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Bandh hits life on poll eve
Baramulla, Ladakh go to polls today
Sopore typifies valley’s anti-poll sentiment |
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Hazratbal: 5 papers valid
Amarnath Yatra
Woman’s death in crossfire triggers protest
Shiv Sena Hindustan burns Salathia’s effigy
Good strategic ties with China stressed
9 hurt in accidents
CM visits IAF station
Rights panel rues meddling by babus
Two missing sisters recovered from Gangtok
Closure of illegal study centres sought
Summer sectt to remain functional
Army vehicle mows down girl
Power Dept spends Rs 66.23 lakh
Gunny bags gutted
Rs 2-crore goods exchanged
Passengers rescued
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Bandh hits life on poll eve
Srinagar, May 12 Anti-election demonstrators torched a police vehicle in Baramulla town today, injuring the driver and three constables on board, the police said. The vehicle was carrying lunch for IRP 13th Bn personnel when it was attacked near cement bridge in old Baramulla town while coming from Binner village towards
ITI, Baramulla. Militants lobbed a grenade towards a security forces camp at
Seelu, Sopore, in Baramulla district, the police here said. The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on the road, causing no damage. The security forces apprehended Hizbul Mujahideen militant Aijaz Ahmad Mir, alias
Junaid, at Dawlatpora in Baramulla district. One AK-47 rifle, two AK magazines, 50 AK rounds, one 7062 mm Chinese Pistol, two pistol magazines, 16 pistol rounds, four Chinese grenades and
Rs. 14000 in Indian currency were seized from him The police and CRPF personnel maintained a strict vigil in the fragile downtown localities here as the area has been witnessing anti-election demonstrations. The police personnel were deployed in the area since early morning today to prevent any untoward incident during the bandh call. The area has witnessed trouble during the past two phases of elections also. A curfew-like situation prevailed in the old city even as the authorities denied having imposed any curfew restrictions. Residents alleged that police and CRPF personnel restricted the movement of people in the area who were not allowed to move out of their houses. All shops and business establishments were closed here and in major towns of the valley in response to the bandh call. Educational institutions and banks also remained closed while skeletal traffic plied on the roads. However, officials claimed that shops and business establishments remained open in many districts of the valley.
APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has urged the people to remain aloof from tomorrow’s elections |
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Baramulla, Ladakh go to polls today
Srinagar, May 12 Likewise, in the Ladakh constituency, 1,52,495 electors, including 74,548 female voters, spread over four Assembly segments, will decide the fate of five contestants. As many as 476 polling stations have been established. In the Baramulla constituency, Bandipora will vote in the Lok Sabha elections for the first time as an independent district. The Baramulla constituency is distinctive in the contest between the candidates of the Congress-NC coalition and the PDP, apart from the separatist People’s Conference chairman Sajjad Ghani Lone. Lone, banking on his late father Abdul Ghani Lone’s “goodwill” in their home constituency, has posed a challenge to the mainstream parties. The young Lone has been impressing upon his decision being a “change in strategy and not the ideology”, and seeking votes to “fight for the rights of Kashmiris and the resolution of the Kashmir issue”. The main contest is between NC candidate Sharief-ud-Din Shariq and PDP’s Mohammad Dilawar Mir, both of them are contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time. AR Shaheen (NC) was elected from Baramulla twice in 1999 and 2004. Shariq was elected to the Rajya Sabha twice in 1980 and 1996. He was first elected to the state Assembly in 1987 (Karnah) and then in 2002 (Langate), both in Kupwara district. Dilawar Mir (PDP), a former minister, was elected to the Assembly from his home constituency of Rafiabad in Baramulla district four times in 1977 (NC), 1983 (NC), 1996 (JD) and 2002 (NC). He had joined the PDP in 2004. As a PDP candidate, he lost to the NC candidate in the last Assembly elections. 56 sorties airlift poll staff to remote areas
All arrangements have been put in place for the final phase of voting in two LS constituencies of Baramulla and Ladakh tomorrow. Stating this here today, chief electoral officer (CEO) BR Sharma said nearly 56 sorties were made to airlift poll parties and material to these polling stations in far-flung and remote areas. “Foolproof security arrangements have been made for hassle-free conduct of polling across 19 Assembly segments of the two constituencies and all polling stations have been assessed in terms of vulnerability, criticality and threat perception,” the CEO said. An official spokesman said 1,944 polling stations with an equal number of EVMs had been set up to facilitate voters. He said as per the directions of the Election Commission, additional EVMs had been sent to remote polling stations along with poll parties, in case EVMs malfunction. |
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Sopore typifies valley’s anti-poll sentiment Sopore (Baramulla), May 12 “Please take me on camera,” insists Mushtaq Dar, a shopkeeper, as he gets into boycott hysteria, raising slogans the separatists have coined over the years to counter election campaigns in the valley. Dar manages a huge gathering behind him of people who have spent years hero-worshipping the native Islamist hardliner and now Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani. “Geelani is native to Doru, but he rarely comes here now. We haven’t seen him in a long time. He stays in Srinagar,” says Ghulam Mohammad, another local, who has not voted in 20 years. Yet, he complains of poor roads, negligible health facilities and bad hygiene. Ask him what right he has to complain when he has never elected his representative to the assembly or the Lok Sabha, and he scrambles for answers. Most of the separatist followers of Sopore and the entire Baramulla segment tend to get reflective when you pose them some real questions like, “What has a history of boycotts give you except rutted roads, bad schools, non-functional primary health centre and poor literacy?” Only half of Sopore’s population is literate; 12 per cent being under six years, all headed for a bleak future. Over 70 per cent of the educated youth here are unemployed. Nothing seems right with this place, so famous for two things “quality apples and boycotts”. Even in the 2008 assembly elections when the valley voted phenomenally, Sopore was sleeping, and recorded just 19.96 per cent turnout against an overall poll percentage of 63. “Even these figures were fudged,” claims Wahid, a Kashmir University student, who has a vote in Sopore. Unfazed by the futility of boycotts and acute lack of amenities in his area, he shifts to blame to the government. “We have been discriminated against because we come from Geelani’s area, and we have always rejected polls.” Ask him what he has gained out of his loyalty to separatists, and he retorts, “Peace of mind. Boycotts have given us nothing but we are with boycotts nevertheless. It’s our way of expressing our pro-freedom sentiment.” Across Sopore, which recorded the least turnout in Kashmir at 15.26 per cent in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the sentiment of boycott is strong, with people saying that they look forward to Geeelani’s boycott calls. “We don’t remember the date of polling,” prides Khalid Sheikh, a businessman, recalling the recent unprovoked killing of two village youths in Bomai village of Sopore, and how it frustrated locals. “It was not their time to die,” he says, before going off to lead an anti-election procession in an invariably traffic jammed city centre. He says it is his way of paying tributes to the dead. As for jams, they are common in Sopore, which has no roads worth the name. Tongas still ply, as people rest their vehicles at homes. Villages are even worse in terms of amenities, but people don’t seem to mind. They have resigned to a routine of strikes, even if they lead them nowhere. Anger for the establishment gets more pronounced as you enter Bomai, the village where two youths, Amin Tantray and Javed Dar, were recently killed in a cross firing by some army personnel. The incident led to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah ordering a probe which indicted two officers of the Army unit. The unit had to be shifted out of the village following a 33-day agitation by locals, but the people’s anger has far from subsided as they await the punishment for culprits. In the mean time, they have, like many others in Baramulla, declared their village a “no-entry zone for politicians.” No leader has so far dared to enter this part of Sopore, which is preparing for another boycott tomorrow, little knowing why.
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Amarnath Yatra
Jammu, May 12 The samiti had led an over two-month-long Amarnath land agitation last year, that was vociferously opposed by Srinagar leaders and people. Talking to The Tribune here this evening, Narinder Singh, spokesman for the samiti, allayed fears that the land agitation might be revived. The agitation had led to the death of many persons, besides hit the state economy hard. He said not only the samiti had called for an uninterrupted flow of devotees for the yatra, likely to begin from June 7, but also other parties like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal and other religious organisations wanted the smooth conduct of the yatra. However, Narinder Singh said this did not mean all contentious issues between the government and the samiti had been resolved. “A number of our demands mentioned in the agreement were yet to be fulfilled. We are chalking out a plan to adopt a peaceful mode of seeking their fulfilment.” “Moreover, the samiti wants the government to stop levying tax at Lakhanpur on commodities brought in by people/organisations from other states for providing langar to the Amarnath pilgrims,” he said. With the yatra all set to begin from June 7, there was a lot of anxiety in the region on what action plan the samiti would adopt this year.
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Woman’s death in crossfire triggers protest
Udhampur, May 12 Though the police claimed that the slain woman was an overground worker and was hiding with the militants in the hideout, her killing evoked protest in the area as residents claimed that the woman was innocent and killed in the crossfire. Official sources told The Tribune that the security forces launched a search operation in the Pantnazi area of Kishtwar last night. The security forces today cordoned off the hideout where three militants had taken shelter. They said two militants identified as Shahdin Khandey and Ishaq Bhat were injured during the encounter, but managed to give a slip to the police by taking the woman as a hostage. The hostage woman, identified as Amina Bano of Shuroo, Bunjawa, got injured in the firing and later succumbed to her injuries. Hemant Kumar Lohia, DIG, Doda-Ramban range, said: “We have cordoned off the area to track down the militants who were hiding in the hideout.” He said the police was investigating how the woman reached the hideout. Unconfirmed reports said five militants, including three foreigners, were hiding in the hideout and all of them managed to escape. Meanwhile, senior police and civil officers rushed to the spot and assured to conduct an inquiry into the incident.
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Shiv Sena Hindustan burns Salathia’s effigy
Jammu, May 12 The protest rally led by president of the party Dimpy Kolhi demanded that the minister should step down owning moral responsibility. He asked the minister as to where he was when peaceful protesters were being killed by the police in Samba during the Amarnath Land agitation. He blamed the minister for appeasing his “masters who had made him the minister”. He said that his party appreciated the role of the administration and the police as they were doing their jobs as per the law of the land. He said that some anti-social elements with the help of ruling party leaders had grabbed government land in the disguise of Gujjars. “Instead of appreciating the work of injured police officers and jawans the minister has started abusing them,” Kohli said He appealed to the people to boycott such leaders who were bent upon appeasing their leaders favouring Kashmir-centric politics. The party demanded strict action against the people for grabbing land in the guise of Gujjars and then selling it in the open market.
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Good strategic ties with China stressed
Jammu, May 12 He said there was peace between both nations on the border. “There is total peace and tranquillity on border and if any dispute arises, it is immediately resolved at lower and higher levels,” Lt-Gen Bharadwaj said. He said, “We have been holding joint military exercises and officers from both countries have been visiting each other and this mutual interaction is good for both nations. China is a great neighbour, but we need to keep an eye on its growth in all aspects.” He said the China aggression of 1962 was the result of its internal strife of four years. It was the need of the hour to improve infrastructure along the actual line of control (ALC) that India shares with China and maintain the level of forces for a strategic balance between the two nations. Lt-Gen Bhardwaj, however, said China was more sensitive to Taiwan and Tibet and India needed to see China as a neighbour and should compete with it. Earlier speaking on the occasion, Dr Manoj Joshi, a strategic affairs expert and former member of the National Security Council, said China was a fast growing country and its economy could overtake the US economy in th coming years. “China’s economy is growing at a pace of 10 per cent per year and in 2040 it would overtake the US economy,” Joshi said. He said post operation Prakaram when India deployed its forces along the border and when Pakistan requested China for help the latter refused its all three demands in the right fashion. Vice-chancellor of Jammu University Varun Sahani also spoke on the occasion.
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9 hurt in accidents
Rajouri, May 12 In another accident, three persons were injured when a Tatamobile vehicle crashed into the fields near the Saaj area today after the driver lost control over the vehicle. Tariq Muhammad of Behrote had been referred to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu. |
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CM visits IAF station
Srinagar, May 12 The Chief Minister appreciated the IAF role in providing assistance to civilians in times of crisis. Omar Abdullah also witnessed an airshow showcasing MIG-21, Mirage 2000 and Sukhoi 30 fighter-planes. A memento was presented to the CM by the station commander on the occasion. |
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Rights panel rues meddling by babus
Jammu, May 12 A copy of the annual report of the SHRC with The Tribune mentions this grievance. “The commission is disappointed to place its anguish for the attempt of brushing aside the recommendations of the commission by some officers of the civil secretariat and starting fresh inquiries at their end after they received the recommendations. The commission has received letters from these officers, wherein the office is informed that they have chosen to contradict the findings of the commission,” the report states. The report will be released shortly. It further warns: “The exercise is supervisory and uncalled for. This tendency has the effect of diluting the position of the commission, which if not restricted will terribly tell upon the governance of the state.” But, ironically, since 1997, it has been operating from an “inadequate, insufficient and unclean” rented accommodation. |
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Two missing sisters recovered from Gangtok
Jammu, May 12 A police team headed by Sub Inspector Som Nath had been sent to Gangtok from where both girls were recovered from a Christian missionary, they said. Confirming this to The Tribune, a senior police officer said the girls along with the police team left Gangtok for Jammu on May 10 and were expected to reach here this evening. The sources said Ranjana Sharma and Rekha Sharma of Jullaka Mohalla were allegedly lured into espousing Christianity by religious preacher AM Samuels of Kerala. Ever since embracing Christianity two months back, both of them have gone missing from their house in Jullaka Mohalla here. It may be stated here that the religious preacher had been arrested and another case had been registered against him on the grounds that in the guise of preaching Christianity he had been creating division and hatred among different communities. A case of forcible conversion had also been registered against Samuels, the sources said. They added that the religious preacher had been influencing people to embrace Christianity.
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Closure of illegal study centres sought
Jammu, May 12 While addressing the protesters, president of the forum Vikas Sharma said the Act passed in 2005 declared that the study centres of various universities, except IGNOU, running across the city were illegal and should be closed immediately. He said: “No action has been taken against these study centres, which are openly playing with the future of students.” Sharma demanded suspension of Commissioner, Higher Education, and Mayor Kavinder Bushan Gupta, who are “not taking any action” against these centres. The students of the NSF alleged the state police’s involvement with the owners of these study centres. He said in order to close these centres immediately, they would meet MLAs of the areas where these centres were functioning.
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Summer sectt to remain functional
Jammu, May 12 Earlier the residents had to face hardships following the closure of the civil secretariat here as they had to go to Srinagar to get their work done. As part of the rotation duty Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand will hear the problems being faced by the people in Jammu. “There is a process known as summer secretariat in which the ministers have to be present in the Jammu secretariat on a rotational basis.” said a senior official of the Chief Ministers Office. Earlier the ministers used to sit in their respective offices here for two days but this time they have been told to stay for a longer period As per an official document, the Chief Minister has fixed the duty of his Cabinet colleagues on a rotational basis ranging from five days to a week . Deputy Chief Minister Tara chand would remain present from May 11 to May 15, Minister for Industries, Labour and Employment Surjeet Singh Slathia would be here from May 18 to 22 while Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for Health, Horticulture and Floriculture, would be available from May 25 to 29. Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed, Minister for School Education and Public Enterprises, would stay here from June 1 to 5; Minister for Rural Development and Panchyats Ali Mohammad Sagar from June 8 to 12; Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology Mian Altaf Ahmed from June 15 to 19; Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister of Tourism and Culture from June 22 to 26; and Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Minister for PHE and Irrigation and Flood Control from June 29 to July 3. These ministers would also regularly visit the Jammu region to solve the grievances of people.
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Srinagar, May 12 Soon after the news of the accident spread, a large of people assembled on the accident site and damaged the Army vehicle, it said. As the protest intensified, the police fired teargas shells and used batons to disperse the protesters. However, no one was injured in the lathi charge, claimed the police. Meanwhile, the Army in a statement regretted the death of the girl and assured stern action against the erring driver. A high level inquiry had already been ordered and the driver had been arrested, a defence spokesman said. He added that stern action would be taken against the driver. — PTI
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Power Dept spends Rs 66.23 lakh
Rajouri, May 12 This was disclosed at a review meeting convened by the District Development Commissioner (DDC), Rajouri, to take a stock of development works in the block. In a statement issued by the district administration, the DDC was informed that five 63 KVA transformers had been installed at various substations in the block. The meeting was also informed that one 100-250 KVA transformer was also procured at Rs 65.25 lakh. In addition, 2.40 km high-transmission line and 3.20 km low-transmission line have been carried out in these substations during the period. Likewise, Rs 98,000 have also been utilised on the 55 km-low transmission line covering scheduled caste basties, which include Channi village, Mohalla Channi and Thandapani of the Sunderbani block.
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Gunny bags gutted
Jammu, May 12 Giving details, Fire and Emergency Services director RS Sodhi said we received the first call around 2.42 pm and 10 fire engines along with 50 fire-fighters were pressed into service immediately. The fire was brought under control and now cooling measures had been initiated to ensure it did not reignite, Sodhi added. He said there the flour mill had no fire safety measures, thus aggravating the problem. However, the cause of fire was not yet known, he said. |
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Rs 2-crore goods exchanged
Rajouri, May 12 Sources in the district administration, who facilitated the exchange of goods at the cross-LoC point of Chakkan Da Bagh along the Poonch-Rawlakote road, told The Tribune that on the first day traders from India and the PoK exchanged goods worth Rs 2 crore, the second time in the recent times. They added that four traders from India sent goods worth more than Rs 50 lakh in 18 trucks to the PoK. Onion, pineapple, lemon and vegetables were the main items exported. At the same time, more than five PoK traders traded goods worth more than Rs 1 crore, mainly comprising moong dal, shawls and medicinal plants.
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Passengers rescued
Srinagar, May 12 Two passengers, Maksud Ahmad, a serving policeman, and Rashida Farid were killed. The other passengers were injured, some of them seriously. An Army team comprising 20 jawans evacuated the injured to hospital and with the help of the civil authorities pulled the wreckage of the vehicle out of the Katha Kazi Nar. In a painstaking effort, despite a continued spell of bad weather, the Army retrieved the Tata Sumo from the river.
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normal life across the Kashmir valley today in response to the separatists’ bandh call ahead of the polling in Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency tomorrow. 
Jammu, May 12
