Srinagar, May 22
In the fresh incidents of violence, a youth was killed while at least 30 others, including nine CRPF men, were injured in clashes between the protesters and the security forces after Friday prayers in downtown here this afternoon.

Eyewitnesses said the trouble started when some youths pelted the CRPF installations with stones near Islamia College after the Friday prayers and the release of separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah.

The police and CRPF personnel chased away the protesters resulting in clashes in the adjoining areas near Jamia Masjid, including Nowhatta, Bohri Kadal and Rajouri Kadal. Several youths were injured in the clashes when the police cane charged the protesters and lobbed teargas shells. Several injured were shifted to the SMHS hospital.

One of the seriously injured youth, Mudassir Ali Khan of Rajouri Kadal, who had suffered head injuries due to a teargas shell, was referred to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, where he later succumbed to the injuries.

Till the last reports came in tension continued to grip the downtown area, which has been witnessing protests and clashes over the past couple of months. These clashes had been frequently witnessed in the area during the agitation over Amarnath land last year.

There had been a respite for a couple of months after the last Assembly elections, but it resumed again early this year during which one youth from Rainawari here was also killed during protests against the killings of two youths in Bomai village near Sopore in February last. The protests in the Jamia Masjid area are being taken out after the Friday prayers in support of the demand for the release of those detained during the last year’s agitation.

Jammu, May 22
Three persons, including a man and his son, died and three others fell unconscious when they inhaled some poisonous gas while cleaning a common well at Kanah village in Hiranagar tehsil, 60 km from here, today.

Official sources told The Tribune that six villagers, including a man and his three sons, today took a small generator for lighting 120 feet down into a well so as to clean it.

They said the generator stopped functioning after some time. One of the villagers went into the well to rectify the snag, but he fell unconscious because of the fumes emitted by the generator.

Realising that the villager had fallen unconscious, five others also went into the well to bring him out, they said. But they also came in inhaled the poisonous fumes and fainted, they added.

However, before they could be pulled out and shifted to Hiranagar hospital, three of them, including a man and one of his three sons, had died, said a police officer of Hiranagar police station.

After getting information, a team of the Fire and Emergency Services Department and a police party rushed to the spot and started rescue operations, he said.

The police officer added that the six villagers were taken to the Hiranagar hospital, where doctors declared three of them brought dead and referred the three others to Government Medical College here.

The dead are constable Tavinder Kumar, 32, posted with the Government Railways Police, Ghagwal, Balkrishan, 55, and his 27-year-old son Ram Kumar, both residents of Kanah.

Those who have been admitted to the GMC, Jammu, included Balkrishan’s two sons Pawan Kumar, 32, and Madan Lal, 20, besides another villager Rinku, 20.

Srinagar, May 22
More than 25 persons were injured in clashes between supporters of the NC and the PDP in Budgam district, prompting the police to cane charge and fire teargas shells this morning.

The trouble started when the PDP supporters, who were preparing for the visit of senior PDP leaders, were allegedly attacked by some NC supporters in the town. The ding dong battles between the supporters of the two parties created disturbance in the town and the traffic was diverted on alternate routes.

Two structures, including a passenger shed and a taxi stand, were damaged in the clashes between the two sides, eyewitnesses said.

The police said about 10 persons were injured in the clashes and the situation was brought under control immediately. The visit of senior PDP leaders, including its patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, who won the Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha seat, was delayed.

However, sources later said Mufti Sayeed did not visit the area, while others, including Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Abid Ansari, Javed Mustafa Mir (MLA) and Agha Mehmood later addressed the meeting. 

Udhampur, May 22
To improve results in government schools, the Education Department has decided to withhold the increments of teachers of all those schools where pass percentage in the higher secondary exams were not satisfactory.

The overall result in Udhampur district was 31 per cent, but some government schools registered only 7 per cent results in the class XII exams.

“We are preparing a detail report of the results of all schools so as to take action against teachers,” chief education officer, Udhampur, Vidhya Rattan Sharma told The Tribune. Heads of all schools where the pass percentage was below 20 per cent would be asked to explain in writing.

“Action against the teachers and the heads of the schools would be taken after getting their explanations,” Sharma said. He added “increments of the erring teachers would be withheld.”

This is the first time no higher secondary school in Udhampur district has registered zero per cent result, but out of the total 27 higher secondary schools the results of six schools were between 7 and 20 per cent. “The class XII results in Udhampur district are satisfactory,” Sharma said. But he hastened to add that there was a need to take action against those institutes where the results were not on the expected lines.

Last year, government schools registered 29 per cent pass results in the class XII exams and this year it was more than 31 per cent. “First time, the names of two students from government schools figures on the merit list,” he said. He added that it was a matter of proud that for the first time the students of government schools had outshined students of private schools.

In Udhampur district, the condition of the Education Department is in a shambles due to the non-availability of adequate infrastructure. On the one hand there was a shortage of teaching staff, on the other many schools had been functioning without proper buildings.

Sharma candidly admitted that the functioning of government schools had been affected due to the shortage of teachers. The gravity of the situation could be gauged from the fact that seven posts of principal were lying vacant.

Similarly, there was a shortage of 125 lecturers in Udhampur district, followed by a shortage of 127 master grade teachers. Fourteen posts of principal and 332 posts of teacher had been lying vacant in government-run educational institutions. 

Jammu, May 22
Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Barin Gosh and Justice MH Attar today in much publicised case of closure of 85 banquet halls, allowed the banquet halls to function till December 31. The Bench further observed that the directions dated May 7, ordering closure of banquet halls, should get automatically revived on January 1, 2010.

While giving temporary respite till December 31, the Bench imposed certain restrictions on the running of the banquet halls, while directing the banquet hall owners to apply to the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) for issuance of licenses for running of eating houses within 15 days to be granted by the commissioner.

The Division Bench directed to finalise the rules and regulations with regard to running of the banquet halls. The police authorities have been further directed to confiscate the vehicles parked on the roads outside the banquet halls.

The Bench order yet to be signed further directed the J&K Pollution Control Board to ensure that music system did not exceed the maximum limit of 120 decibels up to 10 pm and, thereafter, the volume to be brought down to 80 decibels, and in case of in any breach, the Pollution Control Board was well within its powers to proceed legally in the matter.

Puran Chand had submitted in a writ petition that some banquet halls were being run without proper permission from the municipal authorities and banquet halls operating in the residential areas create noise pollution. The JMC in its status report had declared that except four community halls owned by the JMC and the Jammu Development Authority, all 85 banquet halls were operating illegally .

Srinagar, May 22
Former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has said the NC has not cheated the Congress as Independent candidate Hassan Khan won the Ladakh parliamentary seat. He also pledged support to the UPA and stated that the Congress had made a mistake by not taking the strong Shia clergy of Kargil on board.

In an interview with a TV channel, Farooq Abdullah, who recently won the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, said Congress leaders failed to negotiate and forgot that the Islamia School in Kargil was a big force to reckon with.

He said Hassan Khan was supported by the Islamia School and Buddhists in Leh. Abdullah also stated that it was a mistake to ignore Islamia School and the Shia clergy and that he or his party had not betrayed anybody.

Brushing aside as speculations that his party was vying for the Tourism Ministry in the Union Cabinet, Farooq said NC’s support to the Congress-led UPA was unconditional. “Reports of the NC looking for Cabinet berth are absolutely wrong.

We have neither raised this question nor has there been any word from me, my party or the Chief Minister regarding any Cabinet berth. All sorts of channels are at work. This is a creation of people having vested interest and none of these have passed our mind,” he said, adding that the NC was an ally of the UPA.

Referring to his meeting with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Farooq said he had congratulated Sonia and Rahul on UPA’s victory in the general elections.

On being asked about his party’s unconditional support to the UPA, Farooq said: “We stayed with the UPA and will remain part of the UPA, which we expect will make India a major goodwill ambassador to the world.”

Replying to another question, former Chief Minister said he expected the new government at the Centre to work for better relations with neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan and would look into future of younger generation which came out in large numbers to support the alliance.

Jammu, May 22
After facing acute losses due to poor working atmosphere due to strikes and curfews etc, state industry unit holders have asked state Finance Minister AR Rater to take certain measures to revive the sick sector.

The Federation of Industries has submitted a memorandum to Finance Minister AR Rather, asking him to take some corrective measures to revive the sick industry of the state.

The memorandum stated that the total working days in the state had been reduced to 150 days per year against the 300 working days else where. So the cost of production in the industrial sector has also increased (25 per cent more than other states).

“The state got an investment of Rs 3500 crore under the new industrial policy issued by the Central Government, but it was the worst policy as it ignored sons of the soil, owners and promoters of the old units,” the memorandum said.

The unit holders said corrective measures should be taken to create a confidence in the old entrepreneurs and creation of new entrepreneurship.

“It was declared by the state government to have a single window system for industrial sector for land allotment, power sanction and consent to establish a unit from the PCB, besides registration by the DIC. However, it was a window with number of gates as most of the entrepreneurs had to get their land, power, pollution and finance individually from the department concerned.” they said.

They said: “We suggest that before holding single window meetings the head of the department concerned must know availability of power, land and pollution norms, so that cases are cleared on very first meeting.”

Udhampur, May 22
To ensure a comfortable stay for stranded Amarnath pilgrims at Udhampur city and on the outskirts on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, district development commissioner (DDC), Udhampur, Ajay Khajuria yesterday convened a meeting of district officers of various departments, including owners of private banquet halls.

Various arrangements related to the stay of pilgrims in the town and from Tikri to Patnitop like drinking water, power supply, medicare, construction of temporary toilets, transport, security and accommodation came up for discussion.

The meeting declared that in the event of bad weather or blockade of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway during the yatra days, arrangements at Udhampur would be jointly made by the district administration, NGOs and banquet hall owners of the town. 

Udhampur, May 22
Government High School (GHS), Udhampur, declared winner in boys U-14 kabaddi event in the final of the inter-school tournament of Udhampur zone, defeating Government Middle School, Udhampur, by 12 points at Subash Stadium today.

During the tournament events like volleyball, kabaddi, kho kho and wrestling were organised. As many as 650 students from 33 government and private schools participated in the tournament.

SSP Udhampur, Surinder Gupta, who was the chief, gave away prizes.

Zonal education officer Bhushan Sethi, district youth services and sports officer, Udhampur, were also present on the occasion.