|
|
Work on Alternative Road
PDP demands alternative
Doda-Kashmir route
RS poll: Ind seeks Jammu MLAs’ support
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BJP reversion to Ram temple hailed
Snapping ties with Pak ‘won’t be wise’
Fake items put Pashmina’s future at stake
Omar visits police mela
Nine injured in protests over ‘sacriliege’
Srinagar areas may remain waterlogged for more days
Army seizes 3.5-kg explosive, hideouts busted
Tourism Minister lauds travel operators
Music festival begins today
Villages along border face water shortage
Road connecting Jhangar in bad shape
Women panel chief likely by month-end
Former SPO arrested
with 80 kg poppy straw
Leopard found dead in Kishtwar
|
|
Work on Alternative Road
Udhampur, February 8 With the decision of the authorities to construct alternative stretch of 3 km, 12 families would be homeless from Monday as the district administration has asked them to vacate their houses within 24 hours. “We will make alternative arrangements for these families who would be evicted during the construction,” Doda tehsildar NS Manhas told The Tribune. Manhas, who visited the site and served notice to the affected families, said initially all displaced people would be accommodated in some government buildings. “We are assessing total values of their properties, including house and land to give adequate compensation to the affected families as early as possible,” the tehsildar said. He informed that the administration had taken the decision to construct alternative stretch following suggestions of senior officers of the GREF, who have advised against repairing the damaged track. After the visit of GREF engineers and experts, the district administration started construction of alternative work this evening from Assar. Though the civil administration has claimed to restore the traffic within one week on this highway, there is remotest possibility of completion of task in stipulated time. The authorities have to construct about 2 km of stretch to open for the road for the movement of traffic. Meanwhile, Doda and Kishtwar districts, comprising a population of more than 10 lakhs, remained cut off from the rest of the country due to sinking of the Batote-Kishtwar National Highway between Trungal to Assar. |
|
PDP demands alternative
Doda-Kashmir route
Jammu, February 8 "As the Baglihar dam has now become a permanent threat to the Batote-Doda road, the government must work towards providing alternative fair-weather connectivity to the population of Doda, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah, Inderwal and other areas with the Kashmir valley through Anantnag," PDP leader and Shangus MLA Peerzada Mansoor Hussain said in a statement here today. Mansoor said while the construction of Mughal Road by the previous government would mitigate the connectivity woes of Poonch and Rajouri districts with the Kashmir valley, a similar facility has now become imperative for Doda and Kishtwar districts as well. "The government should not only upgrade the existing Anantnag-Sinthan-Kishtwar road by constructing a tunnel but also conduct a survey for construction of the Kapran-Dessa road to permanently mitigate the connectivity problem of the area," he said. Mansoor demanded immediate upgradation of Nowgam receiving station and reinstallation and upgradation of damaged transformers in the area. Mansoor demanded immediate implementation of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGVY) in Anantnag for which Rs 48 crore had already been sanctioned for electrification of remote villages in the district. He said the Jammu & Kashmir Power Development Corporation (JKPDC) had failed to implement the scheme in Anantnag as the organisation was lacking adequate field staff for the purpose. He said the government should get the scheme implemented through the Power Development Department (PDD) which had the requisite infrastructure for such jobs. |
||
|
RS poll: Ind seeks Jammu MLAs’ support
Jammu, February 8 Addressing the media here today, Gupta, who is being supported by the BJP, said he was prompted to join the electoral arena after none of the parties fielded any candidate from the Jammu region. When reminded of former CM Ghulam Nabi Azad, he said: "Despite contesting the Assembly poll from Bhaderwah Azad never said he was from Jammu. Instead he takes pains to trace his roots to Kashmir. I don't treat him as a leader of Jammu." He said earlier Choudhary Mohammad Aslam (Congress) and Trilok Singh Bajwa (PDP) represented Jammu in the Rajya Sabha, but during these elections "all candidates were from Kashmir". Seeking support of all Jammu MLAs, the senior advocate said: "I hope while voting they will keep in mind their commitment to Jammu people. The test of commitment to Jammu people is all more for those MLAs who have been sent to the Assembly by the people only because they made Jammu as their main poll plank." He said he shared good relations with Panthers Party supremo Prof Bhim Singh whose outfit had three MLAs in the Assembly. He said he also expected support from Kathua MLA Charanjit Singh and Bishnah MLA Ashwani Sharma (both Independents). Interestingly, Gupta is hoping for support from some Kashmir MLAs as well. Apparently hinting at not having enough support, the lone Independent in the RS poll said: "I look forward to mature handling of these elections by PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as last time he chose a man from RS Pura in Jammu to be voice of Jammu in the Rajya Sabha when he had more qualified friends in the party. I hope he would again show same level of maturity and magnanimity." He further expected the NC leadership to be "more considerate as the Jammu region has given their party more votes than what they got in Kashmir".
|
|
BJP reversion to Ram temple hailed
Jammu, February 8 State BJP chief Ashok Khajuria said: "We could not press this issue earlier owing to the coalition constraints in the NDA. But, now we want to go back to the people to seek their full mandate so that we can fulfil our promise of building the Ram temple in Ayodhaya." State BJP spokesman Ramesh Arora said: "The people of Jammu will never forgive the Congress for questioning the existence of Ram in the Ram Setu issue. The issue is directly linked to the people's sentiments and not the one which can be tested in a laboratory or testified in court proceedings." Leela Karan Sharma, Convener, Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Smiti, said: "Lord Ram belongs to all Hindus, including the ones living in Jammu, and we all will support the party in the Lok Sabha elections." Dr Ajay Chrungoo, Chairman, Panun Kashmir, finds the issue still relevant but he questions the BJP's credibility on the matter. He said: "This issue might not have a profound echo this time, thanks to the BJP's fluctuating stand on it.”
|
|
Snapping ties with Pak ‘won’t be wise’
Jammu, February 8 Prof Mattoo questioned as to what India had done over the past 60 years to demolish the ISI, being blamed for every prevailing ill in the country. "Pakistan is more heterogeneous and India should take cohesive and comprehensive steps at multiple levels to support the forces that want friendly relations with neighbouring countries," suggested Mattoo while underlining the role of civil society at this crucial juncture. Jammu University vice-chancellor Varun Sahni stressed upon the creation of interdependence through exchange of merchandise and cross-border tourism. "Indian diplomacy has been a failure since Nehruvian era as no focus were ever made to develop cordial relations with the immediate neighbouring countries," Sahni said. NC president Farooq Abdullah said: "We need introspection to set our home in order first. Mutual distrust and fear have strained relations between both countries and J&K is being made the scapegoat." Abdullah emphasized that honesty of purpose in dialogue process between India and Pakistan was a prerequisite for peaceful co-existence. |
|
Fake items put Pashmina’s future at stake
Srinagar, February 8 Hundreds of Pashmina weavers, however, have felt compelled to take to other professions as cheap and machine-made shawls available around are affecting the demand for original pieces. Duplicate items from Amritsar are easily available here. Shabir Ahmed, a wholesaler from Srinagar, said the duplicate items, especially, from Amritsar had put Pashmina trade into the doldrums. “Thousands of Kashmiris are associated with the ancient trade. Women mostly spin and men weave the delicate yarn into warm, soft scarves and shawls, which are often embroidered. But these days we are facing problems because of the duplicate shawls from Amritsar. Due to this everything is in doldrums,” Shabir Ahmed, a wholesaler dealing in Pashmina shawls in Srinagar, said. Shahtoosh, wool derived from the hair of an endangered Tibetan antelope, shawls made from Pashmina wool are considered the world’s finest and are exported worldwide. According to officials, nearly 50,000 Pashmina shawls are still woven in Kashmir a year. Another problem facing the Pashmina industry is lack of proper branding. Locals rue that the name “Pashmina” is used indiscriminately by weavers, and can be found on cheap, synthetic-fiber shawls as well as wraps made with a mix of wool and silk fibers. — ANI |
|
|
Omar visits police mela
Jammu, February 8 A Police-Public Mela was organised by the J&K Police Wives Association to generate funds for the welfare of the families of police personnel at Gulshan Grounds. The mela was inaugurated by Payal Abdullah, wife of the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister said here today that holding of such melas strengthen the rapport between the police and public and provides an opportunity to people to contribute towards a noble cause. He said holding of such events should be encouraged in the state. Omar interacted with stall holders and enquired about the details of the goods on display. He said the mela had provided an opportunity to traders and small industrial units to showcase their products. More than 50 stalls have been put up in the mela, which included the stalls of various government organisations and NGOs. |
|
|
Nine injured in protests over ‘sacriliege’
Srinagar, February 8 Nine persons, including three cops, were injured in the incident. Protests also erupted in Kunzar area falling on the Srinagar-Gulmarg road. Some locals had yesterday objected to Hans Patrick, who was in Gulmarg for skiing, allegedly wearing ski shoes with stickers carrying some holy Muslim verses. Ironically, he had done it on the request of his Muslim wife who believed that it would bring him good luck. The police had detained him and the local SHO said they were enquiring into the matter. However, he said no FIR has been registered as the nature of the case was too trivial to warrant registration of the case. Local sources said agitated crowd first beat up the foreigner and then called the police. The locals wanted the local police to file a case against the Swedish national. As the police did not do so, they held protest demonstrations and raised slogans. The skier, who had been staying in a private hut for the past 10 days, was a part of a group brought here by the EDOO, an Israeli travel agency. The travel agency has been organising tours to Gulmarg for past several years. |
|
|
Srinagar areas may remain waterlogged for more days
Srinagar, February 8 As the Kashmir valley saw snowfall on Thursday, many streets as well as roads were inundated. Even in the Lal Chowk area many important roads continue to be waterlogged making the movement of people difficult. People living in areas like Gulshan Nagar, Nowgam, Natipora, Chanapora, Bemina, Peer Bagh, Gogji Bagh, Wazir Bagh, Jawahar Nagar and Rajbagh face many difficulties in commuting. “I had to take off my shoes while returning from office as the road was filled with water at Gogji Bagh. The whole area was inundated making commuting virtually impossible,” says Rehana Bhat, an employee. The administration has pressed into service several dewatering pumps in order to drain out water in different localities. “Sixty-eight pumps along with 45 mobile pumps of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (MC) and the Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) are being utilised to clear the areas of water,” says Aamir Ali, OSD, divisional commissioner, Kashmir. Aamir says in the Gulshan Nagar area employees of the Fire and Emergency Services Department are involved in cleaning operations. “This is a specialised job and you need specialised people to execute this job. We are in the process of dewatering the area and flush out collected water 1.5 km away. Three pumps are in service,” he adds. The administration has set up a control room, which will look into the complaints of waterlogging and inundation. According to the OSD, who is also the project coordinator at the Disaster Management Centre in Srinagar, fresh western disturbance is approaching and it may cause light to moderate rainfall/snowfall at many places from February 9-11. |
|
|
Army seizes 3.5-kg explosive, hideouts busted
Jammu, February 8 Srinagar: The police and the Rashtriya Rifles have busted two hideouts in the Yarwan forests in Pulwama district falling under Rajpora police station and seized one .12-bore gun, air pistol, UBGL, four UBGL rounds, one RD shell, two hand grenades and one RPG round. |
|
|
Tourism Minister lauds travel operators
Srinagar, February 8 The minister was speaking while inaugurating India’s biggest three-day Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) in Mumbai. Nearly, 1,500 tour and travel operators across the country are participating in the fair. The participants include those from Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi and Kolkata. Besides, representatives of 22 international tour operators, including Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Mauritius, were also participating in the fair, an official spokesman said. Jammu and Kashmir has the biggest stall with 60 tour operators and package providers. The minister also inaugurated Jushne-Kashmir, a festival, organised by the J&K Chapter of Travel Agents Association of India and Tour and Travel Society, Kashmir. On the occasion, the J&K Cultural Academy organised a programme showcasing the cultural heritage of all three regions of the state. The minister said the state government had embarked on a massive infrastructure development programme for giving a fillip to tourism in the state with many new and unexplored areas brought on to the tourism map of the state. He said stress was being laid on identification of new tourist destinations, promotion of pilgrim and golf tourism as well as exploring the potential of heritage sites. Jora exhorted the tour operators to be the ambassadors of their respective countries and states to encourage people to visit Jammu & Kashmir. |
|
|
Music festival begins today
Jammu, February 8 According to DDK officials, the music festival will be followed by several other cultural feasts marking 2009 as the year of festivals that will portray the rich art and heritage of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Addressing a press conference here today, Rafeeq Masoodi, director, DDK, Srinagar, said similar musical bonanzas would be held in Srinagar and Leh in July and August, respectively. |
|
|
Villages along border face water shortage
Balakote-Mendhar (Poonch), February 8 Though her village is being supplied an adequate quantity of drinking water in government records, practically it does not get even enough water for drinking purpose. “There are water pipes here, but the department concerned does not supply water. What is the purpose of installing water supply pipes when clean drinking water is not supplied daily. Since water is needed for almost all domestic chores from cooking to washing clothes, we have no other option but to fetch it from the springs, which are situated far from here”, complains Saleema. “It is not easy to get water from these springs also since there is a huge rush of people. Sometimes, it takes hours to get water”. She suggests that the government should first provide clean drinking water on a regular basis and then think of introducing information technology in these sectors. “Since the Water Supply Department supplies water once in two-three days, we are facing a lot of problems”, another resident Shakeel Khan said. “We have brought the problem of water shortage in our area to the notice of the department many times, but it had done nothing till now. However, we hope the young Chief Minister would help resolve our problem.” Meanwhile, efforts to contact senior officials of the Water Supply Department here did not yield result. However, a junior officer, while admitting that there was a water shortage in the area, said the problem was not as severe as it was made to look. |
|
|
Road connecting Jhangar in bad shape
Sarya (Nowshera), February 8 Villagers complained that the road connecting their village to somewhat developed area of Jhangar was in bad shape and resembled a drain. They said even as few years ago the department carried some maintenance and put some sand on it, the condition of the road worsened few months later as rains washed away the sand. Locals said after the road was washed away due to rains, huge potholes appeared on the road and it was even bad for plying tractors on it. They said since the entire length of the road was not fit for plying traffic, the villagers living at the tail end had to transport food, other eatables and articles of daily use, on foot causing them lot of sufferings. “Since the entire length of road was not fit for plying traffic, we are facing lot of problems as we have to transport food, other eatables and articles of daily use, on foot. As the local MLA is from the ruling party, we are hoping that he will help in repair of the road,” Mukund Lal, a farmer, said. Even as senior officers refused to comment on the issue on record, they admitted that the road had not been repaired for quite some time now. “We don't have funds to repair this road. As soon as we get requisite funds we will repair the road,” a senior officer of the Rural Development Department said. Rajouri deputy commissioner Sheikh Rafiq told The Tribune that he was personally going to the area and would instruct the department to make a proposal for repair of the road so that it was repaired without any delay. |
|
|
Women panel chief likely by month-end
Jammu, February 8 The government is considering some names like elected MLA Shamima Firdous of the NC, nominated MLAs Indu Pawar of the Congress and Bimla Luthra of the NC, official sources told The Tribune. Sakina Itoo of the NC, who won from Noorabad, may get a Cabinet berth and hence she doesn’t figure among the probables, they said. Commission secretary Hafiza Muzzaffar and Prof Rita Jitendra, too, could be considered, but the government was likely to prefer a “political person”, they said. Looking after the affairs of the headless panel for the past over three years, Hafiza Muzzaffar in her capacity as the commission’s secretary has resolved 607 cases so far. Though the commission had forwarded its annual reports of 2006, 2007 and 2008 and had been making recommendations to the government, without the approval of the chairperson they served little purpose, added the sources. Promulgated under an Act in 1999, the commission was formed by the NC regime and Dr Girija Dhar was appointed as its first chairperson in 2000. However, after the PDP-Congress government took over the reins in 2002 Dr Dhar resigned in January, 2003, in protest against infrastructural constraints, including dearth of staff. Despite heavy odds pitted against the commission, it has been helping women in distress. Besides solving 607 cases in the past three yeas, it had helped five victims get compensation and maintenance allowance worth Rs 7.70 lakh.
|
|
|
Former SPO arrested
with 80 kg poppy straw
Jammu, February 8 “Based on specific information, the police set up a special naka and intercepted a truck. During frisking, 80 kg of poppy straw was seized from the truck and Pritam Singh, alias
Tinku, of Digiana Ashram was arrested on the spot,’’ police sources said. The accused was earlier working as an
SPO. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against him. — UNI |
|
|
Leopard found dead in Kishtwar
Udhampur, February 8 The carcass was brought to Kishtwar town and a post-mortem was conducted, they said, adding that the reason behind the death was not known. Higher wild life department official have sought full report on the death of the leopard. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Jammu, February 8
Jammu, February 8
Sarya (Nowshera), February 8
