Jammu, April 25
Much to the embarrassment of the security forces, two militants today again managed to give them a slip in the Malsu forests in Ghata village, 5 km from Bhaderwah, the second time in the week. Earlier, the militants had managed to escape from the Bhatti Dhar area of Poonch district in January after the longest ever encounter.

As per intelligence sources, two heavily armed terrorists were seen roaming in the area on April 21 when the security forces had launched a joint operation to eliminate them. However, despite tight security and a fierce encounter the militants managed to escape.

The same group of militants was again seen in the forest area of Malsu yesterday and the Army along with the police cordoned off the area and launched a joint operation.

There was also a brief encounter between the security forces and the militants. The security forces had to call off the operation due to darkness. However, it (Army) had claimed that the entire area had been cordoned off and there was no scope of militants escaping, as the combing operation would resume the next morning.

But the sources say that the Army had already called off the operation in the night, as it had information that the militants had escaped.

Speaking to The Tribune, a senior Army officer of the Nagrota-based 16 corps, said, “The operation that was launched after information about the presence of the two suspected terrorists in the area was called off today morning, as nothing could be found.”

He added, “After last night’s brief exchange of fire, we cordoned off the entire area. However, nothing could be found in the morning after we completed the combing operation. So the operation was called off.”

Minister for Defence AK Antony is also visiting the troops in Rajouri to have a firsthand review of the security situation along the LoC.

Meanwhile, the sources said the two militants who escaped could be a part of a larger group hiding in the jungles.

Rajouri, April 25
Most politicians are busy with preparations for the Anantnag elections but no attention is being paid to the shortage of ration. The existing problem of food shortage, which has been lingering on for the past two months, in the government-run ration depots, especially rice and flour (atta), has further worsened.

Residents rued that the state government had failed to take up the matter seriously. They said if the supply remained affected like this for a month, poor people would be forced to starve to death.

“Most politicians after the Jammu and Udhampur elections are busy with the Anantnag elections. However, there is no attention being paid to the problem of ration shortage,” Bhagwan Singh Thakur of the Buddhal area said.

A storekeeper of the government-run ration depot in the Koteranka area told The Tribune that there was an acute shortage of rice and flour at the ration depots across this border district.

“Against the requirement of 5 kg rice and 8 kg flour, consumers are getting just 1.80 kg rice and 3.30 kg flour. We acknowledge that it is the poor people who consume this ration but we are helpless and have to supply as per the stocks available with us. It is for the government to increase the supplies,” the storekeeper said.

An officer in the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department (CAPD) said they were facing shortfall of 10,000 quintals for rice and about 20, 000 quintals for wheat flour every month. Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Jaipaul Singh told The Tribune that he had taken up the matter with the authorities concerned for action.

Srinagar, April 25
Continuing with its efforts to restore grandeur and originality of the world famous Dal Lake, the Jammu and Kashmir Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) has launched a massive manual de-weeding of the lake alongside mechanical process with increased number of labourers.

Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Masuad Samoon inaugurated the manual de-weeding operation (Spring-2009) at Oberai Ghat of the Dal Lake today in presence of vice-chairman of the LAWDA Irfan Yaseen and other officers, beside mediapersons.

Highlighting the significance of the traditional de-weeding operation of the Dal and Nigeen Lakes, the Divisional Commissioner said restoring the pristine glory of the lake was a top priority with the present government. He called for coordinated efforts to keep the lake free from pollution and extending cooperation to the LAWDA in preserving and conserving the water treasure in the state, which is an attraction for tourists all over the world.

Irfan said de-weeding of the Dal and Nigeen lakes was being undertaken annually, but this year more labourers were being engaged for the operation. He said 600 labourers were at work today, while from tomorrow 1000 labourers would be engaged for the operation.

He said the spring de-weeding operation would continue up to August, while the autumn operation would be started in November.

He said during the last year weeds on water expanse of 76,000 cubic meters were extracted both manually and mechanically, adding that this year more weed extraction was expected with increased number of labourers. He said during March duckweed was also removed from the lake. He said conducting manual operation not only helped in restoring its pristine glory but also was a source of employment for Dal Lake dwellers.

Jammu, April 25
A major fire engulfed forests in Bhatindi division here last evening. The fire has been spreading since then, as the field agencies have been finding it difficult to contain it due to a tough terrain and wind.

The Forest Department had rushed teams to the compartment No. 9 yesterday, but smoke kept billowing from the forests and could be viewed from city throughout the day. However, the police has not registered any case in this regard.

As per the sources, such incidents recur every summer in all forests across the state, but despite that there is no nodal agency to tackle such forest fire incidents. Besides, there is no specialised wing of the Forest Department to fight the forest fires.

“Land mafias operating in the area enjoy political clout and they trigger such fires time and again to reduce the forest cover,” the sources said. They added, “In at least 52 major fire incidents that occurred in the state after 1947, not even a single forest official or any other individual has been booked or punished,” they said.

According to the sources, property worth Rs 60 crore has been lost in forest fires so far. but, interestingly, special inquiries conducted by the crime branch of the state police and departmental inquiries had failed to find not even a single employee or the officer of the department concerned responsible for the incident.

“Within a time span of just five years, the state has lost as many as 90,000 trees owing to different reasons, but nothing concrete has been done about afforestation,” said environmentalist AK Sharma.

The Divisional Forest Officer said measures had been being taken to douse the fire. “We have rushed special teams to the spot and details would be divulged on Monday”, he said.

Srinagar, April 25
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has questioned the credibility of PDP to represent the state in Parliament, saying the party president and the then MP, Mehbooba Mufti, could not utter a word in the Lok Sabha on the issue of the Amarnath land agitation.

Omar said Mehbooba ji could not utter even a word other than saying “Yaar Main Kay Boolu”. “This was the total response by the party to an important issue of national and international significance then how come this party could voice the people’s concern in Parliament”, Omar said while addressing election rallies at Kanalwan, Ashmaqm, Shangus and other areas in Anantnag constituency. He asked people to choose a representative for the Lok Sabha who could speak for the people of his constituency and of the state as a whole. Saying that all these qualities were in Mehboob Beg, he asked the people to vote in his favour.

Rejecting the PDP’s concern about the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), the Chief Minister declared it as yet another gimmickry of the PDP to befool public. He questioned why this party did not even talked about the AFSPA during the period when it was in power. He added the PDP instead made every effort to ensure the AFSPA was implemented in letter and in spirit.

Omar said when the PDP was in power more than 100 enquiries were ordered for human rights violations, but this was only an eyewash because none of these enquiries were concluded.

Drawing a comparison, the Chief Minister said he constituted the enquiry in the Bommai (Sopore) case and got it concluded within 15 days. He also ensured action against the culprits.

Meanwhile, NC president Farooq Abdullah visited Tumulhal and Rohama villages of Pulwama district and addressed a series of election meetings there. He said the Opposition had turned bankrupt and was issue less to take on the government. He regretted the Opposition criticism to the EC for withdrawing the byelections to the Hazratbal Assembly constituency.

Srinagar, April 25
PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has said the state now needs security through economic development and not through arms, saying the security of people was more important.

Addressing public meetings in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency today, Mufti Sayeed said the economic security of the people of Jammu and Kashmir should occupy centre-stage with a thrust on social security, income security, job security, environment security and the security of individuals and communities.

The Mufti said the state must have full control over the use of its water and mineral resources and it must be adequately compensated for the huge recurring losses suffered by it not only because of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), but also the arbitrary exploitation of our water resources by the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC). “As per conservative estimates, the state is suffering whopping losses to the tune of around Rs 6,000 crore annually because of the IWT and it must be compensated for the same,” he said.

He added power scarcity was one of the major hurdles impeding the state’s economic growth and employment generation.

The Mufti said the problem of unemployment, especially among the educated youth, was a matter of grave concern and needed immediate attention.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti while addressing meetings in other areas of the constituency, said a vanishing sense of security, agenda-less governance and the government’s failure to address the developmental concerns of the people was brewing disillusionment among the masses. And this had caused a sharp decline in voter turnout during the first two phases of the Lok Saba poll in the state.

“A sense of insecurity and distress has started replacing the environment of relaxation and economic development that was noticeable all around during the PDP-led government,” she said.

Jammu/ Srinagar, April 25
Agitated over the cancellation of notification by the Election Commission for holding by-elections in the Hazratbal Assembly constituency in Srinagar, nearly 50 PDP leaders and workers of the party today blocked the highway in Jammu for over an hour.

The PDP activists were holding banners and were raising slogans against the government and the Election Commission for cancellation of the by-elections and also blocked the highway near Gandhi Nagar for sometime.

The police forcibly evicted them from the highway for the smooth vehicular movement on the highway.

Later, the PDP activists marched toward the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer and held a protest demonstration there.

Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has urged the Election Commission to review the decision to cancel the Hazratbal Assembly bypoll and restrict the action to the rejection of the invalid nomination papers of NC candidate Mustafa Kamaal.

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner today, Mehbooba expressed satisfaction over the fact that the EC took due notice of the malpractice and manipulation by the state government in having accepted the nomination papers of NC candidate Mustafa Kamal. However, it felt the EC order cancelling the election in no way conveyed a sense of fairness or justice, she stated in the letter.

Jammu, April 25
The College Teachers’ Association, Jammu, has demanded implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations without any further delay.

In this regard, a delegation of teachers lead by president of the association Dr Sanjay Verma called on Director Colleges, Higher Education Department, and apprised him of their demands.

Dr Verma demanded that the recommendations be implemented in toto by the state government as per the guidelines laid down by the UGC. As per the Fifth Pay Commission report, there was no mention of age, but in consonance with the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, it was obligatory for the state government to enhance the retirement age besides creation of more posts of professors, he said.

He said: “The purpose of the UGC scheme is to rope in the talent for teaching profession, preserving existing talent and to attract the youngsters toward this profession.” According to delegates, the state government has to bear only 20 per cent of the pay hike amount while 80 per cent of the total amount involved has to be born by the UGC.

The delegation included Dr Sunil Gupta, Prof Satinder Kour, Prof Hans Raj, Dr Anil Ganjoo and Prof Vishal Sharma.

Jammu, April 25
The Jammu Municipal Corporation (MC) under its anti-adulteration drive has booked more than 100 persons under the Prevention of Adulterated Food Act (PAFA) and destroyed around six quintals of eatables during the past three months. It has also involved schools in its drive.

The MC conducted the drive yesterday in areas like Indira Chowk, BC Road, Jewel Chowk, Talab Tillo and on Bohri-Akhnoor road and challaned 18 persons. It also destroyed one quintal of eatables like ice creams, chips and cut fruits. In addition, 50 litres of juice was also destroyed. The drive was conducted under the supervision of Health Officer KD Singh Sambyal. The team would visit other areas of the city on Monday.

Talking to The Tribune, Sambyal said, “In a surprise visit to these areas, we found kitchens of various restaurants and dhabas in an unhygienic condition. Adulterated food items were destroyed on the spot and challans were lodged against the defaulters in court.”

He said during the drive 13 samples of edible oil were taken and out of which one sample was found unfit for human consumption.

The drive would be intensified in the coming days, he added.

In order to create awareness among people regarding the sale of adulterated food items, the MC has started the campaign from city schools. It has instructed all school principals not to allow rehriwallas to stand in front of schools.

Municipal Commissioner Mubarak Singh has appealed to people not to consume cut food sold by rehriwallas.

Jammu, April 25
The birth anniversary of Bhagwan Parshuram was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in Jammu today.

Renowned cultural groups and artistes from various states displayed their performances and added to the glory of the birth anniversary celebrations. The artistes from West Bengal setup the idols of various deities.

Besides state artistes, folk singers from Rajasthan, Sikkim, Punjab, Haryana and UP performed on mobile platforms, moving through the streets of the city. The procession started from Satyanaryan Temple on the Sarwalgar road and visited various places. People from all walks of life participated in the procession.

Residents in large number paid their obeisance to the idols of the deities.

Jammu, April 25
The Panun Kashmir today launched an initiative for promotion of ancient and recent Kashmiri Art, Sciences and History - ‘Prakash’. Various Kashmiri intellectuals from all across Jammu had been invited for discussions.

In the very beginning, the theme of ‘The Legacy of Lal Ded -Distortions and Truth’ was discussed. The main paper on the occasion was presented by Prof ML Koul who discussed the distortions to which the entire spiritual and philosophical heritage of Kashmiri Pandit poetess Lal Ded had been subjected to. A special reference to the recent work by writer Vimla Rain was made in the context of the theme of the seminar.

Prof ML Kaul cautioned against any attempt to recast the poetry of Lal Ded. He said Lal Ded had been a living symbol of great Shaivite tradition of Kashmir and any attempt to reinterpret her poetry would pose a grave danger to the cultural and civilisation heritage. Chief guest SS Toshkahni said Lal Ded was an iconic civilisation and cultural symbol who perpetuated the total sum of inheritance through the medium of her couplets.

Prof BL Fotedar, convener of ‘Prakash’, said there was a need to create and sustain a movement of creative writers and artists against distortion and mediocrity.

Jammu, April 25
Acting upon a written complaint lodged with Tikri police post by the brother of a married woman, who died allegedly after jumping from a railway bridge yesterday, the Udhampur police today arrested four members of the woman’s in-laws’ family, including her husband.

Veena Kumari, 26, a resident of Bawa Morh, had allegedly jumped off Lehnoo Railway Bridge on the Jammu-Udhampur railway line yesterday and died.

Official sources told The Tribune that her in-laws had been harassing her for bringing insufficient dowry. They added that unable to bear humiliation and torture at the hands of her in-laws, including husband, Veena ended her life yesterday.

They said Veena’s husband Sanjay Kumar, his brother Sanjeev Kumar, mother Chanchala Devi and father Om Prakash, all residents of Geeda Talab in Udhampur, were arrested.

A case under Sections 306 and 498-A of the RPC has been registered at Rehambal police station.

Additional SSP, Udhampur, Bhupinder Singh told The Tribune that acting upon a written complaint by Rakesh Kumar, brother of the deceased, four members of her in-laws family were arrested.” Veena had married Sanjay Kumar, a van driver, around eight years ago, and had a six-year-old son, said the SSP. The body was cremated today.

Meanwhile, mystery shrouds the death of another married woman Sandloo Devi, whose body was found in her house in Kanain Ramnagar. Official reports said, 25-year-old Sandloo Devi, wife of Joginder Singh Thakur, was found dead in her house under suspicious circumstances.

The body was handed over to her legal heirs for the last rites.