Poonch, May 23
Major fires are raging in forests across Rajouri district even as the office of Forest Protection Force (FPF), entrusted with fighting such fires, came under the grip of fire on Thursday night.

Local sources told The Tribune that major fires continue to destroy forest cover in about 8 km area near Bathuni in Rajouri district and the FPF office located in the same area reportedly came within the range of forest fire. They added elsewhere in Kalakote, Nowshera and Sunderbani forests fire destroyed hundreds of trees.

In Sunderbani forest, fires occurred in Kalidhar, Bindi and Larya forests, whereas in Kalakote tehsil fire played havoc with forests in Nathiani, Kanglar, Moghla and Treru areas. In the Nowshera area, forest fires raged in Manpur, Bhawani, Ser Makri and Ghai areas.

A retired forest officer, Abdul Aziz Dyderh, told The Tribune that

local farmers set debris of the trees on fire to expose green grass for feeding their cattle.

“To make grass available to cattle, farmers mostly set the ground area of forests on fire without realising that the fire will eventually become uncontrollable,” Dyderh said.

Deputy Director, FPF, Rajouri, Ashok Kumar Rehan said they had succeeded in dousing forest fire in the Bathuni area, besides fire in rest of the areas in Rajouri district had been brought under control.

Jammu, May 23
The All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association has demanded electricity tariff on hotels and lodges to be reduced and brought on a par with what being charged from industrial units in the state.

“Since we are also associated with tourism, a sector which had been declared as an industry by state and Central governments, we too should be given benefits similar to manufacturing industries,” association president Inderjeet Khajuria told The Tribune.

AT present, hotels and lodges in Jammu were being charged the commercial rate of approx Rs 5 per unit, while industries were charged the rate of Rs 2 per unit, he said.

It may be stated here that approximately 300 hotels and lodges have been registered with the association. Under SRO 72, Jammu, Katra, Patnitop, Pahalgam and Gulmarg were excluded from the purview of benefits, he claimed.

Though tourism had been accorded the status of industry, incentives available to the manufacturing units had not been extended to the tourism-related trades, including hotels, lodges and other trades that catered to tourists, he said.

Welcoming the extension of tax holiday in respect of service tax chargeable from hotels and lodges, Khajuria, however, urged Finance Minister AR Rather to exempt from VAT food items and eatables being served by restaurants attached with hotels and lodges. At present, 12.5 per cent VAT is being charged on food items and eatables being served in restaurants operating within hotels and lodges. “We want that it should be reduced to 4 percent,” he said.

Similarly, Khajuria demanded soft loans of Rs 1 lakh per room for undertaking renovation in various hotels and lodges in Jammu.

Jammu, May 23
Though the government has not made public the report on the Belicharana incident submitted by the Divisional Commissioner, various Gujjar and Bakerwal organisations today demanded an independent CBI inquiry or a probe by a high court judge into the incident.

While addressing mediapersons, Anwar Choudhary, president of the Gujjars United Front, Haji Shamsher Ali Boken, state president of the Gujjar Bakerwal Joint Forum, and Ghulam Rasool, chief organiser of the Jammu Kashmir Gujjar Bakerwal Conference, alleged that the Divisional Commissioner in its report shielded the police and the local administration, including the officials of the Forest Department who were responsible for allegedly torching more than 31 huts of Gujjars. Leaders representing uprooted families, including Asghar Chowdhary, Fazal Din, Mohammed Yousuf and Abdul Rashid, were also present.

The leaders further alleged that the police was still harassing the Gujjars of the area. They also accused senior officers of uprooting the tribal community from the periphery of Jammu, Kathua and Udhampur districts.

“The inquiry report is totally unrealistic and politically motivated. It was prepared to shield officials responsible for the inhumane action against the Gujjars,” said Anwar. The report was totally silent on police atrocities on the Gujjars, he added. Anwar said, “If Omar Abdullah is serious about the matter he must put guilty officers under suspension and then conduct an inquiry into it.” 

Udhampur, May 23
Residents of Bhaderwah, Bhalesa and other parts of Doda district are celebrating the induction of Ghulam Nabi Azad into the Union Cabinet. A large number of people, irrespective of their party affiliation, participated in a procession taken out in Bhalesa today that passed through different areas of this mountainous belt.

Congress workers from Kishtwar, Bhaderwah and Doda also celebrated the induction of Azad into the Ministry. At Doda bus stand also, a large number of workers took out a procession and busted crackers and shouted pro-Congress slogans.

A native of Soti village of Bhalesa Bhaderwah, Ghulam Nabi Azad was born on March 7, 1949, in this remotest village of Doda district. He started his political career from Doda district when he was appointed as block secretary of the Congress Committee of Bhalesa in 1973. 

He was appointed as the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pardesh Youth Congress in 1975. He was nominated as president of the Congress Committee of Doda district in 1977 and, later, elected as the general secretary of the All-India Youth Congress. In 1980, he became the national president of the Youth Congress.

He had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election from the Inderwal constituency of Doda district in 1977. He had secured only 959 votes and lost his security deposit too. 

After his defeat in his own home district, Azad left the state politics to try his hand in central politics. He made his way up in the Congress hierarchy and held several important portfolios at the Centre, before coming to the state as Chief Minister in November, 2005.

Jammu, May 23
Almost all aspirants of the Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) were in a jubilant mood while stepping out of examination centres. The KAS exam began today in the state and tomorrow the candidates would take the mains.

The timing for the main paper had been deferred due to the clash of one paper with another. Now the optional/main paper would be held from 2 pm to 4 pm, which was earlier scheduled for 11 am to 1 pm.

Around 31,500 candidates appeared in the preliminary KAS exam across 78 centres and 261 sub-centres in two capital cities of the state today. Among the candidates,48 per cent were female candidates.

While 44 examination centres and 132 sub-centres are located in Jammu, 32 centres and 129 sub-centres are situated in Kashmir.

Though the level of stress on students was high when they entered the exam centres, they looked relived and happy while coming out of the centres

“The paper was easy and simple. I had worked hard for the paper throughout the year and I hope tomorrow I will do better in the mains,” said Gulzar Hussain, who is doing M.Phil in history and had appeared in the examination for the second time.

Sahil Koul, another candidate who appeared for the first time, said, “The paper was easy and was completely based on general knowledge.”

Expressing similar views, Meenakshi Bhat said, “Though the paper was quit easy, a majority of questions were from political science that was quite upsetting for me.”

According to chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC), Mohammad Shafi Pandit, “Out of the total 39,362 candidates, 20 per cent remained absent in the whole state.”

He said in each examination centre a senior Jammu and Kashmir official was deployed as an observer and all arrangements were made for the smooth conduct of the examination at all centres. Pandit said the highest number of candidates would appear in the next paper this year as compared to previous years.

Meanwhile, Pandit informed that for the preliminary exam earlier the candidates had to show no verification certificate like that of category, but this year they had to show it in the second level only. He said action would be taken against any candidate who was found faking verification. 

Jammu, May 23
Reiterating its demand of a white paper on government land, particularly forest land under the occupation of land grabbers, the state BJP has asked the state government to make public the Divisional Commissioner’s report on the Belicharana incident.

Addressing mediapersons here today, state BJP president Ashok Khajuria said the report submitted by Dr Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, to the government on Karnaila Chak forestland dispute in Belicharana should be published immediately.

It may be recalled here that on May 9 more than 50 huts on the land of the Social Forestry Department were gutted in fire when the police tried to evict illegal occupants. At least six persons, including SP, South, Mubasir Latifi, were injured in a bloody clash with the Gujjars.

The report had named certain land grabbers, he said demanding registration of cases against the culprits and action as per law.

He again the government to evict the illegal occupants from the government land and a white paper on all land encroached upon.

Khajuria said the land grabbers also include certain influential political leaders and their families had been creating obstacles in evicting the encroachers.

“Land grabbers are not only grabbing the land but they do so with the active involvement of political leaders, including a former Chief Minister,” he said.

Khajuria also expressed concern over the non-payment of adequate relief to the families of the victims of a road accident at Bhanderkote in Kishtwar, in which 31 persons were killed. He demanded ex gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each victim.

Udhampur, May 23
With the intervention of some prominent persons, the controversy over the alleged trimming of hair of some students belonging to weaker sections by some “upper caste” teachers at Bhaderwah was resolved.

Despite the efforts of some political groups to take political mileage out of the incident, students and other teachers together defended the teachers accused of having trimmed the hair of students. Some prominent citizens intervened and solved the matter.

Four days ago, teachers of a government school at Bhaderwah allegedly trimmed the long hair of four students belonging to weaker sections.

The parents of these students made an issue out of it and brought the matter to the notice of the tehsildar, Bhaderwah. Some political groups also joined the issue and charged the teachers of discriminating against the students from weaker sections.

However, the teachers clarified that they chose those students who had long hair and had no ill intention. Before the situation could take an ugly turn, some prominent citizens of the town intervened and resolved the issue.

Poonch, May 23
A local court today remanded a pharmacist, who allegedly gave expired injections to three children resulting in the death of two of them, in five days of police custody. The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) sent the accused pharmacist, Murli Manohar Dutta, on five days’ police remand till May 28.

Two children died while another became critical after they were allegedly given expired injections by the pharmacist at a medical shop in Rajouri yesterday. The police arrested the pharmacist following protests by people in this border town.

Police sources said Murli gave injections to Atib Kabir, 4, a resident of Rajdhani Bagla Thanamandi, Wahid Ahmad, 7, of Kotdara Rajouri, and Sobia Mushtaq of ward No. 7 of Rajouri town, who were suffering from high fever.

While Atib and Wahid died, Shobia was hospitalised in a critical condition, they added. The police arrested the accused after people held protests against the pharmacist demanding his arrest.

Srinagar May 23
In order to facilitate female prisoners and their children, the state government has amended the manual for the superintendence and management of jails in the state.

According to a Home Department’s notification, a child with his mother is not a prisoner and is entitled to food, shelter, medical care, clothing, education and recreational facilities as a matter of right.

Before sending a pregnant woman to a jail, it shall be ensured that the jail has the maximum basic facilities for child delivery as well as for providing prenatal and postnatal care for both mother and child, the notification states. 

It adds the facilities of the district government hospital must be availed. As far as possible, remedies shall be made available to a pregnant prisoner to have delivery outside the prison and where birth takes place in the prison, only the name of the locality shall be recorded with the birth registration office.

Following the amendment, a woman prisoner shall be allowed to keep her child till it attains the age of six years. Thereafter, the child shall be handed over to a suitable surrogate mother as per the wishes of the mother or shall be sent to a suitable institution run by the Social Welfare Department. The children admitted outside the jail shall be allowed to meet their mother in the jail once a week.

The children shall be given proper education and recreation opportunities and shall be kept in a crèche or a nursery, which shall preferably be run outside the main prison premises. Every child, who is allowed to remain with his/her mother in the jail, shall be provided the facility of a crèche/nursery and visitation by relatives and NGOs.

An official spokesman said under the amended manual, the children will be provided diet as per medical norms and calorific requirements, which will include cereals and millets, pulses, milk, roots and tubers, green leafy vegetables, fruits, sugar, fats and oils, with an increase in the scale of food as per their age.

The amendment adds that the children in jails shall be provided adequate clothing along with toys and pre-nursery coaching in the jail. 

Jammu, May 23
Justice Sunil Hali of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court of Judicature at Jammu allowed a writ petition challenging the order by which the medical category of a former havildar Jagtar Singh was downgraded and as a result he was invalidated from service on account of disability and disability pension was denied to him.

The high court, while holding the petitioner entitled to the grant of disability pension from the date of discharge from service, also awarded interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum on the withheld disability pension.

The petitioner enrolled as a jawan in 1984 was promoted as havildar in 1999, when he developed headache and pain all over his body. On medical examination in Military Hospital, he was put in the low medical category and was invalidated from service on account of disability on March 31, 2001.

His claim for disability pension was rejected on the premise that the disease was not attributable during the course of service rendered in the Army.

The Union of India, in its demurer, stated that the petitioner’s invalidating disability was considered neither attributable to or having aggravated by military service, the same being constitutional disease in the body.

Justice Sunil Hali, while quashing the order of disability pension, observed that “Entitlement to receive disability pension is permissible only in cases where the disability is attributable to or aggravated by the military service.

It is to be noted that the Medical Board, that gives the opinion, has to be record reasons at the time of boarding out the person that the disease could not have been detected at the entry stage and could not have aggravated during the course of the military service.

“Applying this principle, it could not be said this disease could not be detected at the time of his entry into the service. The medical certificate did not record that the disease was a constitutional disorder.

Faced with this situation, it could be safely stated that disability to the petitioner had arisen because of the military service. I, therefore, set aside the order of rejection and direct that disability pension be paid to the petitioner with effect from the date he was discharged from service.”

Udhampur, May 23
Taking lead among all districts in the state, Udhampur has constituted special squads to check the menace of cigarette and tobacco smoking in public places in the district.

Ajay Khajuria, Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, yesterday convened a meeting of senior officers of allied departments to constitute special squads to check cigarette smoking in public places. The squads comprising officers of the Drug Control Department and the Revenue Department.

The Assistant Controller Drugs revealed that a complaint cell had been set up under his supervision at the district headquarters, where interested persons may lodge their complaints about the violation of the Anti-Tobacco Act.

The meeting decided that a separate meeting of hoteliers and owners of banquet halls of the district would be convened shortly to apprise them about the provisions of the Act and the creation of separate smoking zones in their respective establishments.

Srinagar, May 23
Firecrackers burst by Congress workers today to celebrate the formation of the UPA government caused panic in the city, as people mistook it for a suicide attack on the party’s headquarters situated on the Maulana Azad road.

Some Congress workers burst firecrackers to celebrate formation of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, at the party headquarters here this afternoon.

However, policemen as well as pedestrians on the streets mistook it for a suicide attack on the party headquarters and ran for safety. Even traffic on the busy road came to a standstill for a few minutes.

The picture became clear when media teams rushed to the Congress headquarters and it was realised that it was not an attack but party men were celebrating the formation of the government at the Centre. — PTI