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Amarnath Land Row
Police fires to disperse crowd
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Land row takes communal colour
Stoking fire, PDP way
Strike hits medical services
Land row hits tourist influx
Guv, Azad appeal to maintain peace
Vohra meets party leaders
Kashmiri Pandit’s for all-party meeting
Cong, NC at loggerheads
Don’t revoke land transfer: Kashmiri Pandits
Vyas is new principal secy
Daily Jammu Rajdhani
for Vaishno Devi
Physics workshop concludes
BJP protests against inflation
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Jammu, Kashmir regions poles apart
Tejinder Singh Sodhi Tribune News Service
Jammu, June 28 The controversy has created a drift between the two regions and political parties have been busy chasing the situation keeping in view the upcoming Assembly elections in the state slated to be held at the end of the year. The decision of the Chief Minister to attach the CEO of the SASB has not been taken well by the Jammu-based politicians, who believe that action of the CEO would construe as surrender to the politics of regionalism and separatism. “The move has exposed the leadership of the Congress and the PDP who have given up to the demands of the nationalist forces. We want the state government should be immediately dismissed and the Governor’s rule should be imposed in the state,” Ashok Khajuria, state president of the BJP told The Tribune He said: “Our demand is that the upcoming elections in the state should be held under the Governor’s rule as we don’t trust that elections under the PDP and the congress would be held in a free and fair manner.” Meanwhile, Jammu today witnessed protest demonstration against the PDP and NC leadership that has been demanding revoking of the forestland from the SASB. The protesters raised slogans against the PDP leadership, alleging that if the land was revoked, it could create regional polarisation between the two regions. The protest demonstrations have already taken a violent shape as eight persons were injured in clashes between two communities in Jammu two days ago whereas three persons have so far lost their lives in the Kashmir valley. “The present situation is worst then the militancy. It has created a rift between the people of the two regions who had shared cordial relationship even when the militancy was on its peak,” Amit Kumar, resident, said. The government had to temporarily stop the ongoing yatra in view of the protest demonstrations in the valley. The locals had attacked the pilgrims in which many of them were injured. “The incident has left a blot on the age-old secular fabric of the valley; protest demonstrations against the religious ritual and attack on the innocent pilgrims won’t be tolerated. Do they want to repeat another Godhra,” he added.
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Police fires to disperse crowd
Srinagar, June 28 Unofficial reports said over 40 persons, including six security personnel, were injured. The protesters also burnt abandoned bunkers at some places. “We are not in a position to confirm the number of injured. Our priority is to control the law and order situation,” a senior police official said. The police fired gun shots and tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. The police fired at Lal Chowk, Maisuma, Rainabari and Zaidabal among other areas. The valley remained shut, while roads were deserted and schools and offices were closed. Angry protesters also burnt a Balero jeep in Lal Chowk. Meanwhile, JKLF leader Yasin Malik and some of his supporters were also injured as the police baton-charged them. Senior Hurriyat leaders Shabir Shar and Nayeem Khan were also arrested from the party's office in Rajbagh.
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Land row takes communal colour
Jammu, June 28 However, people in Jammu want the controversy to end as early as possible so that the yatra continues unhindered. “The yatra continued during the period when militancy in Kashmir was on its peak but the recent attack on the pilgrims by the local people for whom the yatra is a source of livelihood is very unfortunate,” said Kirat Kumar, resident of Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. The people have pinned hopes on the newly elected Governor N. N. Vohra who has also the head of SASB. They also condemn the fact that politicians in both regions of the state were making it a communal issue and believe that the matter would have been settled by dialogue. “This is very unfortunate that a controversy on a religious issue has been made. Giving it communal colour won’t be tolerated. The issue can be settled amicably,” said Mangat Ram, a resident of Jammu. People in Jammu are against the communalisation of the yatra as feel that the state and its residents have always been harbingers of secularism and brotherhood. They have denounced the stand of the Kashmir-based political leadership and the separatist parties for revoking the forestland from the SASB. “Militancy has spoiled the social fabric of the state. How can construction of temporary huts spoil the environment there? Land will still remain in Kashmir. Hence, there was no need of creating any controversy over the transfer,” said Sandeep Koul, a student of Jammu University, adding: “The yatra supports the economy of the state and it provides livelihood to thousands in the valley, the people there should not oppose the yatra.”
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Stoking fire, PDP way
Srinagar, June 28 Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar
Baig, who has been his party's face in the ongoing mass agitation, has come in under sharp criticism from several quarters. "There are few politicians that can lie with as straight a face as he," writes National Conference president Omar Abdullah in his
blog. A section of Congress leaders said more than PDP's volte-face on the cabinet's decision of transferring the 800 kanal forestland to Sri Amarnath Shrine Board, it's the manner in which the party went on disowning the decision that fuelled the fire and hurt the government. As separatists started mobilising support against the order, Baig said his party ministers were "blackmailed" by their Congress colleagues. When Congress minister Mangat Ram Sharma asked him to swear by a holy book, Baig sulked, a Congress leader said. It was ironical that the two ministries, who had dealt with the nuances of land transfer issue before the Cabinet approval, were headed by PDP leaders. While Qazi Afzal was the forest minister, Baig himself headed the law department. Before Baig went public with his "blackmailing" story, Afzal had said the Cabinet took the decision unanimously and they had no differences. As the BJP and VHP in Jammu said they would block the Kashmir Highway, Baig was quick to react, saying there was another road waiting to be opened. He was hinting at the road leading to Muzaffarabad in Pak-occupied-Kashmir. With elections round the corner, political commentators say the PDP believes that polarisation of voters over religious and regional issues would help it as its policies have been more radical than its principal rival National Conference. Such is the situation that soon after Omar Abdullah announced that he had advised Governor N. N. Vohra to withdraw shrine board's claim over the land as a solution to crisis, Baig accused Abdullah of "stealing" his party's idea. He said he had passed on this idea to the Governor, and the NC was now claiming as its own. "He made not one but two serious allegations against me and my party and in the process ended up accusing the new Governor of impropriety as well," the NC president writes. |
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Strike hits medical services
Srinagar, June 28 For many the present situation brings back memories of 1990, when there were unending protest marches coupled with violent incidents of grenade explosions, exchange of fire between militants and security forces amid pro-freedom slogans. In the prevailing scenario, medical services are the worst-hit. There is thin attendance of doctors, paramedical and administrative staff at hospitals due to lack of transport services and road blockades. Recently, the director,
Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, appealed to the people not to disrupt movement of ambulances. But that, too, fell on deaf ears. Altaf Ahmad, a cancer patient, has to undergo chemotherapy at the SKIMS, five days a week. Altaf recounts the day when he had to reach the hospital. With no traffic on the roads, he along with his wife, sought a lift from a private vehicle owner. The car was stopped by a group of boys. The couple was spared, but the driver was thrashed for “violating norms” as the city observed a bandh. Later, an autorickshaw driver came to Altaf’s rescue. Just five minutes into the journey, a mob brandishing lathis and pelting stones on passing vehicles, stopped them. “A youth checked my prescription and questioned me,” Altaf said. While the couple was again spared, the autorickshaw driver was beaten up for “venturing out”. After much hardship, Altaf was able to reach the hospital. Further, the situation at many hospitals in the city is grim. Patients have to wait for hours to get themselves treated. “The supplies have been disrupted,” a patient was told by the hospital staff. Scattered stones, broken bricks, lathis, concrete blocks, iron rods, poles and burnt tyres can be seen scattered on roads. The scene is almost the same at Baba
Demb, Naid Kadal, Rajouri Kadal, Jamia Masjid, Hawal, Firdous Cinema,
Gojwara, Hawal and Soura. |
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Land row hits tourist influx
Jammu, June 28 Yatri niwas, the base camp of Amarnath pilgrims here, saw thin attendance of devotees today. Tourism officials said pilgrims putting up in the yatri niwas had left for the cave shrine among a batch of 4,105 pilgrims. The registration for lodging in the yatri niwas at Bhagwati Nagar starts at 2 pm. About a week ago, pilgrims used to flock to the main gate since morning. Now, there is hardly any rush. The number of buses and private vehicles carrying pilgrims was far too less. “We did good business for the initial four-five days, but there is no rush of pilgrims for the past few days
here,” a shopowner said. “Media reports on violence in the valley have definitely caused apprehension among the pilgrims. While some of them have cancelled their pilgrimage, those who have reached Jammu don’t want to return without completing the yatra,” Pandit Jeenda Ram Joshi, a pilgrim, said. “All this is politics. I will reach the shrine at all cost. I am part of a group holding langar for pilgrims at Panchtarni, from where the cave shrine is only 7 km,” he added. Surprisingly, some of the pilgrims were unaware of the happenings in the valley. “I came to know about it from TV. Is everything fine there?” he asked. The Jammu railway station, which saw a huge rush of pilgrims, is also witnessing a low turnout these days. Sudarshan Sharma, general secretary, Taxi Operators Union, said they had suffered huge losses as tourists had cancelled their trips. “Only five to six tourists came through The Rajdhani Express today. This is very less as compared to the business we get to do from this train,” he added. Sharma alleged that Jammu-bound vehicles were also being targeted by protesters on the way to Pahalgam or
Baltal.
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Guv, Azad appeal to maintain peace
Srinagar, June 28 Both Governor and the Chief Minister reiterated their appeal to the people to maintain calm and stressed that there was no issue that cannot be resolved amicably in a peaceful manner. They also urged all political parties and organisations to help in restoring normalcy and paving way for resolving all issues that hurt the sensibilities of all segments of the people of the state. “Maintaining peace is vital to the interests of the state that has witnessed spilling of innocent blood in the past two decades,” the Governor said and hoped that the people of Jammu and Kashmir would not get misled by the malicious propaganda or swayed by passions,” he added. Meanwhile, the government has come out with certain facts about order to subside the mounting public resentment against the land diversion to
SASB. An official spokesman here said notwithstanding noises being made about the government order diverting the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board
(SASB), the fact was that the order dated May 26, 2008 issued in this regard said the diversion of the land was for “raising pre-fabricated structures only for camping purposes of pilgrims without going in for construction of permanent structures at Baltal and Domail by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board”. Further, the order laid down specific terms and conditions that the proprietary status of the forestland shall remain unchanged and the land so diverted shall be utilised only for the purpose for which it has been diverted. It shall not be transferred to any other agency without approval of the Forest Department. The land shall not be mortgaged, reassigned or sub-leased by user agency in any manner whatsoever to any other agency, adds the order, the spokesman stated. |
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Vohra meets party leaders
Srinagar, June 28 They urged the Governor to defuse the situation and restore normalcy in the state, an official spokesman said. Minister for transport and president of the People’s Democratic Front Hakeem Mohammed Yasin and M. Y. Tarigami, CPM state secretary and MLA, had a joint meeting with the Governor. This was followed by a meeting with a CPI delegation led by its senior leader Abdul Rehman Tukroo. Bhim Singh, president, J&K National Panthers Party and MLC, at the head of four-member delegation also called on the Governor and urged him to take action to restore normalcy in the state. The Governor appreciated the endeavours
of various political parties to defuse the situation and expressed confidence that all
issues would be resolved at the earliest. He emphasised the need for maintaining peace and tranquility to foil the attempts of the elements that have a strong vested interest to vitiate the peace in the region.
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Kashmiri Pandit’s for all-party meeting
Srinagar, June 28 In a statement here today, Sanjay
Tickoo, president, KPSS, also called for a special session of the Legislative Assembly to pass the Temple Bill to stop the blood shed in the valley and end the controversy. According to the bill, all temples would be included within the province of Kashmir, he said. He has also appealed all sections of the society in Kashmir to stop the ongoing protest so that a cordial atmosphere could be established. The KPSS leaders also urged the government, majority community leaders and other groups to take stern action against those who were making false rumours to given the situation a communal colour. Describing as unfortunate the controversy, which had been deliberately raised to disturb the social and communal fabric of Kashmir, Tickoo alleged that some vested interests were responsible for hurting the sentiments of the people. According to the
KPSS, the move to transfer land and handing the management of the shrine board to Kashmiri pandits was gimmick that turned the situation in the valley. The KPSS statement added that it had already urged the concerned authorities and leaders to come forward to stop the sale and purchase of temple properties in the valley by unscrupulous elements. But the response was awaited and questioned the sincerity in handing over of the religious places in the Kashmir province to the Kashmiri pandits. |
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Cong, NC at loggerheads
Udhampur, June 28 As no representative from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was present, all those attending the meeting attacked Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and Deputy Chief Minister, Muzaffar Hussain Beig for communalising the issue. When Congress leader Brij Mohan Sharma was criticising the PDP for the current situation, National Conference leader Akbar Shah intervened and blamed the Congress for it and said it was all due to the weakness of the Congress that the PDP has been communalising the situation. It was only after intervention of SSP Ashqoor Wani, the situation was brought under control. The PDP came under severe criticism in the peace committee meeting. |
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Don’t revoke land transfer: Kashmiri Pandits
Jammu, June 28 Addressing a press conference here today, ASKPC leaders alleged that it was a conspiracy of fundamentalists who were trying to recreate the atmosphere of the 1990s. “They want to prevent Kashmiri Pandits from returning to the valley,” they rued. The leaders demanded a CBI inquiry into the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit youth during the recent protests in Srinagar. They also demanded a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for his family. The outfit gave a call to other Kashmiri Pandit bodies to stage a dharna in support of their demands outside the Raj Bhawan here on June 30. |
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Vyas is new principal secy
Srinagar, June 28 Bharat Bhushan Vyas, commissioner-secretary, finance department, has been posted as the new principal secretary, an official spokesman said today. The withdrawal of Arun Kumar, who is also the chief executive officer (CEO), Shri Amarnath Shrine Board
(SASB), comes in wake of the report submitted by a three-member committee to the government. The Chief Minister had directed on June 21, that a three-member committee be constituted to analyse the evidence, including video and audiotapes of the Arun Kumar’s press briefing held on June 17. The committee in its report submitted to the government reached the conclusion that the CEO had violated provisions of the All-India Services (Conduct) Rules. Considering the committee’s report, the government decided to immediately withdraw Arun Kumar from the Raj Bhawan and attached him to the GAD. The government has also decided to recall
S.L. Bhat, IAS, presently on Central deputation, and post him as financial commissioner, finance. |
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Daily Jammu Rajdhani
for Vaishno Devi
New Delhi, June 28 “There was a demand to increase the frequency of the Jammu Rajdhani Express. So we decided accordingly to run the train connecting Delhi to Jammu on a daily basis in view of the heavy rush of pilgrims,” said a senior Railways Ministry official. Apart from this, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched daily Mata Vaishno Devi package for the convenience of pilgrims visiting the shrine. It is a three-night four-day package where passengers are given to and fro tickets of the Jammu Rajdhani Express. “Besides confirmed tickets in three-tier AC, other arrangements include dinner on board and welcome drinks at the Jammu Tawi station on arriving in the morning,” said the official. From Jammu passengers are transferred to Katra by road, where they check in at a hotel. After breakfast at the hotel, pilgrims are taken to Banganga for the 12-km trek to the holy cave of Vaishno Devi, as per the package. “We have reserved 36 berths in the Rajdhani for the package which also include lunch and dinner during the “yatra” and darshan slip,” said the official. The package is priced at Rs 3950 per adult passenger and Rs 2200 per child.
— PTI |
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Physics workshop concludes
Udhampur, June 28 The workshop was organised by the school under “In Service Training Programme for Faculty Enrichment in Physics” for teachers of Army Schools, teaching at secondary and senior-secondary level. Speaking on the occasion, Lt-Col V.K. Bector (retd), director, (AWES), Northern Command, said such workshops should be organised to cope up with modern trends and techniques of teaching. Local residents
Vikramaditya, Muneesh Gulati and Arunesh Mahajan delivered their lectures on “Current Electricity”, “Fluid Motion”, “Optics and Electromagnetic Induction,” respectively. Commenting on the training sessions, Col Amarjit Singh, Col G.S.
(Edn) of the Northern Command said physics teachers must incorporate “Learning and Doing” methods while teaching. Dr Kiran Singh, principal, Army Public School, said such faculty development programme would continue to enrich teachers and enable them to interact with their students effectively. Senior teachers like Rajesh Vohra, Veena Razhan and Rinku Shah were also present.
— TNS |
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BJP protests against inflation
Jammu, June 28 The protesters held the UPA government responsible for the price rise and raised slogans against the government. A BJP leader said, “The UPA government has failed to redress the issue of the common masses and has failed to control rising inflation.” Commenting on the Amarnath land row, another protester said, “The Congress-led UPA government is playing with the religious sentiments of the people, particularly the Hindu community.” |
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Hideout busted
Rajouri, June 28 |
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Security personnel today fired at a large number of agitating protesters, who staged demonstrations against the ongoing violence over the issue of the Amarnath land row, at various places in
Srinagar today.
