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Sex Scandal
Mufti as CM ignored sex scandal: Omar
Seven LUTF councillors resign from party
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Pak bunkers block rainwater flow
IAF plans another airstrip in Ladakh
Stepmother plays foul with girl
Immolation bid by agitating farmers
Varsity staff extend strike, exams postponed
Vaihno Devi staff observe strike
Youth rescued from Hizb clutches
Amarnath yatra resumes from Pahalgam
Ex-scribe eyes RS seat from Kashmir
Paddar remains cut off
Students take out rallies
Survey for rail link to Leh begins
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Sex Scandal
Jammu, July 30 The PDP supporters led by the party general secretary and other senior leaders today held a protest march and blocked the Jammu-Pathnakot National Highway for one hour. Speaking to The Tribune, party spokesman AK Sawhney said the party rejected the ‘clean chit’ given to Omar Abdullah by the CBI in the sex scandal as many of his Cabinet colleagues in the present government were also inducted by the CBI earlier in the case. He alleged that the NC supporters attacked the PDP office with stones and tried to barge into the office. Sawhney alleged: “The police did not intervene in the incident; the NC goons pelt stone on us in which many of our leaders and supporters were injured.” However, the NC has alleged that it was the PDP that first resorted to stone pelting on NC supporters. “We were holding a peaceful protest outside the PDP office when they started pelting stones on us. Over 12 NC supporters and leaders were injured as the police resorted to cane charge. The injured have been rushed to the hospital,” Rattan Lal Gupta, provincial president of the NC, said.
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Mufti as CM ignored sex scandal: Omar
Srinagar, July 30 Omar held that the Mufti “never bothered how callously daughters of Kashmir were being exploited by his own people. He should have resigned at that very time if he were the real son of soil, but he preferred to shut his eyes”. He was addressing a number of delegations that gathered at his Gupkar residence here today after he had tendered his resignation. A large number of people in deputations and individuals from distant parts of the state lined up in front of his residence to express their faith and trust in his leadership. Omar advised both Mufti Sayeed and Mehabooba Mufti to have patience and wait for six years to face people in the next elections. He disclosed that the sex scandal came to the notice of the Mufti when he was the Chief Minister and his own people and his close associates were involved in the scandal, he did not act as his government could fall. The Chief Minister held that the Mufti was mainly responsible for imposition of the AFSPA in the state. His father, Farooq Abdullah, in early 1990s had resigned because he opposed the Mufti for the imposition of the AFSPA and the Mufti in his capacity as the Union Home Minister selected known anti-Kashmir Jagmohan as Governor and succeeded in his mission to impose the AFSPA in the state. Omar said when the PDP ruled the state they never dared to talk for the removal of the
AFSPA. “But today when my government is actually working for its removal, the same party is sabotaging the process by directly or indirectly fomenting violence,” he said. During the last six years, the NC played a responsible role of opposition and never snatched any mike from the Speaker and allowed the government to run its business in the House. The
PDP, he said, crossed all limits by stooping to such levels that had no parallel in political ethics. He appreciated Ghulam Nabi Azad for his boldness as the moment the sex scandal came to his notice, he referred it to the CBI for investigation.
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Seven LUTF councillors resign from party
Leh, July 30 The LUTF is a regional formation governing the council in Leh district with 14 councillors. However, after the resignation of the seven councillors from the party in the 30-member council, it has been reduced to a minority. Out of the 30 councillors, nine belong to the Congress. This is a major political development in the district after the recent reshuffle in the executive council of the LAHDC. Tsewang Tundup, one of the councillors who quit the LUTF, said, “The decision was unfortunate and was taken after we were completely frustrated and disappointed over the inefficiency of the LAHDC under the leadership of chief executive councillor Tsering Dorjey.” Elaborating on the main stand of the LUTF to secure the UT status for the Ladakh region, Tundup alleged that the party did nothing meaningful for the cause.” Tsering Wangdus, another councillor who quit the party, said, “The pace of development in the district has been badly affected due to poor coordination between the hill council and the state government. Moreover, the LAHDC failed to use its powers, especially pertaining to the allotment, occupation and use of land in the district.” Wangdus added, “We have decided to remain in the group and we will take the future course of action jointly.” The councillors, who quit the party, are Tsewang Tundup, Tsering Wangdus, Chotar Tsering, Nawang Nurboo, Sonam Dorjey, Sonam Tsering and Dorjey Namgail.
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Pak bunkers block rainwater flow
Khatmarian (Indo-Pak Border), July 30 The bandhs have left little space for rainwater to flow on its natural course down the Jammu hills into Pakistan’s drains, which naturally goes into the Chenab. Even the Tawi, which flows into the Chenab, has caused floods many times in the past when the water flows back due to an increase in the water level in the Chenab. The immediate cause of concern is in Khatmarian, Sangral and adjoining villages situated right on the border and including the Abdullian wetlands in the RS Pura sector. The area being a wetland already has a high ground water level, thus providing a perfect base for the impending floods. “It is bowl-shaped and thus rainwater from all sides accumulates here. Earlier, the drains leading to Pakistan used to take excess water along, but that outlet is closed now,” said Sham Singh of Khatmarian village, recalling how floods have hit the region five times since Independence. “The backwaters of the Tawi also hit us. But that water flowed towards Pakistan drains. Now, the course is blocked,” said Kartar Chand of Sangral village, saying that just 24 hours of continuous rain could bring trouble for them. Villagers said they had asked the BSF and political leaders of the area to take up the matter with the Pakistan government, but nothing had been done so far. The Abdullian wetland authorities approved the villagers fear about floods as genuine. “Water will continue to accumulate there. Due to the bandhs on the other side, water will be trapped. The villagers’ fear of floods are genuine. Floods can occur anytime,” said PK Singh, conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Jammu region, which looks after the wetland. PK Singh said a proposal for digging a new drain along the border that would take away the excess water and mitigate the threat of floods was under the active consideration of the government. “We have made a ground fact report about the threat. The administration is hopeful the work would be approved soon. Mohan Chowdhry, a Congress leader of RS Pura, has demanded the government should act sooner than later. “Each passing day is important for the villages. Even if there is rain on the higher reaches, water is eventually going to come here only,” he said.
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IAF plans another airstrip in Ladakh
Drass, July 30 The Air Force, as part of its forward policy, has already recommissioned two airstrips at Daulat Begh Oldi near the Karakoram pass and at Fukche in central Ladakh and Niyoma would be the third airbase to come up, according to Air Officer-Commanding (AOC), Jammu and Kashmir, Air Marshal J Chouhan told PTI here. “After the Daulat Begh Oldi airbase, another one is coming up in Indus valley in Niyoma where we are developing an airstrip,” he said. “We will carry out trial landings probably later this year. Building an airfield is a massive job. To make it operational, it will take some more time,” the officer said. “This air strip could be used both for tourism and for our own purpose,” the AOC said. Referring to the need of this airstrip, he said: “It is a central place for security set up and also for tourist sector. Besides, Niyoma is well connected with roads from all sides via Manali and Leh.” “Since a large number of tourists come here, it could be developed as a big airport in future. At present, people can land only at Leh,” he said. “Opening up of land strips and helipads along the Sino-India border is a normal build up and an exercise to ensure that land is available for the Army operations,” Chouhan said. —
PTI
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Stepmother plays foul with girl
Jammu, July 30 “I could not realise what had happened when I landed at the brothel in Lucknow. But somehow I managed to slip out from there,” Puja, who is now being looked after by the National Federation of Indian Women (J&K unit), said. She added, “After I managed to escape from the brothel and reached home, my stepmother forced me to keep mum and threatened me of dire consequences. Then, she hurriedly married me off to a man who was 20 years elder to me.” She alleged that she was married off to a man of Maniyara village in Palampur tehsil of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh. “I was detained in a house and was treated as a bonded labourer by my in-laws,” Puja said. During this period, Puja gave birth to two children. But still she was forced to live a hard life and one day she managed to escape from her in-laws’ house. “When she reached her father’s house in Jammu, she told everything to her father. But her father was helpless and did not come forward to help her,” said Meenu Rajput, a member of the NFIW. She said “Her stepmother, who eyed the property of her brother, did not allow her to stay there and threw her out of the house.” Puja said ever since her father remarried after the death of her first mother, she along with her other brothers and sisters had been facing hardship. “My grandfather (maternal) had gifted huge property to my mother during her marriage. My mother had transferred this property in the name of my brother before her death. But as soon as my stepmother came, she threw my brother out of the house,” Puja said. “Despite all property legally being in the name of my brother, he was forced to live in a rented accommodation,” Puja said. Her brother also expressed helplessness in providing her shelter and left her to the mercy of God. “We somehow came to know about her and are now seeking justice for her,” Meenu said. Repeated attempts to contact the Jammu SSP proved futile.
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Immolation bid by agitating farmers
Udhampur, July 30 Family members of the farmers whose land was acquired for the campus thronged the university this morning on getting information that the varsity authorities had been conducting interviews for Class 1V jobs. They were demanding that family members of the affected families should be given priority while making recruitments. As the cops deployed there stopped them from entering the campus, they staged a dharna outside the campus. A group of agitating youths led by Maroof Bhat sprinkled kerosene on them. Cops immediately swung into action and picked them. The police used mild force to disperse the agitating people. More than 400 kanals was acquired from 212 families for setting up the Bhaderwah campus of Jammu University. Although compensation for the acquired land has been already been given, they have now been demanding compensation as per the present market rates. Further, the affected families are also demanding that at least one member from each family should be recruited in the university.
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Varsity staff extend strike, exams postponed
Jammu, July 30 Due to this situation in the university, the Controller Examination, RD Sharma postponed all examinations scheduled for today. The examination of MA (Hindi) fourth semester, Bachelors of Ayurvedic Medical Sciences - first semester, zoology - fourth semester, geology - second semester, botany- 2nd semester, English - third semester, economics - second semester, commerce - fourth semester, MBBS - final year and LLB (five-year course) -second term, which were scheduled to be held tomorrow were also deferred and the new dates of examination would be announced after the situation becomes normal. The students are the worst sufferers due to the prevailing condition in the university. The students who had come from far-flung areas failed to get their admission because of the ongoing strike in the university. Meanwhile, the National Secular Forum (NSF) has come forward to help the students who are seeking admission in the university. They have constituted a helpline for the students. The helpline numbers are 9419100420 and 9419147073. The students could get information regarding their admission and other queries.
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Vaihno Devi staff observe strike
Udhampur, July 30 Additional chief executive officer of the SMVDU MK Devadi said thought the yatra had been going smoothly, pilgrims were facing problems due to strike of the employees. He said besides hike in the salaries, the employees had been demanding that termination order of some of their colleagues, who were terminated from services due to misconduct, should be revoked.
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Youth rescued from Hizb clutches
Jammu, July 30 A joint column of the Rashtriya Rifles and the police rescued Abdul Qayoom from Gurmul, about 200 km from here, in the district yesterday. Qayoom, hailing from Panim village, was missing from his house since July 7 and was allegedly being brainwashed by the HM cadre to join militancy and has been handed over to the police for questioning. His revelations would help the police to know the outfit's network in Doda, they added. — PTI |
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Amarnath yatra resumes from Pahalgam
Srinagar, July 30 According to a spokesman of the Amarnath Shrine Board, 958 yatris left the Baltal base camp for the yatra this morning. From Jammu, 354 yatris left for the Nunwan and Baltal base camps today. As many as 2477 yatris performed ‘darshan’ at the holy cave yesterday. |
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Ex-scribe eyes RS seat from Kashmir
Srinagar, July 30 Abdullah had vacated the seat on May 16, 2009, after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Srinagar. Wani, a former All India Radio executive, quit his job to join the NC shortly before the Assembly elections last year. The 54-year-old leader had unsuccessfully contested from south Kashmir's Pulwama Assembly seat as the NC candidate. Today was the last date for filing nominations while scrutiny would take place on July 31. The last date for withdrawal is August 1. — PTI |
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Paddar remains cut off
Udhampur, July 30 As there is no other means of transportation, this belt has been cut off from the rest of the state. This belt is known for growing peas so worst sufferers are the farmers who have been facing hardship to transport the vegetable. A team of officials has been rushed to the spot to assess the situation. |
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Students take out rallies
Jammu, July 30 Students boycotted classes in SPRM Commerce College and Government Gandhi Memorial (GGM) Science College. They took out a rally and raised slogans against the state government. The students along with the JJM leaders tried to block traffic on the busy Canal road. The students also boycotted classes in MAM College, Government College for Women, Parade, and Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar. The girl students took out a rally that culminated at Bikram Chowk. In RS Pura, the students of Government Degree College also boycotted classes. Meanwhile, the Central University Andolan Samiti also held a demonstration in front of the university gate along with the JJM activists. —
TNS |
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Survey for rail link to Leh begins
New Delhi, July 30 "The survey for the construction of a rail line between Bilaspur (Himachal) to Leh (Ladakh) has been sanctioned and the survey work has been taken up," Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa said in the Lok Sabha. He said the broadgauge line would be laid connecting Bilaspur with Leh. This would be the second ambitious project in Jammu and Kashmir connecting the state with the rest of the country, the other being the Kashmir rail link project. —
PTI |
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Jammu, July 30
Khatmarian (Indo-Pak Border), July 30
