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Govt to release salaries of SRTC employees soon
Package to Ultras in J&K
Firing on Protesters in Samba |
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Regional Discrimination
Azad tells party cadre to stay united
Militants chop off youth’s nose
Doctors strike as colleague thrashed up
Police defends summoning of citizens
Infrastructural boost for women ITIs
Vohra reviews rly tunnel project
Hold plebiscite in Kashmir, says Mann
Gladini Grid Station
4.48 lakh new voters added
EC must go ahead with elections: BJP
Don’t defer poll: BSP
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Govt to release salaries of SRTC employees soon
Jammu/Srinagar, September 11 "My school teachers
do not allow me to sit in the class as my parents have not Hundreds of these young children today protested under the scorching sun, demanding the salaries and other allowances for their parents. "For the past so many months we haven't been paid our monthly wages, even our cost of living allowances (COLA) haven't been released for the past few years, ”said SRTC employee Mohan Lal. He said, "Our agitation has fallen to deaf ears so today we decided to bring our children with us, so that people should know what we are going though due to non payment of salary." Three-year-old Sahil Singh was seen holding a placard saying "Governor uncle, please release the salary of my papa". Meanwhile, Managing Director of the JKSRTC said in an official statement that the matter of release of pending salaries of the employees had been sorted out and the salaries were likely to be released within a couple of days with additional financial support from the government. The MD has, therefore, asked the striking employees to resume duty. In Srinagar, the employees stepped up their agitation and over 100 of them sat on a dharna on the busy MA road to press their demands. "The government has cheated us. We had broken our strike only a few months back after the then Congress government gave us the assurances that it would fulfil our demands. We are back to square one," some angry employees said.
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Package to Ultras in J&K
Jammu, September 11 M.K. Sharma, zonal director of the Narcotic Control Bureau J&K, said this while speaking at an extension lecture on Narco terrorism organised by the Centre for Adult Continuing Education and Extension University of Jammu. “More than 25 per cent of the money spent on terrorist activities in India by the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI comes from the drug trade,” he said. He said, “Ninety per cent of the world’s illicit opium comes from two regions of golden triangle and golden crescent that surround India; most of the narcotic production takes place in the tribal areas at Pakistan-Afghan border.” He said every month, Pakistan pays an amount of more than 30 crore to
terrorists, active in the valley, and a large part of that money comes from the narcotic trade. “According to intelligence inputs that various security agencies share with us, the Pakistani intelligence agency pays
fixed salary to militants active in state besides other incentives which amounts to more than Rs 30 crore a month,” Sharma said. He said the narcotic trade in the Kashmir valley was also on the rise and the money thus obtained was being used for anti-national activities. “The infamous Gadhora conspiracy was funded by the charas smugglers of the Kashmir valley. Even the ammunition was supplied by them,” Sharma said. He said a recent survey conducted by Kashmir University has found that 15 to 20 per cent of the students were using drug and that small kids from the nearby areas worked as drug peddlers inside the university. “Terrorists, who carry out Fidayeen (suicide) attack do so under the influence of a heavy dose of narcotics,” he said. “The driving force,” Sharma said, “is money which makes people fall into the narcotic trade. One kg of heroin that is available at Rs 1.65 lakh is sold at more than Rs 1.36 crore in the US and European markets.” He said terrorists, who infiltrate into India from various routes across the
Indo- Pakistan border and from the Line of Control, bring a large quantity of narcotics. Sharma said that the ‘babas’ visiting the state for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage were also found indulged in the narcotic trade. “At many instances, we caught these babas with huge quantity of narcotics. However, as the matter was sensitive we failed to take action,” he said. |
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Firing on Protesters in Samba
Jammu, September 11 Acting on the complaint of Chanchal Singh and Khem Raj Pandha, parents of the deceased Sanjeev Singh and Sunny Pandha, respectively, the chief judicial magistrate directed the crime branch to register a complaint under provisions of CrPC and submit a report within 15 days. Sanjeev and Sunny were killed in police firing on protesters in Samba on August 4 during an agitation organised by the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti. SSP Prabhat Singh has already been transferred from Samba. The parents have alleged that the SSP had opened fire on peaceful protesters without any provocation. They claimed that the control of the highway was with the Army and the SSP had no right to open fire on peaceful protesters. They also alleged that the SSP neither issued any warning to the protesters nor did he receive orders from the district magistrate before resorting to firing. Instead of firing below the knee, the police fired at the heads of both victims, resulting in their death on the spot, the petition alleged. — PTI
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Regional Discrimination
Jammu, September 11 Addressing mediapersons here today, provincial NC president and former minister Ajay Sadhotra said while the people of Jammu felt that they had always been handed a raw deal compared to the Kashmir region, those of Ladakh say they had been neglected vis-a-vis the Kashmir and Jammu regions. Similarly, the people of Kashmir felt that they had been denied their share as compared with the Jammu region. He said the judicial commission should hear these voices, comprehend ground realities and suggest immediate remedial and corrective measures to ensure that disparity, if any, should be removed forthwith. Sadhotra demanded that the commission should be asked to submit its report within two months and its recommendations should be binding on the government which should implement these in a time-bound manner.
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Azad tells party cadre to stay united
Udhampur, September 11 Azad’s unscheduled visit in these regions has fuelled rumours that the polls would be held before winter commences, despite the fact, that the Election Commission (EC) had yet not taken any decision regarding the holding of Assembly elections on time. Azad, who landed in Kishtwar today, convened a closed-door meeting with party workers to devise a strategy to deal with the “malicious” campaign being launched by the Opposition to defame the party. Keeping in view the communalisation of the situation after the riots of August 12, Azad’s visit in Kishtwar has gained importance as Congress workers had earned people’s ire. Holding the PDP responsible for the present turmoil, Azad exhorted the party workers to foil the nefarious designs of communal forces. Azad also regretted that riots had broken out in Kishtwar. He said Congress workers had to play a greater role in bridging communal divide between the two communities. The former chief minister said the party’s base had been eroded due to Amarnath land row and it was time for workers to iron out differences and face the challenges. The workers urged Azad to chalk out a comprehensive strategy to counter the Opposition’s propaganda. The workers also expressed concern over the “war of words” between both factions of the party. The workers regretted that at this crucial time when the party was struggling to fight communal forces in the Jammu and Kashmir regions, some elements were encouraging “groups” in the party. The workers urged Azad to take steps to unite the party to emerge victorious in the Assembly elections.
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Militants chop off youth’s nose
Udhampur, September 11 Although militants had termed the victim as an “informer” of the security forces, reports said that he was punished for opposing the diktat of ultras who have let loose a reign of terror in Desa and adjoining localities. “A team from Desa police station has been rushed to the spot to ascertain the real cause of incident,” said DIG Doda-Ramban range Hemant Kumar Lohia. LeT militants barged into the house of Mansoor Ahmed in Bhatti village in
the After dubbing him as informer, he was severely tortured in full public view and later his nose was chopped off. The victim was later shifted to Doda Hospital and his condition was stated to be critical due to excessive bleeding. This incident has sent a wave of terror in this belt.
Earlier, incidents of chopping of ears and noses took place in Mahore and Reasi areas. |
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Doctors strike as colleague thrashed up
Udhampur, September 11 The doctors went on a flash strike after their colleague Aseem Sharma was The family members of the deceased alleged that it was negligence on part of the doctor that the baby died. Following the baby’s death, a large number of people ransacked the hospital and manhandled the doctor. They entered the doctor’s room and dragged him out. Before the situation could turn ugly, the police took the doctor in its custody. Later, the doctor was attached to the office of the director, Health Service. This is the second such incident in the hospital when doctors have been blamed for the death of newly-born children. Last week, an infant died allegedly due to negligence on part of the doctors.
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Police defends summoning of citizens
Srinagar, September 11 “The procedure is legal and not to harass the general masses. This procedure is universal and not specific to one police station as has been stated,” said a police spokesman here today. He was speaking in response to the reports in some local dailies that the residents in various areas of Srinagar were being harassed as they were being summoned to the police stations. “It is always a matter of investigation whether the accused is involved or not,” the spokesman said. “This is a normal drill when somebody is called to explain rather than the police going to houses and conducting raids,” said Srinagar SSP S.A. Mujtaba. Under this process the houses are not raided at the dead of night that may cause anger, the SSP added. He said SHOs concerned were empowered to call anybody and find out the facts. This process had been necessitated in view of the recent incidents of violence, stone-pelting and clashes between protesters and security personnel in view of the developments that had taken place in aftermath of Amarnath land transfer issue. Various separatist organisations, including the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, have expressed concern over the continued harassment of youths at the hands of the police and security forces in the aftermath of the recent agitation. There have been reports of many youths having been arrested, particularly after the separatists’ ‘Muzaffarabad Chalo march’ on August 11, followed by three massive rallies on August 16, 18 and 22 at Pampore, TRC grounds and Eidgah, respectively. APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in his press conference at Nigeen residence on Monday last came out with a list of youths from different districts in Kashmir valley, who had been identified by the police and were being either targeted or tortured on the charges of being involved in recent demonstrations.
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Infrastructural boost for women ITIs
Srinagar, September 11 Officials said 12 women wings in the existing ITIs in the state were getting infrastructural facilities at a cost of Rs 3.18 crore during the current fiscal. A new scheme of creation of “Centres of Excellence” in ITIs has been introduced and Centre’s assistance had been received by the institutional management committees to the extent of Rs 2.50 crore for each ITI. Six such ITIs have been brought under the ambit of the scheme. These ITIs are under construction at Samba, Udhampur, Kathua in Jammu and Budgam, Ganderbal and Pulwama in Kashmir. Officials said revival of a closed centrally-sponsored scheme for the upgrade and strengthening of the existing ITIs had been achieved and the main objective of the scheme was to close the obsolete trades and introduce trades which had the market scope and demand. Under the World Bank scheme, four government polytechnics, two each in Srinagar and Jammu, have been upgraded and modernised in terms of building like workshop blocks, residential accommodation, providing of hi-tech machinery and equipment in consultation with EDCIL in these institutions. The World Bank project has also partly accommodated construction of two polytechnics at Leh and Kargil. Since the World Bank project was closed by the end of June, 2007, the completion cost for finalisation of projects taken in hand have been reflected under the normal plan, the officials said.
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Vohra reviews rly tunnel project
Srinagar, September 11 Governor N.N. Vohra conducted an aerial survey of the tunnel from Banihal to Lower Munda, considered to be the longest tunnel in the railway network yesterday, an official press note said. Vohra was apprised that the 199-km Qazigund- Baramula section would have 800 bridges. This section of the project was estimated to cost Rs 2400 crore. The Qazigund-Baramula section will have 15 stations, including the Srinagar (Nowgam) station which will be, architecturally and aesthetically, the most beautiful station of the Railways. The project comprises three sections- Udhampur-Katra, Katra-Qazigund and Qazigund-Baramula, taken up at a cumulative cost of Rs 11000 crore. The Katra-Qazigund segment will have the third highest bridge (350 meters) in the world over the Chenab at Arnas in Reasi. The special feature of this section is that 80 per cent of the 148 kilometre track will be covered by tunnels and 12 per cent by bridges, thus leaving only 8 pc open. Earlier, the red colour 8-coach diesel electric multiple unit train chugged on the Badgam-Nowgam sector of the Qazigund-Baramula section with Vohra on board, reviewing the progress of the dream railway project. — UNI
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Hold plebiscite in Kashmir, says Mann
Srinagar, September 11 Mann, a pro-Khalistan ideologue, met Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, among
others. He said he was with their movement for the right to self-determination. Mann said the government made a blunder by appointing the Governor as the head of a shrine which was totally uncalled for in a secular set-up. "Days of elections in Kashmir are over. The popular mood in Kashmir is for a plebiscite,"
the Akali Dal (M) leader said. |
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Gladini Grid Station
Jammu, September 11 According to power commissioner R.K. Seli, the second transformer, which had been sent to BHEL in Jhansi for repair, was expected to reach Jammu towards the end of this month. Seli said the first damaged transformer had been installed at the Gladini grid station, after repair, and it would be operational within the next one week to 10 days. Seli said a new 150 MVA transformer was installed at the grid station a month ago, to tide over the electricity crisis, which had warranted 12 to 15-hour power cuts a day in Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri districts.
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4.48 lakh new voters added
Jammu, September 11 As many as 4.48 lakh new voters have been added this year to the previous figure of 64,81,143 electors in the state. Talking to The Tribune, chief electoral officer (CEO) B.R. Sharma said: “Despite the two-month long agitation in July and August we have been trying to issue the maximum number of EPICs.” "We are hopeful of issuing 45 lakh EPICs but for those who miss out on EPICs, a proposal has been submitted to the Election Commission to enable them to cast their votes on the basis of 12 documents like driving licence, arms licence, ration card and permanent resident
certificates," said Sharma. For approximately 73,000 internally displaced Kashmiri Pandit voters, the Election Commission would set up 11 polling stations, including in Delhi. Like previous practice the facility of postal ballot for them would be there, he added. To assess the situation in the state Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswamy had detailed meetings with key players like political outfits, state government officials and agencies, Sharma said. |
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EC must go ahead with elections: BJP
Jammu, September 11 Hari said the people should be given an opportunity to choose the representatives of their choice to the Assembly so that a duly elected state government would be in place by November. Hari flayed the report wherein the Union home secretary, state chief secretary and girector general of police had conveyed to the EC that the prevailing situation in Kashmir was not conducive for holding the elections. Hari, who is also the BJP’s spokesperson, said if elections were not held in October-November, it would mean a concession for Kashmir-based “separatists and communal forces.” Hari said the separatists were against any electoral exercise in the valley as it was an initiation of the democratic process and would mean their destruction, downfall and marginalisation. He held the Congress, National Conference and the PDP, responsible for thwarting the impending electoral exercise by putting forth concocted arguments. Lashing out at these parties, Hari said: “They betrayed the people, communalised and regionalised everything. But they can not stop people to choose a government of their own choice. They were opposed to elections as they can not face the electorate they themselves alienated by their acts of omission and commission.” Hari hoped that the EC would put its foot down and would go ahead with the elections. He said by doing so, the EC would send a right signal across the country.
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Don’t defer poll: BSP
Jammu, September 11 National BSP general secretary Narinder Kumar Kashyap, during a press conference here today, said, “Deferring elections could send a wrong signal to the people of the state and any such move could lead to resentment amongst them.” He said the EC must take steps to restore democracy in the state as the Governor's rule was not in the best interest of the people. He said his party has decided to fight elections on all the 87 Assembly seats. It has already nominated 35 candidates for the Jammu region, four for Ladakh and 35 for the Kashmir valley. |
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The National Conference has urged Governor N.N. Vohra to appoint a high-level commission headed by a sitting Supreme Court Judge to address the voices of discrimination emanating from all three regions of the state.
Ajay Sadhotra
