 |
|
APHC invite under review
Third front still on Mir’s mind
Pay Anomalies
HC relief for martyr’s father
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amarnath pilgrimage
Border fencing weighs heavily on their livelihood
College minus infrastructure, a useless proposition: Panel
Parties changing gears to secure political future
Red Cross to coordinate with agencies
Girl dies after consuming adulterated food
IAF man commits suicide
53,000 families registered under NREGP
Five officers transferred
|
||||||||||
|
APHC invite under review
Jammu, May 8 Asked whether before visiting Islamabad the APHC leaders wish to meet Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, Prof Bhatt said "we have always been in favour of a sustained dialogue with India and Pakistan. If we are invited by Delhi we will be pleased to meet the Prime Minister." He added "we will visit Pakistan only if we are invited by the Government in Islamabad." He said the purpose of resuming dialogue with Prime Minister and his counterpart in Islamabad was to achieve a breakthrough in the exercise aimed at settling the Kashmir issue. He said "if the Prime Minister is in a mood to talk, we are prepared to respond because we want all the problems to be resolved though dialogue." He said "we have adopted the same yardstick as far as Pakistan is concerned", adding that the Pakistan Prime Minister has desired to meet us and we are ready to hold talks with him." Prof Bhatt said "we favour a sustained dialogue between Delhi and Islamabad but at the same time we believe that the bilateral dialogue could prove a meaningful exercise if we, as representatives of peoples' aspirations, are involved in the talks." In the past the APHC leadership had made it clear that it was keen to meet the Prime Minister so that Hurriyat leaders could give a couple of solutions to the Kashmir issue."However, during the past over two years there has been no response from the Government of India. |
|
Third front still on Mir’s mind
Jammu, May 8 Mir today said, “I have not given up my hunt for forming the third front. It will be formed within a couple
of months.” In reply to a question Mir said, “I am in touch with other political leaders, including several sitting and former legislators. Already the
CPM, headed by M.Y. Tarigami, is giving me full support.” Asked in how many constituencies the JKDP would field its candidate, Ghulam Hassan Mir said, “It is premature to say anything about it.” He, however, indicated that he planned to field party candidates from various constituencies not only in the Kashmir valley but also in Jammu region. He also hinted that soon after the third front was born, candidates would be selected by the front leaders. He said the JKDP's emphasis would be on self-reliance which could be a
golden mean between the PDP's “self-rule slogan” and the National Conference’s demand for restoration of greater autonomy. When general secretary of the PDP, Nizam-ud-Din Bhatt was asked whether the birth of the JKDP would pose a threat to it, he said the party headed by Ghulam Hassan Mir was not a “political force to reckon with.” Bhat said the JKDP could hardly pose a threat to the PDP which had strengthened its base in the state during the past eight years. |
|
Pay Anomalies
Jammu, May 8 According to the statistics available with The Tribune, resentment prevailed among the defence forces, much before the pay commission was constituted. Over the past five years, 3,649 officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force have offered to resign from their active services which means on an average, two officers from the defence services get relieved from their services on a daily basis. “The symptoms are alarming and immediate measures need to be taken to make the defence services a lucrative profession,” a serving Army officer said on the condition of anonymity. He added, “Two officers leaving the forces on a daily basis is a matter of great concern as the trend can be dangerous. No mater what the government and agencies have to say, measures need to be taken as this could lead to a major setback for the country’s defence mechanism.” Many officers have shown their consent to leave, but the lack of a proper exit policy has added to the worries. According to sources, the government and the Army’s own promotion board has done little to mitigate the resentment brewing amongst the officers. As per data available, only 33 per cent officers at the rank of Lt. Colonel were recommended for promotion to the next rank, in the board meeting held yesterday. “When you give promotion to only 33 per cent of the officers superseding 67 per cent others, resentment amongst the deprived lot is quite natural,”an
officer said. According to top Army officers, the Army already faced shortage of officers which affected its overall performance. “In an Infantry Battalion, the authorised strength of officers is 21, but in most of the cases, these Battalions have been operating with only 8 to 9 officers. Such type of shortage not only puts an extra burden on the officers and jawans, but also hampers the operational capabilities of the Army, an Army officer said. |
|
HC relief for martyr’s father
Jammu, May 8 The high court allowed the petition of one Baij Nath while directing the respondent, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, to release the balance amount of Rs 3 lakh in favour of the petitioner, whose son Sanjiwan Kumar, a police personnel, died in an encounter with militants on December 27, 1999. Pursuant to government order no. 179-GAD of 1994, the state government has been granting ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh to next of kin of those who are killed by militants. However, the said amount of Rs 2 lakh has been enhanced to Rs 5 lakh in respect of next of kin of the security forces including defence personnel killed in operations, who are permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. After the death of his son, who served as police personnel in 14 Bn. SOG, the petitioner was granted and paid Rs 2 lakh as ex-gratia relief on November He laid claim for payment of Rs 3 lakh more on the strength of aforesaid order no. 805-GAD of 1999. The police in its objections controverted the contentions of the petitioner on the ground that though ex-gratia relief has been enhanced from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh vide government order no. 805-GAD of 1999 w.e.f May 1, 1999 in respect of security forces including defence personnel killed in operations but the same is not applicable in respect to J&K police personnel. However, the issue has been taken up with the government to include all magistrates and J&K police personnel killed on security duties and the matter is still under consideration before the government. Justice Virender Singh of the high court observed, “We cannot just ignore the fact that in the year 1999 the State of J&K was reeling under militancy. During such operations, many security personnel of various forces including the police have given sacrifices fighting militancy leaving behind their kith and kin in lurch.” “With a view to come to rescue of such kith and kin of those brave persons, the state appears to have issued order no. 805-GAD of 1999.” “Going by logic and rationale, the state cannot draw any distinction between member of the state police who has laid his life while fighting with militants and the members of other forces for the purpose of granting ex-gratia relief. Perhaps, this being in mind, the government seems to have deliberately instead of describing any particular force, has used the comprehensive expression ‘security forces' so as to bring all the forces fighting militancy under one umbrella.” The court further held, “The instant case unfortunately depicts apathy of the state government. It really pains this court. Admittedly, the petitioner’s son being the member of the police force lost his life fighting against militants and, therefore, he is entitled to the payment of enhanced ex-gratia relief at the rate of Rs 5 lakh.” |
|
|
Amarnath pilgrimage
Srinagar, May 8 In a meeting with the Principal Secretary to the Governor and chief executive officer, SASB, Dr Arun Kumar, here today, the Pahalgam Hotel Association said that it was ready to slash down tariff drastically, bringing it at par with the rates of tentage accommodation. The traders also appealed that no one should be stopped from staying in their hotels during the yatra period. Chairman of the association Javed Burzza said the hoteliers have all along extended hospitality to the pilgrims. The association said it was not averse to having the Nunwan base camp but it should not be at the cost of hoteliers, whose business has suffered immensely during the past few years. It complained that the security exercise had created various obstacles for carrying out avocations and called for its streamlining. Dr Kumar reiterated that the board wanted massive local participation in the yatra and it would continue to remove the obstacles in this regard. He said the law and order and security did not come under the ambit of the shrine board, however, it would take up the issues projected by the association at appropriate levels to enable maximum utilisation of the already available hotel accommodation in Pahalgam during the yatra period. He appreciated the gesture of various trading association that have been meeting him for the past few days and gave an overview of measures being taken to elicit the local participation in yatra management like house keeping, distribution of prasad made of local ingredients, watch and ward, road and track maintenance and provision of various utility services. The Pahalgam Pony Association and Taxi association members also put forth their problems and urged the board to look into these earnestly. Dr Kumar assured various associations of Pahalgam of all possible assistance from the board in carrying out their avocations during the two-month long yatra. He also spelt out the initiatives taken by the board in maintaining the ecology of this picturesque tourist destination, which include environmental friendly shelter places and toilets. Proper upkeep of the camp and its health and hygiene is taken due care of, he added. |
|
Border fencing weighs heavily on their livelihood
Changiya (Bisnah), May 8 Further, restrictions imposed by the Border Security Force (BSF) have adversely affected their only source to livelihood. Pindi Camp, Pindi Chadkan, Kaku-De-Kothe, Rakh, Chanana, Pindi Kadwal, Changiya, Jabowal, Trewa, Kotla Camp and Chak Gorian were some of the villages where farmers face the problem. In Kotla Camp and Chak Gorian villages, some farmers have lost their entire fields to border fencing. “Border fencing has hit us hard as a major chunk of our agricultural fields have been fenced out leaving us at the mercy of BSF to take up cultivation,” said Paras Ram of Changiya village. Bhushan Dass of Chak Gorian said agriculture was the only source of their livelihood and as their land had been acquired for border fencing, they were on the verge of starvation. It may be recalled that the coalition government in the last Assembly session had also admitted that the BSF in certain villages had forcibly acquired land to erect the
border fence. Health minister Mangat Ram Sharma, while describing it a genuine problem, assured that the government would seek adequate compensation for the aggrieved farmers. Meanwhile, in some villages, farmers had to tread a distance of nearly 2 km to reach BSF gates, so as to gain entry into their fields on the other side of the fence. A senior official of the home department said farmers living in villages close to the IB faced serious problems. He, however, claimed that after the Union government had been informed about the issue, tenders had been issued to shift border fencing close to the zero line so that fenced out fields could be restored
to the farmers. |
|
|
Overiding Menace
Rajouri, May 8 Ironically, every year hundreds of passengers loose their precious lives due to accident caused by overloading in the private transport vehicles here in these frontier districts. In fact, Rajouri and Poonch districts are known for deadly accidents. Last year, on February 2, 19 passengers were killed and dozens others wounded when an overloaded bus met with an accident at Nowshehra of this border district. About a fortnight later, 16 people lost their lives in a road accident at Sawajian near Poonch while an overloaded minibus skidded off the road and crashed into a deep gorge. On April 25 last year, again a crowded mini bus on way from Poonch to Surankote skidded off the road and fell into river Kalai claiming 30 precious lives. Sources in the Traffic and Transport Departments said that inadequate number of commercial vehicles and shortage of traffic regulating staff allow private transporters to indulge in overloading. “The state Traffic And Transport Departments have failed miserably in taking effective steps to check overloading in our border districts. There is shortage of commercial passenger vehicles. And absence of new permits to private transporters leads to overloading,” said Aejaz Ahmed, a resident and businessman here, who shuttles between Darhal and this border township on daily basis in the overloaded buses. There is also shortage of traffic cops (just eight traffic cops in these twin border districts), which gives the private transporters free hand to overload. A senior traffic police officer expressing helplessness to check overloading, said we do our bit to check it. “But we too are facing shortage of manpower,” he added. The local transport officers couldn’t be contacted. |
|
|
College minus infrastructure, a useless proposition: Panel
Srinagar, May 8 Among a group of recommendations which are likely to be largely cheered by people and academia alike, the seven-member committee said no college should be made operational until it got adequate infrastructure. The committee also stated that students should be given a say, while nominating teachers for the best teacher awards. “So many new colleges have come up, but facilities and infrastructure is poor at many of these centres. It does no good to education at large,”Qureshi said at a function in Amar Singh College here today. Qureshi said the coalition government had announced a large number of degree colleges across the state. “But they were driven by political expediency and many of them lack proper buildings and teaching staff, let alone amenities for students,” he added. However, higher education minister Gulchain Singh Charak said, “The number of students in colleges had increased to 94,000 from 55,000 in five years and it was not a mean achievement,” he said. Charak said his government would sympathetically consider the report. The committee has also asked the government to do away with the “catchment area” system of admission and said merit-cum-preference should replace it. The catchment area system makes it obligatory for colleges to admit students living in their vicinity and there was no cap on the number of students due to scarcity of colleges. The committee stated that the practice must be stopped. The committee said a clear-cut admission policy for admission to the three-year degree course be made and a minimum of 40 per cent marks in class XII be made mandatory for admission in the arts and commerce stream. It has also sought switching over to March session as is the practise in the rest of the country. “We want to end the ad hoc and contractual system in the college sector,” a committee member said, quoting the report. |
|
|
Parties changing gears to secure political future
Srinagar, May 8 In the first major reshuffle, a former leader of the ruling PDP, Javed Ahmad Dar, joined the National Conference in presence of patron Farooq Abdullah. This was followed by former PDP leader Ishtiyaq Qadiri joining the Peoples Democratic Front (PDF), which is led by transport minister Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen. Thirdly, expelled PDP MLA Ghulam Hassan Mir formally launched the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Party (DP), with some of his old colleagues including Sarfaraz Khan. The coalition partners, apart from the ruling Congress and PDP, comprise the PDF and the CPM. Another constituent, comprising four members of the Bhim Singh’s Panthers Party (PP) has already opted out of the coalition government for its differences with the main coalition parties. When asked about bringing known faces to the party, Ghulam Hassan Mir said, “I do not believe in horsetrading… there is so much of human resource available.” The available political human resource had not been exploited and many talented people don’t get opportunities to make their future in politics, he added. According to Javed Ahmad Dar, the National Conference, which he joined yesterday, “is the only party, which can give something to people. The PDP is the party of rich people and not the real workers.” When a former Hurriyat Conference leader, Saifuddin Bhat joined the PDP here on April 29, he asserted that like the APHC, the PDP had a political vision on Kashmir resolution, but with the addition of administrative approach. Six other leaders including a former MLA, Sadiq Ali returned to the National Conference fold two months ago. Earlier a former minister, Ajatshatru Singh had returned from the Congress to the NC in Jammu. On the other hand, a number of former National Conference leaders led by Ghulam Hassan Geelani joined the PDP here last month. |
|
|
Red Cross to coordinate with agencies
Srinagar, May 8 This decision was taken at the general council meeting of the State Red Cross here today presided over by Governor Lt-Gen S.K. Sinha (retd). He said the proposed nodal agency would come up with a roadmap for combating this menace by the yearend or early next year. It would precede seminars and a series of interactive sessions with the civil society before formulating a realistic plan, he added. He called for a multidimensional approach by various agencies like public works, transport, traffic, health and police on reducing the number of accidents. The Governor lamented over the growing number of road accidents and said deaths on roads were perhaps more than the causalities caused due to militants' violence. He envisioned a mechanism of having first aid centres equipped with ambulances and wireless communication network right from Pathankot to Uri for responding to the needs of accident victims. Giving historical overview of the Red Cross, the Governor said its activities expanded from looking after the wounded persons during wars to the prisoners of war and to the sufferers of natural calamities. He hoped that its activities would further expand with active support of governments and philanthropic
organisations. |
|
|
4 attempt suicide seeking permanent jobs
Srinagar, May 8 The J&K ITI, PHE, Mechanical and Civil Association, which represents 2,170 persons, many of whom were employed as adhoc workers with the state government, has launched a protest against the government’s alleged indifferent attitude to their demands. The four men jumped into the river in continuation of their agitation. Police sources said all of them survived and three managed to flee, while one of them had been detained. Sabzar Ahmad Dar, association president said they had been working on a temporary basis and many of them had not been given salary for the past three years. “We have become a burden on our family and the government has cheated us. They are making claims of offering employment packages to the youth, but what about us,” he said. The absence of private companies and stagnation in government jobs has made unemployment a serious issue with unemployed youths, most of whom work in ad hoc capacities, often resorting to dangerous ways to attract the public’s attention. A few months back, electropathy degree holders had mounted a mobile tower and refused to come down until officials promised to fulfill their demands. |
|
|
Girl dies after consuming adulterated food
Udhampur, May 8 The deceased had been identified as Renu, a resident of New Delhi, who along with her newly married sister Sangeeta Bajaj, had gone to Bhawan for paying obeisance at the holy cave. On Wednesday night, the family returned to Katra and had dinner at a local dhabha. Soon after, both the girls started vomiting and their condition deteriorated. They were shifted to the Katra hospital where Renu breathed her last. Sangeeta Bajaj was referred to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu, for advanced treatment. Hospital sources said Sangeeta’s condition was critical and she had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). With more than 27,000 pilgrims paying obeisance at the cave shrine, Katra Municipal authorities have not made adequate arrangements to check the sale of adulterated food in the town. Executive officer, Katra Municipal Committee, was not available for comments. |
|
|
IAF man commits suicide
Srinagar, May 8 The reasons behind the extreme step are not clear yet, officials said. The police said his family members have been informed about the incident and they have begun inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the
CrPC. — TNS |
|
|
53,000 families registered under NREGP
Rajouri, May 8 The wage and non-wage budget to the tune of Rs 53 crore have been earmarked and shelf of project is being prepared at panchayat level which will be completed by May this year, for its approval. Sheikh elaborating current year’s plan said Rs 351.48 lakh have be finalised. During last financial year, he claimed that Rs 598.50 lakh was spent on completing 2,556 rural infrastructure development works including 185 tractor roads, 495 bridal paths/ pacca paths. |
|
|
Five officers transferred
Srinagar, May 8 Ajay Singh Jamwal, KAS, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Basholi, has been transferred and posted as project officer, Watershed Development, Jammu against an available vacancy. Tsering Narboo, assistant director, Information, Leh has been transferred and posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Nyoma vice M. Raju.
— TNS |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
