Jammu, May 4
Rafiqa Begum continued murmuring prayers for the life of her husband Azad Hussain, the only bread winner of the penury-ridden family of Sangrambatta. The kith and kin of principal of Government Higher Secondary School, Palmar, Jagdish Raj and minibus driver Alamgir of Sirhad looked totally devastated with tears in their eyes at Government Medical College (GMC) here.

The three critically injured airlifted to Jammu were part of the ill-fated minibus that plunged into the Chenab in the Bhanderkote area of Kishtwar district around 8 am today.

“My uncle Azad Hussain is a small-time merchant dealing in sheep and goats. He is the only earning member in the family comprising his wife Rafiqa Begum and two minor daughters and a minor son,” said Arshad Rasool.

Though doctors said he was out of danger, it was high time for the government to come out with stringent measures to check frequent road mishaps in the mountainous district, he added.

Despite frequent accidents in the area, the government did not pay attention to the menace of reckless driving, bad roads and the minuscule presence of traffic police personnel, he said.

Subhash Chander, brother of Jagdish Raj, said he did not know much about the mishap, but the minibus rolled 250 feet down into the Chenab.

Besides my brother, 16 other teachers were also travelling in the minibus to reach the school in Palmar, he said. He added that the vehicle fell into the Chenab while the driver tried to give a pass to another vehicle coming from the opposite direction on this two-way dilapidated road.

All 16 lecturers were killed in the tragic mishap, he added. The early morning rain had made the road slippery.

Driver of the bus Alamgir, who was seriously injured, has a wife and a three-year-old daughter. However, the minibus conductor, Zakir, could not make it to the GMC. He succumbed to his injuries at the Kishtwar helipad while being airlifted to Jammu.

Jammu, May 4
Hundreds of people living along side the compound wall of the Civil Airport, Jammu, an area known as Rani Bagh, are being seen as a security threat to it. It is easy for anyone to target an aircraft from here in this militancy-prone town.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is fighting the case for the displacement of people from its surrounding land in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, had to approach the Supreme Court to expedite the matter. Seeing the sensitivity of matter, the Supreme Court had directed the state government to sort it out within eight weeks. The deadline ends tomorrow when the case comes up for hearing in the high court.

According to sources, no check was made by the state government when people started occupying the area around the airport, which was built at a solitary place in the very beginning. With the onset of militancy, the AAI too got concerned with the serious security threat posed by the population around the airport. Now, it wants residents to vacate 1.2 acres and 2.2 acres from two sides of the airport’s wall, for security concerns as well as future expansion.

As per the deal with the state government, the AAI on March 13, 2006, gave 80 per cent of the total amount that is Rs 4 crore, for the dislocation of people to the state government. But the matter got stuck when the residents opposed it.

Now, in today’s times, people are not only asking for market price for their property, but also land in the nearby areas of the airport. The cost can run into hundred of crores, a difficult proposition for the AAI, due to the cost factor and unavailability of land.

Raman Bhalla, Congress MLA, says “people are ready to be rehabilitated provided they are given 50 kanals of free hold land in the nearby area of the airport. They won’t go far, as in today’s time it is the prime location.”

He also added that some of the houses which were demolished a few years ago for the same reason were given compensation. The miffed AAI officials said if stalemate continued, the airport may have to be closed down. 

Srinagar, May 4
Civil Secretariat and other state government offices reopened here today for the summer months after these were closed down in Jammu, winter capital of the state, on April 24.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, on his first Durbar move to the summer capital after assuming charge, was given a guard of honour on his arrival at the Civil Secretariat. He was received by cabinet colleagues and senior officers of the civil and police administration.

The representatives of the non-gazetted employees union of the Civil Secretariat also received the CM on his arrival at the secretariat at 9.30 am amid rains which have brought down the temperature after several sunny days in the valley.

The CM had a round of various offices in the secretariat and interacted with the officers and staff. He also visited three newly-redone halls of the agriculture, PHE and home.

Over 6,000 employees of the state government move with the biannual shift between Jammu, the winter capital, and Srinagar, the summer capital of the state every six months.

Srinagar: The equations for the Ladakh parliamentary seat, which goes to the polls in the last phase on May 13, have turned unpredictable after it was initially seen as a cakewalk for the Congress, which is fighting the seat with NC backing.

The sway of religious bodies over political affairs in this vast but thinly-populated region has queered the pitch for the Congress to some extent and the rightwing Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) hopes to revive its fortunes after facing setbacks in the Assembly elections.

Congress sources said they were “forced” to opt for a candidate from Leh district as their initial choice of Ghulam Raza was not acceptable to Islamia School, a prominent religious body in Kargil enjoying traditional ties with the NC. Congress candidate P Namgial is an old hand who has won thrice from Ladakh, which comprises Buddhist-dominated Leh and Muslim-dominated Kargil districts. T.Wanchuk, a political worker from Leh, says Namgial has steadily lost his appeal over the years among the Buddhist voters and it will benefit Thinles Angmo, a woman lawyer supported by the LUTF. Out of five candidates in the fray in Ladakh, two are from Leh and three from Kargil, which is bound to divide Muslim votes. Islamia School has backed NC leader Ghulam Hassan Khan, who is fighting as an Independent. Surprisingly, Asgar Ali Karbalaie, another prominent Kargil leader with strong ties with the Congress, is also contesting as an Independent. Karbalaie, a former head of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Kargil), has played a key role in cracking the dominance of NC-Islamia School alliance in Kargil and is backed by the Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust, a rival religious body in Kargil. The PDP has fielded Ghulam Mortaza but the party has little support base in the region.

Political sources say the NC is a reluctant supporter of the Congress and the fielding of Ghulam Hassan Khan as an Independent has the backing of NC cadres.

Muslims are more than half of the total electors in Ladakh and Kargil voters believe that a candidate from their district should win this time after LUTF candidate Thupstan Chhewang won in 2004 due to the consolidation of Buddhist votes and division of electors in Kargil.

Srinagar, May 4
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said the PDP’s aim was to create confusion among people on crucial issues and trading people’s sentiments for personal gains.

On his first trail of election meetings in the Srinagar constituency, after the opening of the durbar here today, Omar Abdullah addressed various rallies in Kangan and Ganderbal Assembly segments today. He said the “real face of the PDP has been exposed by their actions and the party leadership is so frustrated and desperate that they tell naked lies to mislead public”.

He said the NC was committed to settling all issues amicably and had always worked for peace, development and honour of the people of the state.

“Soon, the new government takes over at the Centre, the NC would play its role in the resumption of dialogue between the Union government and the separatist leaders and India and Pakistan,” Omar said. He asked people not to get carried away by the false propaganda of the PDP “as this party had been created by the BJP for misleading and dividing people”.

The PDP leaders were “spreading rumours and false reports to malign the NC and the coalition government,” he added. “It had been their tradition and they would continue to stand on lies as this was their survival,” he said.

The Chief Minister said his government was alive to all difficulties of people, adding that the government’s every effort would be for the larger interests of the people of the state. He said the next six years of coalition government would be remembered in the history as the golden period of development.

Jammu, May 4
Farmers here are at the wits end due to the unavailability of chemical fertilisers: DAP and urea, as the sowing season for paddy and several vegetables is nearing. Worried farmers complain that “cumbersome and outdated methods” for procurement and distribution of chemical fertilisers is a cause for concern every year during the time of crop cultivation.

According to the present three-tier system, fertilisers are being distributed by the Jammu and Kashmir Co-operative Department through JAKFED and AGRO, J&K Agro Industries and Department of Agriculture itself. Indian Potash Limited (IPL) and Indian Fertilisers Farmers Co-operatives (IFFCO) are the producers of fertilisers, which supply as per the demand of the state.

“There remains a conspicuous gap in demand and supply of the fertilisers every year. The present system is a big failure as it lacks accountability. It should be abandoned right away,” said general secretary of the Rice Growers Association, Tejinder Singh.“Fertilisers should be sold in the open market under monitoring by the government throughout the year,” Tejinder said and demanded that VAT imposed on the sale of fertilisers, along with transportation charges, on their carriage should be immediately removed on the pattern of neighbouring state of Punjab as it was proving drain on the pockets of farmers.

Farmers rue that due to untimely supply of fertilisers every year, they have to shuttle from pillar to post. “Delayed supply of fertilisers doesn’t serve the intended purpose.

“The department concerned should make assessment of fertilisers required over the entire agricultural land in the region so that farmers get requisite supply,” said president of the Panch Sarpanch Association, Dev Raj.

Deputy registrar cooperatives Priyanka Bhat said: “The department has been making all-out efforts to ensure availability of the fertilisers well in time. But the delay is on part of producers of fertilisers: IPL and IFFCO. We have taken up the matter with the nodal agency which is pursuing the matter with the Government of India.”

Jammu: Heaps of garbage, polythene bags, rags and plastic remains accumulated on the main roads have become a constant cause of worry for the Jammuites. This has given a shabby look to the entire city and has become a big hurdle in the free flow of traffic at many places.

The seriousness of the corporation to keep the city clean can be gauged from the fact that the heaps of garbage are accumulated on the main road at various places like Jewel Chowk, Talab Tillo, Bohri and Shastri Nagar.

The garbage drawn out from the manhole at Jewel Chowk in front of Science College has become a constant cause of worry for students of the college.

The students of the college alleged that the garbage had been put on the road for the past three days, due to which it became difficult for them to enter the college gate.

Amit Sharma, a student of the college, said the heap of garbage is proving a health hazard for residents of the areas as well as for the students.

The foul smell coming out of it forces the passer-bys to hold their breath till they cross a reasonable distance on this road.

Expressing annoyance at the callous attitude of the authorities concerned, Neenu Bhatt, another student, said accumulated garbage had became a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies.

However, all efforts to contact municipal health officer KD Singh Sambyal proved futile.

Jammu, May 4
The Bakshi Nagar police today registered a case under Section 376, RPC, here against a coaching centre owner, who was arrested for allegedly raping a student in a house in the Shiv Nagar area last evening.

Official sources told The Tribune that Devender Singh, a native of Poonch, who at present was residing in Nanak Nagar, raped a student in a house in the Shiv Nagar area last evening.They said the accused was running a coaching centre in Gandhi Nagar and had called the student on the pretext of giving her an extra class. They added the accused took the student to a house in Shiv Nagar and raped her.

The sources said acting on a tip-off by some Shiv Nagar residents the Bakshi Nagar police had raided the house and arrested the accused. They added the victim in her statement had accused Devender Singh of raping her. The sources said the accused comes from a well-to-do family, while the victim resides in the Sainik Colony area.

They said the police was also looking into the possible involvement of the woman whose house the accused had used to commit the crime. The SP, City, said a case under Section 376, RPC, had been registered against the accused.

However, medical reports of the victim and the accused were still awaited, he added.

Jammu, May 4
The security forces today gunned down a top-ranking Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM) terrorist in a fierce gunbattle in a remote village of mountainous Doda district this afternoon.

Reports said acting on a tipoff about the presence of terrorists, the security forces launched an operation in the Gundu forest area of Gandoh.

After establishing contact with the hiding terrorists, the security forces asked them to surrender, but the former opened fire. In the ensuing gunbattle a top-ranking Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM) terrorist was shot dead. The slain terrorist was identified as Dawood Bhat of Bhat Market in Kilotran Gandoh.

However, two other terrorists managed to escape, taking advantage of the dense forest.

When reports last poured in, the security forces had cordoned off the area and a hunt was on to nab the fleeing terrorists.

Meanwhile, a terrorist hideout was busted in the Shawani forest of Surankote area in Poonch today. Arms and ammunition seized from the hideout included 200 AK rounds, two Chinese grenades, one UBGL, two IED batteries, two IED switches, five pencil cells, eight detonators with wire, 250 grams of explosive powder and two safety fuses.

RS Pura, May 4
Resentment is brewing among the villagers of Puro Bana near Fatehpur Brahmana against the local municipal committee for converting the village cremation ground into a garbage-dumping site.

The RS Pura municipal committee is dumping the solid waste produce of the town at the cremation ground. Even animal carcasses are disposed of there. Locals, especially the farmers, whose fields are adjacent to the crematorium, have demanded the shifting of garbage dumping to some other place.

“Cremation grounds are sacred places. We cannot stand disrespect to such places,” local farmers said, adding that during the rainy season, a foul smell emanates from the huge dumps of waste and it becomes impossible to pass by the site.

“Only the place where bodies are consigned to flames has been left, while rest of the land has been covered by huge dumps of garbage,” president of the Kissan Union Jasbir Singh said. He said, “The government should respect the religious sentiments of the people. It should intervene immediately to get garbage removed from the spot and get the ground fortified.”

Aggrieved farmers further alleged that municipal employees set garbage on fire last week, due to which their mature-standing crop in nearby fields went up in flames. “The devastating fire caused loss to the dry wheat crop on as many as 35 kanals,” a farmer said.

“Now, we are distressed as we have demonstrated several times in favour of demand for shifting the garbage dumping site. Soon we will evolve some strategy to deal with the situation, we cannot suffer any more,” they added.

Chairman of the municipal committee Bhushan Bhagat said: “Recently, we have procured nearly 10 kanal along river in Badyal Brahmna for digging out trenches to burry the garbage. But locals over there are opposed to the idea. They do not allow our vehicles to pass through the area. We have taken up the matter with the tehsildar.”