Udhampur, February 14
Eight persons were killed and 20 others injured in three road accidents in Kishtwar and Udhampur districts during the past 24 hours.

According to the police, five persons, including a woman, were killed and four others injured when a vehicle skilled off the road and fell into the Chenab at Dharabshalla, about 25 km from Kishtwar. The ill-fated Tata Sumo was on its way to Doda from Kishtwar.

The deceased included a Development Officer (DO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) Ltd.

Reports said the driver of the Tata Suma lost control over it while negotiating a curve at Dharabshalla and the vehicle rolled down into the river. Before the police reached the spot, locals had started rescue operations. Three persons reportedly died on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries at the Doda hospital. Four persons received injuries in the accident.

The deceased have been identified as Aijaz Ahmed Kandoo, Kuldeep Butyal, Halima Begum, Mool Raj and Ghulam Hassan Shah. As the Batote-Kishtwar National Highway has been closed due to the sinking of the track near Assar, the injured were airlifted to Udhampur and later shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu.

In another accident, three persons were killed and six others were injured when their vehicle went off the highway and fell into a gorge in the Drounthal area in Udhampur district late Friday night. The vehicle was coming from Srinagar to Jammu when the accident took place, the police said, adding that the injured were shifted to the Chenani hospital. The condition of some of the injured were stated to be critical.

Ten members of a marriage party were injured when the minibus they were travelling in turned turtle on the Ramnagar road this afternoon. The minibus was on its way to Ramnagar from Roun-Domail. The injured have been shifted to the Udhampur hospital.

Samba, February 14
Following the death of a Gujjar youth at the district hospital here this morning, a large number of people from the Gujjar community held protest demonstrations and accused doctors and the hospital staff of negligence.

However, taking suo motto cognisance of the matter Industries and Commerce, Labour and Employment Minister Surjeet Singh Salathia ordered an inquiry into the incident.

He also announced a compensation of Rs 10,000 to the bereaved family and assured it to provide the job of SPO to the next of kin of the deceased, Sultan Mohammed of Nandni in Samba.

Sultan was injured while a tipper was unloading raw material at a stone crusher at Nanakachak around 1 am today. He was shifted to the district hospital around 2.35 am, but he succumbed to his injuries around 7 am.

Soon after his death, a large number of people gathered outside the hospital and protested. They claimed Sultan died due to negligence on the part of the doctors.

A relative of Sultan said two persons had shifted the victim to the hospital around 2 am. He was in a serious condition and instead of referring him to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu, doctors at the district hospital kept him there.

“Completely ignoring serious injuries sustained by him, doctors at the district hospital simply provided him with the first aid and left him on the mercy of God,” he added.

Meanwhile, Salathia reached the hospital and tried to pacify the protesting people.

He ordered an inquiry into the incident, asking ADC, Samba, Anil Gupta to submit a detailed report within 24 hours and announced a compensation of Rs 10,000 and a job of SPO to the next of kin of Sultan.

Talking to The Tribune, Salathia said, “The family being poor, I have doubts whether it has enough money to perform his last rites.”

Srinagar, February 14
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi here today hoped that those who believed in separatism and terrorism could learn a lesson from people’s faith in democracy, and adopt democratic ways and means to open the doors of progress and development in the state.

She said the people of Jammu and Kashmir had reposed faith in democracy that was explicitly reflected in their immense participation in the Assembly elections.

Gandhi was speaking on the occasion of inaugurating the new terminal building of the Srinagar Airport, where the first flight from Dubai landed this afternoon. She also flagged off the extended rail link from Mazhom to Baramulla here.

Describing the three events as “saugatein” (gifts) to the state, Gandhi said the UPA government had taken several initiatives for peace, progress and development during the past about five years.

“The people of the state have reposed faith in democracy in the Assembly elections”, Gandhi said, adding that peoples’ participation in the polls sent a message across the world that there was a craving for peace and progress. “The people here and elsewhere in the world are averse to violence and those believing in violence and terrorism are not sympathisers of the nation,” Sonia Gandhi said.

The Civil Aviation Ministry developed the new terminal building at the airport on the most modern and latest pattern, she said. She added the building would effectively take care of the needs of local people and international passengers availing the facility. The Srinagar-Dubai flight would help business, connectivity and boost tourism in the state, she said.

On the economic recession that the world is passing through, the Congress president said India was the least affected. The UPA chairperson said despite the recession, the UPA government reduced the LPG and fuel prices. “We have to take care of everything”, Sonia said asserting that there was a need to make significant strides to go down into the history. The people of Jammu and Kashmir and the country “expect a lot from us”, she asserted, saying much needed to be done.

Referring to the targets achieved by the previous coalition government, Sonia said many things were to be completed and many more yet to be taken up. She hoped that the new coalition government of the Congress and the NC would go ahead with these programmes and contribute to the peace and progress of the state.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the inauguration of the international flight to Dubai was a significant beginning and urged Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to help facilitate connectivity to other international destinations. “That would help promote tourism and boost economy” of the state, Omar said.

Referring to the extension of the rail link from Mazhom (Rajwansheer) in central Kashmir district of Budgam to Baramulla in the north, Omar said the Railways had “really changed peoples’ lives” in Kashmir. “I had thought that if it is not linked to outside the valley, there would be no takers. But the people have proved us wrong. It is being used by all; students, employees and the common man in large numbers”, he said. He hoped the efforts would be expedited to connect Kashmir through the Qazigund-Udhampur line to the rest of the country. 

Jammu, February 14
The Backward Class Federation of India (BCFI) has asked members of the OBCs, STs, SCs and minorities to come under one umbrella to wage a sustained fight for their rights.

“The NC ruled state for most of the post-independence period, but it always neglected the OBCs, SCs and STs depriving them from their fundamental rights,” Nek Ram Dofra, BCFI chairman, said while addressing mediapersons here today.

The previous PDP-Congress coalition had also introduced a ploy in the form of SRO 294 to deny reservation benefits to the SCs and the STs.

Not even a single OBC certificate was issued during the tenure of six years of the PDP-Congress government, which reflected criminal neglect of the backward classes in this state, he said. He asked the poor and downtrodden strata to get ready to face another spell of discrimination under the NC-Congress coalition government.

“The BCFI has got to know from reliable quarters that the so called upper caste Hindus and Muslims hatched a conspiracy to deprive the OBCs, STs, and the SCs from their respective shares of 27 per cent, 8 per cent and 10 per cent under the new coalition regime,” he said.

The BCFI chairman felt that unless politically empowered, the poor and downtrodden strata would no way get equal rights and their socio-economic condition would not change much.

The BCFI would organise a convention here soon for creating awareness among the backward classes with a hope that they come under one umbrella to fight for their rights, he added.

Jammu, February 14
On Valentine’s Day, activists of the Shiv Sena (Hindustan) yet again indulged into ‘moral policing’, sifting through various restaurants and fast food points to catch hold of lovebirds.

However, their efforts went in vain as they couldn’t spot unmarried couples, who too have turned wise ever since right wing parties launched the so-called moral policing in winter capital here.

But to give vent to their anger against Valentine's Day, the Shiv Sena activists burnt hundreds of Valentine cards and posters and shouted slogans against the V-Day celebrations, describing it a western festival that encouraged obscenity.

They warned young couples to stay away from celebrating the day.

“We will not tolerate any obscenity in the city of temples and would be compelled to take extreme action against those who encourage indecency under the garb of Valentine's Day,” an activist said.

Addressing the activists, president of the Shiv Sena (Hindustan) Dimpy Kohli said Valentine’s Day celebrations were not part of our great and rich Dogra culture. The value of love, emotions and respect was always there in our rich culture and we don't need Valentine's Day.

Instead this day should be observed as an invasion day on our rich culture, he added.

Jammu, February 14
The government has referred various posts lying vacant in forests and its allied departments to the Public Service Commission and the Service Selection Board (SSB).

This information was given at a high-level meeting convened by Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment Mian Altaf Ahmed to review the functioning of departments under his charge here today.

Matters related to the rationalisation of rules to streamline promotions, besides issues related to filling posts lying vacant in various wings were also discussed in the meeting.

Commissioner-cum-secretary, forests, Shant Manu, principal chief conservator, forests, Irshad Ahmed Khan, chairman, Pollution Control Board, CM Seth, director, Forest Protection Force, Vinod Ranjan, besides other officers attended the meeting.

It was made out in the meeting that various posts, both gazetted and non-gazetted, lying vacant in the Forest Department and allied wings had been referred to recruitment agencies for selection.

Addressing the meeting, Mian Altaf stressed the completion of procedural formalities for the vacant posts yet to be referred to the recruitment agencies.

Stressing the need for expediting the recruitment process, the minister assured he would take up the matter at the highest level to ensure early selection against the vacant posts. He said the Forest Department and its allied wings were entrusted with the challenging job of conserving the green cover in the state for which there was an impending need to bring in professional people at every level. Filling vacant posts in departments would also help provide avenues to the educated unemployed youth, he added.

The minister also called for streamlining promotions within each department and maintained that every employee should be given what was due to him. He said promotion rules should be followed properly, since any violation gave rise to litigations and disputes.

The meeting decided to go for rationalisation of procedural rules to streamline promotions and referring vacant posts for recruitment in the Pollution Control Board. 

Srinagar, February 14
As a commercial pilot and somebody from Kashmir, Capt Magray Hassan long dreamt of landing an aircraft at at the Srinagar airport. When the state’s summer capital finally received its first international flight today, Magray, now a businessman, was proud to be one of its 27 passengers.

“I may be on the other side of cockpit, but my dream of decades has come true now,” he said with apparent delight.

The maiden Dubai-Srinagar Air India flight was not really full of passengers, but officials said the signs were encouraging. Their optimism was reflected in the outpouring of sentiments from travellers, and the return flight to Dubai recorded a total of 40 persons.

Nisar Ahmed Farooqi, a retired government official, told The Tribune that he cancelled his ticket from Qatar to New Delhi, from where he would catch a flight to Srinagar, and booked a seat in this flight. “My daughter is settled in the UAE. A direct flight is a huge benefit for me. It will save me time and money and multiply comfort,” he said.

Kashmiri exporters, especially dealing in handicraft, frequent West Asian countries and they say the weekly flight would be of immense help. “I keep flying between Dubai and Srinagar. We are very grateful to the government for this service,” AM Khan, another passenger and exporter, said.

The government is also pinning hopes on expatriates and foreigners, who are anyway flying into Kashmir in decent numbers for the last some years, to make this flight a success.

Officials said Kashmir was a favourite destination for vacationers from Arab who would arrive in large numbers in summer, which is rather hot in their countries. With violence at an all-time low, they believe, the international flight may herald a new dawn for the strife-torn valley.

Srinagar, February 14
Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora today called on Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel here and urged him for operating more flights into the state and starting the early construction of the airport terminal at Leh. The construction of the terminal building at Leh had already been approved by the Central government and Rs 112 crore would be spent on the project, an official spokesperson said.

Patel assured Jora that he would take necessary steps for the immediate construction of the terminal building.

Jora met Patel on the sidelines of the twin functions of the inauguration of the first international flight from the Srinagar International Airport and connecting Anantnag with Baramulla district by rail.

During the meeting, Jora also took up the issue of increasing the frequency of both domestic and international flights so that more tourists visit the state. He also told the minister that the state government had taken numerous steps to improve and upgrade tourism-related infrastructure so that they were able to absorb heavy inflow of tourists, the statement said.

He apprised Patel about the tourism potential of the Ladakh region and informed him that the economy of the region depended mostly upon tourism. Jora urged him to take up on priority the issue of increasing weekly flights from one to three from Srinagar to Leh.