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Race hots up for Cabinet berths
Truckers’ strike: Fruit dealers differ on losses
Omar pays surprise visit to hospital, power station
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Cong workers flay leadership
‘Wanted’ financial brain of Hurriyat flees country
Ban on combat dresses
in Ramban
Security check a formality at Vaishno Devi
Kerosene price zooms in Leh
Kupwara shivers at -
2.3°C
Sikhs seek minority community status
Plea to withdraw PSA case against Dinesh Bharti
‘Open Choice’
Seminar on disaster management held
Four die in mishap
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Race hots up for Cabinet berths
Jammu, January 11 Among the portfolios yet to be allotted include home, GAD, power, agriculture, transport, social welfare, consumer affairs and public distribution, revenue, relief and rehabilitation, cooperatives and R&B. The names doing the rounds in NC circles are Nasir Sogami, Sajjad Ahmad Kitchloo, Vijay Bakaya, Sakina Itoo and TS Wazir. Sogami has been working closely with Omar Abdullah ever since he took over the reins of the party in 2002. He won the recent elections from Amira Kadal. Sajjad Kitchloo, son of former minister Bashir Ahmed Kitchoo, has been elected from Kishtwar for the second time. He won the 2002 elections after his father's death. Similarly, Sakina, daughter of former Speaker Wani Ahmad Itoo, has made it to the Assembly for the second time, defeating PDP stalwart Abdul Aziz Zargar, from Noorabad. She was also a minister of state in the NC government (1996-2002) headed by Farooq Abdullah Bakaya, a former Chief Secretary who joined the NC in July, 2007, could be the Kashmiri Pandit face in the Omar Abdullah Cabinet. Similarly, Wazir, an MLC, who lost from Gandhi Nagar, could make it to the Cabinet as a representative of Sikhs. On the other hand, unlike their NC counterparts, Congress MLAs are having a tough time as the race has been made all the more difficult by the heavyweights who lost the Assembly elections. Almost all Congress aspirants for a Cabinet slot have been camping in New Delhi to put forth their claims. The defeated Congressmen testing their luck include former Deputy CM Mangat Ram Sharma, former ministers Gulchain Singh Charak, Gharu Ram, Jugal Kishore, and Suman Lata Bhagat. While Charak is a sitting MLC, the other losers too are eying the vacant seats in the Legislative Council to make it to the State Cabinet. However, sources said these ex-ministers would find it difficult to explain their defeat at the hustings. "They simply can't get away by attributing their failure to the Amarnath land agitation, particularly when the likes of Tara Chand, Sham Lal Sharma and Raman Bhalla have won the Hindu majority Assembly seats," they added. As far as elected Congress MLAs are concerned, the names of Choudhary Mohammad Aslam and Aijaz Ahmed Khan are doing the rounds. Gulmarg MLA Ghulam Hassan Mir and Khansahib MLA Hakeem Mohammad Yasin, both of whom have extended their support to the Congress, are also likely to make it to the Cabinet. The Congress may also give representation to erstwhile Doda district, as the party has won five out of six Assembly segments of the district. |
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Truckers’ strike: Fruit dealers differ on losses
Srinagar, January 11 “Carriage charges have increased since the strike begun. It has gone up from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500 and above per truck. Packing charges have also seen an upward trend. It has increased by Rs 10-12 per kg,” says Haji Bashir Ahmad Beigh, president of the Fruit Growers and Dealers Association, Fruit Mandi Sopore. Beigh said as fruits were not distributed on time, the same got rotten so the dealers as well as growers were getting less value for the produce. “The rate has gone down from Rs 450 to Rs 300 per box. It is imperative that fruits are dispatched from Delhi to other markets in India, but as same is not happening fruit gets rotten thus leading to losses,” he says. President of the Fruits Growers Association, Shopian, Mir Mohammad Amin said: “The truckers strike have not affected our business as fruits are safe at cold storages and at different sale outlets. So far, there is no complaint about losses and, furthermore, we have the trucks available for ferrying fruit,” says Mir. President of the Fruit Growers Association, Handwara, Wani Mohammad Amin said due to the strike it was difficult to take the fruits beyond Jammu. He said no carriage was available for the same. |
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Omar pays surprise visit to hospital, power station
Jammu, January 11 He expressed concern over the fire safety measures and directed the authorities concerned to conduct the fire safety audit and submit a report within 24 hours. Omar's political adviser Devender Singh Rana also accompanied him during the visit. At SMGS Hospital, the Chief Minister inspected various wards in the maternity section, interacted with the patients and inquired about the facilities being provided to them. He also checked the doctors' duty roster register and appreciated the functioning of the hospital. Abdullah also inspected the fair price medical shop in the hospital complex and took stock of the availability of medicines. Government Medical College principal Rajinder Singh informed the Chief Minister that the building of the paediatric block had been completed but posts of doctor and specialist to man this 200-bedded block were yet to be sanctioned. During his visit to Gandhinagar police station, the Chief Minister checked the daily diary register and found that it had not been updated. He instructed Jammu zone IG K. Rajendra and Jammu SSP Manohar Singh to conduct an inquiry and take action. The Chief Minister also inspected the reporting room, computer room, record room, crime section and the building under construction of Gandhinagar police station. Meanwhile, an immediate inquiry was conducted and prima-facie the negligence on the part of ASI Bashir Ahmad, munshi of the police station, was established after which the SSP placed him under suspension. The SSP has ordered an inquiry into the matter by the SP, Headquarters, Jammu, who will submit the findings within three days. |
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Cong workers flay leadership
Udhampur, January 11 Although workers expressed their satisfaction over votes secured by the party candidates on the Udhampur Assembly segment, they however, said the Congress lost election due to the non-serious attitude of the party leaders. In the presence of senior leaders, including district president Bhupinder Singh, state secretary Geeta Devi, and party workers lashed out the leadership for playing in the hands of some influential persons. “Instead of acting on the suggestions of the grass root level party workers, our leaders are more concerned about adjusting their own men at the cost of the party”, shouted a senior worker while pointing towards the Ramnagar Assembly segment where party had fielded a weak candidate, who has failed to save even his deposit. He pointed out that the local unit of the Congress had recommended the name of another candidate, but party leadership gave mandate to a weak candidate just to appease the sitting Lok Sabha member Ch Lal Singh. Anger of the party workers can be gauged from the fact that they warned not to work in the coming Lok Sabha elections if candidate of their choice was not given the mandate. “We are not bonded labourers. We are workers of the Congress party and our voice should be listened at the highest level”, a female worker said and regretted that party had not taken workers seriously. Majority of the party workers present in the meeting were of the view that Congress could not perform well in the elections as party leaders have ignored the grass root level activists. Defeated candidate from Udhampur segment, Brij Mohan Sharma, speaking on the occasion claimed that despite strong wave against the Congress, he had secured good number of votes. He said Congress lost Udhampur seat due to Amarnath land controversy. |
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‘Wanted’ financial brain of Hurriyat flees country
Srinagar, January 11 According to sources in the central security agencies, Mir against whom a non-bailable warrant was issued, had allegedly bribed some officials of a southern state and made his passport after which he took a route to Nepal and then to Europe. From Europe he was reported to have flown to Libya before finally reaching Dubai, the sources said. Mir was earlier arrested by the Delhi Police in February, 2006, while ferrying Rs 55 lakh from a Delhi-based jeweller along with some explosives, but had jumped parole which he had got after several requests made by his family to the court citing medical problems. The 38-year-old Dubai-based businessman, who owns carpet showroom and money exchange firms in the Gulf, had been regularly reporting to the nearest police station till earlier October, 2008, but after that he did not turn up neither at the police station nor on a court hearing date. Mir, who was considered as a prize catch by the Delhi Police, was all of a sudden missing, prompting the court to issue a non-bailable warrant against him. The Delhi Police had shown its inability to trace Mir, whom they had claimed was very much hiding within the country. According to the recent technical intercepts, Mir allegedly spoke to the separatist leadership after reaching Dubai. While trying to trace back his steps, senior security officials found that he had been helped by some sleuths of the country's external intelligence agency, a Delhi-based Kashmiri businessman and a Srinagar-based hotelier in fleeing the country. A Union Cabinet Minister had also taken up the case of release of Mir with the government after Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had put this as one of the pre-conditions for entering into a dialogue. According to the police files, Mir was last spotted publicly with the Mirwaiz in a five star hotel in Delhi in September, 2008. During interrogation, Mir had allegedly told cops that the money was meant for the Mirwaiz and also claimed to have spilled beans about huge investments made by the Hurriyat chairman in Dubai, they said. During his custodial interrogation, Mir had alleged that the Mirwaiz had allegedly made certain investments in buying shopping spaces in Dubai, besides investing in his (Mir's) money exchange business, the sources claimed. Mir, whose father was picked up in 2001 for funding militant groups in the Kashmir valley, has claimed that the money was part of the payment that "some officials in Pakistan had promised to the Mirwaiz for keeping his flock together in Srinagar." He had also claimed he used to look after the Mirwaiz's foreign trips. — PTI |
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Ban on combat dresses
in Ramban
Udhampur, January 11 District Magistrate, Ramban, A D Shanas in exercise of powers vested upon him under the Section 144 Cr PC has banned sale/purchase and storage of all kinds of combat dresses/ cloth/ readymade dresses, including camouflage/OG colour material, stitching of the same and use/plying of painted vehicles of Army pattern throughout the territorial jurisdiction of district Ramban. Shanas also reviewed the arrangements for the celebration of Republic Day function in the meeting in which it was informed that the main function will be held at Government Higher Secondary School. Meanwhile, arrangements with regard to the preparedness for the smooth celebration of the Republic Day function at district headquarter, Kishtwar, were reviewed in a meeting of district officers. |
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Security check a formality at Vaishno Devi
Jammu, January 11 The very facade of security arrangement crumbles down as one starts journey from Jammu to Katra in public transport. This revelation comes when all men are made to get down from buses at Domail and Panthel for frisking, the bus, including luggage, and women are spared from checking. A bus driver said: “Bomb or weapons could be lying under bus seats or in bags, but the security personnel feels that their duty is over with the frisking of men only. And why would men get down with suspicious articles when they go for security check?” The hoax in the name of security measures continue for repeated rounds until one finally reaches the sanctum sanctorum. One could easily see the security staff lounging around, warming themselves in the heat of heaters in evenings so much so that they do not bother to get out of the wraps of blankets and let the devotees bypass without security checks. Barring one last post for surveillance, the rest are there for formality sake. There is no security check either at the restrooms where hundred of devotees take shelter during nighttime. Seeing the entire situation, it is easy to permeate the security cordon very easily and create mayhem in a jiffy. MK Dwivedi, CEO of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, said: “I have taken into account the information and will get in touch with police personnel to address this.” Udhampur DIG Alok Puri expressed his contentment over the arrangement and said: “The main frisking which is done at the very beginning Banganga check-post and near the temple is good enough to make sure security on the temple premises. But still, I would enquire about the matter.” |
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Kerosene price zooms in Leh
Leh, January 11 The price of wood, mostly imported from the Kashmir valley stocked in the summer too reached at a high price between Rs 800 to 900 a quintal. Thinless Chorol, a student of Leh college said, “neither banking on the nature by burning wood or cow dung is cheap nor using other non-conventional energy.” A trend of people visiting other warmer places has started to pick up. Sonam Joldan, a travel agent in Leh said, “there are three types of people who prefer to spend winter in other cities of the country which are warmer than Ladakh. People involve in the travel business spend mostly in Delhi while promoting their services among the Delhi travel agents, govt employees spend their winter while reserving their holidays for winter and pilgrimage preferring to do in winter to visit Buddhists places of the country, including Bodh Gaya, Ajanta Alora, Varani , Sanchi, Bhopal and Dehradun etc.,” However, people beat the freezing cold with the belief of old saying; which says that the prevailing cold wave will gradually reduce as much as a size of sheep with the celebration of the Spithuk monastery annual festival celebrates on 28th and 29th of 11th month of the Tibetan calendar which falls on 23rd and 24th January and further reduced a size of yak with the celebration Liker monastery festival on 28th and 29th of the Tibetan calendar which falls on 22nd and 23rd of February. It may be pertinent to mention here that the price of other essential goods, including vegetables, have increased. Tsewang Rigzin, councillor from Disket Nubra constituency of the LAHDC, alleged, “taking the advantage of the unavailability of fresh vegetables, Kashmiri vegetable vendors are selling vegetables with unauthorised packaging with high rate.” |
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Kupwara shivers at -
2.3°C
Srinagar, January 11 However, Srinagar was warm after the minimum was recorded 1.4 °C, about three degrees above normal. The day temperature was also several degrees above normal. The weather office did not issue any fresh warning.
However, it said rain or snow was likely to occur at isolated places in the state.
In Srinagar and its adjoining areas, the sky will remain generally cloudy. Nights in Leh remained cold with mercury touching a low of minus 14 °C while it was minus 15 in Kargil and minus 20 in
Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia. — UNI
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Sikhs seek minority community status
Srinagar, January 11 Jagmohan Singh Raina, coordinator of the committee, said that the National Commission for Minority Act, 1992, had declared Sikhs as a minority community, but this had not been extended to Jammu and Kashmir, unlike other states. Raina rued the Sikhs had felt “let down” after going through the political agendas of both regional and political parties during the recent Assembly elections. During the past two decades the community, particularly in Kashmir, faced the brunt of militancy with hardly anybody lending sympathetic ear to their problems and sufferings, Raina said. The Sikh leader blamed the Centre as well as the state government for weakening the Sikhs economically, politically and socially in the state. He claimed that much had been done to support other minorities by releasing packages and secret agendas in which the Sikhs were not included. Raina claimed hat the community suffered heavy losses in their main profession of transportation that had got diluted over the years. Other source of income like agricultural and horticultural production were getting eroded due to militancy and were being neglected as the rural population has been migrating to urban areas for safety. Referring to the Chhattisinghpora massacre and the killings in Mehjoor Nagar here, Raina demanded an inquiry into the incident, saying that “We will not sleep over this manipulated story of killings”. |
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Plea to withdraw PSA case against Dinesh Bharti
Udhampur, January 11 A meeting of the various religious and social organisations was held under the banner of Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (SAYSS) at Udhampur. In the meeting, the participants demanded quashing of the PSA on Swami. |
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‘Open Choice’
Jammu, January 11 It had deferred its stir in the wake of a dialogue with the government. The ultimatum has come in the wake of the government's refusal to concede its demand in the second round of talks yesterday. State ABVP secretary Suresh Magotra alleged that the government was adopting a callous attitude towards the demand. Meanwhile, the ABVP organised a signature campaign in colleges of Jammu province in support of its demand. The signed document would later be submitted to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. |
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Seminar on disaster management held
Jammu, January 11 Intercity Club chairman Rajni Kant welcomed the guest, while the opening address was delivered by chief guest, Jammu University vice-chancellor, Varun Sahni. In his keynote address, Prof Sahni spoke over rescue measures. He said, “the more we rely on machines the magnitude of disaster would magnify. However, he emphasised on the risk of disaster vis-à-vis its probability, impact, duration, vulnerability, besides, suggesting measures like readiness, execution and cooperation for minimising the loss of life and property in the wake of any catastrophe.” Speaking over the management of dead bodies in the aftermath of any disaster, a volunteer of
ICRC-Red Cross Society, Mahir, maintained that bodies did not cause epidemic after natural disaster and same applies for dead animals. However, she laid stress upon safety measures to body handlers against infectious disease. She said while disposing of bodies one must keep in mind religious, cultural and social sensibilities. Deputy commissioner, Udhampur, Ajay Khajuria spoke over Incident Command System (ICS) as an effective preparedness strategy, besides, role of the district administration in the wake of any eventuality. “Rapid population growth, unplanned settlements, unsafe building practices, erratic climatic conditions due to environmental imbalances and terrorism are responsible for disasters,” he said. |
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Four die in mishap
Poonch, January 11 The driver of the vehicle that was on its way from Sungri to Chassana failed to negotiate a sharp curve. The injured, Abdul Rashid, was rushed to the district hospital, Rajouri. Meanwhile, two of the deceased have been identified as Tariq Ahmed, son of Jamal Din, and Sadam Hussain, son of Abdul Rashid of Chassana. The bodies of the other two are yet to be recovered. |
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Srinagar, January 11
