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Major, three other ranks die in encounters
10 kg of RDX, arms seized
LS poll: NC forms dist bodies
World Waters Day Celebrated |
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BJP woos youth
Voices of dissent grow in BJP
Bhim Singh elected JKNPP chief again
LS Poll: Ratan Lal asks party workers to unite
Nearly 45,000 govt employees to perform poll duty
Leela Karan seeks probe into Purkhoo incident
Corporator’s bid to encroach land recoils
Sangharsh samiti to raise memorial to martyrs
PDP for overall development
Law students seek re-evaluation
VDC members forced to fight with archaic weapons
War Against Polythene
Save Dal Lake
Revenue records
Boy killed, 16 hurt in road mishaps
Search for site on to relocate Bomai Army camp
Jawan commits suicide
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Major, three other ranks die in encounters
Srinagar, March 22 An Army spokesman said Major Mohit Sharma, who hailed from Ghaziabad and was awarded a Sena Medal for his gallantry in the past, was killed yesterday, havaldar Sanjay Singh of Kangra, Lance Naik Anil Kumar of Hamirpur and paratrooper Netar Singh of Kalakote in Poonch also went down fighting militants. All four were from para regiments, an elite fighting unit of the Army. Major Sharma is survived by his wife, Major Rishma, whom he married two years back. The identities of the killed militants were not certain but police sources said they were likely to be from the LeT, the group responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks. “We have no definite evidence. But their fighting skills hint at their Lashkar origin,” a top official told The Tribune. He said three or four militants were still believed to be trapped in the Rangwar and Hafrada forests spanning across the northernmost district of Kupwara. Groups of militants were intercepted by the Army on Friday and gunbattles have been going on between them at a few places. Militants are likely to be groups of infiltrators and those who had gone to receive them. These forests run across a huge area across the LoC and serve as a cover for infiltrating and hiding militants. The Army spokesman said dense forests and rugged terrains had restricted the movement of troops. He said the fighting was protracted because the hostile terrain restricted troops from closing in and using heavy weapons. At least seven militants were killed in a similar operation in the Kangan-Bandipore forest range in September last year.
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10 kg of RDX, arms seized
Jammu/Srinagar, March 22 An Army spokesman said two IEDs of 1 kg each, 27 hand grenades, two magazines and 41 rounds of ammunition were seized from the Nangli forest area in
Poonch. A cache of arms and ammunition was seized from an orchard at Andergam village in the Pattan area of Baramulla district. Besides a rocket launcher and two
IEDs, the search party seized a pistol, a wireless set, three AK rifle magazines with 183 rounds and six hand grenades, sources said, adding that owner of the orchard Abdul Gaffar Bhat has been taken into custody. The security forces today unearthed two hideouts and seized 10 kgs of
RDX, besides cache of arms and ammunition, from Doda and Poonch districts. A CRPF team unearthed a hideout in Gandoh
(Doda district) and seized 10 kgs of RDX and some detonators, official sources said. Meanwhile, Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants were arrested today in Anantnag district, two days after they returned from Pakistan with the intention to step up violence ahead of the parliamentary elections in the
state. Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat, Abid Hussain and Ashiq Hussain Shah were arrested by the police following a tipoff at Arwani village of Bijbehara in south Kashmir in the wee hours, a police spokesman said here. He said the trio had crossed to POK for arms training 10 years back and returned to the valley only two days ago to set up a base and spread violence. |
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LS poll: NC forms dist bodies
Jammu, March 22
Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, party’s provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta announced the names of new district presidents and district secretaries.
“These bodies have been framed in the backdrop of impending Lok Sabha elections and all district presidents and secretaries have been asked to nominate other members of in respective units,” he said. Rajesh Bakshi and Sanjay Gupta have been nominated as president and secretary of Jammu, Urban, respectively, while Sat Paul Lakhotra and Ram Swaroop Sharma have been appointed as president and secretary of Jammu, Rural, respectively. Taranjeet Singh Tony and Ramesh Motton have been given the charge of president and secretary of Jammu, Rural, respectively, while Mohinder Gupta and Om Prakash Atri have been nominated as president and secretary of Samba district, respectively, he said. Dhian Chand and KK Bakshi have been nominated as president and secretary, respectively, while Romy Khajuria and DS Bindu, who had contested from the Basholi Assembly segment in recently concluded Assembly elections, have been assigned the job of president and secretary, respectively. Similarly, Qazi Mohammad Syed Beig and Peer Inayat have been given the posts of president and secretary of Poonch district, respectively, while Bashir Ahmad Wani and Parvaiz Ahmad have been nominated as president and secretary of Rajouri district.
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World Waters Day Celebrated
Jammu, March 22 Water pipes were seen leaking at countless places. Neither the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department nor people seem interested to save the water. The acute scarcity of water which has become a routine affair during peak summer season in the city, is partly caused due to wastage and leakage of water from damaged pipes. Being a highly populated city, the demand of potable water is always high. Though water is supplied to large areas in a regular manner, there are many areas where potable water is not supplied daily. These areas include the entire old Jammu city and West Jammu. “The authorities laid the pipes once and then they never turned back to check the pipes. They should periodically attend to the water supply lines to ensure that these were in proper condition,” Jai Krishan Pandita of Nai Basti said. “Wastage of water and leaking water pipes could also lead to contamination and cause serious water-borne diseases,” Krishan Sharma of Sarwal said. Meanwhile, repeated efforts to contact chief engineer, PHE, VK Abrol proved futile.
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BJP woos youth
Jammu, March 22 BJP candidate from the Jammu-Poonch parliamentary constituency Leela Karan Sharma was the chief guest on these occasions. Sharma, while addressing youth in the convention, said there was a great responsibility on the youth in all spheres. In today’s era of information technology, a youth is more aware of the threats posed to the unity of the country and can play a decisive role in giving a befitting reply to all those forces which have been working to weaken the nation and adopting appeasement policy for political gains in the country. |
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Voices of dissent grow in BJP
Udhampur, March 22 Party workers have made it clear to the leaders that they would field one dedicated worker on this seat as rebel candidate if decision to give mandate to Dalip Parihar was not revoked.
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Bhim Singh elected JKNPP chief again
Jammu, March 22 Bhim Singh was re-elected unopposed as JKNPP chairman today at the party headquarters here, said party’s returning officer Ghulam Mohmmad Shan. Bhim’s next tenure starts April 2, 2009 and ends April 1, 2011. |
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LS Poll: Ratan Lal asks party workers to unite
Jammu, March 22 This was stated by NC provincial Rattan Lal Gupta while addressing party workers meet at Hiranagar in Jammu. He asked the party workers to gear up for the upcoming Parliamentary elections and work collectively at the
grassroot-level to ensure the victory of the NC-Congress partners during the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Gupta said the party was committed to fulfil the promises which it had made with the people of the state during the Assembly elections and would come up to their expectations. He also called upon the party workers to identify and isolate all divisive forces who were trying to create divide among the regions and religions. Gupta said the NC-Congress coalition government was working in right earnest for the welfare of the people of the state. Gupta cautioned the people to beware of the false propaganda unleashed by the PDP and the
BJP, who he said stand exposed before the masses and had no programme and policy for the people of the state other than to create wedge among the people. |
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Nearly 45,000 govt employees to perform poll duty
Jammu, March 22 For 9,077 polling stations to be set up for the parliamentary elections, approximately 45,000 government employees would be engaged for the poll-related duties, Chief Electoral Officer BR Sharma told The Tribune. The strength of the employees would almost remain the same as it was during the recently held Assembly elections, he said, adding that anything between 40,000 to 45,000 employees would be assigned the task of poll duties. Out of 9,077 polling stations, 3,602 are hypersensitive polling stations while 2,904 fall in sensitive category and 2,571 are normal polling stations in the militancy-infested state. The CEO said the vulnerability mapping exercise to assess requirement of the security forces for the smooth conduct of the LS polls had almost been completed. |
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Leela Karan seeks probe into Purkhoo incident
Jammu, March 22 Leela, who visited Purkhoo to have on the spot assessment of the situation, said this was the height of highhandedness of the police that the farmers’ only crime was that they were holding peaceful demonstration and demanding release of water through Ranbir Canal for irrigational purposes. He said: “a farmer was totally dependent on his crop for his survival and provision of fertilizers, for this timely water is must. If a farmer do not get water to irrigate his farms on time, he cannot expect to have crop and such a situation may lead to starvation.” The BJP leader, who also took up the matter with the higher civil and police officials, said this was not the first incident where the SHO had taken such a step without any magisterial orders. “This police officer, in the past too, had been harassing and using unlawful methods to suppress the voice of the innocent and poor people. So he needs to be punished.” He warned the administration of wide spread protests and demonstrations in case the SHO was not attached and inquiry initiated against him. Leela also took the Irrigation Department to task for not taking timely and effective steps to ensure supply of water through canal to the farmers. He asked the department not to test the patience of the farmers and said the BJP is with the farmers and would not tolerate such delay in the matter. BJP MLA from the Domana Assembly constituency, Bharat Bhushan, who was also present on the spot, registered his strong resentment over the incident. |
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Corporator’s bid to encroach land recoils
Jammu, March 22 Rashida Begum staked her claim on the land maintaining that she had given Rs 1.20 lakh to the owner. Trouble erupted when Rashida Begum along with employees of the Power Development Department (PDD) arrived at Qaseem Nagar. The corporator had brought the PDD staff for shifting a power transformer to another place in the locality. Before the PDD staff could start their work, residents of the area reportedly assembled there and objected to the shifting of transformer. Soon residents and the corporator entered into a verbal duel and in the ensuing altercation the latter was allegedly manhandled. Infuriated over this, Rashida Begum filed a complaint at the Bagh-e-Bahu police station. Bagh-e-Bahu SHO Surinder Rau said the land measuring three-and-a-half marlas actually belonged to the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) where the PDD had installed an electricity transformer. Over the years, a woman had constructed a kucha room and now the corporator claimed that she had given Rs 1.20 lakh to the woman for the said piece of land, he said. |
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Sangharsh samiti to raise memorial to martyrs
Jammu, March 22 In general house meeting attended by over 100 delegates from all 10 districts of the Jammu region, we unanimously constituted Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti Shaheed Memorial Trust, he added. The trust would raise a memorial in memory of 12 persons, who sacrificed their lives during the agitation, he said. The memorial would be constructed on 1 hectare of land either in Bhagwati Nagar close to Amarnath Yatra base camp or in Talab Tillo, he said. The memorial would not only keep alive the memories of the martyrs but would also apprise future generations in the state about their supreme sacrifices for a just and genuine cause, he added. Apart from this, the trust, which as of today has Rs 37 lakh with it, would also help families of the martyrs, he added. Last year the samiti had given Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the martyrs in a function attended by VHP general secretary Parveen Togadia. In the general house meeting, the samiti yet again reiterated its commitment to remain a non-political organisation. “We would not canvass support for any political party or individual. Its up to the people to vote and elect their representatives in the ensuing LS polls,” he said. |
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PDP for overall development
Jammu, March 22 Addressing a function to welcome some youth in the party here this afternoon, Sayeed said removing regional imbalance and creating atmosphere for initiating the peace process was the remarkable achievement of the PDP-led coalition. “Before 2002 there were complaints of step-motherly treatment and discrimination with Jammu and Ladakh regions, but our regime through its policies removed that discrimination”, he added. |
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Law students seek re-evaluation
Jammu, March 22 While postgraduation students in rest of the departments in the varsity are entitled to reevaluation, the LLM students have been denied of the privilege as a result of which they are compelled to compromise on percentage of marks in the examination. “Even as there are no provisions for reevaluation, the two-year LLM degree takes more than three years for completion in JU,” students said. “The varsity ought to compensate us either by awarding degree within specified time frame or providing provision for reevaluation. We cannot afford loss on both academic fronts,” they added. Some years ago, the varsity allowed them to rewrite their exams for improvement in the marks obtained only after protest by the students of the department. Repeated attempts to contact head of the department Prof VP Magotra and controller examination PS Pathania for their comments
turned futile. |
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VDC members forced to fight with archaic weapons
Jammu, March 22 If an injured Mumbai cop had put up a valiant effort on 26/11 last year with an outdated 303 rifle that eventually led to custody of Ajmal Kasab, lone terrorist caught alive, the Village Defence Committees (VDCs) in militancy infested areas of Jammu and Kashmir also ‘protect’ their lives with the archaic weapon, taking on militants armed with sophisticated weapons like AK assault rifles, UBGLs rocket launchers and grenades. Framed way back in 1995, the VDCs find it tough to take on militants with 303 Rifle, a weapon used in World War II and now disbanded world over. Recently, villagers in Drabal village, 4 km from Bani, spotted some suspicious people armed with sophisticated weapons. Panicked by the appearance of these armed men, inhabitants in Drabal village and other small hamlets in this remote area had nothing else than outdated 303 rifles to rely upon. Bani had been a transit route for militants to enter militancy-infested Bhaderwah and Doda districts. Though the VDCs had been frequently demanding that they be given sophisticated weapons to take on militants, the state police has no such plans up its sleeves. “The VDCs are authorised for 303 rifles because the basic purpose of framing them was to defend their villagers and not to chase militants. To accomplish the task of defending their areas, 303 Rifle is an effective weapon,” a senior police officer said. Another senior police officer said the basic idea behind the VDCs was to come up with a minimum defence mechanism within villages. The motive behind providing them 303 rifles was to engage militants in gunfire, and in the meantime, inform the nearest security pickets so as to seek help from the security forces located in nearby camps for the task of combating militants, he said. He said AK assault rifles could not be provided to the VDCs, firstly because VDC members may misuse it, and secondly, sophisticated weapons require training to operate them. Kathua district, at present, tentatively has nearly 35 VDCs. Suspicious movement of armed men in Drabal village has sent shivers down the spine of villagers, who felt that being a Hindu majority village, they may witness attacks from militants, the same way remote villages in Udhampur, Doda and Bhaderwah witnessed massacres in the past. |
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War Against Polythene
Srinagar, March 22 Talking to mediapersons, Chopra said he was happy to know that some youth had decided to launch a campaign so as to ban use of polythene in the valley. “It gives me happiness that some of the youth here have started such a campaign,” he said. The campaign against the polythene pollution has been started by a non-governmental organisation — Green Dream. Chopra said he would work for rooting out polythene from the valley. “I met this group of youth in a coffee shop and felt that I should help them in some way. If Green Dream will need me at any point of time, I am ready to cancel all my engagements and do my bit,” he said. “It was very disturbing for me to see heaps of polythene at various points in Srinagar city and more so at tourist places like Dachigam and Pari Mahal. Kashmir, a paradise on earth, should not be spoiled by the use of polythene,” he said. Meanwhile, passionate appeals are being made these days from all major mosques, including Hazratbal shrine and Jama Masjid, in the Kashmir valley, urging the people to refrain from using polythene bags, which have taken a heavy toll on environment. "Mosques are best places to convey this message to every individual as cleanliness is a great symbol in our faith and if we keep our surrounding clean this is also worship," the Imams said.
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Save Dal Lake
Srinagar, March 22 Members of the association are now pasting banners and posters with the message of protecting the lake on houseboats and shikaras (Canoe). “Dal Lake is heavily dependent upon the tourists and our business is also dependent upon them. So there should be cleanliness here then only we can move forward. If this lake would be dirty then the tourists will also face problems. So it is a good move taken by the authorities to clean the lake as it would be very good for health as well as for our business,” said Shabir Ahmad, a shikara owner. People of Srinagar, including houseboat owners and shikara owners, are happy with this awareness campaign that would help in saving Kashmir’s famous heritage. Environmentalists say thousands of tons of sewage spew into the lake, feeding weeds and choking the lake and its aquatic life. The lake’s size has been halved due to farming land encroachment in a few decades, to some 13 sq km. A study in 2007 by the state’s Comptroller and Auditor General reported that the lake has excessively high levels of toxic metals due to sewage. Pollutants were accumulating in the water, which was consumed by humans. Tests of water samples showed that arsenic levels were almost 1,000 times above permissible levels. Farmers regularly encroach into the lake, often planting trees. Multi-story buildings and small crafts factories have been erected on what officials say are illegal land fills. The environmentalists and officials are pressing the hundreds of houseboats on the lake, many catering to tourists, to stop dumping waste into the lake. Many houseboat owners, desperate for tourists, say they are willing to stop, but need the infrastructure to do it. — ANI |
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Revenue records
Udhampur, March 22 Addressing a meeting of the revenue officers of the district, he asked all tehsildars to issue strict instructions to patwaris to prepare Roz Naamcha (Daily Dairy) of the events and revenue-related activities of their respective patwaris and after checking by the tehsildars concerned, be submitted to the office of Deputy Commissioner. He warned that any tehsildar or field staff of the Revenue Department showing carelessness would be dealt with severely under rules. He also instructed the tehsildars to check records of field staff frequently and ensure that no vague entry of girdawari etc. had been made by them in the register which might affect the interests of genuine land holders. In case of any irregularity found, incorporated necessary correction in records besides taking strict action against the defaulter so that no field staff of the Revenue Department may dare to commit wrongs in future. The meeting after holdingm discussion on fard partal registers, mutations and eviction of encroachments, also dwelt on checking of rate lists of essentials of conducting joint inspections headed by tehsildar concerned. He also directed Assistant Director, CAPD, Udhampur to visit Ladda area as people had complained that they were not getting ration from dealer and submit report at the earliest, besides making it sure that ration must reach in the area.
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Boy killed, 16 hurt in road mishaps
Srinagar, March 22 In another incident, 15 passengers suffered injuries after a bus turned turtle in Baramulla district. The injured, including three women and two children, were later hospitalised, the spokesman said, adding that the bus was on the way from Baba Reshi to Baramulla. Ghulam Qadir Mir was injured when he was hit by a car at Shopian in south Kashmir, the spokesman said.—
PTI |
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Search for site on to relocate Bomai Army camp
Srinagar, March 22 A district official said there was no need for the camp in the middle of a
village and would provide a suitable alternative place to the Army at some other place. The search for a place comes after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s
public pronouncement that he would shift the camp, also a major demand of the locals who had gone on a strike
and stopped sending their kids to schools in protest. |
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Jawan commits suicide
Srinagar, March 22 Sepoy Jagjeet Singh of 19 Rashtriya Rifles shot himself inside his room at Karan Mehal, where he was on sentry duty at the main gate, official sources said. The body has been sent for a post-mortem and a case registered, they said. — PTI |
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Country’s political leadership has learnt nothing from Mumbai terror attack, four open conflicts with Pakistan and nearly two-decade-old militancy in the state.
If an injured Mumbai cop had put up a valiant effort on 26/11 last year with an outdated 303 rifle that eventually led to custody of Ajmal Kasab, lone terrorist caught alive, the Village Defence Committees (VDCs) in militancy infested areas of Jammu and Kashmir also ‘protect’ their lives with
the archaic weapon
