Srinagar, November 15
Bright sunshine in the valley today evaporated the doubts in many minds about the poll process getting marred due to the inclement weather. Three constituencies in Kashmir go to the polls in the first phase on November 17.

Unexpected and heavy snow in the valley yesterday, especially in north Kashmir areas, which are going to polls, had pushed some valley-based political parties led by the National Conference to demand deferment of the Assembly elections.

But the sun shone today, fast melting the snow accumulated across the valley and perking up contestants into making final attempts to reach out to voters in three constituencies in Bandipore district.

TK Jotshi, assistant director, Meteorological Department, said weather would remain dry in next two days, ruling out any snow.

“The bright sun is a good omen. Inshallah, electorate will come out in large numbers,” said Imtiaz Parray, an independent who is fighting 21 other contestants from Sonawari seat where his militant-turned-counter insurgent father Yusuf Parray ruled the roost before being killed by militants in 2003.

And the positive factor is not confined to candidates alone as election mood has turned better with each passing day, and the separatists’ attempts to foil electioneering taken care by the authorities.

Mohammad Ashraf, a 25-year-old man in Safapora, said they have long been demanding block status and separate college for girls and they can make their demands heard through elections. “I did not vote last time but will do this time. I agree with mainstream parties that elections are a must for improving infrastructure and providing good governance,” he said.

Most of the political parties like the NC, PDP and Congress today organised small rallies.

Bandipora constituencies are relatively free from separatist tendencies and polling percentage in Gurez and Sonawari in 2002 was 76.48 and 56.5, respectively.

In Bandipore seat, polling was 31.25 per cent. Many believe presence of large number of candidates, 47 against 17 in these three seats last time, and political parties’ emphasis on developmental issues will ensure that the feat is repeated.

“Rural voters know that they can get their share in development if they send their candidate to the Assembly. They voted in good numbers in 2002 and will do so again,” Rafiq Alam, a supporter of Usman Majid, who represented Bandipore last time and is attracting good crowds again, said.

Senior PDP leader and party candidate in Bandipora Nizamuddin Bhat said a favourable turn in weather and developmental planks will make for a good turnout.

“Schools, colleges and electricity weigh on people's mind more than many believe,” he said as the crowd around him resonated with slogans.

Jammu, November 15
As the state prepares for the first phase of polls on November 17, the authorities today claimed that all the appropriate arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of elections.

Chief electoral officer B.R. Sharma today said: “As campaigning comes to an end today for the first phase, all staff and machinery has been sent to the polling stations.”

He said the Centre has appointed 10 observers for the first phase of the elections, who assumed their duties the day when the date of the filing of the nomination was declared.

The administration has made appropriate arrangements to deal with the inclement weather in the Kashmir valley and it would deploy helicopters to transport electoral staff and machineries at the inaccessible polling stations.

“A MI-17 helicopter is being used to transport election staff and machinery to some of the inaccessible polling stations that were cut off due to the heavy snowfall,” Sharma said.

He said appropriate number of force has been sent by the Centre to provide security to the polling staff and the electorate in the state.

The CEO said that the Kashmir divisional commissioner had briefed him about the arrangements made for the polling in the valley.

“All the arrangements have been made even in the smallest constituency of the state, Gurez, where 25 polling booths have been set for the 15,000 voters,” he said.

Later speaking to The Tribune, IGP (Jammu range) K. Rajendra Kumar said: “Various polling booths in the area have been declared sensitive. The CRPF has been deployed to foil any attempt by anti-national elements to disrupt the election process.”

He said 31 polling booths in the bordering district of Poonch were in the firing range of the Pakistani side and that the Army manning the LoC has been alerted to foil any attempt by Pakistan side to disrupt the election.

Rajouri, November 15
Exhorting the people to give the PDP an absolute majority in the ongoing elections, former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said the party would take the peace process to the logical conclusion if voted to power.

Addressing public meetings at Poonch and Mandi towns along with prominent leader Yashpal Sharma in support of PDP candidate Imtiyaz Bandey, Sayeed said the PDP has initiated a movement to change fate of the people of Jammu and Kashmir through its visionary policies.

“Within a short period, the PDP-led regime carved out a new path of development and peace in the state,” he said and reminded the people about situation which was prevailing before 2002 when the National Conference was at the helm of the affairs.

Unlike previous National Conference regimes wherein corruption and backdoor appointments were routine affairs, the PDP-led regime brought transparency and accountability in the government, he said and recalled that the massive recruitment drive was launched during his government.

Strongly defended his suggestions of introducing dual currency in Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti demanded that the state should be declared as free economic zone.

“Jammu and Kashmir should become a model among the SAARC countries by allowing both Indian and Pakistani currency to operate in the state,” he said.

The former Chief Minister observed that there was strong urge for peace among people of India and Pakistan and it is need of the hour to take that peace initiative, launched by the Vajpayee-led NDA regime and continued by the present UPA regime headed by PM Manmohan Singh, to reach its logical conclusion.

NC patron and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah today asked the Gujjar and Pahari communities to unite for the overall development of the state and expose the elements responsible for creating a wedge between them.

He said his party was committed to protect the rights of the two communities.

Addressing two separate public meetings at Surankote and Mendhar in support of party’s candidates Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari and Javed Rana, respectively, Abdullah said the two communities were being exploited by some vested interests, who have a habit of playing vote bank politics for petty gains.

“We believe in equitable development of all the three regions, community and castes,” he said.

Farooq Abdullah said both India and Pakistan should work create an atmosphere of understanding and confidence among each other, so both the countries and the state can flourish.

He said the coalition government during their six-year rule derailed the whole administrative setup, which was put on rails by the National Conference government.

The coalition partners brought “corruption”, “unemployment” and “no development,” he said adding that despite huge flow of funds from the Centre, the coalition partners were not able to utilise the same on ground.

Abdullah said the party has conceived an agenda for governance and after coming to power will channelise things in right perspective.

He said the party will frame a special policy for recruitment of youth in the Police by sending team of senior officers to remote areas and the qualification bar for appointment of constables shall be middle pass.

Moreover the qualification bar for recruitment to Class IV category shall also be middle pass and not matric as imposed by the erstwhile regime.

He also promised that National Conference if voted to power will provide old-age pension to senior citizens in the state on the pattern of European countries and will also enhance the amount of old age and handicapped pension.

Jammu, November 15
The BJP today said it would withdraw use of a parallel flag by the Jammu and Kashmir Government and stick to one-constitution norm, if voted to power, besides scrapping recommendations of various working groups in the state.

“If the BJP forms a government in the state, it will apply the yardstick of one-constitution and one-flag, and the use of parallel flag by the Jammu and Kashmir Government will be immediately withdrawn,” party state president Ashok Khajuria said.

The saffron party also favoured scrapping recommendations of five working groups on confidence-building measures across segments of the society, rehabilitation policy for the displaced and others constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006.

“The recommendations of the working groups are essentially militant-friendly and hindrance to the integration of the state,” he said.

On combating terrorism, the BJP leader said the village defence committees would be strengthened by providing them sophisticated weapons.

Besides, provisions would be made so that committee members get priority during recruitment in the police, paramilitary forces and Army.

Special police officers (SPOs) would be regularised by relaxing age norms and other requirements. Salary would be enhanced from Rs 3000 to Rs 5000.

Khajuria said the party would bring in stringent laws to tackle terrorism, secessionism and anti-national activities. It would facilitate provision of compensation and rehabilitation to the victims of militancy/terrorism. — PTI

Kerni (Poonch), November 15
Till a few years ago, the residents here refused to publicly admit family linkages in Pakistan across the Line of Control (LoC) simply to avoid being put on the “suspect” list of the security forces. Today, every other person is rattling out their list of relatives they have not seen since India and Pakistan were partitioned because these people remained in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). Now, the objective is common - to tell candidates that they will only get votes if they promise to help unite separated families.

Ever since the Poonch-Rawlakote bus service started, linking these cities on the two sides of the LoC, people feel “only a government and not militants can help them reunite with their loved ones”. Therefore, they have simply brushed aside thoughts of staying away from the polls.

Khursheed, a shopkeeper at Nona Bandi, said: “People whose houses are located near the LoC have their uncles, nieces and nephews, brothers and even spouses living in Pakistan since 1947. Till recently, if a family received a letter from POK, it was read and immediately burnt because communication from across the LoC was enough to put them into trouble.”

Khursheed said: “We want to forget this as a bad dream and be able to travel to and fro with ease. We will vote for anyone who can make this a reality.”

Though, the government had introduced a permit system to travel across the LoC, but red tape and bureaucratic hurdles turned the stamping of this permit into an unending wait. “Its been 28 months since I applied for a permit to visit my niece at Mang Bajri. While, I’m still waiting, some people have already visited PoK more than once on regular visas. Where is the sincerity of the government in uniting people of both sides”, questions Hussani, a local resident.

Ten panchayats of Kankote, Bandi Chachian, Kasba, Mandher, Shapur “A”, Shahpur “B” Islamabad, Saral, Nona Bandi and Nagali that have about 12,000 votes (over 10 per cent of the total votes) have decided to vote for a candidate who can help unite them with their families.

Most families were separated in 1947, while some others during the India-Pakistan wars in 1965 and 1971, respectively.

Sadik Shah, whose uncle Rasool Shah and Manir Hassan Shah, whose sister Alan Bi, live in Bagh said: “Most people separated from their relatives at the time of partition are now old. They simply long to meet their kin once before they die. All such people look at the current elections with some optimism and hope. They see elections as the only hope for normalisation of relations between the two countries, leading to re-unification of their families.”

Jammu, November 15
Various state government employee outfits today decided to observe total strike on November 20 in support of their demand for implementation of the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission here.

The strike call has been given by the recently constituted Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), which comprises of different employee organisations. Addressing mediapersons here today, employee leaders Mohd Gafoor Dar and Ram Kumar Sharma said the committee had met Governor N.N. Vohra who assured that discrimination on account of retirement age between different services in the state working under same administration set up will be removed soon, and steps for adoption of 6th Pay Commission will be accelerated.

According to them, chief secretary S.S. Kapur also announced that the issue of implementation of 6th Pay Commission has been taken up with the Election Commissioner of India.

“The Chief Election Commission confirmed receipt of the proposal from the state government and their decision on the issue is expected anytime,” they said.

Keeping these assurances in view the officers as well as employees decided to wait up to November 20. The JCC has decided to observe November 20 as Mass Unity Day by observing complete strike in all the departments in all three regions of the state - Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. However, the JCC has decided to exempt hospitals from the strike on November 20.

The employee leaders said they believe in peaceful and democratic methods to achieve their goals, through constant negotiations and dialogue, including regularisation of all temporary employees, uniform work culture and announcement of minimum wages.

The JCC has already pointed out to the government that J&K is the only state where IAS, IFS and IPS officers retire at the age of 60 and those who belong to state services retire at 58 which is “unconstitutional and biased method,” particularly in the state.

The premier associations of officers and employees, including KAS Officers Association, EJAC (K) EJAC (Jammu) and EJAC (Q) Secretariat Coordination Committee, Public Sector Employees Unions, Doctors and Engineers Associations, Gazetted and Non-Gazetted Unions of all major and other departments, corporations and autonomous bodies have decided to participate in the Mass Unity Day on November 20.

Meanwhile, the highest executive committee of the KAS Officers Association held its meeting at Jammu and fully endorsed the call given by the JCC for November 20 and also stated that 6th Pay Commission recommendations should be implemented soon and discrimination in different services should be removed.

Jammu, November 15
With incidences of HIV/AIDS on the rise, chief secretary S.S. Kapur has stressed upon the need of launching a sustained awareness campaign to curb the menace of AIDS.

Addressing the governing body meeting of the State AIDS Prevention and Control Society (SAPCS) here yesterday, Kapur said: “Testing of individuals among high-risk group at regular intervals should be carried out in different social strata and the frequency of such tests should be increased.”

Kapur said the follow-up of the detected cases should be done so as to get a regular feedback about the same.

Briefing officials about the AIDS scenario in the state vis-à-vis various initiatives launched to keep a check over the dreaded disease, SAPCS director Dr MA Wani said: “Under the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP-II) technical support units (TSUs) have been established in few states for strengthening the implementation of various components of NACP in general and targeted intervention projects in particular.

TSUs will be independent entities to be set up by various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that will work in close coordination with SAPCS for building capacities required for the field agencies involved in the implementation of NACP in the state.”

The SAPCS has already trained 1,200 anganwari workers, 1,800 panches and sarpanches and is also training these resource personnel to spread awareness about the preventive measures. A SAPCS official claimed that the state in comparison to other states had the minimum prevalence rate of HIV infection among the general population.

Srinagar, November 15
Normal life, which was heavily disrupted due to heavy snowfall yesterday that stopped all traffic including air and snapped power supply, resumed in Srinagar today with weather gods smiling benignly.

The police in Shopian district in south Kashmir rescued over 100 persons who were stranded in the upper reaches due to heavy snowfall. The rescued were mostly from Bakarwal nomadic who lead their cattle to remote areas in search of food.

There was no snow today and hazy conditions gave way to sun in the afternoon and the authorities had cleared main roads of accumulated snow, restoring the road traffic. Flights from airport also took off, including two special ones to carry Haj pilgrims to Jedda.

Commercial establishments opened today and markets were crowded even as melting snow had led to mud and water-logging on the road.

The big relief for residents was restoration of power supply in most areas today. Absence of electricity caused lack of water and heating facilities, inconveniencing people. The national highway between Srinagar and Leh was also opened to traffic today.

Education authorities said they would soon announce new dates for examinations cancelled yesterday after the heavy snowfall.

The Met Department has predicted dry weather in coming days, meaning they won't be snow but a dip in night temperature. The mercury dipped to 0.5 degree C today and sub-zero temperatures are likely to be a norm in coming days.

Srinagar, November 15
Traffic on the 434-km-long Srinagar-Drass-Leh National Highway resumed today after remaining suspended for a day yesterday due to heavy snowfall.

However, Keran, Karnah, Machil, Razdan and Sadhna remained cut off. Efforts are being made to put them through.

A K Bhutani, chief engineer of BEACON project, said the Srinagar-Leh highway was put through this morning after the accumulated snow was cleared.

“We pressed into service sophisticated machines and men to clear the snow and allow normal traffic from the both sides,” he said.

Bhutani said there was about three feet of accumulated snow at Zojila and two feet at Sonmarg and other areas on this side of the pass.

He said the road, lifeline to the Ladakh region, which remains cut off in winter due to the snowfall, would remain open till the weather permits.

“We had decided to close the highway from November 1 to avoid any tragedy on the highway,” he said, adding later the traffic movement was allowed keeping in view the dry weather.

Bhutani said, “The road will be closed the moment we think that journey is risky.”

He said there was a proposal to make a tunnel at Zojila to make the highway an all-weather road. The proposal was already approved and the feasibility for the tunnel would be started in summer.

Interestingly, there was no snowfall on other side of the Zojila, including Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia.

Though the authorities in the Kashmir valley had pressed into service dozens of snow clearance machines to clear the snow on the main roads, the inner roads, bylanes are still under snow, making the pedestrian movement almost impossible.

About a dozen people were injured after they slipped on the snow in different parts of the city.

A report from Baramulla said a number of far flung and remote areas in north Kashmir remained cut off from the district and tehsil headquarters due to the snowfall.

The Razdan and Sadhna top, Machil, Keran, Karnah and Gurez also recorded two to five feet of snowfall affecting the traffic movement. — UNI

Jammu, November 15
At least three people were killed and 25 injured in different road accidents in the last 24 hours in the Jammu region, police reports here today said.

“One person died yesterday when his tractor turned turtle while working in fields in tehsil Nowshera of Rajouri district,” the police said. The deceased was identified as Nirmal Singh, resident of Lam, Nowshera.

The police, however, said the deceased was being shifted to the Government Medical College in critical condition but he succumbed to his injuries on way to Jammu.

Meanwhile, a scooterist was crushed to death by an army vehicle in Udhampur district. “The scooterist identified as Jeevan Kumar, resident of Batal Ballian died on the spot when hit by an Army truck at Dhar road in Chenani,” the police said adding that another youth also died on the spot when a speeding truck ran over him in the Mansar area of Samba district last night.

The deceased has been identified as Rahul, resident of Mansar.

Twentyfive passengers were injured when a minibus in which they were travelling, turned turtle at Raya Morh in Samba district.

“The police and passersby, rushed to the spot and rescued the injured and shifted them to the hospital,” the police said. — UNI