Srinagar, October 7
The Army along with the police and the CRPF has shot down five militants in three different encounters across the valley and at least two soldiers have been injured, officials said.

Two militants were killed at Satkuji in Handwara during an operation launched by 1 Para of the Army and the police. Both are suspected to be from the Lashkar-e-Toiba but had not been identified. Official sources said they were likely to be from Pakistan. Another encounter at Handwara occurred in Behnipora forest in which Abu Humza, a resident of Pakistan and LeT commander, was killed.

Pampore forests in south Kashmir also witnessed clashes between the security forces and militants. The police had a tip-off regarding the presence of militants involved in last month’s blast outside the Srinagar jail, which left three policemen and a woman dead, in the jungles and they together with the Army and the CRPF launched a search operation yesterday.

They busted a hideout, sources said. Rations were seized from the hideout. The Army pressed helicopters into service to spot militants. They established contacts with them last evening and a shootout took place. Official sources said Bilal Ahmed, a resident of Tral in Kulwama district, was killed in the encounter had been killed and the operation was on as they believed more LeT militants might be hiding in these vast forests.

A Hizbul Mujahideen militant was also shot dead in the Uri sector by the Army. He has been identified as Abdul Hamid Bhat, alias Jamshed, and he had infiltrated from the PoK three months back, the sources said.

Meanwhile, security forces today averted a major tragedy after defusing about 10 kg of IED at Manyal Ki Gali, about 10 km from Thannamandi along the Rajouri-Poonch road in Rajouri district.

Police sources said a joint team of Special Operation Group of the police and troops of the 43 Rashtriya Rifles on specific information seized 10 kg of IED from a water pipe at Manyal Ki Gali in Rajouri district today. The security forces defused the IED and cordoned off the area and have launched a search operation.

Jammu, October 7
The administration of Baba Ghulam Badshah University at Rajouri has suspended nine engineering students accused of ragging a fresher two days ago, according to a spokesman of the varsity.

Meanwhile, the ‘anti-ragging squad’ set up by the university said it had foiled another attempt to rag a student in the shopping complex of the campus last evening.

Narrating the incident at a press conference today, Parikshit Sagotra, a first-year electronics student and a resident of Jammu, said he had a “shocking experience” on the very first day of the course session when, according to him, a group of 14 students beat him up for refusing to strip.

“On October 5 evening three students called me out from my hostel to play cricket. When I reached the ground a group of about 14 boys encircled me and asked me to introduce myself. They then ordered me to sing and dance, which I did. However, to my utter shock, they then asked me to remove my clothes. When I refused they kicked me and beat me up till I fell unconscious. They later warned me if I complained to the vice chancellor or anyone else they would kill me”, said Parikshit.

“After some time one of the seniors offered me a glass of water and told me this norm on the university campus and if I wanted to continue my studies there I would have to bear all that,” he added. He said after the incident he was “too scared” to go back to the varsity hostel.

The university’s public relations officer, Ishfaq Zari said the anti-ragging quad “took cognizance of the incident and recommended immediate suspension of the nine students” involved in the incident. “The squad foiled another ragging attempt in the campus shopping complex last evening,” he added.

Udhampur, October 7
The failure of the authorities to provide transportation facility for schoolchildren in Doda and Ramban districts has forced people to themselves monitor the plying of passenger vehicles and forcibly put their wards aboard them.

At some places, especially in Doda district, people have constituted committees to check the movement of vehicles and take action against the drivers who did not allow schoolchildren to board their vehicles. People have blamed the administration for the problems being faced by the students. They alleged that operators of buses and minibuses had publicly announced not to allow students to travel in their vehicles, but the authorities failed to take action against them.

As reported earlier, drivers of passengers vehicles in Doda and Ramban districts were not allowing students to travel on their vehicles after the traffic police had started a campaign against overloaded vehicles in these areas. However, drivers said they could not afford to give concessions to the students in underloaded vehicles.

Meanwhile, a high-level meeting was held at Ramban to solve the transportation problem of the students. The Assistant Transport Officer was asked to press additional buses and minibuses during peak hours on different routes in Ramban district for the convenience of the students.

The police officers present in the meeting assured the Additional Deputy Commissioner that they would not allow any body to take law into his hands and disrupt the peaceful atmosphere of the district. 

Jammu, October 7
Leaders and supporters of the National Panthers Party led by state president of the party Balwant Singh Mankotia today held a protest against the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) decision of appointing a special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir. The OIC last week during its meeting in New York had appointed a special envoy to the state.

The Panthers Party activists held a protest outside the office of the United Nation’s peacekeeping force at Jammu and demanded de-recognition of the OIC from the panel of the UN. Mankotia submitted a memorandum to the UN secretary general through its office in Jammu and demanded the termination of the recognition of the OIC from the list of recognised groups in the UN.

The Panthers Party accused the OIC for playing the game of ISI to support terrorism in the state and create communal conflict. The memorandum said the OIC had submitted to the UN that it should fight against terrorism but it was supporting terrorism in the state. The OIC was interfering in the internal affairs of India by appointing an envoy for the state, where it had no locus standi to intervene in Indian affairs.

Jammu, October 7
The ongoing strike by SRTC employees today completed 43 days with no side in a mood to give in. Though the employees suspended their “jail bharo andolan” for a day today, they said it would restart court arrest from tomorrow.

The SRTC employees have been demanding the release of pending five-month salaries, besides the implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.

“We have been demanding salaries for the last five months deposit of contributions to GP and CP funds deducted from salaries for the past 10 years in our accounts,” said Ashok Mehra, president of the SRTC Employees Union.

He said the employees had also been demanding the constitution of a departmental promotional committee (DPC) to look into the pending promotions in the department.

“For the past many years, no employee below the rank of booking manger has been promoted. We want the government to constitute a committee to look into the matter and form the DPC to award promotions to the employees,” Mehra said.

SRTC officials say the daily earning of the department is around Rs 20 lakh and the monthly salaries of around 4,316 employees amounted to Rs 3.5 crore.

“If the department earns Rs 6 crore per month, it should put all money into the exchequer of the state government and pay our salaries, as is done by other states,” said Paramjeet Singh, general secretary of the union.

Meanwhile, the employees today suspended their “jail bharo andolan” for a day and said they would proceed for the same from Thursday.

“We would resume the jail bharo andolan from tomorrow. We plan to cross the Tawi Bridge and hold protests there and court arrest,” Mehra said.

SRTC Managing Director Anoop Kannaw said the department did not have sufficient funds to fulfil the demands of the employees. “If the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission are implemented, their monthly salary bill will jump to Rs 5.5 crore,” Kannaw said.

Jammu, October 7
In the face of the ongoing doctors’ stir, health services remained paralysed throughout the region for the third consecutive day today. Due to the ongoing stalemate between the doctors and the state government, patients continued to suffer.

The effect of the strike was clearly visible at the Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital where emergency services hit, besides no surgeries could be conducted and services at the out patient department and general wards also remained paralysed.

Likewise in the peripheral areas, work at all health centres and hospitals remained disrupted.

Protesting in favour of their demands, postgraduate doctors working at the GMC Hospital rued that as per the new pay grades, their counterparts in Delhi, Chandigarh and other Central government institutions were drawing around Rs 45,000 per month while their pay scales were far less.

The protesting doctors, including B grade specialists and assistant surgeons, alleged that a discriminatory attitude adopted by the state government was forcing specialist doctors to opt for jobs out of the state.

The protest march at the GMC Hospital was also joined by the doctors from Government Dental College, Jammu. “We regret that patients are facing inconvenience due to the stir, but without an indefinite strike it was impossible for us to stress upon the government to get our demands fulfilled,” said Dr Satyainder Singh, president of the Doctors Joint Action Academy.

Udhampur, October 7
All employees of the medical sub-centre, Ladden, were suspended as a team of doctors during a surprise checking found the centre locked at 1 pm today. The checking was conducted following complaints from people that this sub-centre located in a remote area of Udhampur district remained close most of the time.

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO), while confirming the suspension of some employees, said the surprise checking was conducted as there were complaints that the centre usually remained close. This morning, a team of doctors on the directions of the CMO, Udhampur, reached the centre located near the Ladden Power House, Chenani.

The centre was found locked when the team of doctors from Udhampur reached there. After getting approval from the higher ups, the team suspended the entire staff. Two of the suspended employees have been identified as Jagdish Raj, a pharmacist, and Lalita Devi, a multipurpose worker.

Interestingly, Today was the immunisation day and all medical centres in different areas of Udhampur district were directed to immunise children. The casual approach of the centre’s employees could be gauged from the fact that despite orders to immunise children today on the immunisation day, they did not open the centre.

Catering to the needs of more than 10,000 people, this centre usually remained close. Residents of Ladden had repeatedly brought the matter to the notice of the authorities concerned.

On the one hand medical centres located in remote areas of Udhampur had been facing a shortage of medical and paramedical staff, on the other those deployed in these centres had been playing truant.

Srinagar, October 7
The central government will provide Rs 639 crore required for the execution of the Poonch-Shopian Mughal road project, that was agreed upon during the two-day visit of the central team that concluded yesterday.

The high level central team not only agreed to continue Rs 298 crore for the conservation of the Dal Lake, but also provide additional requirement of Rs 356 crore for acquiring structures and land, an official spokesman here said.

Describing the visit of Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar along with Union secretaries to the state as highly successful, the government thinks that the funding for the completion of the Mughal road has been increased as compared to the earlier 50-50 funding pattern.

The central team has also decided to consider positively the suggestions of the state government to provide two 1,000 high capacity thermal power plants to the state in order to supplement its immediate power requirements so that not only domestic but also international and foreign oriented infrastructure get a boost.

The team has appreciated the need of strengthening health infrastructure in the state. In this connection, a Rs 2,627 crore scheme under the HIDP was discussed threadbare. Accordingly, the central team has agreed that in Phase-I the Centre shall help the state government to start comfortably. The participatory water management programme estimated to cost Rs 740 crore was also discussed thoroughly.

The central team agreed to take care of the disclaimer issue because of which the project was pending with the World Bank. With the guarantee and intervention of the Centre by resolving the disclaimer issue, the prestigious project of Rs 740 crore would prove highly beneficial in the development era of the state. Various other developmental issues, including Baglihar, national highway from Lakhanpur to Uri, Batote-Khilani road, and other sectors were discussed during the visit.

Jammu, October 7
Someone was speaking Bengali while someone was speaking Tamil, but all of them understood what they had come for: to show unity and discipline, the main motto of the National Cadet Corps.

The National Integration camp of the NCC going on at Nagrota has set a perfect example of unity in diversity as cadets from all states of the country have arrived here and are living together.

“Cadets from all 17 NCC directorates from across the country have come here to participate in the ongoing NIC camp,” Group Commander, NCC group, Jammu, Colonel Malook Singh told The Tribune. He said around 500 students, including 200 girls, had come from all over the country to participate in the camp.

“This is a perfect opportunity for us to interact with our counterparts from other parts of the country. We get to know about their customs and traditions,” a cadet from Orissa said. He said: “This is for the first time that I got a chance to visit Jammu and Kashmir and I am thankful to the NCC for giving me this opportunity to visit this beautiful state.”

Minister for Medical and Technical Education, Youth Services and Sports RS Chib today visited the camp at Nagrota and interacted with the officers and the NCC cadets.

Brigadier Anil Gupta, Deputy Director General of the NCC, said the state had become the first state in the country to achieve the target of complete enrolment of NCC cadets.

“We have given a proposal to the state government to allow us to establish three new units in the state, one in Ladakh, Udhampur and Jammu,” Gupta said.

Meanwhile, the cadets who have arrived from different states presented cultural programmes.

Jammu, October 7
No longer modern woman is known as a figure of servitude and sacrifice. Today’s woman wants reciprocation of devotion from her hubby as she holds for him.

“Though I am fasting for the well being of my husband on the occasion of Karva Chauth today, I am not going to touch my husband’s feet after sargi. I want to be cared instead of being blessed. I want a companion in my husband and not some Godly figure,” Neha Gupta, a business executive, said.

“Just looking at women as mother, sister, beloved or wife is a skewed idea about us. We too have human existence which needs tender care and affection. Sooner men understand and accept this fact, better it is for institution of family,” Sarla Sharma, a teacher, said.

Pallavi Sharma, an announcer with Radio Kashmir, Jammu, said: “Marriage is all about understanding; an ideal husband should be intelligent, well placed and somewhat good looking who treats his wife like a friend rather than imposing dominance.”

However, in several cases men seem not so open to winds of change. Girls and women with spurned expectations are falling prey to stress related disorders.

Dr JR Thapa, a senior psychiatrist at Government Psychiatric Diseases Hospital, Jammu, said: “Of total patients that daily come to the hospital, as many as 5 per cent are women suffering from nervous breakdown due to marital disharmony or unfulfilled love affair”.

“We recently discharged a patient. She was a divorced woman in late 20s. Despite being educated she was a housewife due to her keen interest in homemaking,” he said narrating her case history.

“She was pregnant at that point of time and during the course of treatment gave birth to a baby boy. However, she was deeply anguished over her husband’s extra-marital affair,” he said.

“She behaves normal now, but is still struggling to cope up with bouts of depression,” he said. “Such a patient is filled with sense of rejection, dejection and deception and requires a lot of care and feeling of being special,” he added

Srinagar, October 7
A youth allegedly ended his life inside a police lock-up, the police said today. Pawan Sharma yesterday allegedly hanged himself from a grill with the help of a rope made from a mat.

The police said he was an accused in the abduction of a girl living in Dal gate locality. The police said they had evidence of his involvement in the alleged abduction of a girl by his brother Rajnish Sharma, who is absconding. He was locked in Rammunshi Bagh police station where he ended his life. A magisterial probe has been ordered.

One of his kin alleged that the police tortured his brother to death and the suicide drama was enacted as a cover-up. “Rajnish and the girl were in love and they ran away. He has not murdered anybody. Why should Pawan commit suicide?” he questioned.