Jammu, September 26
Though the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti has warned the state government of implementing the Amarnath land agreement at the earliest, there has been little forward movement regarding the compensation to the trading community which suffered huge losses during the Jammu agitation.

Federation of Industries chairman Anil Suri said the working group constituted by the government to assess the losses hadn't held a single meeting till now. He said the losses suffered by the industry had been conveyed to the government. "The government cannot cover production losses as they are estimated at a whopping Rs 12,000 crore, but we have requested it to at least compensate our cash losses totalling Rs 430 crore," he said.

All Jammu and Kashmir Transporters Association chief T.S. Wazir accused the government of resorting to delaying tactics over the issue. He said it had been a fortnight since they submitted their losses to the government but it seemed the government intended to put off the issue till the announcement of Assembly poll. "It is now nearly a month since the agreement was reached between the two sides and the government is yet to call the representatives of different sectors for a meeting," he said, adding that the transport sector had suffered losses to the tune of Rs 142 crore.

All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association president Indrajeet Khajuria said the hotel industry was told to convey to the Tourism Department the losses suffered during the agitation at meeting held with the director, tourism, recently. However, no high-level meeting had taken place on the issue till now, he added. As per his estimates, hotels and lodges of Jammu have suffered losses to the tune of Rs 30 crore during the stir.

Associated Chamber of Traders Federation Yashpal Gupta said though there had been no major development from the government side, JK Bank has said that it will reschedule the term loans of traders and instalments of the transporters. He pegged the overall losses of trade and industry at Rs 10,000 crore.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ram Sahai said though the working group headed by the Chief Secretary was yet to hold a meeting, a preliminary meeting under the secretary, Industry and Commerce, had taken place in this regard. While the trade suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,150 crore, the figure was Rs 4,050 crore for the industry.

Jammu, September 26
Sitting outside his pockmarked house, a shattered man Billu Ram, even after a month of Chinore terror attack, awaits compensation from the government.

My entire house was damaged in heavy firing for nearly 20 hours and the roof has also developed cracks because of the grenade explosions but hitherto not even a single penny has been given to us so as to undertake repairs, he said.

The poor man feigned ignorance about reasons responsible for the inordinate delay. "Only government could tell you. What can I say?" he said.

However, the concerned Naib Tehsildar Choudhary Aslam Din claimed that there had been no delay on the part of district administration.

An estimate of Rs 2.35 lakh prepared by the Revenue Department has already been forwarded to the PWD, he said.

Now the PWD has to decide about either increasing or decreasing the estimate and sanctioning the decided amount to the family concerned.

“As far as compensation to the next kin of deceased and injured was concerned, we got the funds yesterday and we have started distributing cheques today,” said the revenue official.

Witness to nearly 20-hour hostage drama when three heavily-armed militants wreaked havoc in their small house in Chinore a month back on August 27, four minor children of Billu Ram are today frightened souls unable to live normal life.

Recalling the spine-chilling experience, Sheetal Devi (9) and her brother Rishant Kumar (7) said, “When we grow up we would join the Army.”

When asked why, they responded, “To kill the militants because they kill innocent people.”

The nightmarish experience still haunt even the grown ups including Billu, his wife Sunita Devi, his brother Tarsem and other family members, who don’t want to live in the house where militants killed innocent people.

Talking to The Tribune, Billu Ram said: “Eldest among four siblings Sheetal and her brother Rishant though attend their school, they are still under shock.”

“Twice I brought my two other children Kajal Devi (4) and Vipan Kumar (3) from my sister's residence at RS Pura but they refused to live here,” said Billu adding that even his wife Sunita, who had been recuperating from a gun shot injury in the hospital, was not willing to return.

A month had passed but my children were still under shock, he said, adding that they neither sleep properly nor eat properly.

Among all my children, four-year old Kajal is really in a bad shape. She talks very less, wakes up to even slight noise in the night and starts crying, he said.

It may be stated here that state administration did not deem it fit to get these traumatised children medically examined by a team of doctors.

Talking to this correspondent after a hectic effort, the tender souls said that they are anxiously waiting for the day when their mother returns home from the hospital.

Srinagar/Jammu, September 26
Three militants were killed by the security forces in a high-altitude region of North Kashmir, a defence spokesman said here today.

Based on specific information that a group of militants was moving about in a high-altitude region between Bandipora and Kangan, the Army launched a search operation and killed the three militants. However, the identity of the slain militants was yet to be established. The spokesman said a search operation had been launched. The Bandipora-Kangan region is a vast area in north and north-east Kashmir valley.

Meanwhile, militants engaged in an encounter with the security forces in Doda district managed to escape from the site of the encounter. “A patrol party had an encounter with some militants in the wee hours near Sarak village in Marmat area”, official sources said.

The militants managed to escape under the cover of darkness. Security forces later cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. However, no one was arrested. — Agencies

Srinagar, September 26
How effective is the barbed wire fencing along the Line of Control in preventing infiltration when kids and aged people can cross un-noticed? Three families of 12, including five children and an old woman, crossed the LoC in the wee hours of today in the Tanghdar area in Karnah sector of north Kashmir.

The 12-member families, which included an eight-month-old toddler, surrendered at a police post 10 km away from the LoC, sources in the state Home Department said.

They have been detained and appropriate action will be taken as some of them are Pakistani citizens, the sources said, adding that the matter had been taken up with the Army.

The Army maintains the family had reported to their outpost, a charge denied by the police.

The family told the police that it had migrated to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir between 1988 and 1996 and settled there after marriage.

The police had also reported the matter to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office so that Pakistani citizens could be served a notice, they said.

The family was that of Mohammad Ashraf Lone, Zahoor Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad Peer.

While Lone and Ahmad, both residents of Hajinar village of Karnah, had fled to PoK, 25-year-old Peer had gone across the border in 1996 from Kupwara.

Lone and Ahmad married local girls in PoK while Peer married a local girl of Kupwara, Zareena, who had also fled to PoK in 1990 along with her parents. Elderly woman Gul Jan is the mother of Ahmad who had accompanied her son across the border.

The others who surrendered were identified as Zareena and her eight-month-old daughter Zabia and two-year-old son Sahil, Poshmal, wife of Lone, their seven-year-old daughter Kulsoom and sons Waqar (five) and Danish (three).

Nashat Bibi, wife of Ahmed, and his mother Gul Jan were also among the infiltrators. — PTI

Poonch, September 26
Terror threat looms large. Strict instructions go unheard.

Now take a look at some figures: 70 SIM cards were recovered from a youth. Five nabbed for reportedly running a racket of SIM cards and selling them at high rates without documentation.

These arrests and seizures might tell you about the alert policing but there are lapses on various fronts. Every day, there are numerous SIM cards being sold by the agents of service provider’s (BSNL, AIRTEL) without proper documentation.

Who are buying those SIM cards and for what purpose? These questions trigger fears considering recent blasts across India, which involved use of mobile phones.

Various intelligence reports said some of the SIMs may have fallen in the wrong hands (militants), who may be using these for anti-national activities. Getting these cards is an easy job. Go grease the palms of the agents of the service providers and you will get a SIM at triple or quadruple price.

Police sources confirmed: Pre-paid SIM cards of the two services providers, ranging between Rs 150 and Rs 200 are being sold at Rs 600 to Rs 800. BSNL covers almost whole of the district and AIRTEL provides services in almost whole of Surankote area and some parts of Mendhar and Poonch area excluding Poonch town due to border restrictions.

“The agents acquire SIMs from the companies by producing fake address, identity proofs and photographs, which are later sold at high rates,” said a reliable source in the police.

A senior police officer on the condition of anonymity accepted the presence of such nexus. To show the policing act he said: “We were in the process of cracking the same.”

Meanwhile, officials of both the mobile service providers though refuted the allegations about the sale of pre-paid SIM cards at higher rates without producing identity proof, said that they have issued strict instructions to their agents to keep the record of the SIM sold to the subscribers.

Srinagar, September 26
PDP patron and former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has said the recent events in various states and their aftermath called for immediate intervention to avert a collision of communities in the country.

In a statement issued here today, Mufti asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take a lead in reaching out to the Muslim community in order to reassure them of dignity and fair application of legal and constitutional safeguards.

“All right-thinking, secular and democratic forces must join this campaign without reservations,” Mufti added. He said the chain of investigations had cast a shadow on the entire Muslim community in the country.

Mufti said: “The actions of the police force of various states in recent weeks which were occasioned by inhuman targeting of innocent lives, have unfortunately not convinced the civil society of their fairness as is apparent from the media debates on the issue. The cynicism caused by these actions had only been further fuelled by the report of the Nanavati Commission on the infamous Gujarat riots.”

He lamented that none had been brought to book in Gujarat for the riots that resulted in the massacre. How could a commission report give a clean chit for its conduct to any administration that presided over the events in 2002 which shook the country, Mufti wondered.

Mufti said the Sachhar Committee appointed by the Prime Minister had brought to fore the pathetic condition of the country's Muslim community. He said the revelations of the committee would only alienate Muslims if these were not acted upon with a sense of purpose and fair play.

While hailing the decision of the Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi, for defending the accused students in the court, he said it was unfortunate that some defence counsels were threatened and physically prevented from appearing in the court.

Srinagar, September 26
With Eid round the corner, city residents came out in large numbers on the occasion of last Friday and the markets were filled to capacity.Separatists spared this Friday from any protest and bandh call unlike rest of the Fridays falling in the month which often saw clashes between security forces and demonstrators during protest calls given by them. “We thank god that there is no untoward occurrence today. Any bloodshed would have marred my festivities”, Rashid Ahmad, a government employee, said.

Markets are also enjoying a brief run of merry business after a period of over two months when their business suffered immensely due to bandhs. “We have had a worst year in the past many years,” Saifullah, a dry fruit trader, said.

Talwara (Reasi), September 26
Infuriated over dilatory tactics being adopted by the authorities in implementing the agreement, Talwara camp migrants started an indefinite dharna at Club Ground.

After a two-month-long agitation, the state government had signed an agreement with the action committee of migrants on October 30, 2007. After the agreement the government announced relief for these displaced people, comprising Rs 400 per person, subject to a maximum of Rs 1,600 per family, 9 kg of flour, 2 kg of rice and 10 litres of kerosene per family per month. Shouting slogans against the authorities, migrants this morning took out a procession in which a large number of people participated.

"For the past six months we have not received relief, forcing us to launch this agitation", president of the migrant action committee Balwan Singh said.

Despite assurances by the highups, the relief authorities have been adding to the woes of helpless people by denying them relief.

Balwan Singh asserted that "most of the migrant families are on the verge of starvation due to non-availability of ration and cash relief" and warned that migrants would not hesitate to take extreme steps if their demands were not fulfilled.

Migrants of Reasi and Rajouri districts have been living in the Talwara migrant camps located on the bank of the Chenab. After the infamous Prankote massacre in April, 1998, in which over 30 persons were killed by the terrorists, members of the minority community started migrating from their native places. As terrorists did not spare even Muslims, many families of the majority community also took shelter in this camp to protect their lives. Since 1998, dwellers of this camp have been demanding relief at par with that of Kashmiri migrants but to no avail. On October 30, 2007, the authorities had announced to give them relief at par with the border migrants but nothing followed.

Chandimarh-Surankote (Poonch), September 26
The state government may be working to bring big giants like Fortis, Max etc on a public-private partnership basis to improve the healthcare in the state, but it has failed to maintain its existing strengths.

One glaring example is the primary health centre here, which offers little help to about 15,000 inhabitants of the area.

The centre has just four beds for patients. There is no X-ray and ultrasound machine. Moreover there are no life-saving drugs for patients for emergency time.

A centre employee, on the condition of anonymity, said against the minimum requirement of 10 beds, the PHC just has four. Life-saving drugs, a must for any PHC, are not available, he added.

“This healthcare centre doesn’t fulfil the criteria of being called a PHC. There is acute shortage of life-saving drugs like aspirin, hydro-cortisone, ceftrixine, Ampicilin and electrolytes,” said an employee at the PHC asking not to be named.

He said: “This PHC caters to a huge population and people come here from as far as Dugran, Poshana, Bufliaz areas.”

“Since this PHC lies along the under-construction Mughal Road project, there are large number of patients with accidental injuries but since we don’t have adequate infrastructure and medicines, we refer them to Surankote Sub-district Hospital or Jammu Medical College,” he added.

Jasbir Singh, director, Health Services, Jammu, refused to comment on the issue saying, “First check your knowledge on PHCs.” Meanwhile, another senior officer in the Health Department said he would take up the matter with the local authorities.

Jammu, September 26
During the 10-hour-long meeting of state Congress leaders in Jammu last night it was demanded that the party should not nominate former MLAs and ministers whose names had figured in the Srinagar sex scam or were involved in corrupt practices.

During the meeting, Congressmen demanded that those who had lost the elections twice should also not be considered for the ticket. They demanded that fresh faces should be given the party mandate.

Jammu, September 26
With the BJP opposing the cross-LoC trade between Jammu and Kashmir and PoK, AICC general secretary and in charge Jammu and Kashmir Affairs Prithvi Raj Chavan has described the decision as a right step.

The cross-LoC trade would not only fulfill aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir but would also give requisite impetus to the state economy, Chavan said.

The minister of state in the PMO, who had come to convene the Pradesh Congress Committee’s executive meeting, said after chalking out modalities, the UPA government took the initiative and Pakistan responded positively.

It may be stated here that the BJP had been opposing the cross-LoC trade for the simple reason that during Narsimha Rao regime, Parliament had unanimously passed a resolution in February 1994, wherein PoK had been bracketed as a part of the Jammu and Kashmir state, illegally occupied by Pakistan.

Chavan said the government had to see and honour aspirations of the people and the cross-LoC trade would be beneficial for the people of the state.

Equitable share to all three regions in development had always been the Congress agenda and it had been proven amply under the former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s tenure in the state, he said.

When asked whether Amarnath land row has dampened poll prospects of the Congress, he described it as an unfortunate incident. 

Jammu, September 26
At least four persons were killed and19 injured in the Jammu region during the past 24 hours, police reports said here today.

Fulail Singh of Srow Samthi (Doda) died on the spot after he fell into a power tank dam near J P Industry in the Chanderkote area of Ramnagar tehsil in Udhampur district, the police said.

Raj Kumar of Mangloor and Jagbir Singh, alias Phaguri, of Qadirpur, R S Pura, died under suspicious circumstances.

The body of Romail Singh, a resident of Khabal, was found in Dinga Amb on the city outskirts.

Nineteen persons got injured in road accidents in the Jammu region.

Ten persons sustained injuries when a Matador, on its way from Doda to Pull Doda, met hit an Army vehicle of 8 Rashtriya Rifles, police sources said.

Three person sustained injuries when a truck loaded with fruits rolled down on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. — UNI