Srinagar, June 22
Union Minister for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh said here today that 40 per cent work of the Rs 300-crore Dal lake cleaning project had been accomplished, while the remaining part would be completed within the next two years.

He was addressing a press conference along with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on the banks of the Dal lake here this afternoon. They agreed to work proactively so that projects taken up for the conservation of lakes and forests in the state were completed in a time-bound manner.

The Union Minister assured Omar of the Centre’s full support in protecting the state’s environment and forests. He disclosed that the state government would create a State Compulsory Afforestation Management Authority shortly so that it was in a position to utilise its share of Rs 181 crore collected by the CAMPA for compulsory afforestation projects.

Jairam Ramesh, who arrived here yesterday, giving an overview of the prestigious Dal restoration plan, said after the joint air survey of the lake with the Chief Minister and by boat, he realised that it was not only a lake that needed to be cleansed, but an ecological and social system that embedded a large number of wetlands and nearly 10,000 families. “In Phase I, the Central government has funded entire Rs 300 crore for cleaning the project. While visiting the lake, I have observed that a large section of the lake have been cleaned. The state government today presented a comprehensive proposal of Rs 1,100 crore to save the ecosystem of the Dal lake by cleaning and rehabilitating 10,000 families. We need to find the remaining Rs 800 crore for the resettlement and rehabilitation of the Dal dwellers,” he said.

Omar said the government was exploring an extensive programme to upgrade the degraded forest cover of the state. “Extensive portions of our forest area is degraded. We are examining ways and means to implement a project for upgrading degraded state forests,” he said. He added Rs 181 crore deposited with the CAMPA under the state’s share would be fully utilised in this direction.

Expressing concern over the dwindling of the Wullar lake, which used to be once the largest freshwater lake in Asia, Jairam said he attached the highest priority to the restoration of the Wullar lake. “Wullar is the mother of all lakes. The State government has submitted a proposal to the Central government worth Rs 386 crore to conserve the lake,” he said.

On the action plan for cleaning of the Jhelum, the Union minister said the plan was under discussion and that he would like to take up the project on the analogy of the Ganga and the Yamuna cleaning plans.

Ramban, June 22
Thousands of passengers, including Amarnath yatris, had to face hardship when traffic on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was halted for several hours following the proposed visit of Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to his home district.

The police and other security agencies deployed on the national highway halted the traffic coming from both sides for several hours for Azad’s passage.

Azad was supposed to hold public rallies in the newly formed districts of Ramban and Kishtwar for which a large number of local residents had turned up. But thousands of passengers on the national highway were made to wait for several hours as traffic was halted.

“They have halted traffic on the highway and it created problems for us,” said Manjinder Singh, a Jammu-bound passenger.

Many stranded passengers could be seen sweating and taking shelter under trees.

“I have a small baby with me and she has been sweating inside the vehicle. I requested the police officer to allow our vehicle to pass, but the police officer refused saying our vehicle could disrupt the VVIP movement,” said Sakina Bano, a woman passenger.

After halting the traffic for several hours, when the security personnel came to know that the chopper in which Azad was to arrive was delayed by several hours they allowed the traffic to ply.

Meanwhile, several vehicles of Amarnath pilgirms that were also halted rued the administration’s failure to provide any facilities to the pilgrims.

Srinagar, June 22
The Amarnath yatra from the traditional Pehalgam route is likely to be further delayed as it is still found to be unviable for trekking.

The Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) entrusted with the task of opening the track has also submitted its report to the chairman of board. The report indicates in particular that the Wavbal-Mahagunas stretch (13-16 km) on the traditional route is still under snow which is being cleared by labourers stationed at Sheshnag. There are certain snow avalanches that are being cleared.

While the Sheshnag sector (11-12 km) is partially under snow, the langar site is fully under snow. As a result of the snow conditions, the necessary logistical facilities in terms of pre-fab huts, tentage, langars and toilets were yet to be provided.

A special team of the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering (JIM), which had left Pahalgam on a reconnaissance mission of the Chandanwari-Holy Cave track on June 16, has submitted its report to Governor NN Vohra, who is chairman of the shrine board. The report stresses the need for making foolproof medical and other logistical arrangements before the commencement of the yatra on the traditional route.

Following the receipt of both reports, Vohra held discussions with the chiefs of the police, CRPF, CID and other officers concerned last evening and thereafter asked his principal secretary and chief executive officer of the board, BB Vyas, to visit the Chandanwari-Holy Cave area, along with a team of senior Officers of the state government agencies concerned and undertake a critical assessment of the on-ground situation.

A spokesperson said snow accumulation at the Sheshnag camp continued to be a challenging task. He added that the stretch of the track in the Wavbal-Mahagunas area was fully under snow while the continuous inclement weather had hampered the track-clearance work.

Srinagar, June 22
A 37-year-old pilgrim died and a woman was injured en route to the Amarnath shrine even as over 9,000 devotees paid obeisance today at the 3,880-metre high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, official sources said.

Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Punjab, died of cardiac arrest at Sangam Top this afternoon, raising the death toll since the commencement of the yatra to three, the sources said.

On June 17, two porters were killed in a landslide at Rail Pathri along the Baltal cave route.

Another pilgrim identified as Angari Agerwal (50), a resident of Haryana, was injured when she slipped while crossing Brari Marg, they said, adding that she was hospitalised.

Over 9,500 pilgrims left the Baltal base camp, 100 km from here, for the holy cave this morning. With this, over 60,000 pilgrims have offered their prayers at the cave shrine since the start of the yatra.

Panthers Party chairman Bhim Singh was among the devotees who offered their prayers at the shrine today. “I prayed for the return of peace and emotional coexistence among the people irrespective of their religion or castes,” Bhim Singh, who was accompanied by party general secretary and MLC Syed Rafiq Shah, said on his return. — PTI

Srinagar, June 22
A PDP delegation headed by its president, Mehbooba Mufti, and other leaders, including Molvi Iftikthar Hussain Ansari, Dillawar Mir, general secretary, Abdul Rashid Kabuli, marched to Raj Bhawan in support of its demand for revoking the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and withdrawal of troops.

Mehbooba Mufti, however, claimed that the Governor refused to meet the opposition leaders. She said the purpose to meet the Governor was to apprise him--as a representative of the central government--of the excesses and atrocities faced by the people as a result of the intruding presence of security forces in the civilian areas. However, Princpal Secretary to the Governor clarified that no request for a meeting with the Governor was received from the PDP.

Commenting on the interim report of the judicial commission on the Shopian incident, which has indicted the state administration for having deliberately destroyed the evidence in the Shopian rape and murder case, the PDP president said that it was now futile to expect the present government to reflect the aspirations of the people on these vital issues.

“It appears that the administration had carried out the massive cover-up operation only to prove the Chief Minister’s pre-judged statement that it was a case of drowning, correct”, she said.

Mehbooba said the demand for revocation of the AFSPA and demilitarisation of civilian areas was raised in 2006 at a time when Kashmir was rocked by fake encounters at the hands of policemen and security forces for seeking medals and promotions. It was time that New Delhi took note of the heartbeats of the people of the state and withdrew the excessive security forces from civilian areas and made them accountable under the normal law of the land.

Jammu, June 22
The Heritage School Parents Association held a protest in front of the office of chief education officer Suresh Kumar Sharma against exorbitant fees being charged by the school here today.

The protesting parents demanded that the school should charge annual fee/charges as per the CBSE guidelines, which is 15 per cent of the total annual tuition fee. They also demanded that the school authorities should take the consent of the parents before increasing fees.

Pardeep Sharma, general secretary of the association, said the school authorities served a show cause notice on the parents a few days ago warning to strike off the names of their children if they did not deposit the fees immediately.

He said, “We have discussed the issue with Suresh Sharma and the Director School Education, but they expressed helplessness saying they have no say over the CBSE-affiliated schools.”

While lambasting the authorities, Pradeep said the schools affiliated to the CBSE were extracting hard-earned money from the parents in the name of development funds, tuition fee, transport fee and annual charges. The parents urged the government to look into the issue.

Jammu, June 22
The suspected first case of swine flu that started from a hospital ended in the city police station here today. The reported case turned out to be a hoax after the complainant, a physician with a private hospital, declined treatment saying that he was just checking the level of preparedness at Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital, Jammu.

According to reports, medical superintendent of BN Hospital on canal road called up district health officer and officiating CMO, Dr Dushant Kumar Gupta this morning and reported that a physician with the same hospital, Dr Yash Pal Gupta claimed to have developed symptoms of highly contagious disease.

“Having got the tip off, a special team of doctor, including epidemiologist Dr RS Chib, was kept standby near isolated quarantine for at least three hours,” said district health officer and added that: “However, after that medical superintendent concerned of the hospital stated that the said physician refused to come to GMC.”

On the other hand, Dr Yash Pal Gupta contradicted the charges and said, “I was suffering from seasonal flu that stays for five to six days every year. I had asked the superintendent to ask the GMC authorities as to what were the arrangements put in place to handle any exigency or disseminate information about the spread of the disease.” “At GMC, no one had the clear idea as to where the test for the swine flu was conducted or who was the person concerned for imparting information about the disease,” he said.

“We remained on tenterhooks for at least three hours. A complaint against the physician concerned for spreading rumours that led to panic in the society is being filed in the city police station,” said district health officer.

SHO concerned when contacted said the police was looking into the complaint being lodged by the district health officer.

Meanwhile, with the onset of the Amarnath yatra and reported cases of H1N1 from Punjab, the administration has set up screening centres at all major terminal points like airport, railway station, bus stand and yatri bhawan at Bhagwati Nagar.

“We have created a control room at GMC. Any information regarding the swine flu can be sought at the helpline No. 2585444,” said district health officer adding that, “Provisions have already been made for sending the samples of the suspected patients to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Delhi, for the test. One can have the results of test within 40 hours or so.”

Srinagar, June 22
Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have emphasised on coordination between agriculture universities and the extension agencies of the state government to evolve a task force approach for carrying research from lab to land to boost agriculture production and productivity in the state.

They were addressing the inaugural session of the three-day 9th Agricultural Science Congress organised by the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, in collaboration with the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi, here today. The theme of the Congress is ‘technological and institutional innovations for enhancing agricultural income’.

They said greater attention was required to be paid to ensure the timely availability of research outputs, which were relevant to farmers’ needs. The Governor, who was the chief guest at the inaugural function, also presented NAAS awards.

Vohra observed that blending modern science with traditional approaches was imperative to supplement, enhance and harness the advantages of bio-fortification, value addition and post-harvest management processes. He laid stress on ensuring the availability of research outputs, which were relevant to the specific needs of the farmers.

He focused on the centrality of agriculture and its contribution to the economic growth in the state and the country. He also referred to the challenges faced by this sector, like stagnating yields, decreasing farmlands, unstable market processes, salinity, nutrient imbalances, emergence of drug resistant strains of pests.

Omar said the state was predominantly an agrarian state. Agriculture and allied fields like horticulture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries and sericulture constituted the most important sectors of the economy, as they provided livelihood to a majority of its population. “We are blessed with immense potential for production of fruits, vegetables, flowers, saffron, Kalazeera and a host of medicinal plants”.

Jammu, June 22
Members of the Jammu and Kashmir Agricultural Technocrats Association staged a demonstration outside the Divisional Commissioner’s office here today in protest against the government’s indifferent attitude towards their demands for regularisation.

The protesting agricultural technocrats led by president Surinder Radotra raised slogans against the government and demanded immediate regularisation.

Dr Radotra said that the agricultural technocrats engaged under Rehber-e-Zirat were assured that their demand would be fulfilled on priority after the parliamentary election but nothing concrete had been done so far.

Radotra said that even more than one year had gone by after the Cabinet approved the appointment of agricultural technocrats under the Rehbar-e-Zirat scheme, no policy for their regularisation was in sight.

He said hundreds of agriculture technocrats, engaged under Rehbar-e-Zirat in the Agriculture Production Department at a monthly stipend of Rs 1500 per month in April,2007, had been awaiting regularisation.

The association threatened that if its demands were not addressed before Assembly session it would launch an agitation.

Srinagar, June 22
Punjab Governor Gen SF Rodrigues (retd) has stressed the need for a well-structured coordinated plan for strengthening linkages of composite Indian culture and called for adopting a holistic approach for the preservation and promotion of the inherited values.

He was presiding over a meeting of the governing body and executive board of North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), in which the representatives from different states of the northern region participated here today. The Governor said the northern states had an immense potential and magnificent legacy of social, religious and cultural ethos, which progressed well in the past years with the sincere and committed efforts of NZCC.

Emphasising the need for people’s participation in general and the youth, in particular, in diverse activities of NZCC, Gen Rodrigues said they were the instruments of change and the protectors of our rich cultural heritage.

Gen Rodrigues added that Chandigarh had witnessed a major boom in respect of different art forms and creative artistic endeavours and Kalagram had become a hub and focal point for the promotion of art and culture in the region. Tagore Theatre and Bal Bhavan Auditoriums and Open Air Theatre had been renovated by making modern additions and ultra modern lighting system for the display of performing arts.

Jammu, June 22
RSS chief Mohan Rao Bhagwat and BJP national president Rajnath Singh will visit Jammu tomorrow.

Both leaders are coming to observe the death anniversary of the founder of the Jan Sangh, Syama Prasad Mukherjee, who died in a Jammu and Kashmir prison on June 23 in 1953.

Mukherjee was the one who gave the slogan of ‘Ek Hindustan, Ek Nishan, Ek Sawidhan’ in protest against the separate entity, flag and constitution of the state. He was put in prison for violating Article 370, where he breathed his last.

The RSS has been openly supporting Mukherjee’s demand that Jammu and Kashmir should be declared as an integral part of India and treated like other state. The RSS and the BJP have been demanding the revocation of the Article 370, though Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had denied any such possibility.

The state continues to enjoy the special status under Article 370 with its own flag and constitution.

Jammu, June 22
Two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Reasi district today, Gulzar Singh Salathia, DIG Udhampur-Reasi range, told The Tribune. Mohammed Ayub,a dreaded Lashkar militant responsible for several killings, had let loose a reign of terror among the people, said the DIG.

The militants, Hurara and Qasim, were gunned down during an operation launched by a joint team of the Rashtriya Rifles and the police in the forest area of Khod, 160 km from here, this morning.

Arms and ammunition were seized from the site of the encounter, official sources said. A search operation was on in the area.

Meanwhile, the Army today foiled militants’ bid to target the Amarnath yatra by detecting and defusing an IED on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway at Panthal, 155 km from here.

Militants had planted the high intensity IED in the Panthal area to target a convoy of the Amarnath yatris, they said.

However, the IED was detected by the Roap Opening Party of the Army, which is guarding the highway, they said, adding traffic was stopped at Panthal and the cavalcade of 53 vehicles carrying 1,703 pilgrims was halted, the sources said.

Later, a special bomb disposal squad of the Army defused the IED, they said. The yatra and the traffic was resumed after an hour around 10.15 am, they added.

Jammu, June 22
Tractor driver Mohammed Hanief of Gole Gujral and his helper, Saddam Hussain of Sidhra, were killed on the spot after the vehicle lost balance and plunged into a gorge on Circular Road near Panjtirthi this morning. They were on their way to Tawi river to load the trolley with sand when the accident occurred.