenon. “However, we are monitoring the prices at the local level,” he adds. |
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Dogri, Kashmiri in translation project
Jammu, April 19 The initiative has been taken up by the union ministry of human resource development. Secretary of the Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Dr Rafeeq Masoodi said, the department would engage at least 2,000 prolific researchers of both languages to translate the works of technical and scientific nature in Kashmiri and Dogri languages. “The project is aimed at revitalising the art of translation among Kashmiri and Dogri speaking population of the state across the Indian sub-continent,” he added. |
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Gujjars protest ‘misuse’ of funds
Rajouri, April 19 Addressing the protesters, president, Jammu and Kashmir Gujjar Conference and member of Jammu and Kashmir Gujjar and Bakkarwal Advisory Board, Choudhary Inam-ul-Hasan said the social welfare minister and the district administration have utilised the funds of TSP worth Rs 1.47 crore, meant for the development of Gujjars and
Bakkarwals. — TNS |
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Five militants killed
Srinagar, April 19 Kupwara SSP Vijay Kumar said they had identified two militants so far and both were Pakistani nationals, Amjad Bhai who was district commander of JeM and Abu Saifullah of
Lashkar-e-Toiba. The SSP said they killed four militants in the firefight which ensued when militants fired upon the advancing security forces. Two other militants remain unidentified. The encounter occurred in the jungle area of Jabdi range in
Warnow, Lolab. He said the death of Amjad Bhai was a big success and he had been active in the area since 2001 and was also involved in the recent kidnapping and killing of two policemen in the Lolab area this month. Intelligence has reported a large-scale infiltration of militants in the past few months through the LoC touching North Kashmir. Though there could not be any confirmation, cops have put the figure between 70 and 80, and said they included cadres of different militant groups, including HM,
LeT, JeM and Al-Badr. Four militants killed in today's encounter could include some new faces. In another encounter, one militant was killed near the LoC at a forward post in Keran Sector by troops of 12
Mahar, the Army said. He was trying to infiltrate after swimming across the Kishan-Ganga river near Bor Post. One pistol, one magazine and two rounds of ammunition have been recovered from the possession of slain terrorist, the Army said. |
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One shot at in land dispute
Jammu, April 19 The injured was identified as Bhagwan Dass of Chak Murare village in Bishnah tehsil. Sources said trouble started at around 10 AM when two groups staked claim over 18 kanal near the railway track in Bari-Brahmana. Soon the argument took an ugly turn and one Ashwani Bali, fired two shots at Bhagwan Dass. One of the bullets hit the victim on his leg. The victim was later hospitalised. Bari-Brahmana SHO Khaliq Choudhary when contacted, said, “The two groups had an old enmity over a piece of land which led to the clash.” |
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