Srinagar, January 3
Chief Minister-designate Omar Abdullah met PDP patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and sought his cooperation in governing the troubled state at the latter’s official Gupkar residence here today. This was a courtesy call, informed sources said, adding that the two spent about one hour together.

Earlier, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had congratulated Omar for being designated as the next Chief Minister. A large number of people, including party workers and supporters, continued to call on Omar and felicitate him at his residence today.

Omar would leave for Jammu, winter capital of the state, tomorrow ahead of the oath-taking ceremony at Raj Bhawan on Monday.

Omar returned here yesterday, after his second round of talks with senior Congress leaders in New Delhi to work out the modalities of the coalition government. While the NC has emerged as the single largest party, the Congress with 17 elected members has allied with it for the coalition government in the state. The Congress and the PDP formed the coalition government in 2002, which, however, fell prematurely in the wake of the Amarnath land row four months before the completion of its six-year term.

Senior leaders of other political parties, including the Congress and PDP, are also proceeding to Jammu to attend the oath-taking ceremony, where Omar and his five ministers would be administered oath by Governor NN Vohra.

Apart from Omar, two of his party colleagues and three Congress members would be administered oath on Monday. The council of ministers is expected to be expanded at a later stage to give adequate representation to the two coalition parties in all three regions of the state -- Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh. The NC legislature party would be meeting in Jammu tomorrow ahead of the oath ceremony and discuss various related issues.

Mehbooba Mufti is also proceeding to Jammu tomorrow to attend the swearing-in ceremony, party sources here said. Mehbooba, who is a sitting Lok Sabha member from Anantnag, is believed to be the PDP’s legislature party leader, even though Mufti Sayeed has been elected to the state Assembly from Anantnag.

Asked about his reported opposition to the appointment of “tainted” MLAs as ministers, he said he had talked to the Congress high command about it. “Now, it is up to the party (Congress) to decide.” About shifting to the official residence of Chief Minister, Omar said, “I don’t want to change my residence. I have a small family (wife and two children) and would like to stay in my house on the Gupkar road.”

Jammu, January 3
Politics and power make strange bedfellows. If the NC and the Congress have found lost bonhomie after 1986, then the coming Assembly sessions under the new alliance would also see intense battles of ‘ideas’ between the “pro-separatist” PDP and the “pro-Jammu” BJP sitting in the opposition.

It may be stated here that completely at loggerheads on almost every issue, the PDP and BJP had played ‘crucial’ roles during the two-month long Amarnath land agitation.

The PDP has 21 seats in its kitty while the BJP has 11 followed by the Panthers Party with three. These three parties along with four Independents and one each from the CPM, the Democratic Party Nationalist and the Peoples Democratic Front would sit in the opposition.

Ousted from the corridors of power, the PDP, in a totally new role of an opponent, would continue to pursue its political agenda come what may.

Talking to The Tribune, party president Mehbooba Mufti said: “The PDP has its own political agenda and we are not going to compromise on it just to have coordination between parties in the opposition.”

No body can stop us from projecting the aspirations of the people, she said.

However, she expressed regrets over being branded as a pro-separatist party by the saffron brigade and other like-minded right-wing parties.

None raised any hue and cry when MDMK general secretary Vaiko and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi openly denounced attacks on LTTE and supported it. Paradoxically, when we in this state talk about aspirations of Kashmiris, we were dubbed as pro-separatist and anti-nationalist, she said.

Without seeing things in right perspective, the BJP had been objecting to everything the PDP raised when the fact of the matter was that former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee appreciated us for the healing touch policy, she said.

She made it clear that with full might, the PDP’s legislators in both Houses would raise party agendas like self-rule, demilitarisation, revocation of the AFSPA and introduction of dual currency.

We have a roadmap for resolution of Kashmir dispute and we would continue to pursue it, she added.

However, the BJP claimed that it would oppose tooth and nail any pro-separatist and anti-nationalist agenda in both the Houses.

Party’s senior leader Nirmal Singh said: “It is quite clear that the PDP would sharpen its separatist agenda, and being a Kashmir-centric party the NC too would quietly toe its line while the Congress like always would play second fiddle.

But the BJP has made up its mind to defeat pro-separatist agenda within and outside the House, he added.

Amarnath land agitation is in front of us. We all know about dubious roles played by the PDP, NC and the Congress, he added.

Jammu, January 3
After the Congress made it clear that it would be extending support to the NC to form the government in the state paving way for NC president Omar Abdullah to become the next Chief Minister, at 38, the junior Abdullah would be the youngest Chief Minister of the state.

Omar Abdullah would be the 11th Chief Minister of the state and third from the Abdullah clan.

Post Independence and following tribal invasion on the state, Mehr Chand Mahajan become the first Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from October 15, 1947, to March 5, 1948. He was from the Indian National Congress (INC).

He was followed by Sheikh Abdullah who became the second Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from March 5, 1948, to August 9, 1953. He was the founder of the National Conference.

Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed of the NC followed. He headed the state from August 9, 1953, to October 12, 1963. He was followed by Khwaja Shamsudin of the NC from October 12, 1963, to February 29, 1964.

Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq of the INC followed Shamsudin from February 29, 1964, to March 30 1965.

On March 30, 1965, the office of the Prime Minister (Jammu and Kashmir) was converted to Chief Minister and Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq (INC) became the first chief minister and ruled the state till December 12, 1971.

Sadiq was followed by Syed Mohammed Qasim (INC) from December 12, 1971, to February 25, 1975

Sheikh Abdullah (NC) ruled the state from February 25 1975, to March 26, 1977.

The state remained under the President’s rule from March 26, 1977, to July 9, 1977, and from July 9, 1977, to September 1982, Sheikh Abdullah (NC) was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state.

Farooq Abdullah became the Chief Minister on September 8, 1982, till July 2, 1984, followed by Ghulam Mohammad Shah of the Awami National Conference from July 2, 1984, to March 1986.

From March 6, 1986, to November 7, 1986, the state was again under the President’s rule and from November 7, 1986, to January 19, 1990, Farooq Abdullah became the Chief Minister for the second time.

For the next six years i.e from January 19, 1990, to October 9, 1996, the state was under the President’s rule for the third time.

On October 9, 1996, Farooq Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state for the third time and he was on the seat till October 18, 2002

For the fourth time the state again went under the President’s rule from October 18, 2002, to November 2, 2002.

On November 2, 2002, following the power-sharing agreement between the PDP and the Congress, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state followed by Ghulam Nabi Azad (November 2, 2005, to July 11, 2008).

The state, for the fifth time, came under the President’s rule on July 11, 2008, after the PDP withdrew support from the Ghulam Nabi Azad’s government.

Jammu, January 3
Thousands of Sikhs took part in the Parkash utsav (birth anniversary) procession of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, here today.

It started early in the morning from Gurdwara Singh Sabha Chand Kaur and culminated at Gurdwara Singh Sabha Nanak Nagar, Jammu. The procession has been a regular feature in Jammu for the past many decades in which thousands of people participate.

People sang religious hymns and chanted “Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal” and “Raaj Karega Khalsa”.

“This is a tradition that we hold a procession from the memorial of Gurdwara Chand Kaur to Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Nanak Nagar, in which people from all walks of life participate,” Manjeet Singh of Nanak Nagar said. The Sikh youth also performed various martial art skills.

Students from various educational institutions also participated in the procession and small children took part in various cultural programmes during the procession.

The main attraction of the event was the decorated palanquin on which Guru Granth Sahib was placed, followed by the Panj Piaras (the beloved five).

“Guru Granth Sahib is a holy book not only for the Sikhs, but also for people of various other communities. This procession is a perfect example of communal harmony in the region,” said Shashpal Singh, a resident of Gangyal.

Jammu, January 3
Commuters in Jammu had to face various hardships as the traffic in the city today witnessed a major chaos following the heavy rush of devotees in the Prakash Utsav procession. The traffic inflow to the city had to be stopped for various hours and no alternative routes were provided.

“The traffic police completely failed to control the flow of traffic and stopped all vehicles from entering into the city. However, they should have diverted the traffic on to other routes,” said Kuldeep Kumar, a resident of Narwal Jammu.

“I was not able to reach my office on time as the police stopped my vehicle from entering into the city without providing any alternative route,” said Pardeep Kumar, an employee of the Public Health Engineering Department.

Jammu, January 3
Justice Barin Ghosh took over as the new Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court here today. Governor N.N. Vohra administered him oath at Raj Bhawan. The ceremony was attended by judges of the high court and other civil dignitaries.

Born on June 5, 1952, Justice Barin Ghosh was a judge of the Patna High Court before assuming the office of Chief Justice. He was enrolled as an advocate on December 19, 1978.

He was appointed a permanent judge of the Calcutta High Court on July 14, 1995, and he joined the Patna High Court on January 7, 2005.

Family members of Justice Ghosh were also present on the occasion. The high court has a strength of 14 judges -- nine permanent judges and five additional judges.

Srinagar, January 3
Srinagar and its adjoining areas experienced snowfall tonight, while heavy snowfall was being recorded at world famous ski resort of Gulmarg since this afternoon. After brief rains this afternoon, Srinagar and adjacent areas experienced snowfall.

Reports of heavy snowfall were received from Gulmarg, Khilangmarg, Affarwat, holy Amarnath cave, Zojala and other upper reaches in the Kashmir valley.

After about a month-long dry spell with freezing temperatures, rain and snowfall was expected to occur across Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday and Sunday.

According to weather experts here, western disturbance hit the state on Saturday resulting in light to moderate rainfall and snowfall at many places. The higher reaches of the state would experience heavy snowfall during this period, said Aamir Ali, OSD to Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir.

Residents here await rain at this time of the season, known as “Chillai Kalan”, the 40-day-long peak winter period, beginning every year on December 22. The Kashmir valley and its upper reaches had its first snowfall of the season on November 13 last year, followed by rain in the valley and snow in upper reaches between December 8 and 11.

The snowfall at this time of the season is always welcome in Kashmir, which brings relief from freezing temperatures. It also helps heavy accumulation of snow on the surrounding mountains, keeping in store sufficient water for the irrigation of paddy crops next summer and for hydropower generation.

Samba, January 3
Carrying passengers beyond the sitting capacity of the busses and minibuses is “business as usual” for the vehicle operators in and around the town. Traffic officials rue the shortage of staff while commuters have their own complaint that the latter have kept “eyes wide shut.”

People clung around the minibuses mark a glaring sight on the roads of the town. Right from clusters of passengers at the footrest, the passengers choose to sit atop besides clinging to back of vehicles. “It’s very difficult for patients and old people to commute by public transport system,” said a septuagenarian, Baili Ram adding that, “Poor road infrastructure further adds to the commuting woes.”

He further said particularly expecting women had to bear the brunt of “traffic mismanagement and deplorable roads.” He alleged that traffic police was hand in glove with the transporters that’s why the latter are throwing the norms to wind, putting innocent lives at stake.

He said in the wake of surprise visit by mobile Magistrates, every thing started going in consonance with the set norms but by the moment the magistrate is gone, things return to the square one.

“Several accidents took place in the recent past due to over loading leading to fatal casualties,” said a resident, Sham Sundar, adding that it was very difficult for women to travel by overloaded buses. “A female has to undergo mental and even physical harassment while commuting in overstuffed vehicles,” he added.

“There is acute shortage of passenger vehicles and unless they are packed to the fullest besides passengers hang around the vehicles, drivers don’t creep forward,” rued a student of Nad village, Naresh Kumar, adding that most of his time gets spent in traveling or waiting for the vehicles.

Officials of the traffic police said due to “acute shortage” of manpower it was not viable for them to regulate the traffic flow in entire area.

Srinagar, January 3
Travel agents of both Kashmir and Jammu regions today asked the government to explore options for making the state a round-the-year tourist destination.

Addressing a joint press conference, office-bearers of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) and the Association of Jammu Travel Agents (AJTA) said a working group had been formed and the group would impress upon the government to provide compensation to travel agents, who suffered losses last year.

“The state administration recently announced a rehabilitation package for traders, but surprisingly travel agents were left out. The travel agent industry is the biggest industry of the state and it needs to be promoted. As such, it is our demand to compensate travel agents on account of losses suffered,” said Rajesh Gupta, president of the AJTA.

Gupta said there was a need for rationale development of the tourism sector in the state and ways as well as means could be explored in this respect. He said joint reception counters would be set up at potential tourist arrival points, where tourists would be provided information about their visit to any part of the state.

Rauf Tramboo, president of the TAAK, said 30 per cent rush of pilgrimage tourists to Jammu could be diverted to leisure tourism to Kashmir or Ladakh. He said the state offered a diversified tourism calendar and tourists could enjoy according to the season.

Both Tramboo and Gupta were of the opinion that the government should spruce up infrastructure for better facilities to tourists. “We can only do marketing, but they (government) have to ensure that the best possible facilities are in place,” they said.

Jammu, January 3
Jammu city may have a zoo soon, thanks to the efforts of the state Wildlife Protection Department. The department, which did not imagine that the shelter home meant for rescued animals on its premises will become a major attraction for people, has intensified efforts to get approval to convert the shelter home into a zoo with additional facilities and funds.

The shelter home, which is spread over 0.5 sq km, is attracting visitors as it houses a good number of animals such as leopard, samber, black spot deer, owl, vulture, which are on the verge of extinction, and big owls and wild cats etc. Excited over the response, the department is intending to build a proper zoo here and is discussing its plans with the team of experts at the Chhatbir Zoo.

AK Shrivastav, chief wildlife warden, says “we have written to the Central Zoo Authority to consider the project of converting the shelter home into a zoo and the authority has asked us to furnish further details, including a blueprint of individual enclosures, design work and estimates, as per the guidelines of an expert authority.

We have tied up with the Chhatbir Zoo to send us experts on the matter. One expert from the Chhatbir Zoo was expected to come here to prepare the blueprint last year, but that too got shelved due to some reasons.”

But the wildlife department has not lost hopes. “We hope to get this plan approved by this year-end,” added Shrivastav.

But this is not the only hurdle. The Supreme Court, which has been flooded with complaints against many zoo authorities flouting the guidelines for the upkeep of animals, has been quite strict lately with those who wanted to open a zoo.

Shrivastav said, “It is the people of Jammu who have shown great enthusiasm in visiting the shelter home.

We, too, luckily got animals of good categories. Not only this, we have also given many animals to a zoo located in the valley, but now we want to retain them, keeping in view the interest of the local people.” If things turn positive for the department, the city will get to see its own zoo by December.

Jammu, January 3
While several countries have already banned the import of Chinese milk and milk products as it reportedly contains deadly ‘melamine’, but in Jammu, these Chinese chocolates and toffees are being openly sold. Melamine can lead to severe diseases, besides being a threat to life.

Chemical used in these imported chocolates and toffees are a health hazard as it causes kidney stones and leads to kidney failure. These Chinese chocolates and toffees are available in different varieties and cheaper than the branded chocolates.

Three pieces pack of a Chinese chocolate is available at Rs 50 and Chinese candy is available at Rs 10 as compared to branded chocolate and toffees available at Rs 240 and 80, respectively.

Some of the shopkeepers are not aware about the evil effects of these chocolates and they are selling it openly in the busy market complex.

A shopkeeper at Jewel Chowk who sells these imported chocolates and toffees said: “I purchase the stock of imported toffees and chocolates from Kanak Mandi at wholesale rates. There is ban on its sales but I do not know why.”

“I use to get stock of imported chocolates from Delhi at wholesale rates, but, so far, no authority concerned has asked me to stop the sale,” said Chander Parkash, a shopkeeper at Kanakmandi.

Municipal health officer, Jammu, KD Singh said: “We had lifted samples of Chinese chocolates and toffees last month, but we did not find any harmful chemical after the complete verification. These chocolates are not banned and are not harmful for human consumption.”

Much to the claims of the health officer does not have the required facility to check the presence of such harmful chemicals in the Chinese milk products.

Srinagar, January 3
The security forces today busted a militant hideout and seized a large quantity of explosives including 10 kg of RDX in Baramulla district, official sources said.

The recoveries were made from the hideout after the troops of the 52 Rashtria Rifles assisted by the Special Operations Group of the local police launched a search operation in Kandi Budann area of Baramulla.

The cache included 10 kg of RDX, an IED, a detonator, a pencil bomb, three mortars, three UBGLs, five hand grenades, four gelatine rods, an IED circuit, 165 rounds of Ak ammunition, a wireless set and a pistol magazine.

However, no arrests could be made during the operation. — PTI