Jammu, September 24
Their hearts long for the Kashmir valley but their minds say “no”. They have seen the valley either on televisions or read about it in journals and books.

They are the generation next of the internally displaced Kashmiri Pandits and don’t want to return to this “paradise on earth” even if the state and the Centre doles out sops to woo them.

The state government constituted an apex committee headed by Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla on September 15 to monitor the effective implementation of the Centre’s package of Rs 1,618 crore for the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits.

Under the package, Kashmiri Pandit families willing to go back would get Rs 7.50 lakh each to construct their houses in the valley and a government job to a member of every family. The package is aimed at helping 50,000 Kashmiri Pandits return home.

However, the younger generation born after the mass exodus of the community in 1989 appeared reluctant to go back to the valley.

“I never visited Kashmir and don’t want to return because of fear psychosis and feeling of uncertainty,” says 19-year-old Richa Kaul, a student of GGM Science College here.

“My parents do talk about the return package, but safety comes first. And 20 years on, they still feel the situation in the valley is not ripe for returning,” she added.

Richa, who plans to do masters in business management to make a place for herself in the private sector, candidly confesses that the government jobs have dried up and she does not want to look back. She says: “How I can forget the struggle of my father, a private employee, who had to start from a scratch after he along with my mother had to flee the valley.”

Richa as a toddler spent 10 years in a shabby and congested one-room house in the Company Bagh area before they moved into a government flat allotted recently to the displaced families in Muthi. The family hails from Manigam.

Khushboo Saraf (18), a native of Habbakadal in Srinagar and the only child of her parents, says if the government could give us a guarantee about our safety, we could think of returning. “Putting life to risk for a petty government job and Rs 7.50 lakh to construct a house does not make sense,” she adds.

“Born in a migrant camp and living a life of a refugee there for 10 years, and then in a government quarter in Janipur for four years still haunts me,” says 17-year-old Rashi Bazaz, whose family hails from Kokernag.

Last year, the family constructed a house in Durga Nagar using its petty savings from over the years. The question of going back to Kashmir was simply not acceptable to me, she says.

Similarly, Sunny Koul (19), Ashwani Handoo (20) and Tushar Raina (18), who come from Anantnag, Habbakadal and Anantnag, respectively, are skeptical about their safety in the valley. “We want to go back to where we belong, but we are concerned about our safety,” Sunny says.

Echoing similar views, Ashwani and Tushar feel that though militancy has declined considerably, threat perception still exists.

Jammu, September 24
Government Psychiatry Hospital here, which caters to the whole Jammu region, is acutely short-staffed with just three consultant doctors to cater to over 200 patients who come for treatment daily.

Doctors in the hospital, which functions under Jammu Medical College, say it is necessary to employ more people as mental disorders are on the rise in the region due to militancy-related problems in the state.

“There is a total lack of concern and sensitivity towards this (psychiatry) wing of the medical college,” a doctor in the hospital told IANS.

“About 5 per cent of the six million population of the region suffer from acute mental disorders while 15-20 per cent from mild disorders, which can be due to many factors,” a doctor said.

Apart from the average 200 patients visiting the OPD daily, around 70 persons are admitted in the hospital at any given time.

The Jammu region comprises of remote, mountainous areas that don’t have psychiatrists. Hence, people cannot get treatment in the initial stage of the mental disorders. “They are brought in for treatment only when the illness gets acute,” a doctor said.

Besides civilians, the psychiatry hospital in Jammu also treats “referral cases from the police, paramilitary and armed forces”.

“The situation in the valley is not so bad as there are about 25 doctors there,” a hospital source said.

The rise in number of such patients can also be attributed to more awareness among people. “Earlier there were reservations to come to a psychiatrist for treatment... Now there is no such hesitation and people have become sensitive to their mental health,” the doctor said.

There are three psychiatrists in a private medical college in Jammu, but the number is still “insufficient” for the region, he added.

Rajinder Singh Chib, state Minister for Medical Education, expressed concern over the prevailing situation and said: “We are planning to get the shortcomings corrected and I assure it will happen soon.” — IANS

Jammu, September 24
Four days on since the Special Investigation Team (SIT) started investigations into the fudging of evidences by six suspended police officers in the Amandeep murder case, it has not even succeeded in recovering the weapon of offence - a country-made pistol.

Further, the SIT has been subjecting the suspended police officers to questioning.

Amandeep Singh, son of former MLC Deepinder Kour, was allegedly shot at by Jatinder Singh, son of Choudhary Nagar Singh, a prominent businessman, on August 29. Amandeep had died next day in a Delhi hospital.

Though the police had arrested the main accused, Jatinder Singh, and co-accused Royal Singh of Dalpatian Mohalla, but following allegations of fudging of evidences by Amandeep’s family the state Home Department had suspended six police officers including a SSP. Section 201, RPC, (destruction of evidences) had also been added to the FIR against the suspended officers.

The SIT had been questioning the police officers during the day letting them off in the night, official sources said. In a bid to provide safe passage to the main accused, the suspended officers in connivance with FSL officials had allegedly replaced the weapon of offence with a rusted weapon, they said.

However, DIG, Jammu-Kathu range, Farooq Khan, supervising the case, refused to share any information.

Jammu, September 24
A 34-year-old man today sustained a gunshot on his forehead while fiddling with a licensed revolver of his employer at Transport Nagar in the Narwal area here today.

Official sources said Pawan Kumar of Shakti Nagar took out the revolver from a counter inside the shop of his employer, Nardeep Singh of Belicharana, and started fiddling with it.

Nardeep cautioned him and asked him to keep the weapon in the cupboard, sources said. However, Pawan reportedly ignored his employer’s warning and inadvertently pressed the trigger.

The bullet hit him on his forehead. He was shifted to the Government Medical College (GMC) and his condition was stated to be critical.

Srinagar, September 24
The Commission for Economically Backward Classes (CEBC), currently on a four-day visit beginning yesterday, is seeking the views of the state government on the issue of reservation for economically backward classes, the criteria for their identification and welfare measures required to improve the economic status of such classes.

The commission comprising its chairman Major-Gen (retd) SR Sinho, member secretary Mahendra Singh and joint secretary AK Srivastava had earlier visited Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Karnataka, MP, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Punjab, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh.

The commission would call on Governor NN Vohra, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Minister for Social Welfare and would also hold detailed discussions with the Chief Secretary and other senior officers of the state. Besides, it would meet mediapersons, social activists and NGOs.

Leh, September 24
After two days of deliberation on the district annual plan of Rs 7,130.90 crore for financial year 2009-10, the general council of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, (LAHDC), Leh, approved it with minor changes in the draft plan today.

The two-day general council was held under the chairmanship of chief executive councillor Tsering Dorjey.

The general council meeting for the approval of the district annual plan is usually held in April or May, but was delayed this year due to the general elections in May.

It is pertinent to mention here that the general council meetings are held at least twice (October or November) during the financial year to approve the annual district plan and review the developmental activities.

This year, the annual district plan has been divided into six major sectors, including agriculture and allied activities, social, industries and employment, economic infrastructure, planing and statistics and other sectors that include small departments.

The top priority has been given to infrastructure development in the district by allocating half of the district annual plan to it.

The construction of road and bridges under the annual plan has also bifurcated under the plan into block wise to monitor the activities easily.

Members of the general council raised serious concern over the lack of adequate drinking water supply in both rural and urban areas. Dorjey Mutup, councillor from Kungyam Constituency, suggested the general council to earmark a budget not less than Rs 1 crore for the maintenance of the rural water supply system .

Chief Exeutive Councillor Tsering Dorjey told the general council that a separate project for water supply for Leh town and Greater Chushot had already been submitted for approval to the state government.

About the poor response to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the general council also suggested to prepare a pay schedule by increasing wages from Rs 70 to Rs 150 per day to motivate people to participate.

Rigzin Spalbar, opposition leader in the general council, rejected the claim of Tsering Dorjey the claim of about 100 per cent expenditure during the last financial year.

Srinagar, September 24
The Cable Car Corporation has earned more than Rs 8 crore as revenue by mid-September as against Rs 5.73 crore last fiscal while number of operational cable cars increased from 40 to 86 during the current fiscal.

This was disclosed at the meeting of Board of Directors of the State Cable Car Corporation, which was held under the chairmanship of Tourism Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora.

The Board of Directors ordered a fresh techno-economic feasibility study to be conducted in respect of the Jammu Ropeway Project, an official spokesman said.

The Board discussed to follow up the matter of getting permission for the construction of a ropeway project at Shankaracharyaji, Srinagar, from the Centre so that this project could also be taken up in hand.

The Board also approved construction of a ropeway project at the Makhdoom Sahib shrine at Srinagar and construction of a ropeway for the Aishmuqam shrine.

The Managing Director of the Cable Car Corporation was also advised to expedite work on chair lift at Kangdori so that the resort was converted as a world-class ski resort.

The Corporation was also directed to construct a revolving restaurant at Aphrawat, which would be the highest restaurant in Asia.

The Board further directed the Managing Director to create an appropriate tourism infrastructure at Gandola and computerise the ticketing system.

Jammu, September 24
Denying that the NC has buried under the carpet its greater autonomy resolution ever since it formed a coalition government with the Congress, Mohammed Aslam Goni, political adviser to party president Farooq Abdullah, said coalitions had certain compulsions.

“To run a coalition government, some compulsions are a routine, but we are certainly not playing second fiddle to the Congress,” said Goni while responding to media queries here yesterday after announcing Jammu province office-bearers.

“Coalitions have complications. The UPA had to confront the Left on the nuke deal,” he said, but added that NC has not deviated from its autonomy resolution passed duly by the state legislative Assembly.

Autonomy strongly advocates restoration of pre-1953 status, wherein defence, foreign affairs and currency had been the prerogative of the Union government. In 2000, the NC had passed a resolution in the legislative assembly demanding autonomy for the state.

However, it was rejected by the then NDA government, of which NC was one of the partners. “We have to look into the requirements of the coalition but it doesn’t mean the NC has compromised its ideology,” said Goni.

However, he feigned ignorance about the Judicial Commission promised by Omar Abdullah before the last Assembly elections.

On the Central varsity row, he said the CM had already endorsed Jammu, but the Union government had the authority to take a final decision.

All state and union territory teams affiliated with the School Games Federation of India had been invited to participate in the championship. About 26 teams from across the country had confirmed their participation, he said. About 550 players and officials are expected to participate in the event.

The matches would be played on a league-cum-knockout basis in various educational institutions of Srinagar.