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Cross-LoC Trade
Increase in Kashmir fruit production
Ladakh has tourism potential: Vohra
HuJI commander nabbed, ultra shot
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US army chief visits Siachen
Jammu, October 17 The US army chief, General George W. Casey, today visited the highest battlefield in the world - Siachen glacier. He was accompanied by Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor. Defence sources said the aim of General Casey's Siachen visit was to develop concept and medical aspect of fighting in severe cold conditions and high altitudes.
Haryana CM urged to help displaced Kashmiris
Panthers to EC: Stop playing ‘hide and seek’
Karva Chauth celebrated
Cong, BJP to woo women
Kickstart campaign
4 KAS officers transferred
HC stays FRO order on Mirwaiz’s wife
Health staff continue stir
Free rail tickets for students
CRPF jawan ends life
Girl commits suicide
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Cross-LoC Trade
Poonch, October 17 Traders from PoK are also likely to reciprocate this goodwill gesture and send their items to this side the same way. Reliable sources in the district administration said the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and traders had started collecting items and would dispatch the same on the opening of cross-border trade. Sources further informed that recently the deputy commissioner held a meeting with the traders here. The traders under the aegis of the Beopar Mandal, Poonch, had reportedly told the DC that they would collect items which were included in the list of items to be traded across the LoC and would dispatch it free of cost. Sources in the administration said: “Traders from Jammu will contribute items in 10 trucks free of cost for the opening of cross-LoC trade whereas traders from Poonch will contribute items in two trucks. It will be a token of love to the people of PoK”. Meanwhile, the administration today received the final list of the 21 items to be traded across the Poonch-Rawlakote road. The items include, carpets, rugs, wall hangings, shawls and stoles, namdas (woollen matting), gbbas, embroidered items, furniture including walnut furniture, wooden handicrafts, fresh fruits and vegetables, dry fruits including walnuts, saffron, aromatic plants, fruit bearing plants, dhania, moongi, imli and black mushrooms, Kashmiri spices, rajmah, honey, papier mache products, spring, rubberised coir/foam mattresses, cushions, pillows, quilts and medicinal plants. |
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Increase in Kashmir fruit production
Srinagar, October 17 An official spokesman said today that despite the recent turmoil, 44 lakh boxes carrying 79,200 metric tonnes more fruits had been transported to mandis outside the valley. During the corresponding period last year, 2.17 crore boxes were sent outside the valley, he said. “This year, 6,784 more truck load of fruits were sent from the valley as compared to last year. From May to October 15 this year, 40,198 fruit truck loads were dispatched from the valley as compared to 33,414 trucks in the last year”, the spokesman said. He said of these dispatches, 1.50 crore boxes in 23,090 trucks were sent to Delhi and other fruit mandis outside the state against 1.24 crore boxes in 19,082 trucks during the corresponding period last year. As such, there is an increase of 4,008 trucks load and 26 lakh fruit boxes this year. The arrival of Kashmir fruit in the Jammu mandis has also increased this year. As against 93 lakh fruit boxes last year, as many as 1.11 crore boxes arrived in the Jammu mandis from May to October 15 this year. The spokesman further informed that fresh and dry fruit from Kashmir had a tremendous market in the country which was evident from the fact that 7.40 lakh metric tonnes of fresh and dry fruit had been sold in different mandis outside the state during 2007-08. This included 15,400 metric tonnes of dry fruit (almond
and walnut). |
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Ladakh has tourism potential: Vohra
Srinagar, October 17 He said the infrastructure development should get precedence and the region’s tourism potential must be showcased on a larger canvass to attract more and more tourists. The Governor said this while inaugurating a two-day multilingual folk dance and music programme ‘Dhanak’, organised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Art, Culture and Languages at Leh today. He said the nature lovers from across the world evinced much interest in the “land of Lamas,” which is evident from the gradual increase in the foreign and domestic tourist arrivals in recent years. He said Ladakh has immense potential for winter tourism and thus winter sports hold a big promise. For sustaining tourism, there is a greater need for strengthening quality accommodation in hotels and lodges besides upgrading infrastructural facilities like roads, transport and communication. He hoped that with the opening of more areas for tourist traffic, the region will get a big fillip in tourism trade, which could transform the economic landscape of this mountainous region. Referring to the strides made by the Ladakh region during the past two decades, Vohra observed that this had become possible due to the commitment and single-mindedness of the people, who have achieve niche for themselves by maintaining harmony and peace. He observed that much more is needed to be done to improve the economic lot of the people of this region. The Governor had a word of praise for the local artists, singers, dancers, sculptors, painters and observed that the traditional Ladakhi folk dance have caught the imagination of the art lovers across the country. He said music transcends all boundaries and barriers and touches directly hearts irrespective of linguistic or ethnic considerations. He described artists as ambassadors of peace and urged them to disseminate the message of harmony and love through various forms of art - music being the paramount of them. Chering Dorje, chief executive councilor, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, expressed gratitude for holding a mega show despite lack of infrastructure and other logistic support. He expressed gratitude to Vohra for visiting the town and also complimented the Sangeet Natak Academy and the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages for choosing Leh for this programme, in commemoration of 150th year of India's struggle for Independence. |
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HuJI commander nabbed, ultra shot
Udhampur, October 17 The arrested militant, Jamail Bakerwal, alias Dulla, had managed to dodge the cops when the police had apprehended seven HuJI militants on July 10 from a hideout. All these militants were a part of the group involved in the killing of five GREF officers, including Lt-Col Ajay Kumar Verma. Although police officers are tightlipped over the arrest, sources said Jamail Bakerwal was nabbed three days back from a remote village in the Chatroo area. A senior police officer said Jamail Bakerwal was the only surviving HuJI commander in the Chatroo belt of Kishtwar district. Involved in scores of militant incidents, he had been active in Chatroo and adjoining localities for the past eight years and had gone to PoK for getting training of subversive activities. Jammu: A major tragedy was averted with the timely recovery of a live grenade near the Jammu railway station, the police said on Friday. A live HE-36 grenade was recovered from the railway colony here last evening, they said, adding the grenade was found wrapped in a sleeping bag. The grenade was defused and investigation is on, they added.
— PTI |
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US army chief visits Siachen
Jammu, October 17 Defence sources said the aim of General Casey's Siachen visit was to develop concept and medical aspect of fighting in severe cold conditions and high altitudes. Pakistan had earlier strongly opposed the proposed visit of the US army chief to the “disputed” Siachen glacier. Pakistan had threatened that any such visit to an area which was under discussion between the two countries would cast a shadow on the ongoing composite dialogue between the two nations. India and Pakistan have been fighting intermittently since April 13, 1984, for control of the glacier. Both countries have maintained permanent military personnel in the region at a height of over 6,000 meters. Defence sources said the visit by the US army chief “legitimised” India's stand over the glacier. “The visit of General Casey to the Siachen glacier is a very significant move as far as India’s stand over the highest battlefield is concerned. Post nuclear deal with the US, this could be seen as a US move to legitimise our control over the glacier”, a senior Army officer said. He said: “The US has come closer to India. Recently we held a joint Air Force exercise and presently a naval exercise is going on and now the US chief has visited Siachen.” Accompanied by Gen Deepak Kapoor, General Casey was first flown over the glacier to have an aerial view and then they landed there to take stock of the ground realities. “The US army has been fighting in a rugged and high-altitude terrain in Afghanistan and they want to learn by the experience of Indian soldiers to fight in high altitudes like Siachen”, Lt-Col A.K. Mathur, Delhi-based PRO, said. Before the November, 2003, ceasefire, India and Pakistan had been trading fire to capture a vantage position in
Siachen.
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Protesters teargassed in valley
Srinagar, October 17 The police lobbed tear gas shells to quell demonstrators in the Lal Chowk and Nowhatta areas of Srinagar and Anantnag town, resulting in injuries to over 10 persons. Five civilian vehicles and two shops were also damaged in stone pelting. Shops and business establishments remain closed while thin transport plied on the roads. Demonstrations were also taken out in other major towns of the valley, including Sopore, Pulwama, Shopian, Bandipore and Ganderbal, where people took out processions after the Friday prayers. An official spokesman, however, said the valley remained peaceful and incident-free today while traffic plied on all routes normally. He added some isolated stone-pelting incidents were reported from the Nowhatta and Gojwara areas. The police said eight persons including three civilians were injured in these incidents. Three CRPF personnel and two policemen were also injured in these incidents. JKLF chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik led a protest march in the Lal Chowk area. It was joined by representative leaders from the Hurriyat Conference and Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadeeth. Members of the High Court Bar Association also took out a protest march through the Lal Chowk area. Addressing the Friday congregation at Jam a Masjid, Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said despite the bulk of natural resources in the state, Jammu and Kashmir was deficient in various sectors, including power. He claimed that a number of far-flung areas continued to reel under an acute power shortage despite tall claims of the government. The coordination committee has called for protests after every Friday prayers during this month, with a general strike on October 27 against the deployment of the Army in Jammu and Kashmir. |
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Haryana CM urged to help displaced Kashmiris
Jammu, October 17 Society leaders O.N. Chandra and M.K. Rangroo said: “We appreciate the decision of the Haryana government to award journalists but we also wish the government does not give a raw deal to those Kashmiri journalists, working in Jammu and Delhi, whose plots in Bahadurgarh have been acquired by HUDA.” The leaders said: “We met the Chief Minister and some officials in HUDA with the request that plots be alloted to us in lieu of the land acquired by HUDA. But our demands have not been conceded so far.” The leaders said the compensation fixed by the Jammu Urban Development Authority (JUDA) was far less than “what we had spent on the purchase of land.”The society members have renewed their request to Hooda to allot alternate plots in Bahadurgarh where they could build small houses. |
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Panthers to EC: Stop playing ‘hide and seek’
Jammu, October 17 Addressing a press conference here today, Harsh Dev said: "It is ridiculous on the part of the EC to make contradictory statements. Earlier, it said it was assessing the security situation and now it resorted to a petty excuse of arranging Urdu-knowing employees." He accused the EC of acting on the diktats of the Congress as the former had "lost ground in the state". "The vacillating opinions and petty excuses for deferring the poll have made the EC an object of ridicule and created bona fide doubts in the mind of public about its credibility as an independent and impartial agency," he averred. The EC could not wait for complete normalcy in the strict sense of the term, which was impossible not only in Jammu and Kashmir but also in any other state. "A series of bomb blasts and terrorist activities have occurred in various states of the country. That can’t be a ground for postponement of the elections," he said. The former minister said the elections could not be postponed only because secessionist forces were opposing it. He said the postponement of elections would only strengthen the cause of such forces and convey wrong signals at the national and international levels.
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Karva Chauth celebrated
Jammu, October 17 The new generation of Kashmiri Pandits, particularly the newly married couples, are now rigorously following the rituals of the festival. Renu Bhat, a Kashmiri woman, said: “I got married last month and luckily this festival fell in the second month of my marriage. Today I have observed a fast for the well-being, prosperity and long-life of my husband.” “I was married last year and since then I observe a fast for my husband and pray for prosperity and happiness of my family”, said Archana Koul. Kishni Razdan, belonging to a displaced Kashmiri Pandit family, said: “We never celebrated this festival when we were in Kashmir. However, things like mehendi, ladies wear and bangles attracted Kashmiri women towards the festival.” Meanwhile, the festival was celebrated with great zeal in Jammu today. All the main markets like Patail Bazar, Super Bazar and Gole Market, Gandhi Nagar, witnessed a huge rush. Free “mehendi” camps were organised at various places like Pacca Danga and the bus stand. Women and girls could be seen applying mehendi in various markets. The markets also wore a decked-up look. |
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Cong, BJP to woo women
Jammu, October 17 While the Congress has roped in All-India Mahila Congress president Prabha Thakur and Union Minister for Water Resources and state Congress chief Saif-ud-Din Soz for the function, BJP's Mahila Morcha president Kiran Maheshwari will grace the other event. "The BJP Mahila Morcha believes that the recent agitation over the Amarnath land row has given an altogether new orientation to Jammu polity. It was not the tradition in Jammu that women and children would come out on the streets and fight not only for the national cause but also for their civil and political rights. The fact that 1.82 lakh women courted arrest during the course of the agitation has established that women are committed to making supreme sacrifices for the cause the BJP holds very dear," said state BJP Mahila Morcha chief Usha Chaudhary.
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Kickstart campaign
Udhampur, October 17 Mankotia claimed that it was due to his party’s efforts that the status of district had been granted to
Ramban. He said the JKNPP had promised to implement recommendations of the Wazir Commission and the party had fulfilled the promise. Blaming the Congress, PDP and NC for the injustice meted out to the Jammu region, Mankotia said the Congress-led coalition regime had not initiated steps to remove this bias. Pointing towards the problems of the newly carved Ramban district, Mankotia said the ratio of unemployment in the district was alarming and needed immediate attention. Mankotia assured the people that he would provide them their due share of development in all fields. |
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4 KAS officers transferred
Srinagar, October 17 An official spokesman said Sat Paul has been posted as chief executive officer, Tourism Development Authority, Lakhanpur-Sarthal-Kathua, in his own pay and grade. Labu Ram Dingra, under secretary, industries and commerce, has been posted as under secretary to the chief secretary. Mushtaq Ahmad Wani, administrative officer in the office of commissioner of vigilance, has been posted as deputy secretary, J&K Public Service Commission. Irshad Ahmad Magloo, administrative officer, under orders of posting in the J&K Tourism Development Corporation, has been posted as administrative officer in the office of commissioner of vigilance. |
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HC stays FRO order on Mirwaiz’s wife
Srinagar, October 17 Justice Nissar Ahmad Kakroo issued a notice to the state government and other respondents to file their objections within 15 days, while staying the order of the FRO. The FRO on October 4 had issued a notice to Mirwaiz's wife Sheeba Masoodi, who is an American national by birth, to leave the country within 10 days of receipt of the notice or face the law as her request for extension of visa was “not recommended” by the state government. Masoodi was born to a Kashmiri doctor working in the US who still holds an Indian passport and has applied for dual citizenship. According to the petition filed by Masoodi before the court, her case is pending before the ministry of home affairs and the ministry of external affairs.
— PTI |
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Health staff continue
stir
Jammu, October 17 The protesters launched a 72-hour stir yesterday in supposrt of their long-pending demand for regularisation of services. They threatened to continue the stir in case the government failed to concede their demand. Accusing the state government of backtracking from its commitment, president of the association Garu Ram said such an agitation was suspended four times earlier on false assurances.
— TNS |
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Free rail tickets for students
Srinagar, October 17 Female students up to graduation level and male students up to 12th standard can avail of the initiative, a railway official said. The free tickets will be available at Rajwansher, Budgam, Srinagar, Pampore, Kakapora, Awantipora, Panzgam, Bijbehara and Anantnag railway stations, he said. “Special camps are also being set up in Srinagar, Anantnag and Budgam districts for issuing free tickets,” he added.
— PTI |
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CRPF jawan ends life
Udhampur, October 17 Mahesh Singh shot himself with his service rifle around 3.30 p.m. Other jawans rushed to the spot after hearing gunshots and found Mahesh Singh lying unconscious in a pool of blood. Mahesh Singh was immediately taken to a nearby hospital where doctors pronounced him brought dead.
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Girl commits suicide
Srinagar, October 17 She was rushed to a hospital, where she was declared brought dead. It was not immediately known why the teenager took the extreme step, the police said.
— PTI |
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