Udhampur, May 30
Amidst reports that some militants have managed to sneak into the villages of Udhampur district bordering Samba, people have been put on high alert and Village Defence Committees (VDCs) have intensified patrolling in the sensitive areas, including Mansar, Majalta, Manbal, Ramnagar and adjoining localities.

Further more, taking precautionary measures after Samba attack, the District Magistrate, Udhampur, has imposed ban on the sale and purchase of combat dress with immediate effect which would remain in force for a period of two months.

Intelligence agencies have already sounded the administration that some militants have managed to enter forest areas of Udhampur bordering Samba district. People have reportedly also spotted some persons who were roaming mysteriously in forest areas. It was only after these inputs that all VDCs have been alerted and civilians, who possess arms licence, have been asked to coordinate with the security forces and VDCs.

Security agencies have cautioned the civilians in general and VDCs in particular to keep a strict vigil on infiltration routes which connect Samba district with Udhampur.

As the militants, who were involved in the Samba attack, were wearing Army dress, authorities have taken preventive measures to avoid such incident in Udhampur district.

The District Magistrate, Udhampur, O P Kalandaria issued an official order to impose ban on the sale of combat dress. The imposition of ban has been necessitated in view of in-puts received from various security and intelligence agencies that militants have been moving in remote and hilly areas of the district wearing service uniforms posing themselves as armymen and security personnel and harassing innocent villagers.

The authorities have also imposed ban on plying of army painted vehicles by civilians has also been banned to keep a check on the movement and activities of anti-national elements.

There are 52 VDCs in the Udhampur villages bordering Samba district. These VDC have been specially trained by army troops in the handling of weapons, setting up of ambushes, developing of intelligence inputs and monitoring activities.

As incidents of infiltration came down during the past three years, VDC members had stopped night patrolling in the sensitive areas. But after recent infiltration from international border followed by the Samba attack, VDCs along with ex-servicemen have restarted patrolling during the night.

Jammu, May 30
After 45 corporators dashed off a letter to the state government alleging that commissioner of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), Jeet Lal Gupta, be removed for his alleged autocratic way of functioning, Jammu mayor Kavinder Gupta along with the commissioner tried to paint a rosy picture.

Addressing mediapersons here today, the mayor along with the commissioner highlighted the JMC’s achievements ever since it was converted into a corporation three years back.

Elected for a second-term, the mayor said, “JMC has projects worth Rs 4,100 crore for the winter capital. A cattle pond at a cost of Rs 2.60 crore would be raised at Kunjwani, while a sewerage plant at the cost of Rs 29 crore, would also be constructed,” he said.

The mayor said a piece of land had been identified at Rajeev Nagar where 116 flats would be constructed at a cost of Rs 14 crore for slum-dwellers.

Responding to a question, the mayor said after strong resistance from the people at Kot Bhalwal, the JMC had decided to raise a solid waste management plant at Kunjwani.

Meanwhile, JMC commissioner Jeet Lal Gupta also brought to the fore the wretched condition of the corporation.

He admitted that in the past three years, development works had suffered because of the deplorable condition of the JMC and a nexus between some corporators and officials. Meanwhile, the Municipal Employees Federation today held a demonstration and burnt an effigy of the deputy mayor Dharamveer Singh Jamwal and other corporators for their alleged misbehaviour.

Channi Diwani (Akhnoor), May 30
The “revelations” made by Kashmir Singh, who was released by Pakistan after languishing in a jail for more than 35 years, had sounded a “death knell” for other Indian prisoners in the neighbouring country.

Though Kashmir was given a hero’s farewell by Pakistan and a similar reception in India, the revelations he made after his release that he was actually spying for the country made him a “villain” in Pakistan and also risked the lives of other Indian prisoners languishing in various jails in the neighbouring country.

This was narrated to The Tribune by another Indian prisoner Mangal Singh, who was released by Pakistan last week after spending 11 years in jails.

“The revelations made by Kashmir Singh soon after his release from Pakistan that he was a spy and worked for Indian intelligence agencies proved to be a death knell for other Indian prisoners,” said Mangal Singh.

He said, “As majority of the Indian prisoners were charged of spying, they (the jail authorities in Pakistan) started torturing the prisoners to extract information.”

The Pakistani media that played a “constructive role” in the release of Kashmir Singh too turned against the Indian prisoners after he made his “revelations” public. Kashmir had also blamed the Indian government for abandoning him and his family after he got arrested in Pakistan.

“Everything was normal, but after Kashmir Singh made it public that he was a spy, the Pakistani media started propaganda against the Indian prisoners languishing in the jails. The media, which once advocated the release of the Indian prisoners now stood against them,” revealed Mangal Singh.

The death of Mohammed Akram, a Pakistani prisoner in an Indian jail in Amritsar further fueled the anti-Indian prisoner sentiments in Pakistan. People in large number had come on streets in Pakistan demanding death sentence for all the Indian prisoners charged of spying for India.

Akram’s death had also become the reason for the undue delay in the release of Sarabjeet Singh, as the Pakistan government came under immense pressure from the agitating people.

“People in Pakistan were demanding death sentence for all the Indian prisoners including Sarabjeet Singh. They said while Pakistan was releasing an Indian spy (Kashmir Singh), India was gifting them the dead bodies of its citizens,” Mangal said.

The conversion of Kashmir Singh from Islam to Sikhism was also not taken well by the people in Pakistan. “They said when he practiced Islam for more than three decades then why he adopted Sikhism,” Mangal said.

He said Kashmir Singh has become a “villain” in the eyes of other Indian prisoners languishing in various jails of Pakistan as the revelations risked their lives and would delay their release process.

Srinagar, May 30
Union minister for water resources and J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief Saif-ud-din Soz has sought Indo-Pak cooperation in the areas of common interests, especially agriculture, to gain maximum advantage.

Speaking at the concluding day of a two-day international conference on ‘Regional Economic Integration’ among South Asian countries yesterday, Soz said despite the vast amount of literature available on the subject the economic effects of regional economic integration needed more attention.

He stressed the need for more information on the complexities and implications of regional trade arrangements in the region.

The union minister said greater knowledge could be acquired by measuring and qualifying the distribution of gains from regional trade integration, which differ substantially depending on the nation and the relative economic strength of the trade partners.

The seminar was organised by the Department of Economics, University of Kashmir in collaboration with International Institute for Development Studies, (IIDS), Kolkata.

Srinagar, May 30
The police is at the receiving end from the local population and judiciary too as a three-year-old missing boy, Mehrn Lateef, remains untraced 17 days after his disappearance.

DIG AS Lone who was directed by the High Court to supervise the search operations as the public outcry rose and the family moved the court, told The Tribune today he had constituted several teams under four gazetted officials to look into different aspects of the case. He said the different angles they were looking into were if the kid had been abducted,or if he died in some mishap like drowning or something else.

The boy had gone out to fetch a candy and never returned to his home in Habba Kadal. A man claimed that he saw the boy with a bearded man. But any definite clue has eluded cops so far.

The police has registered a case of abduction which is a norm in such cases, and recorded statements of family members and other people, but no success has come its way so far.

His family members accompanied by some residents demonstrated today in Lal Chowk and Hurriyat (M) leader Javed Mir led them and condemned the police for its failure even as Lone said political parties should refrain from giving it political colour. 

Jammu, May 30
Encouraged by the successful rearing of the emu bird here, the animal husbandry department has place an order for 10 emus with the Veterinary College, Hyderabad.

Dr P.P. Sharma, joint director, poultry-cum-LPP, today said they had brought five-day-old chicks from Australia a couple of months back on a trial basis. “They have successfully acclimatised to the place and are gaining weight. At present they weigh 5 kg each as against a mere half kg when they were brought here,” he added. Sharma said an adult emu weighed a maximum of 60 kg and laid around 50 eggs a year.

He added, “The life expectancy of an emu is 30 years with a productive life expectancy of over 20 years.”

Sharma said emus had been kept in segregation at their Belicharana farm so that they did not contract infection from other birds. “All precautions have been taken to ensure clean surroundings for them,” he said.

Dr Sharma said the fresh batch of 10 emus was expected to arrive within a month’s time and it would include parent stock so that after completion of the trial, their hybrids could be supplied to farmers for rearing.

He hoped that emu farming would open new economic vistas for poultry farmers. “Given its huge weight and a vast market to be tapped, it will fetch an impressive return for farmers of the state,” he said.

Sharma also revealed that they had submitted a Rs 85-lakh project to the Centre for turkey farming. “We already have 100 turkeys at our Belicharana farm, which were also brought here on a trial basis. A male turkey weighs anywhere between 12-14 kg, while a female turkey weighs 6-8 kg. The results have been good and we are also selling it,” he added.

Under the proposed project, a farm would be set up at Nagrota where 1,000 more turkeys would be reared. He said the project was expected to be approved by the Centre very soon.

Srinagar, May 30
In a classic case of corruption, the government officials faked everything - from requirement of works to quotations and names of firms - and pocketed millions of rupees. And if the Vigilance Department sleuths are to be believed, the counting has just begun.

The department will prosecute a number of officials of the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department for pocketing over Rs 25.28 lakh of the total budget of over Rs 35.80 lakh of some developmental works, which they ‘manufactured’ to gobble up the unused funds.

And these are particulars of only one case as the department has registered at least seven cases involving bungling of similar nature. Complaints came pouring in when this R&B case came to light. The amount siphoned is likely to run into several crores of rupees.

SSP N.A. Wani told The Tribune that Shamshddin Koka, a chief engineer in 2005, ganged up with his juniors and suppliers to appropriate unused government funds. With brazenness, they falsified quotations and competitive firms. “We found most quotations written in the same handwriting and some of the firms were not even registered and these works not needed in the first place,” Wani said.

One supplier firm, Max Well, was registered for making barbed wire but was shown supplying something else while others, who were shown giving quotations, denied that they ever did it. The department went on to procure 11,350 kg of flournite concrete hardware, used in construction, at Rs 44 per kg against the market price of Rs 8.10 per kg, hundreds of cat eye reflector, used in roads for traffic convenience, for Rs 620 apiece while they were available for Rs 180 in open market.

Another material used in construction, quick setting powder, was purchased in thousands of kg at the rate of Rs 80 instead of available Rs 27.30, including profit for suppliers.

Investigating officials say the hefty margins, ranging from 300 to 500 per cent of the actual cost, they deposited in their accounts was nothing less than shocking. The Vigilance Department, which has been showing some gumption in taking on the corrupt officials in a state, has started investigating cases of similar nature after it was flooded with complaints. 

Channi Diwani (Akhnoor), May 30
Though there is a good news that the death sentence of Sarabjit Singh, Indian prisoner languishing in Pakistani jails for the past 18 years, has been kept on hold, but the condition of other Indian prisoners languishing in various jails in Pakistan are pathetic as they are being subjected to ‘inhumane’ conditions.

Mangal Singh, an Indian prisoner released from Pak while speaking to The Tribune said, “while in Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore with Sarabjit we came to know that some secret agreement between the two countries has been reached and that Sarabjit is expected to be freed within next few months.”

“But the condition of other 20 to 25 Indian prisoners languishing in Kot Lakhpat jail in Pakistan is pathetic, they are being subjected to inhumane conditions, some of them have even lost their mental balance, they are subjected to so much of torture that now they don’t remember anything.”

He said on trivial mistakes Indian prisoners were subjected to harsh punishments and were kept in isolation in a dark cell for weeks together.

“On one such occasion some years ago, an Indian prisoner asked for a soap from the visiting jail superintendent, he was subjected to so much of thrashing that he died on the spot.” he revealed.

He said ashes of around 400 Indian prisoners who died in custody were still lying on the jail premises. Mangal who had inadvertently entered the Pakistani territory in a drunken state 11 years ago says there was no one to hear the “woes” of the Indian prisoners languishing in Pakistani jails.

Mangal was lucky enough that the Supreme Court of Pakistan gave him “clemency” and ordered his release, but according to him there were many others like him who had nowhere to go. “There is one Makhan Singh from Amritsar, he was a child when he had inadvertently crossed the border, now he is in his late 50s but there is nobody to take up his case for release,” Mangal said.

When asked about the Indian prisoners of war in Pakistani jails he said, “Though I haven’t met any of them, but what we came to know was that there are many such prisoners in Gora secret army jail in Sialkot, they (POWs) have been kept underground.”

Mangal who lost his mother, the only brother and other five members of his family during the past 11 years now plans to file a case in the Supreme Court to ask for compensation for the years he lost in the Pakistani jail.

Rajouri, May 30
About half a dozen persons were injured while a local MLA had a narrow escape in a land feud in the Mendhar area of Poonch.

Eyewitness said local National Conference MLA Javed Rana had called a meeting of two rival groups who had fought many times over a grazing land named Gugti Dhok at the tourist reception centre, Mendhar. They said this was the first time that two rival groups were brought in contact due to efforts of the MLA who wanted to iron out their differences.

However, eyewitness said no sooner did the meeting start than members of the rival groups entered into an heated argument which followed exchange of fists and blows among the members. “The MLA tried to pacify the two groups but failed. However, seeing the situation worsening further, the MLA fled from the spot,” an eyewitness said. "During the clash around six persons sustained injuries and were shifted to sub-district hospital, Mendhar.

Confirming the incident, Mendhar DSP Sanjay Singh Rana said there was a minor scuffle between the two groups and that they had later entered into a compromise.

No FIR was lodged in the matter.

Rajouri, May 30
Cutting across party lines, a group of protesters comprising members of the National Conference (NC) and the PDP (PDP) today held a protest demonstration against the state government for not setting up a degree college in Koteranka and instead setting it up in Buddhal town.

Hundreds of protesters forced the closure of business establishments, educational institutions, besides disrupting vehicular traffic on the Rajouri-Buddhal road for three hours, causing inconvenience to the public.

Around 200 protesters led by district president of the PDP, Zulfikar and Opposition NC block president, Chowdhary Shafi, protested against the government. They raised slogans against Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and higher education department authorities for not setting up the college at Koteranka.

The protesters reportedly pelted stones on the policemen who were trying to clear the road. However, the police maintained their cool and did not retaliate.