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Protesters teargassed on Muharram
Jammu-Srinagar highway reopens
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Over 15 ultras holed up in Bhatti Dhar: Army
NC faces strong Oppn for first time
Male students cry foul over closed BEd admissions
Repair of Katra-bhawan route begins
Chaman Lal opposes CM’s proposal
Agitating students hold talks with govt
Two LeT men held, militant hideout busted
Civilian’s Killing
Youth’s Murder
Girl found dead in hostel
Gujjars seek ministry for tribal affairs
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Protesters teargassed on Muharram
Srinagar, January 8 The trouble started this morning when a group of people started marching towards the area from where the Muharram procession was to pass later in the day in the downtown city. However, they were stopped by the police and the CRPF that were deployed in strength. When the “pro-freedom” slogan-shouting people insisted that they should be allowed to move towards Shia-dominated areas, the police and the CRPF resorted to baton charge to disperse them. The demonstrators pelted the security forces with stones, forcing the police to burst tear gas shells at Nowhatta Chowk, Gojwara and Rajouri Kadal. Twenty Shias were taken into preventive custody when they tried to take out a procession in violation of the prohibitory orders on the Maulana Azad road, official sources said. Meanwhile, processions were taken out in various parts of the city, where adequate security and civic arrangements were already in place. A large number of mourners joined the processions in the Zadibal area of Srinagar, while several other processions were taken out in other areas of the city. However, the traditional procession that used to be taken out from Abi Guzar in the central Lal Chowk area to Dalgate could not be taken out due to prohibitory orders. The police and the CRPF kept a strict vigil in the Abi Guzar area since early this morning to prevent the taking out of the procession. Police and paramilitary forces were also deployed in Gojwara and adjoining areas in downtown Srinagar as a precautionary measure to avoid any clash between Shia and Sunni youths, the sources said Shia Muslims have been expressing concern over restrictions on taking out religious processions in the Civil Lines area for the past 19 years. An officials spokesman said the district and local administrations had made elaborate arrangements with regard to providing medicare, water and other facilities to the mourners. Ambulances with doctors, paramedics and sufficient quantity of drugs accompanied the processions. The largest Muharram procession was taken out from Imam Baada at the district headquarters of Budgam in which thousands of mourners participated. Reports of taking out of Zul-a-Jinahs have also poured in from Dub, Butakalan, Ganderbal, Zadibal, Lal Bazar, Shalimar, Sumbal Sonawari, Pattan, Uri, Anatnag, Budgam, Pulwama and Baramulla districts. The processions were taken out and the day observed religiously in Kargil and Leh districts of Ladakh region, the reports also said. |
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Jammu-Srinagar highway reopens
Jammu, January 8 The highway was closed for traffic on January 6 due to incessant snowfall at Jawahar tunnel that rendered the highway slippery and unmotorable. The traffic from Jammu to Srinagar and some stranded vehicles were allowed to move towards their respective destinations in Srinagar and other parts of the valley. The downward traffic from Srinagar to Jammu would be allowed from tomorrow. Meanwhile, hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir continued to reel under intense cold wave as the minimum temperature dipped to minus 9.8°C. The tourist spot of Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, recorded a night temperature of minus 2.7°C, the MET office said. Qazigund and Banihal on the Srinagar-Jammu highway also recorded night temperature at minus 2.5 and minus .2°C, respectively, while Bhaderwah in Doda district recorded a minimum temperature of minus 1.7°C. However, north Kashmir districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora witnessed warmer nights with temperatures ranging between .6 to .8°C. Srinagar, summer capital of the state, recorded a minimum temperature of .5°C, which was three degrees above normal, the MET office said.
— PTI |
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Majority of filling stations go dry
Jammu, January 8 Long queues of commuters were witnessed outside a few filling stations while the rest were shut since morning after running out of petrol and diesel. Talking to The Tribune, All Jammu and Kashmir Oil Tankers Association president Anan Sharma said: "The civil supplies of fuel came to a grinding halt yesterday while the supply to the Army has also been stopped from today. As many as 70 per cent of the 278 filling stations in the state went dry last evening and the remaining too would be left with no fuel today as these are witnessing heavy rush of apprehensive customers. While the entire diesel stock dried up yesterday itself, petrol too would not last till today." He said various oil firms give a daily supply of 360-375 tankers in the state of which the maximum goes to the Army and government machinery. He said the industries would also face the heat as these too require a huge quantity of fuel for heating purposes. " If the strike continued for some more time what to speak of the common man even the vehicles of ministers would get no fuel," he added. Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ram Sahai said the oil officials' strike, coupled with the truckers' agitation, had an adverse effect on trade and industry. He said the traders were not getting the supply of commodities while the raw material supply to the industry had also been hit. He said as of now the industry had adequate fuel but if the strike continued for long it would definitely affect the functioning of industry. Former chairman of the Federation of Industries Annil Suri said if the filling stations went dry it would have a bad impact on the units, particularly those running on the gensets like the ones in the Samba industrial area, phase II. The truckers' strike has also taken a toll on the supply of fruits in the city. Fruit Association president Praveen Kumar Gupta said as against 50 truckloads of supply earlier, no fruit either from Kashmir or other parts of the country had been received. |
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Over 15 ultras holed up in Bhatti Dhar: Army
Jammu, January 8 The Army had earlier said a group of six heavily armed terrorists were hiding in the Bhatti Dhar forests, but the number of hiding terrorists, as per official intelligence sources, was more than 15. The Army, so far, has gunned down four terrorists, while three security personnel, including a special police officer, have been killed. But the encounter that entered the ninth day today did not seem to be ending soon as the cordon party of the Army was still getting hostile fire from multiple locations. As per exclusive details available with The Tribune, the aerial survey conducted by the Army had revealed that the group comprised more than 15 terrorists. “The thermal imaging by the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that surveyed the area revealed that the group comprised more than 15 terrorists,” a senior defence officer told The Tribune. He said, “The terrorists are hiding in a larger area and though they had taken shelter in natural caves, the aerial survey found that they had converted these caves into fortified bunkers.” The sources revealed that though the Army was contemplating the use of air power, the idea was ruled out after Pakistani F16 fighter jets carried out sorties after the Indian UAV carried out the aerial survey of the forests. “The reason why the Army ruled out the aerial attacks was the threatening posture by the Pakistani F16 fighter jets after they saw our UAV,” the sources said. Speaking to The Tribune, Brig-General Staff of the Nagrota-based 16 corps of the Army, Brig Gurdeep Singh said, “The exact number of terrorists present in the area could be declared only when the operation was over, for now the operation was still going on.” He added, “The place has been cordoned off from all sides and we would bring the fight to a logical conclusion. The search operation is on and we have so far cleared half of the area. The Army is closing in on them and we are hopeful that the operation may end soon.” |
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NC faces strong Oppn for first time
Jammu, January 8 The National Conference had virtually no opposition in the Assembly till the mid-sixties as the party completely dominated state politics, winning 100 per cent seats in 1951 and over 90 per cent seats in the 1957 and 1962 Assembly elections. However, the NC government under Sheikh Abdullah after the 1977 poll faced significant opposition. Though the NC emerged as the single largest party with 47 seats, the Congress with 11 and the Janata Party with 13 seats made up for the noticeable strength of the Opposition. The NC forged an alliance with the Congress in the eighties, leaving out any scope for the Opposition, as they were the only two parties dominating the state's political landscape. Again in 1996 the NC headed by Farooq Abdullah bagged 57 of the 87 seats, while the second largest party, BJP, was left with just eight seats. However, in the new Assembly, the National Conference will face a strong opposition in the form of two major parties - PDP and BJP. Though the party has forged an alliance with the Congress, their joint strength barely crosses the magic figure of 44 required for a simple majority in the House. What also makes this Opposition strong is the fact that for the first time another Kashmir-centric party, PDP, has 21 MLAs, 19 of whom come from the Kashmir valley, the NC stronghold. The PDP has improved its previous tally of 16 and ended up neck and neck with the NC in the valley. If the PDP has improved its tally, the right-wing BJP too has gained in Jammu at the cost of the NC and its ally, the Congress, to boost its tally from one seat in 2002 to 11 seats in 2008. The joint BJP-PDP strength touches the 32-seat mark and add to it three MLAs of the Panthers Party who would take a "pro-Jammu" stand along with the BJP. The fact that the PDP is a Kashmir-centric political outfit and the BJP has made huge gains on its "pro-Jammu" agenda will also pose a challenge for the NC-Congress government. The knives are already out and the BJP has termed the newly sworn-in Cabinet as "lopsided", charging that Jammu has been given a "step-motherly" treatment, as it has only three ministers in the 10-member Cabinet. |
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Male students cry foul over closed BEd admissions
Jammu, January 8 In view of available seats in some non-government BEd colleges affiliated with Jammu University, the counselling-cum-admission process for BEd course for session 2008-2009 had started on January 1. As per the previous notification, the counselling and admission process was to end today, but it was extended up till January 10. “Though I had secured 55 per cent marks, I could not get admission to any of the colleges across Rajasthan till the last cut out list was announced on December 27,” Jitender told The Tribune. However, his hopes revived when he came across an advertisement by the Colleges Development Council, Jammu University, in Rajasthan Patrika. “In the advertisement, the admission criterion was clearly mentioned as 45 per cent marks for candidates belonging to the general category and 40 per cent for the reserved category students,” he said. However, his was not the lone case, there were hundreds of other candidates who were stranded on the university campus till evening. They said they had come from Karoli, Jawal Pur, Bharat Pur and Alwar for admission. “We don’t belong to affluent families. If all seats had been filled, the varsity should have published the information in newspapers,” they complained. “We ended up spoiling our hard earned money due to the lackadaisical attitude of the university,” they alleged and asked the varsity authorities to help them get admission to BEd colleges. The students further said while they were denied entry into the administration block of the varsity, some were favoured and allowed entry. “The entire admission process on the concluding day was discriminatory and merit and set norms were ignored,” they alleged. Earlier, the admission process was closed on December 10 and the varsity did not disclose the number of vacant seats in the colleges. Director, Colleges Development Council, Dr Meenakshi Kilam said the counselling was always subject to availability of seats. “At present, seats for girls are still vacant in some colleges and the counselling is on.” However, she said if any of the enrolled candidates asked for the refund of admission fee, then the remaining candidates could have a fair chance of admission. |
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Repair of Katra-bhawan route begins
Udhampur, January 8 The GSI experts, during the survey of the area, have identified as many as 25 landslide-prone spots on the route from Katra to the bhawan in the Trikuta mountainous range. However, the new route from Ardkumari to the bhawan is the most vulnerable spot. The SMVDSB has carved an alternative route from Ardkumari by cutting rocks to divert the rush of pilgrims from the old track. Recent incidents of land sling near the bhawan and Ardkumari have forced the authorities to start the stabilising work to avoid re-occurrence of such mishaps. Additional chief executive officer (CEO) of the SMVDSB MK Divedi said: “We have adopted rock bottling, bio-synthetic and concrete re-enforcement methods to check land sliding at the vulnerable points,” Divedi said. Notwithstanding claims of the authorities to maintain ecological balance in this mountainous belt, increasing number of pilgrims with every passing year has led to ecological degradation. The geologists in their report have pointed out that deforestation, water leakage, cutting of rocks, artificial vibration etc were adversely affecting the environment in this area. The authorities have failed to check ecological degradation on the track. Every year more than 60 lakhs pilgrims visit this shrine, and to provide accommodation to these devotees, rampant construction has been going on in this area while led to deforestation. |
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Chaman Lal opposes CM’s proposal
Jammu, January 8 Addressing a meeting of party workers here, Prof Gupta said constituting a new commission would mean “brushing aside the simmering discontent and continue with the wrongs being perpetrated for the past 60 years.” He alleged that the Congress, the NC and other parties that ruled the state were never fair towards Jammu and Ladakh, resulting in repeated agitations and subsequent formation of commissions. He said, earlier too, the Sikkri Commission, Justice Gajender Gadkar Commission and the Singhal Committee were set up in the past, but their recommendations were never implemented. He said the “most intriguing and glaring injustice” was done when the NC, using its majority in 2001, had put an embargo that there would be no delimitation till 2026. “What the new commission would do for this discrimination when the delimitation of constituencies is a matter of constitutional obligation which has been barred by making a mysterious amendment?” he said. Prof Gupta asked the Congress to come clean on this issue as their poll manifesto had clearly promised to bring the Delimitation Bill in the state Assembly. He said if the Bill was brought in the House, the BJP and “others from Jammu” would support the amendment. This, he said, would be the test of the Congress’ sincerity towards its promises. |
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Agitating students hold talks with govt
Jammu, January 8 The meeting took place at the divisional commissioner’s office in which divisional commissioner Sudhanshu Pandey, IG, Jammu, K Rajendra, secretary, higher education, KA Wani, director colleges, ND Wani and principals of all city colleges were present. The student delegation was represented by state secretary of the ABVP Suresh Magotra. In a statement, Magotra said the college authorities maintained that besides other holidays, the Amarnath land row agitation cast shadow on regular classes and as of now only 45 per cent syllabus could get completed. “We asked the authorities to hold examinations in time, besides ensuring that results were declared well in time,” Magotra said. |
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Two LeT men held, militant hideout busted
Jammu/Srinagar, January 8 The police reportedly conducted a search operation at Khalloen village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir following a tip-off about the presence of militants. During the operation, the police arrested two over ground workers of the LeT identified as Abdul Hana Najar and Shabir Ahmad Bhat, along with one grenade, and 15 rounds of AK 47 ammunition. In another incident, the Army busted a militant base in Manjakote belt of the district and recovered 2 IEDs with detonators today, sources said, adding that these had been prepared to use against the security forces during their patrolling of the area. However, no one was arrested in this connection.
— Agencies |
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Civilian’s Killing
Srinagar, January 8 An official spokesman said here today that the civil administration was not involved in the incident and the Chief Minister had assured that those found guilty would be dealt with according to law. Abdul Rashid Reshi, a resident of Veer Saran, Pahalgam, in Anantnag district of south Kashmir was killed on the Gupkar road late on Tuesday night. A defence spokesman had stated that the person after scaling the boundary wall of the compound of 31 Sub Area Commander under suspicious circumstances was fired upon by the guards. The person later was reported to be a deaf and dumb person and had come to Srinagar to work as a
labourer. |
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Youth’s Murder
Jammu, January 8 Three real brothers are alleged to have murdered Rajinder Sharma (25) in Sector-D of Sainik Colony. The deceased was a manager in an auto-rickshaw company. Jammu SSP Manohar Singh said the main accused had been identified as Ravinder Kumar, alias Pappu, of Sainik Colony. His father had been picked up for questioning, said the SSP, adding that the accused would be arrested soon. However, official sources said the three assailants and the deceased were neighbours. As the deceased used to tease their sister, the three brothers, Ravinder, Raju and Happy, decided to teach him a lesson. Around 9.30 pm Ravinder and his brothers caught hold of Rajinder and dragged him insider their cotton shop where they brutally assaulted him, leading to his death. The assailants threw Rajinder's body on the roadside. A case has been registered in this connection. |
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Girl found dead in hostel
Jammu, January 8 The deceased has been identified as Santosh Kumari of Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh). The police said the authorities of Vishwa Bharti College said the girl sustained a head injury after she slipped in the hostel bathroom. As the girl had bolted the bathroom door, the college authorities had to break it open. The girl was found lying unconscious on the bathroom floor. The girl was immediately shifted to Government Medical College where doctors declared her brought dead, he added. The parents of the girl have been informed and a case has been registered. |
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Gujjars seek ministry for tribal affairs
Jammu, January 8 ''Based on the pattern of the Central government, where the tribal act and an independent tribal ministry exists, the state government should also create a separate ministry for tribal affairs,'' Eshfaq-ur-Rehman Poswal, president, Akhil Bhartiya Gujjar Mahasabha, J&K, told mediapersons here. Poswal said it was the right time for Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to prove his worth and work for the uplift of the Gujjar community. ''If Abdullah pays attention to our community, he will forever be supported by us but in case he fails to work for the development of the Gujjars, there will be no support for him in the next elections,'' Eshfaq asserted. He, however, said around 25 lakh Gujjars were living in all three regions of the state and the community deserved a separate ministry.
— UNI |
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