Srinagar, November 14
At least five infiltrators were killed when the Army foiled an infiltration bid in the Uri sector of Baramulla district today. A defence spokesman said here that the alert troops foiled the infiltration bid ensuing a gunfight with the armed militants in the Kalapahar area of Uri this afternoon.

Five of the infiltrators were killed in the encounter that concluded later this evening. The gunfight was over while the search to flush out any hiding militants was going on, the spokesman said. Those killed were yet to be identified.

Jammu (PTI): The security forces busted two militant hideouts and seized a large cache of ammunition and explosives, including grenades, in Poonch and Ramban districts, the police said today.

While the Rashtriya Rifles and the Territorial Army jointly busted a hideout in the Tindura belt of Poonch district yesterday, another was found by the security forces today in a forest near Banihal in Ramban district, a police spokesman said.

The seizures from the hideout in Poonch district included 35 rounds belted PIKA ammunition, 13 rounds of loose PIKA ammunition, an AK magazine, 26 rounds of AK ammunition and three Chinese grenades.

The seizures from the hideout in Ramban district yielded two AK magazines, 89 rounds, two under barrel grenade launchers (UBGLs), five detonators and eight gelatin rods, the spokesman said. 

RS Pura, November 14
Rain and winds caused widespread damage to the paddy crop in the region last night.

Most of the damage to the crop was witnessed in Simbal Morh, Rattian, Baspur, Banota, Kullian and Abdullian villages. In some parts, fodder was also damaged, due to which farmers might face problems in winter.

This is the time when paddy is ready for harvesting, and rain for past the three days and high velocity winds had damaged the crop.

A visit by the Tribune team to the RS Pura area revealed that at many places paddy was damaged in the fields. According to farmers, about 20 to 30 per cent of the crop was damaged by rain, and if the rain continued the damage could increase.

Last year, the crop yield was 15 to 16 quintal per hectare. But this year the expected yield is 11 to 12 quintal per hectare.

In some villages, harvested paddy waiting to be lifted has been damaged due to moisture. Notably, basmati of this area is famous in the state for its quality and aroma, which too has been affected by rain.

Apart from paddy, the showers also destroyed off-season vegetables in various villages.

At Simbal Morh village, Lachman Dass lamented, “Rain has played a cruel joke on poor farmers when the prices of essential commodities are touching the sky.” He added the Agriculture Department should give compensation to the affected farmers.

A senior official of the Agriculture Department in Jammu said they were taking the stock of loss due to rain in the region.

Jammu, November 14
A study on Gujjars conducted by the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation has revealed that over five lakh Gujjar tribal children live in utter deprivation in the state.

The study says the Gujjar children are mostly forced by their parents
to work as labourers because of poverty.

“Parents of Ajhari and Manjhi children are not aware of the government schemes for their education and social uplift, as they live in far-flung areas and are nomads moving from one place to another,” said Dr Javaid Rahi, national secretary of the Tribal Foundation.

The foundation carries out studies on tribes and cultures and will shortly come out with a survey on the condition of Muslim Gujjars in the state.

Gujjars, a nomadic tribe, constitute about 20 per cent of the state’s population of about 12 million and mainly live on cattle rearing. In summer, they live in the higher reaches of the state, and come down to plains in winter.

Rahi said the facilities provided to the girl child in this community were inadequate. “This can be understood from the fact that there are only two Government Gujjar Girl Hostels in Jammu and Srinagar for about 1.2 million Gujjar women.”

The community also feels the pinch of insufficient educational opportunities for Gujjar girl students. Rahi said, “Only eight girl students could make it to the university this year for postgraduate studies.”

The study reveals that a few girls from the Ajjhari and Manjhi sub-tribes of Gujjars go to school, and there is a very high dropout rate due to compelling economic or domestic reasons and early marriages. Extreme poverty, child labour and early marriage are “pushing the future of Gujjar children into dark”.

Rahi said their survey had revealed that out of 100 Gujjar children in the age group of 7 to 15 years, about 75 are engaged in ‘physical labour’. They were being exploited due to poverty, he said.

According to the survey, “The worst condition is of the children of Ajjhari Gujjars (shepherds) and Manjhi Gujjars (buffalo keepers) - 83 per cent of who have not seen school, while 17 per cent gets education in religious institutes.”

A large number of these children are working as domestic helps. “At least 17 per cent Gujjar children inherit bonded labour from their parents.”

Jammu, November 14
To mark the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, people from all walks of society participated in the Jammu Marathon, held for the first time, here today.

Minister for Revenue and Relief Raman Bhalla flagged off the marathon, while Mayor Kavinder Gupta distributed awards among the winners.

A large number of participants were expected in the marathon, but rain played spoilsport. “About 3,000 persons had registered their names for participation, but rain turned away a large number of them. Still it was successful,” said organiser Amit Sethi. He added, “Our aim is to spread message that people of Jammu and Kashmir wants peace.”

Besides schoolchildren, youngsters and aged people were also seen running in the morning. “My grandchildren are participating in the event and that is the reason why I am also running in the marathon. It will give them immense pleasure,” said Ajit Singh, in his late seventies.

Smiles on the faces of children were writ large as the marathon started. “I am feeling very happy because this is the first time when I am running with other schoolchildren and am enjoying it,” said Kajal, a student of Navyug High School.

The marathon started at 8.15 am from Apsara Road, Gandhi Nagar, and proceeded via Green Belt Park, Bahu Plaza, Panama Chowk, Bahu Fort Bridge, Gujjar Nagar, DC Office, Residence Road, Christian Colony and culminated back on Apsara Road.

At the end of the marathon, Mayor distributed prizes among the winners and also gave away certificates to the participants.

Srinagar, November 14
Paying rich tributes to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 120th birth anniversary, Minister for School Education Peerzada Mohammad Sayed impressed upon the teaching community to translate Nehru’s cherished dream of bringing the country on a par with advanced countries in the field of education.

Addressing a school function here on the occasion, the minister said Nehru gave a strong base to India on industrial and educational fronts, adding that our country today was the largest developing and democratic country.

He said Panditji also day in and day out along with his colleagues worked for mitigating the sufferings of the common people living in various parts of the country.

He always advocated the cause of common people and highlighted their problems and formulated various welfare schemes for the underprivileged people, the minister said.

Jammu, November 14
Eminent doctor and veteran Sangh Parivar ideologue Om Parkash Mengi died after brief illness here this morning. Popular in Jammu city as Doctor Mengi, he was a prominent RSS leader and had participated in various movements launched by the Sangh Parivar from time to time.

Survived by son Dr Gautam Mengi and two daughters Dr Vinod Gandotra and Urmil Puri (now in the USA), 92-year-old Mengi remained active till the last days of his life. During the last year’s agitation for Amarnath land, he was among the first to have offered to court arrest.

Various social, political and religious organisations have mourned the demise of Mengi and recalled his contribution in strengthening the nationalist movement in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mengi did his MBBS from Amritsar and later went to Lahore in year 1945 to do BDS there. For more than 40 years, he remained head of the RSS of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. He had long association with Ved Mandir, Goushala, Home for Aged and Infirm, Bal Niketan, Sewa Bharati and a number of other social organisations of the state. Mengi was jailed in 1953 during the Praja Parishad agitation and at the time of Emergency.

Jammu, November 14
The team members of the project PAHL, an initiative of the Damodhar Satri Udyog Sanstha, urged the government today to allow adoption of orphaned/abandoned children in the state.

The members led by chairman of the sanstha Onkar Nath Chandra made this request to Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla at the Children’s Day function organised by the sanstha on its premises at Mohinder Nagar here this evening. Bhalla said Jawaharlal Nehru, a true nation builder, laid a strong foundation of modern India and inspired people surrounding him to dream big. Bhalla also distributed warm clothes and gifts to street children enrolled under the project PAHL.

Onkar said the number of orhpans had increased manifold, yet all couples who wanted to adopt children faced legal hardships in the absence of a Child Adoption Act.

He urged the Chief Minister to look into the problem of migrant people, who find it difficult to enrol their children in state government run schools in the absence of school leaving certificates. Onkar said several thousand children were being deprived of their basic right to education due to lack of paperwork. There was a need to evolve a framework to accommodate such children so that they were not deprived of their right to education, he added. Guest of honour Renu Anthony, principal of Jesus Cares Convent School, appreciated the role of the PAHL team in giving a new meaning to the life of street children and pledged support to the project.

The Revenue Minister gave away mementos to Jasmeet Singh, Seema Bhan, Sunita Chandra and Mandeep Singh, all PAHL volunteers.

Jammu, November 14
After the Supreme Court asked the Omar government to clear its stand on a lawsuit seeking a CBI probe into the alleged custodial killing of Rajnish Sharma, the state government has tasked its standing counsel Anis Suharwardy to argue the case on November 27.

“Our standing counsel in the apex court advocate Anis Suharwardy will represent the state,” state law secretary GH Tantray told The Tribune.

Rajnish Sharma, who had married Anchal Sharma, aka Amina Yousuf, before a Jammu court on August 21, was allegedly tortured to death in a Srinagar police lock-up on October 5.

A Bench of Justice Altmas Kabir and Justice Cyriac Joseph had yesterday sought the state government’s stand on the lawsuit filed by Rajnish’s widow Anchal, his mother Raj Kumari and elder brother Pawan Sharma.

The court had fixed November 27 for arguments and we were eagerly awaiting the day, said a close relative of Rajnish Sharma, who also had to face police detention. Finally, a ray of hope had kindled among the grief-stricken family members that justice would be delivered, he said.

The court also directed the state government to provide adequate security to Anchal and her in-laws, as they faced a constant threat to their lives, he claimed.

In the meantime, the Delhi Police had been asked by the court to provide security to Anchal, Raj Kumari and Pawan Sharma, at present camping in New Delhi, Rajnish’s relative added.

Apart from a CBI probe, Anchal, in the lawsuit, had also sought the immediate arrest of her father and two brothers, besides police officers of Ram Munshi Bagh and Bakshi Nagar police stations, he said. The family through its counsel Pinky Anand, convener of the BJP’s legal cell, has moved the court.

Meanwhile, the state Crime Branch investigating the case on the directions of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu, YP Bourney has so far recorded the statements of five members of the family -- Anchal, Raj Kumari, Pawan, Shallu (Pawan’s wife) and Koushal Sharma (brother-in-law of Rajnish). However, the family still awaits the copies of the statements recorded by the Crime Branch.

Jammu, November 14
Despite tourism being the mainstay of the state economy, the conspicuous absence of the tourism police in the winter capital not only has tourists, including foreigners, at the receiving end of cheaters, but also speaks volumes about the lackadaisical attitude of the government.

Being a city of temples, Jammu attracts lakhs of pilgrims and one of its famous religious places, Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, has attracted 7,420,910 devotees this year till now.

To help and protect tourists from cheaters, the concept of tourism police was launched in Jammu in 2007. But the concept now seems to be on papers only, as there was no tourism cop was there to be found. The reasons are best known to the officials concerned.

Notably, the police personnel, including policewomen, were trained to protect tourists, especially from cheaters and bag lifters. They were also taught the basics of foreign languages, including English. The tourism police was formed to help tourists in getting transport and lodging facilitating at appropriate rates and without much hassle at the railway station, airport, bus stand and important tourist places.

A visit by this correspondent to the major tourist places, including Raghunath Market, Airport, Bag-e-Bahu Fort, Amar Mahal and Mubarak Mandi Complex, revealed that there was not a single tourism policeman present there.

Asked about the tourism police, a newly wed couple from Delhi, Ramesh and Saloni, at Raghunath Market, replied “we are here in the city for the past three days and haven’t seen any tourism cop anywhere. On the other hand, in the Kashmir valley the tourism police is present at all major tourist places and protect tourists from cheaters, but here the scenario is different and shopkeepers are openly fleecing tourists.”

While another pilgrim, Harbans Lal from Ferozepur, lamented “when I visited the city last year, I purchased a Pashmina shawl from Raghunath Market for Rs 1,500. The shawl shrank after one dry-clean. But now the shopkeeper is not ready to take it back. The shopkeepers are fleecing customers and there is no check on such activities.”

Surprisingly, a senior police official expressed ignorance about the tourism police and said he was not confirmed whether the tourism police existed or not.

He also admitted that a majority of ponnywallas, photographers and restaurants were fleecing tourists in Jammu and other places.

AK Sahni, Director Tourism, Jammu, said, “Yes, the tourism police is functioning in three cities in the region, including, Jammu, Katra and Patnitop. Any officer found guilt of dereliction of duty, action will be taken against him.”

Srinagar, November 14
Kashmir’s well-known criminal lawyer Tasaduq Hussain is fighting a case in which his ‘juvenile’ client is likely to end up as a loser irrespective of court’s orders. The juvenile offender has already spent over eight months in the Central Jail with hardened criminals and the state’s piecemeal implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act means that the decision on his age will still take many months, Hussain says. 

Even if he is finally declared a minor, he will have already spent a long time in jail with hardened criminals, he adds.

First, there is no juvenile home in Kashmir. Second, many states give preference to school certificates to determine a supposed minor’s real age, but in Jammu and Kashmir it takes months of arguments before a court decides to go by an accused’s academic certificate or refer him to a medical board to determine his age.

Reyaz Bedar, SSP, Srinagar, says they send minors to the juvenile home in Jammu. Lawyers, however, contend that this is violation of minors’ rights as the Supreme Court has ordered lodging minor accused in a jail close to their homes. “It is a unique situation. Militants are lodged in Srinagar jails if they are locals, but not minors,” Ashique Hussain, another lawyer, says.

The High Court had recently ordered the police to transfer many separatist leaders, including rabid anti-India leader Asiya Andrabi, to the Srinagar jail from Jammu. But the absence of a juvenile home in Kashmir means even courts are left with no option but to put up with minors’ sufferings.

Advocates say the police routinely picks up minors, especially for stone throwing, almost a daily drama on Kashmir’s streets, and lodge them in police stations and subject them to questioning and harassment reserved for hardcore criminals.

“The very purpose of the Juvenile Justice Act is defeated in Kashmir. It is supposed to give minor criminals a chance to reform, but it actually adds to their sufferings,” Hussain says. He adds that the cut-off age in many states for a juvenile is 18 years, but it is 16 in the state.

The advocates say the state government needs to establish a juvenile home soon to show its commitment to the ideals of a civil society. It should also pass a legislation so that courts give preference to academic certificates as age determination by medical boards is a lengthy affair. 

Jammu, November 14
Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and Minister for Roads and Buildings GM Saroori laid the foundation stone for the double-laning of Chak Malal to Kaleeth Road in Khour block here yesterday. The seven-km-long stretch with four metre carriage way will cost Rs 171.24 lakh to the government.

Addressing a gathering, the Deputy CM reiterated the commitment of the coalition government to provide basic amenities like road connectivity, electricity and drinking water to people, especially those living in far-flung, hilly and backward areas.

He said the Defence Ministry had given approval for the double-laning of Akhnoor to Planwala road and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the GREF would start work on it soon.

Tara Chand also disclosed that a bridge on the right bank of the Chenab to the Hamirpur Kona left bank would be constructed at Pargwal at a cost of Rs 45 crore for which necessary approval had been received from the Centre. He asked for the submission of its detailed project report. The bridge after completion would connect Chamb with the Khour area.