Jammu, July 28
Continuing with its aggressive approach over the Amarnath land transfer row, the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti has extended the shutdown call for another three days. However, there would be no restriction on the movement of Vaishno Devi and Amarnath pilgrims.

Addressing a press conference here today, samiti convener Leela Karan Sharma said during the next 72 hours they would also disrupt the supply of essential commodities to the Kashmir valley. To start with the Oil Tankers Association has already announced to stop loading of petroleum products during this period.

He said a few changes in the agitation plan had been effected keeping in view the hardships being faced by the common man. The Retailers' Association had been asked to ensure that at least twoor three shops should remain open for a couple of hours in each locality everyday. Similarly, the wholesalers will open shops at night to make sure the supply to the retailers.

He said the Vivekanand Vichar Manch, a constituent of the samiti, would provide free ration to the daily wagers and others dependant on daily earnings for their livelihood. The Association of Hotels and Lodges would put up free langar for the pilgrims, besides facilitating accommodation at nominal charges for them, he added.

About the government's efforts to resolve the issue, Sharma said on the one hand, the Governor was making an appeal to the people of Jammu to maintain peace and on the other the state police was "resorting to unprovoked lathicharges on those protesting peacefully". He claimed that the agitation had support of all communities in the region.

Jammu, July 28
State CPM secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami today urged Governor N.N. Vohra to urgently convene an all-party meet to resolve the Amarnath land row.

Speaking at a public rally at Sangaldan Ramban here, he said the current situation in the Jammu region reflected short sightedness of the state administration.

He said the government “remained insensitive to the genuine concerns of the people,” and cautioned the administration not to indiscriminately use force.

He opined that all channels of communication must be opened up with all sections of people. Besides, he made various demands to the railway authorities, including enhancements of wages of railway workers, recruitment of local youth for the projects, adequate compensation to those who had provided land for the railway track and whose land was being used for dumping waste material.

He sought the railway authorities to grant trade union rights to the workers.

Jammu, July 28
The National Conference (NC) has condemned the use of brutal force by the state administration against people in Jammu agitating over the Amarnath land transfer row.

In a meeting held here today NC provincial president Ajay Sadhotra and other party leaders appealed to Governor N.N. Vohra to restrain the administration from using excessive force and committing human rights (HR) violations against the people of Jammu.

NC leaders said the situation in Jammu was grim and all wanted peace and normalcy to return to the Jammu region. They appealed to the Governor that the administration should create an environment conducive for initiating a dialogue with the agitators. They also appealed to the agitators to come forward and hold parleys with the administration in the interest of peace and stability.

"Dialogue is the only way to find a solution to the problem," they said. The NC leaders also appealed to the people of Jammu not to get swayed by certain vested interests. The party said peace in Jammu was important for the state and the country.

They also urged the Governor to take immediate steps to restore normal power supply in the Jammu region.

They appealed to the Governor to draw a mechanism where essential commodities are made available to the people during the ongoing turmoil.

Jammu, July 28
Protesters agitating for the restoration of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) in south Kashmir today went berserk and damaged electronic power meters installed at houses and business establishments in the winter capital.

“Over 1,000 electronic meters were damaged by protesting youths who went door-to-door in the city and nearby areas of winter capital,” sources said. The protesting youths covered their faces with handkerchiefs and shouted “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and anti-government slogans.

Police sources said the curfew had not been lifted from “sensitive” areas like Janipur, Bakshi Nagar, Pacca Danga, Domana, Nowabad, bus stand, Peer Mitha and City Police station areas in the Jammu city. — UNI

Jammu, July 28
The BJP has reiterated its demand that Kashmir-based separatist leaders, certain Congress and National Conference leaders, who have allegedly encroached upon 1,600 kanals of land in Sunjwan area, including Bhatindi, must vacate the forest land and quit Jammu immediately.

Addressing a press conference here today, state BJP president Ashok Khajuria said, “They cannot be allowed to grab the forest land, construct permanent structures here and indulge in anti-India activities. They must quit Jammu forthwith.”

He said it was “shameful” on the part of certain Jammu-based opinion makers who have launched a “misinformation campaign to tarnish the image of the BJP” who try to convey an impression that the party was trying to communalise the situation by asking the Kashmiri separatists and their sympathisers to quit Bhatindi and surrounding areas.

He said their demand was well-founded and based on facts and official information. According to him, the state government had constituted a committee on August 11, 1988 to identify the areas that had been encroached in and around Jammu.

The panel was to submit its report within a month, but it never came out due to the pressure of those who were involved in the land grabbing, he said. 
Khajuria said the government had then claimed that some of the encroachers were influential and the problem was acute at Sunjwan, Chhani Rama, Chhani Himmat and Bhatindi areas.

He said the BJP could not be accused of distorting facts, as the government had admitted in the Assembly in March 22, 1997 (vide No 5527 dated March 22, 1997) that the encroachment has taken place in Sunjwan, Dugian, Thangar, Narwalbala, Chhani Himmat, Chhani Rama and Bhatindi.

He claimed that the government had also issued eviction notices, but due to non-availability of revenue and demarcation records eviction proceedings were delayed.

However, despite the matter being raised with the higher authorities from time to time, no action has been taken in this regard since then, he added.

Jammu, July 28
The state government may opt for postponement of the Assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir, due in October, in case the current turmoil in Jammu did not show any sign of improvement.

According to official sources, a think-tank within the corridors of power in the state may suggest to the Centre and the Chief Election Commission to defer the poll as the current violence in Jammu may not allow a free and fair poll. The sources said the top authorities were watching the situation in Jammu, where agitators, protesting against the land revocation order, have clashed with the police during the past five days. In the ding-dong battle between the police and the protesters, scores of civilians and policemen have been injured. The use of force by the police seems to have proved counter-productive, forcing people to resort to forceful demonstrations.

The sources said if the elections were postponed the political leaders in the forefront of the agitation might not be able to gain mileage in the deferred poll because by then the anger would have subsided. However, Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh said:" There is no valid reason for the elections to be postponed because the agitation has no link with the poll process." He said that peoples' anger was not only against the withdrawal of the land allotment order under which 800 kanals of land had been diverted to the Amarnath Shrine Board but also against the continued discrimination with the Jammu region.

The Panthers Party leader said a way out needed to be explored and the government should come up with a proposal for defusing the crisis so that the issues could be resolved through meetings between the Governor and leaders of Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti. "We want an end to the regional discrimination. We want equal devolution of funds between Jammu and Kashmir provinces. We want equal share in the government jobs. Once an assurance was given by the government the situation may improve," he added.

Asked whether the current turmoil in Jammu would result in the postponement of the elections BJP president Ashok Khajuria said "I do not think so. "In reply to another question he said "the five-day bandh has been extended by another 72 hours and let us see what happens after that. "He said" we will not favour deferment of the poll because what people in Jammu were fighting for had no relation with the Assembly elections. "He indicated that peace may return to Jammu within a week though the agitation against the land revocation order will continue.

Srinagar, July 28
A senior PDP leader survived a militant attack on his house, official sources said. They said militants attacked the house of Mohammad Amran Shah, block president of PDP at Dialgam in Anantang district with automatic weapons. The guards posted at the house returned the fire, making the militants escape.

Jammu, July 28
The health and medical education department has warned all private hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostic centres, functioning in various parts of the state, of stern action in case they failed to apply scientific methods, while disposing of bio-medical wastes.

The warning was issued after the department received a number of written and verbal complaints, wherein the public alleged that some private establishments, functioning mostly in residential areas, lacked proper facilities for the disposal of bio-medical wastes, which was otherwise required under law.

All private establishments in the health sector have accordingly been served notices, wherein the owners and management have been asked to dispose of their bio-medical wastes by proper segregation and treatment through agencies authorised by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), informed sources told The Tribune.

The “erring” nursing homes, dental clinics and private hospitals have been issued warnings that their establishments would be closed and their licenses would be suspended if rules were violated, while disposing of bio-medical wastes.

The sources said safe and scientific disposal of bio-medical waste was mandatory under the Bio-Medical Wastes Management and Handling Rules, 1998. However, they regretted that very few nursing homes and diagnostic laboratories adhered to rules in the absence of proper and required facilities.

There are about 12 private hospitals, 150 nursing homes and hundreds of dental clinics, laboratories and diagnostic centres operating in Srinagar and Jammu besides, all major towns and villages of the state.

Most of the establishments set-up before 1998 (when such rules were not framed), lacked proper facilities for the treatment and disposal of bio-medical wastes, the sources added.

When contacted, health department's officer on special duty (OSD), Dr Shafqat Khan, said: “Some private nursing homes and clinics use municipal garbage bins to dump even human flesh, which is extremely hazardous for the general public”.

Khan said two common bio-medical waste treatment plants were operating in the state for 13,000 hospital beds in the government sector, treating 250-gram bio-medical waste per bed per day. He has urged private hospitals and clinics to adhere to the norms.

Srinagar, July 28
As the UPA government is busy giving finishing touches to the nuclear deal after winning the trust vote in Parliament, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which supported the government, has asked the Centre to transfer five power projects to the state.

Addressing a public meeting at Pampore near here yesterday, senior PDP leader and former minister Pir Mohammad Hussain said as the state has been at the receiving end due to the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan, the centre should compensate state for the losses it incurred.

The treaty governs the right over six common rivers between India and Pakistan - Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

Maintaining that development and progress was subservient to availability of adequate power energy, Hussain underscored the need for paying added attention towards power generation in the state, which is endowed with abundant water resources. He added that the industrial setup in the state has failed to take off owing to power shortage.

Lashing at the National Conference, the PDP senior leader said that this party has always made Kashmir politics subservient to their family interests and there was a strong element of this pressure, in its recent vote to UPA government on the nuclear deal.

He said people of Jammu and Kashmir were conscious enough to judge the NC as they do not deem its vote to secular forces, as a permanent shift in its policies.

Elaborating on the performance of the PDP-led coalition government, Hussain said during the brief span of Mufti’s tenure he established two Islamic universities, one nursing college, major roads including Mughal road, Anantnag-Kishtwar road, thousands of schools, besides other infrastructure.

Hussain held that a new era of peace and amity was heralded between India and Pakistan by bridging the gap between the two. “The state government during Mufti’s period played a role of a bridge between the hostile countries India and Pakistan, heralding a brighter dawn of peace and reconciliation in the entire region”, he added.

Srinagar, July 28
Senior National Conference leader and former minister Mian Altaf Ahmad has expressed concern over the plight of the Gujjar community in the state.

He has blamed the coalition government for neglecting the community for the past five-and-a-half years.

Addressing a one-day Gujjar convention at Keller in Pulwama district yesterday, Mian Altaf appealed to the community to forge unity against “anti-tribal forces”. He said the community, a Scheduled Tribe group, constituted for one-fourth of the 11 million population of the state.

Mian Altaf urged the Gujjar community of both the regions of the state to “vote against those evil forces who are accountable for their backwardness by one way or the other”.

Mian Altaf blamed the Congress and the PDP for adopting a deliberate attitude to sabotage the Constitutional safeguards available to tribes especially Gujjars.

He said the coalition government had earlier assured the community of making Amendments in the SRO. “But the same had not been done which reduced reservation for the SCs and STs in the government departments”, he added.

Mian Altaf said the Centre had provided the Gujjar community the tribal status in 1991, but the former Congress-led coalition government was responsible for all odds who were “answerable for grabbing their legitimate rights by issuing different SROs from time to time”. “It was political aggression against Gujjars,” he said.

The Gujjar leader has appealed to Governor N.N. Vohra to intervene and provide them the right of political reservation available under the ST status. He has also demanded an employment-cum-development package for tribals.

Srinagar, July 28
Two persons were drowned, while another one was injured in the Kashmir valley overnight, official sources said today.

Official sources said a child was drowned when a group of children were taking bath in the Jhelum near the Hanuman Mandir this afternoon.

Later a group of people stopped traffic on the Budshah bridge alleging that the police arrived late due to which the child could not be saved.

However, when they refused to allow the movement of traffic, the police resorted to lathicharge and fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse them.

Police sources said efforts were on to fish out the child’s body.

Meanwhile, Nawraz Alam (25), son of Abdul Hassan and a resident of Bihar was also drowned in the Jhelum at Kadalbal Charsoo in Awantipora. His body was later fished out at a distance.

In another incident, a pedestrian was injured after being hit by a vehicle at Sumbal on the Srinagar-Sonmarg road. He was later hospitalised. — UNI

Jammu, July 28
With normal life badly crippled by strikes and curfews in the temple city for nearly a month over the Amarnath land row, two basic amenities of electricity and water have also gone virtually missing, thanks to the Power Development Department (PDD) and the Public Health Engineering (PHE).

“Continuous strikes followed by curfews have already squeezed the supply of essential commodities like milk and vegetables to the city and sparse supply of water and electricity have made our life miserable,” said Ashutosh Gupta, a resident of Upper Lakshmi Nagar Sarwal. Even though the PDD claims that it has been trying hard to restore the Gladni grid to its normal capacity of 400 MVA yet 12 to 18-hour power cuts have left people high and dry.

"In the wake of damage to the Gladni grid, the authorities have said that there will be 12-hour power cuts on a rotational basis but certain localities like New Plots, Sarwal, Janipur, Rehari, Bakshi Nagar, Ban Talab and Durga Nagar have been facing 18-hour cuts," said Pyare Lal Koul, a resident of Ban Talab.

" If the PDD which lost a 133.33 MVA transformer in the Gladni grid on July 2 had been taking its time to replace it, the PHE , on the ground of rampant power cuts and poor voltage had been subjecting the people to an acute shortage of potable water.

A PDD official, said “we are trying our best to meet the situation by pooling power from all available resources, he said, adding that it would take at least a month to restore normal power supply in Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri 
districts.

Attributing the disruption in water supply to low-voltage power being supplied to pumping stations, a PHE official said “even though the PDD had been according priority to us but poor voltage had made our pumping stations almost redundant. Due to low voltage pumping motors do not lift water from basic source, Tawi river”.

He admitted that Jammu, which has a population of around 13 lakh, had already been facing a huge shortfall of water. But after the completion of the third intake filtration plant at Sitlee the situation would improve, he claimed.