Srinagar, April 13
Setting at rest speculation, NC president Farooq Abdullah today announced the candidates for two Lok Sabha constituencies of Srinagar and Baramulla in Kashmir, going to the polls in the fourth and fifth phases of elections, respectively. 

Farooq also announced the candidates for the two Assembly constituencies of Hazratbal and Sonwar in Srinagar, which had fallen vacant following his election to the Rajya Sabha. These are witnessing byelections along with the parliamentary poll.

Surprisingly, Farooq Abdullah would be the party’s candidate for Srinagar though Salman Sagar, Mayor of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), would also file the nomination papers from this LS seat. “Both of us will file nominations and see how things go”, Farooq said while announcing the candidates. “I am still not sure whether to fight or not as I have many responsibilities as the party President”, Farooq Abdullah said.

Former minister and Farooq Abdullah’s younger brother, Mustafa Kamaal, would be the candidate for the Hazratbal Assembly constituency. A former MLA, Mohammad Yaseen Shah, who was elected from Sonwar here in the 2002 elections, would again be the party’s candidate from this constituency.

 Both these seats were won by Farooq Abdullah in the last Assembly elections, who had later vacated the Hazratbal seat. He had to vacate the Sonwar seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha in February.

The party has nominated Sharief-ud-din Shariq, a former MLA from Langate in Kupwara district, to contest the Baramulla-Kupwara seat. Shariq has been a member of the Rajya Sabha in the past and got elected to Assembly in 2002. However, he was defeated in the November-December Assembly elections.

Former MP AR Shaheen, who represented Baramulla for the last two consecutive terms, “needs rest” and might be considered for the Pattan Assembly constituency if byelections are held there.

After the announcement of the party's candidate in Hazratbal, supporters of Mohammad Syed Akhoon, a former legislator from this Assembly constituency, demonstrated outside the party headquarters, demanding the ticket for their leader.

Abdullah also disclosed that Bashir Ahmad Khatoo, vice-president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, and Mohammad Qasim Akhoon had joined the NC.

Akhoon unsuccessfully contested the Hazratbal Assembly constituency against Farooq Abdullah in last year's elections. 

Jammu, April 13
Senior security officials have rubbished reports of infiltration by the Taliban into the state. Perturbed over the reports, many officials have drawn strength from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Rajya Sabha MP and NC president Farooq Abdullah denying media reports suggesting Taliban presence in the Himalayan state.

Security officials say: “ The Taliban are only a figment of the imagination of certain sections of the media attempting to improve its viewership ratings, on ground there is neither any Taliban nor report of any infiltration by them”.

Not willing to be quoted, security officers said attempts had been made to infiltrate and intelligence inputs also indicated that there were several “jihadis” waiting to cross over into India on any given opportunity “but the forces manning the borders have not provided any such opportunity”.

The Army of late is seen scanning all major roads for any ambush or explosive material planted to target convoys or passing VIPs involved with electioneering. An many places, especially in the Rajouri-Poonch sectors, troops are accompanied by sniffer dogs on highways. 

Sensitive areas live Bimber Gali (BG), Derawali Gali (DG), Mastan Dara, Bhati Dar etc in these two districts have been totally sensitised for “incident-free” elections.

Reacting to the footage being telecast on certain television channels, a senior official said that “Google maps” and “old footage” are only causing panic among the people.

According to highly placed source,s there are some active militants in Rajouri and Poonch districts, operating in the Mendhar, Peer Panjal, Mastan Dhara, Ghambir Mughlan, Darhal, Budhal areas only. Intelligence has located about 34 of them in Rajouri district and 15 to 20 in Poonch.

Srinagar, April 13
The fierce encounter in the Aglar Kandi village of Pulwama district has ended with the killing of another militant of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit. Police sources said Babar bhai, a top JeM commander, who was the first to be gunned down, was among the most-wanted militants and his associate Abu Afaque, a Pakistan resident, was killed last evening as the house in which they were hiding was almost destroyed.

An Army officer was also injured but is out of danger.

Two AK rifle, four magazines and one hand grenade were seized in the search operation today.

Meanwhile, local villagers protest over the alleged detentions of some locals by the locals. They raised slogans against the highhandedness and the police had to fire in air to control the situation, locals said.

Jammu, April 13
Pooh-poohing tall claims of PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and president Mehbooba Mufti about their rule in the state, the NC today held the PDP responsible for bringing dubious distinction of being the most corrupt state in the country.

The PDP’s biggest achievement during its rule was to make the state number one in corruption in the country, NC provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta said this while addressing party workers here today.

“Had the PDP been allowed to remain at the helm of affairs it would have achieved the target of making the number one corrupt state in the world,” Gupta said sarcastically.

If the PDP governance meant nurturing corruption and feeding the people on emotional slogans rather than providing them basic amenities, then the Muftis had achieved their objective, he said.

He said the opportunist character of the PDP became public when the party withdrew its support to Azad-led coalition government at the fag end of the government to gain cheap publicity and befool the people of Kashmir.

“When the NC and the Congress were into the process of forming the coalition government after the last Assembly elections, the PDP tried its best to create a wedge and rushed to the Congress leadership with an affidavit pledging an oath that it would never create any trouble even if Ghulam Nabi Azad was again nominated as Chief Minister,” he said.

However, the Congress outrightly rejected the PDP in the interest of the people and decided to join hands with the NC, he added.

About the NC-Congress coalition, Gupta said we share common goal for cultivating peace, progress and development in the state besides strengthening secular traditions.

He also ridiculed the divisive policy of the PDP saying that by playing Muslim card in Muslim-dominated areas and presenting its BJP image in Hindu-dominated areas was yet another political gimmickry of the PDP.

He said the hidden agenda of the PDP and the BJP to divide people in the name of religion and region had been exposed during the recently held election of MLCs.

Jammu, April 13
After AICC general secretary and former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad reportedly accused the BJP of maligning his name by “exploiting” the mental sickness of his brother Ghulam Ali Azad, who recently joined the saffron brigade, a war of words has started between the arch-rivals, the Congress and the BJP, just ahead of the LS elections in the state.

The BJP claimed that it harboured no malafide intentions to use Ghulam Ali in the Lok Sabha poll beginning April 16.

Party president and sitting Legislator Ashok Khajuria told The Tribune that Azad’s younger brother joined the party because he believed in the party ideologies and the BJP stand on Article 370 and Ram temple in Ayodhya,”.

“We didn’t force Ghulam Ali Azad to join the BJP. He did so out of his own will,” Khajuria said. He (Ali) won’t be used as a political ploy against the Congress because the BJP never believed in dirty politics, he said.

Khajuria refused to comment upon the AICC general secretary’s remarks that the BJP exploited “mental sickness” of Ghulam Ali and that the saffron brigade had resorted to unfair means to malign the former Chief Minister’s image. This is up to the both brothers to decide, he said.

However, PCC general secretary and party spokesperson Ravinder Sharma accused the BJP of indulging into cheap tactics.

Another Congress leader, who insisted anonymity, said the Azad family had disowned Ali almost two decades back for his abnormal behaviour. Furthermore, he (Ali) is stepbrother of Ghulam Nabi Azad, he said, adding that his name is Ghulam Ali Butt and not Ghulam Ali Azad.

Srinagar, April 13
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has said NC president Farooq Abdullah’s candid admission that despite trying hard, his party could not get its hands on the Ladakh parliamentary seat, showed how the party surrendered before the Congress for the sake of power.

“And paradoxically, in the same press conference yesterday where Dr Farooq expressed his helplessness to get even the Ladakh seat from the Congress, he bragged of his MPs talking about autonomy in the parliament, if elected,” Mehbooba said. 

Addressing election rallies in the Anantnag constituency, she said “the deceitful tactics of the NC has lost its sheen now and through such verbal acrobatics Farooq is only making himself more ridiculous”.

The PDP president said outright rejection of the autonomy resolution by the NDA government was not only a rebuff to the NC but amounted to an insult to the state legislature that had passed it with a huge majority. “But just to save Omar’s job as a junior minister and keep Abdullah’s ambition to become vice-president of the country alive, the NC to its eternal shame did not protest even meekly,” she said.

Welcoming Dr Farooq’s statement hinting towards his party’s support for the people’s demand for reduction of troops and revocation of the Special Powers, Mehbooba said the compulsions of the situation in the latest observations of the NC patron on the issue can clearly be seen between the lines. 

“The statements of Dr Farooq and Omar on the issue of troop cut and the AFSPA revocation seem to be the party’s political necessity after having initially opposed the demand tooth and nail and even ridiculing the PDP for raising its voice on troop reduction,” she said.

Suchetgarh (Jammu), April 13
The 15th Lok Sabha (LS) elections would always remain a pleasant memory for residents of this village, situated next to the zero line on the International border.

Sixty-two years after the Independence, residents of Suchetgarh on the Indo-Pak border, lead village of an Assembly constituency by the same name, has got a metalled road, courtesy, the 15th LS elections.

Whatever the outcome of the elections maybe, the villagers are already in joyful mood. Their long-pending demand of the construction of the road is fulfilled. Though the work for the road began two years ago after it was discontinued, yet now suddenly the work is on war footing.

The village is situated off a traditional trade route between the two countries. Villagers are hoping the old trade route will reopen some day. The border has remained silent for many years now.

Many tourists frequent the BSF border post here which provides a close view of the Pakistani Rangers and the countryside. Above all, the real Raghunath Mandir, not much attended to now, is situated in this village.

Interestingly, the village, crowned as a model village with solar lights had concrete streets. But the road connecting it to the Jammu-Sialkot road (now closed at the border next to the village) was Kutcha.

Suchetgarh Assembly constituency named after this village has over a hundred villages falling in it.

Rajouri, April 13
As many as 27 cases of communicable disease have been reported in Arai area of Mandi tehsil in Poonch district.

Residents, who are up in arms against the Health Department, complained that the local heath authorities didn’t immunise the children in the area that resulted in an outbreak of measles in the village. They alleged that 11-year-old girl Nazeem Akhter died of the same disease few days ago.

“The government spends crores of rupees under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) for the immunisation of children. However, due to the negligence of the local health authorities hundreds of children are suffering from the disease”, Qayam Din Malik, sarpanch of the village, told mediapersons.

Official sources admitted that there had been an outbreak of a disease, but they refused to confirm whether the it was measles or some other disease.

“The symptoms of the disease (like rashes) are also associated with scabies, but it is difficult to say whether the disease is measles or some other disease. There have been 27 such cases out of which 12 are probably of the measles and rest may be that of scabies and rashes,” a source in the Health Department said.

Block medical officer, Mandi, Dr. Shamim Mir said they were looking into the allegations of the residents.

District immunisation officer Dr. Niaz Ahmed said: “The reports with us state that the children in the village have been fully immunised. If the disease is spreading the responsibility lies with the block medical officer of the area and his field functionaries.”

Jammu, April 13
The High Court has quashed the order of termination of Dr. Suresh Bhagat, whose services were terminated for remaining on unauthorised absence from his duty and directed the state government to reinstate the petitioner forthwith.

Dr. Suresh Bhagat, an assistant surgeon in District Hospital, Poonch, applied for 90 days earned leave as his mother was admitted to the hospital.

His application was rejected on August 24, 2002, when he was directed to join his duties at the District Hospital, Poonch.

He represented against the rejection of his leave by submitting his version. The said communication received did not yield any results.

Ultimately, a notice was published in a local English daily on April 24, 2003, directing him to appear before the deputy secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, for recording of his statement. The petitioner filed representation against the said notice reiterating his family compulsions and showed his desire to rejoin his duties in case leave is not sanctioned.

The government appointed Dr S C Raina, malaria specialist, Jammu, to examine unauthorised absence from duties, who submitted his report on May 13, 2003, and recommended termination of services of petitioner with effect from date the petitioner remained on unauthorised absence, which was accepted and services of petitioner were terminated on December 9, 2003.

Justice Sunil Hali, while allowing the petition observed: “Unauthorised absence from duties does not mean automatic dismissal from service. The department should conduct an inquiry in this regard. The inquiry envisages framing of chargesheet and its service on delinquent official, to be followed by recording of evidence to prove charges as also any defence witnesses, which delinquent official likes to examine. 

Thereafter, the enquiry officer makes its recommendations to the appointing authority. The official facing inquiry is required to be provided with the copy of inquiry report if it seeks to recommend punishment against the official.”

The High Court observed: “In the present case, no procedure has been followed. Even the report of the enquiry officer has not been provided to the petitioner. The mandate of serving the second show cause notice indicating proposed punishment has also not been complied with.”

Srinagar, April 13
Taking a step forward in rooting out polythene from the Kashmir valley, Green Dream, a group of young professionals and students, visited the Jamia Masjid area and appealed to traders there to avoid polythene in their daily operations.

Green Dream members Khurram Wani, Kaunsar Bhat, Mehboob Jeelani and others asked traders to make alternative arrangements instead of using polythene.

Javed Ahmad Zargar, president of the Jamia Market Traders Federation, said that it was imperative for the government to impose a blanket ban on arrival of polythene to Kashmir. He wanted transporters to avoid lifting polythene stocks for the Kashmir valley.

“This is a good initiative and we are here to support you. Polythene is a common, invisible enemy of Kashmiris and as such we want to get rid of it,” says Javed. He said his federation would carry out a survey in the market and assess the stock position of polythene.

“We will ensure that no fresh polythene stocks are received. Once there are no supplies of polythene the traders would be forced to look for alternatives. This should be the driving force of this campaign and the government needs to be pressured so that there are no fresh arrivals of polythene,” said the market president.

However, as group members were distributing pamphlets among shopkeepers an elderly citizen selling vegetable saplings and lemon on a pavement said that there would be no change as “many such campaigns were held in the past but to no use”.

Most of the people in the market said the government should be more proactive and impose a blanket ban on polythene.

Jammu, April 13
The Jammu University (JU) has not prepared its annual accounts since its inception in the absence of which true financial position of the varsity has continued to elude the audit authorities, therefore affecting the accountability in its administrative working.

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Universities Act 1969, the varsity is required to get annual accounts audited by an auditor appointed by the government. Further, an expert committee constituted by the Union government, Ministry of Finance on the recommendations of the parliament committee, has prescribed a common format of accounts for all autonomous bodies.

Contrary to it, despite having been pointed out in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ended March 31, 2002, no action had been taken in this regard, indicating lack of commitment on the part of ISO certified varsity in preparing the accounts and ensuring transparency in its activities.

While inspection, the report said bank reconciliation had been conducted and asset register had not been maintained. As per rule 8.28 of the J&K financial code, physical verification of stores is required to be conducted at least once a year to avoid loss due to fraud, theft or negligence, but in contravention of the rule, audit scrutiny revealed that no such periodical inspection was conducted.

Similarly, as per the statues of the varsity, physical verification of library that houses 3.5 lakh books and 250 current periodicals has to be conducted every three years, audit scrutiny revealed that neither the periodical inspection nor annual physical verification had been conducted.

The report reveals that several books borrowed from library, one to 18 years back had not been returned while overdue charges on account of delay in return of charges were also not collected.

In its reply, registrar of the varsity has stated that steps would be taken to strengthen the internal audit wing so that records of the varsity are subject to the check at regular intervals.

Jammu, April 13
Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah paid glowing tributes to Dr. BRAmbedkar, father of the Constitution of India, on his birth anniversary.

In a message, the Governor said Dr Ambedkar worked tirelessly for the uplift of the under-privileged sections of society.

He said Dr Ambedkar relentlessly pursued the cause of the weaker sections of society and vigorously articulated the need for their rightful inclusion in the decision-making process and development of the country.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described Dr Ambedkar as a towering leader of modern India who aspired to ensure equal rights for the underprivileged so that they could be equal partners in nation-building and share fruits of prosperity.