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PM’s offer for talks
Pak Hindus wait for years to immerse kin’s ashes in Ganga
Stranded Amarnath pilgrims stage protest
5,000 Amarnath pilgrims have darshan
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Govt mismanaged yatra: Hoteliers
Unregistered pilgrims add to problems
Soz: Cabinet expansion
in a few days
SRTC staff threaten dharna
15 KAS officers transferred
98 building plans cleared
Heroin worth 6 cr seized, 4 held
Shopian Killings
Convocation: Order to ‘vacate’ varsity hostels
Adventure tourism expedition held
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PM’s offer for talks
Srinagar, June 18 Reacting to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement about having a dialogue with any group in Jammu and Kashmir, a spokesman for the APHC (Mirwaiz) here said today that it was necessary first to take some confidence-building measures (CBM). The APHC (Mirwaiz) last week had proposed five-point CBMs for resolving the Kashmir issue. APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had on May 21 threatened to launch a mass agitation in case some “concrete measures” were not taken by July 13, giving the newly constituted UPA government two months to take the requisite measures. In its five-point formula, the Mirwaiz, who continues to be under house arrest for the past 19 days, had on June 10 demanded the withdrawal of special powers to the security forces and the reduction of troops from the state. These and other measures as envisaged in its formula would help the resolution of the Kashmir issue through tripartite talks, he had stated. The APHC have had earlier talks with the Central government both in the NDA government and the UPA government’s previous tenure. The APHC spokesman said the leaders with whom the Central government would be talking were either under house arrest or detained and restrictions imposed on their movement.
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Pak Hindus wait for years to immerse kin’s ashes in Ganga
Jammu, June 18 Expressing disappointment over the delay, a group member, Sushil Kumar, said, “Some people have started immersing ashes of the dead in Sadhubella river in Pakistan, but as it is considered more auspicious to immerse these ashes in the Ganga river.” He said, “I waited for three years to perform last rites of my mother at Hardwar for which I visited India few years ago. The problem still continues.” “For this soul purpose, we use to come to India via Attari to Delhi and Delhi to Amritsar,” said Manesh Kumar, a resident of Sindh province of Pakistan and a president of this troupe. |
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Stranded Amarnath pilgrims stage protest
Jammu, June 18 Shouting slogans against the state government, they accused it of turning a blind eye toward the discomfiture of registered pilgrims, who had come here from different parts of the country. “We have been stranded here since June 15 because of the inclement weather and now we have come to know that 25,000 pilgrims have clogged the Baltal base camp,” said Sudhir Kumar, a pilgrim from Agra. If the yatra was officially flagged off by the government from the Jammu base camp on June 15, when the first batch of 900 registered pilgrims had left the Yatri Niwas, how come 25,000 pilgrims reached the Baltal base camp, he wondered. The pilgrims accused the government of adopting a lackadaisical approach in conducting the annual pilgrimage. |
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5,000 Amarnath pilgrims have darshan
Srinagar, June 18 A spokesperson for Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) said keeping in view the adverse weather, no batch of yatris left Jammu for Baltal today. Giving the status of the Chandanwari track, the spokesman said as per the Pahalgam Development Authority, which is entrusted with the task of opening the track, the stretch is free of snow up to 10 km except certain avalanches between 5 km and 10 km. Sheshnag at a distance of 11-12 km is still partially under snow and the track across Sheshnag is being maintained over compressed snow. The Sheshnag camp site is partly under snow, while the langar site is fully under snow. However, the security forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrived, the tents are being erected and the culvert side is being cleared of snow avalanches at Sheshnag. The track from 13 km to 16 km in the Wavbal-Mahagunas area is fully under snow and fresh snowfall has hampered the pace of track clearance work. As per preliminary reports, snow accumulation at the Sheshnag camp is over five feet and the entire track is under a thick layer of snow. Further, the weather conditions, particularly on the traditional route, continue to be challenging. All pilgrims registered for travelling along the Chandanwari route to register themselves afresh with the designated branches of J&K Bank for undertaking the yatra on any date convenient to them after June 25. A number of pilgrims, who had registered for travelling via the Pahalgam route, were at present camping at various locations in the state in hope that they would be permitted to undertake the yatra within a day or so, the spokesman added. Meanwhile, BB Vyas, chief executive officer of the SASB, in a communication to J&K Bank had asked it to set up two special counters, one each at Jammu and Srinagar, to facilitate the re-validation of the yatris.
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Unregistered pilgrims add to problems
Jammu, June 18 A senior CID officer from Baltal said, “The unregistered pilgrims virtually clogged the base camp and in the wake of inclement weather on the higher reaches we had no option than to suspend the yatra from Jammu,” he said. This morning, around 1,000 pilgrims have been stopped at Lakhanpur, 500 at Kathua and another 1,000 pilgrims at Udhampur, who reached the garrison town via Dhar Road without entering Jammu, he said. Similarly, 3,500 pilgrims have been left stranded at Jammu, he added. Being a religious affair, we can’t ask them to go back and hence we adjust them gradually allowing them to have ‘darshan’, he added. He candidly admitted that those who come to set up community kitchens en-route the cave shrine, locals and even pilgrims, who visited the cave shrine earlier, directly reach the base camp little bothering about registration. The district administration, the police and the security forces respect their religious sentiments but such pilgrims should also think about others, who suffer because of them, said an official of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB). Baltal base camp can tackle only 2,000 pilgrims at a time and if 20,000 pilgrims reach there, all our arrangements go for a six, said IGP, Jammu, K Rajendra. “Despite knowing that both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps have limited capacity to accommodate pilgrims, a large number of unregistered devotees reach there in utter violation of norms,” said the IGP. “We have a limited capacity of accommodation, community kitchens and medical facility and hence pilgrims should avoid reaching base camps without registering themselves,” he added. However, sources in the police department said fearing reaction from various Hindu organisations, the police and other security forces maintained a silence and allowed such unregistered pilgrims in a phased manner to pay obeisance at the cave shrine.
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Soz: Cabinet expansion
in a few days
Jammu, June 18 The induction of more ministers has become possible as the state Cabinet has passed a law permitting it an additional 20 per cent of the total strength of both houses of the legislature. The Assembly has a strength of 87 elected and two nominated members, while the state legislative council has a strength of 37 members. In order to rejuvenate the Congress in the state and ensure discipline at all levels, he took the approval of AICC president Sonia Gandhi to induct P Namgiyal, Bashir Ahmad Magrey, Yashpal Khajuria, Abdul Majid Padder and Amolak Singh as the members of the disciplinary action committee. Soz assured that the names of the chairman and convener of the committee would be announced soon. |
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SRTC staff threaten dharna
Jammu, June 18 Employees are also furious over deputation of its 100 employees to the Motor Vehicle Department in the name of lessening financial burden from SRTC, but union is angry that still the salary of those hundred employees is being drawn from SRTC. This way, they feel SRTC is incurring loss of manpower as well. SRTC MD Anup Kanoj said the salaries had not paid to employees because the state budget had not been passed, but he assured that the employees would get salaries in couple of days as it had reached to treasury. Ahmed Kuchay, chairman of the SRTC Employees Union, said, “The employees have not got the salaries for the past three months. Every time, we have to stage dharna and go for strike and only then we get salaries in parts. This matter was brought before the State Tranport Minister and SRTC GM on March 26, 2008, where they had promised to regularise our salaries and full payment of our CP/GP fund.” Other issues, which have added fuel to the fire, are the deputation of hundred SRTC employees, fifty from Jammu and fifty from Kashmir, to the Motor Vehicle Department to reduce the surplus manpower and lessen the expenditure from SRTC. |
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15 KAS officers transferred
Srinagar, June 18 S. C. Sawhney, Additional Secretary, Rural Development Department, has been transferred as Additional District Development Commissioner, Kathua, vice Rishi Kumar Gupta, who is retiring on June 30. Bashir Ahmad Wani, ADC, Kupwara, has been transferred as Administrator, Associated Hospitals, Srinagar. Mohammad Aslam Qadri has been made ADC of Budgam as a replacement for Ravinder Kumar Pandita who has been posted as additional secretary, Forest Department. Itrat Hussain, Deputy Director (Administration) in the Directorate of Social Welfare has been posted as ADC, Kupwara. He has replaced Bashir Ahmad Wani Fida Hussain, Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency, Kargil, has been transferred as Joint Agrarian Reforms Commissioner, Srinagar. Khadim Hussain, Chief Executive Officer, Zanskar Tourism Development Authority, is the new CEO of Kargil Tourism Development Authority.
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98 building plans cleared
Jammu, June 18 The JMC has taken initiative for clearing these cases on fast track to facilitate the construction of building activities to eliminate unauthorised constructions in absence of valid permission. Meanwhile, a team of the health wing led by health officer of the corporation Dr Anwar Choudhary destroyed about 1.50 quintals of stale and un-hygienically cooked food items. Sixtyfive establishments were checked which include juice corners, bakery shops, meat shops, fish sale points fruit drinks and ice creams. Fiftyfour defaulters were challenged. The team also lifted and destroyed polythene bags from different areas. |
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Heroin worth 6 cr seized, 4 held
Jammu, June 18 Addressing a press conference here this evening, Manohar Singh, SSP, Jammu, said the police laid a naka in the Sainth area of Khour acting on a tipoff about the presence of the narcotics smugglers there. The police on the naka noticed three persons coming from the Hamirpur side toward Khour, he said. A thorough search of them led to the seizure of two packets of heroin valuing more than Rs 6 crore in the international market, added the SSP. They were arrested immediately. The smugglers were later identified as Ved Prakash of Labaju Chak in Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua, Tarsem Singh of Badrod in Ghou-Manhasa and Tarsem Lal of Treva in RS Pura. During questioning, they admitted that the contraband was to be delivered to a man at Mattoo Morh in Khour. Simultaneously, a raid was conducted at Mattoo Morh and the person named by the arrested smugglers was apprehended, Manohar added. The arrested person had been identified as Gulshan Kumar of Model Town in Hisar. Gulshan admitted that he had come to receive the consignment for its delivery in Chandigarh. The SSP claimed that the four persons were the members of an international gang, having its roots in Pakistan, Dubai, Afghanistan and Nigeria. This gang was carrying out its operation from Dubai. PTI adds: The police has arrested four narcotics smugglers and seized over 1 kg of heroin and 500 gm of charas in Doda and Reasi districts. The police today intercepted a vehicle at Thathri in Doda district and seized 500 gm of heroin from two narcotics smugglers Mudassar Hussain and Aijaz Hussain. The police yesterday arrested Mudassar Hussain, an activist of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, and seized 600 gm of heroin from him at Laral village of Doda district. In another incident, the police arrested Naseeb Singh and seized 500 gm of charas from him in Katra in Reasi district. |
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Shopian Killings
Srinagar, June 18 A group of PDP activists, led by legislator from the Shopian assembly constituency Abdul Razak Wagay, staged a half-an-hour long protest during which they shouted slogans and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. Bodies of Asiya and her sister-in-law Nelofar were recovered near a stream in Shopian on May 30 after they went missing from their orchards on May 29, sparking off massive protests throughout the valley. Although situation returned to normal in rest of the valley after a week-long violent protests, shopian town continued to observe a complete shutdown for 20th successive day today. Welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurance of justice to victims of rape and murder in
Shopian, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti expressed dismay over the alleged negligence of the state government on the issue. Mehbooba , while addressing a meeting of the party legislators and senior leaders here today, said it was ironical that even as the Prime Minister had acknowledged the occurrence of crime against the innocent girls nobody from the state government had done much yet. |
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Convocation: Order to ‘vacate’ varsity hostels
Srinagar, June 18 Despite, the varsity claims that they have asked the students to shift from hostels, pupils allege that in spite of their examinations being conducted they have been asked to leave the campus. As many as 60 to 70 per cent of the students have already vacated their hostels, while others are on the way out. The vice-chancellor has already issued directions to get the hostels vacated and this is nothing less than a cruel joke, says a group of students. They said students of Kargil and Leh had been asked to stay back. “Are Kashmiri students terrorists? Why are they being asked to leave hostel premises? Our examinations are going on and it is very difficult for us to move out,” students allege. Charging the authorities with stopping ration supply to hostel messes, students say that presence of CRPF personnel lead to their harassment. “We have, in fact, been told that the university authorities would not been responsible for security of students wishing not to shift from hostels,” students say. Dr Naseer Iqbal, deputy chief proctor said the university authorities had not issued any order asking students to vacate. He said since SA boys hostel and research scholars hostel lied in vicinity of the convocation complex, it was a practice that the same were taken over by security forces personnel whenever a VIP was on a visit to the university. “We have just asked students to shift to other hostels. Teaching work has been suspended for the past few days, as the teaching faculty is busy with preparations for convocation. No examinations are presently going on,” says Dr Naseer.
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Adventure tourism expedition held
Srinagar, June 18 An official spokesman said here that the expedition, which started from Buta Pathri, 8 km ahead of Gulmarg, passed through Nigli nallah, meadows, valleys, streams and many other places with breathtaking beauty to culminate at Balani, Bonyiar. The Army authorities were also involved in facilitating the expedition as some of the areas were close to the LoC. The trekkers comprised members of the ski patrol team, adventure tour operators, representatives from banking fraternity, University of Kashmir and Wildlife Trust of India. Ammunition, arms seized
Srinagar, June 18 A pistol, two Chinese wireless sets, five UBGL grenades, one Chinese grenade and a pair of binoculars were seized by the BSF in Awoora forest near Pathri Behak in Trehgam belt, 100 km from here, yesterday, the spokesman said. — PTI |
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Jammu, June 18
