Katra, November 23
The ever busy Katra town, the base camp of Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, today observed a total shutdown against “arbitrary” decision of the state government to modify the Master Plan and shift the proposed bus stand to a new site.

According to locals, the town observed a complete shutdown for the first time in the history. Pilgrims of Mata Vaishno Devi bore the brunt because most of the dhabas and eating points were closed and devotees were seen roaming from one place to another in search of food.

“We are searching for an eating joint to have lunch, but the market is closed,” said Dolly Kakkar, who along with her family was at the Katra bus stand to proceed on the yatra. Dolly and her family members were in the town to have darshan at the shrine on November 25 to celebrate her 25th marriage anniversary at the bhawan.

Same is the story of Ravinder Mishra, who had come from Banaras in Uttar Pradesh on the pilgrimage. “Keeping the strike in mind, the authorities should have opened additional bhojanalayas to cater to the needs of the pilgrims,” he said.

In response to the strike call by the Katra Development Centric Committee (KDCC), all shops, business establishments remained closed in Katra. Locals joined by shopkeepers and traders held a protest in the town. The protest started from the main bazaar and passed through various areas before culminating at the main chowk near the bus stand.

The protesters were shouting slogans against Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, who is holding the charge of the Urban Development Department, and the Deputy Commissioner, Reasi. They also burnt an effigy of Tara Chand.

The protest turned into a rally and was addressed by the KDCC leaders. While addressing the rally, Sher Singh, chairman of the KDCC, alleged a nexus between land grabbers and officers. He said the Master Plan of Katra town was modified without taking people of the town into confidence.

Sher Singh alleged that officers and land grabbers had struck a deal in shifting the proposed Katra bus stand.

Local MLA Baldev Raj Sharma, who was also accompanying the agitating people, told The Tribune that Katra residents were infuriated over the wrong decision of the authorities.

Sharma said he was not against the development of the town, but policies and plans should be formed keeping in view the increasing number of pilgrims. He also alleged the decision to shift the proposed bus stand was taken by the authorities to give benefits to some land grabbers.

Later in the evening, a meeting of the KDCC was held to chalk out the future course of action.

Jammu, November 23
The Mahila Sanrakshan Samiti’s (MSS) signature campaign picked up momentum today with over 2,400 people - particularly women - putting down their signatures on Day 2 of the campaign at Purani Mandi here today.

The MSS - a conglomerate of various women organisations - has been demanding a CBI probe into the alleged custodial killing of Rajnish Sharma and the arrest of persons involved in the crime. Rajnish Sharma, who had married Anchal Sharma aka Amina Yousuf before a Jammu court on August 21 this year, was allegedly tortured to death in police custody on October 5.

However, Anchal’s father, Mohammed Yousuf Mirazi, had lodged a complaint against Rajnish accusing him of kidnapping his daughter, a charge outrightly denied by the girl.

Briefing supporters, core committee member Priya Sethi said that the law of the land permitted consenting and adult males and females to marry irrespective of caste, creed or religion. “Such an act is not a crime but the Srinagar Police, in connivance with the Jammu Police, illegally kidnapped Rajnish from Jammu, locked him up in a police station for days and brutally tortured him to death,” she said.

She regretted that despite the brutal killing, the state government did not take action even a month-and-a-half after the incident. “The criminal silence of the government forced us to launch a signature campaign to build pressure so that guilty police officers from Srinagar and Jammu are punished,” Sethi said.

The MSS has also started submitting memoranda to Jammu-based ministers urging them to ensure justice to the family and widow of the deceased. “MSS will not rest till the culprits are booked and punished,” Sethi said. Core committee members Sushila Abrol and Shilpi Verma urged the people of Jammu to rise above their political, social and religious affiliations and come out in support of MSS.

The signature campaign will continue till November 30 followed by protest rallies by women from December 1 to 5 when activists would try to meet Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

The probe being carried out by the Crime Branch on the orders of a local court has not made much headway. Anchal has already moved the apex court in New Delhi where the case will be heard on November 27.

Srinagar, November 23
Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who had been facing flak from his hard line colleagues for his ‘quiet talks’ with the government, today dissolved all party units and issued a gag order to party leaders from talking on policy matters.

The decision was taken in the party meeting and party sources said putting their house in order had taken precedence with the Mirwaiz and his supporters as their hard line colleagues led by Shabir Shah and Nayeem Khan were seen going out of the way to scuttle ‘quiet talks’.

Shabir Shah though supported the decision and told The Tribune that restructuring the Hurriyat had become necessary so that it could speak in ‘one voice’. “It was a unanimous decision as we believed restructuring would strengthen the Hurriyat,” he said.

Though members of executive and general councils would retain their posts, they would not be meeting till the restructuring was done. The Mirwaiz would hold a meeting with his colleagues and the restructuring process was likely to begin after the Id on November 28.

Media reports, especially in Kashmir, were rife with the statements of Hurriyat leaders for the last few weeks with everybody espousing his own opinion on the projected dialogue and it was clearly visible that many of them were out to challenge the Mirwaiz’s authority to take decision on the amalgam’s behalf.

Sources said the churning in the Hurriyat would certainly put its leadership’s secretive talks with the government on the back-burner for the time being and might dissuade the Mirwaiz, who has been doing firefighting after being attacked by Islamist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his own colleagues, from pursuing the dialogue any further till he takes control of the amalgam.

Not only veterans like Nayeem Khan and Shabir Shah, both of whom were seen toeing Geelani’s ‘no-talks-come-whatever’ line, even many second-rung leaders, who are part of Hurriyat’s general council, had openly expressed their reservations against the talks.

A defensive Mirwaiz was forced to harden his stand and returned to the Hurriyat’s earlier rhetoric that no talks with India could be held until the security forces were withdrawn and India declared the state disputed.

The Mirwaiz and his close associates like Bilal Lone and Abdul Gani Bhat, the sources said, were particularly peeved with Nayeem Khan, who had been issuing statements almost everyday against the dialogue process and implicitly criticised his chairman terming the talks against the Hurriyat’s constitution.

Khan held the post of provincial chairman in the amalgam and now has been divested of his posts.

Jammu, November 23
Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla has said the coalition government is committed to uplift the socio-economic conditions of people, especially the urban poor and slum-dwellers, by developing colonies in Sunjwan, Bhagwati Nagar, Rajiv Nagar and Qasim Nagar under the BSUP scheme.

An official statement issued here said the minister stated this while laying the foundation stone of approach steps and retaining wall at Qasim Nagar in Bagh-e-Bahu being completed at a cost of Rs 5.6 lakh by the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC).

Bhalla said on the completion of 256 flats in Sunjwan, each comprising two bed-rooms, kitchen, and bathroom, the urban poor and slum- dwellers would be accommodated there.

For proper rehabilitation of the leprosy-hit of Rajiv Nagar and Bhagwati Nagar, the minister said the government had planned to construct 608 flats in Sunjwan , 36 flats in Bhagwati Nagar at a cost of Rs 143.51 crore, besides upgradation of 881 slum units in 21 different locations of Jammu city at a cost of Rs 3341.11 lakh and added that the works were in progress.

Jammu, November 23
Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister for Tourism and Culture, said today that the unique cultural heritage of the state would be preserved and linked with heritage tourism promotion.

Addressing the inaugural function of the two-day workshop on ‘Heritage and Science’in connection with the celebration of World Heritage Week, the minister said over Rs 150 crore was being spent for the restoration and conservation of Royal Palace, Mubarak Mandi, SPS Museum, Srinagar, Bahu Fort, Hari Parbat Fort and other famous heritage sites of the state. The workshop is being organised by the Centre of Studies in Museology and the Noor-ud-Din Noorani Museum of Heritage of Jammu University in collaboration with the International Council of Monuments and Science (ICOMs) and the State Tourism Department.

Jora said 30 monuments had been declared as protected heritage sites in the state and they would be protected and conserved. He said the government had submitted a comprehensive project report to the Union Ministry of Culture for the conservation of various famous heritage sites and monuments.

The minister said all three regions of the state had their own distinct identity and cultural heritage, which could be protected and showcased as heritage tourism.

Jora said the role of science was important in the preservation and conservation of monuments and heritage sites of cultural and historical significance. “We should adopt scientific methods for the purpose,” he added.

He underscored the need for introducing museology as a subject at the university level so that students could get jobs across the global and also play their role in protecting and preserving the cultural heritage of the state.

Jora called upon the authorities concerned to package culture in such a way so that it could be dovetailed with the tourism sector for optimising the results. He said the state received lakhs of tourists, who evinced keen interest in oriental cultural preferences. A comprehensive strategy was required to tap this potential, he added.

Prof Varun Sahni, Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University, in his presidential address, said the university was planning to introduce museology as a subject at the university level. He said World Heritage Week offered an opportunity to raise public awareness concerning the diversity of the world’s heritage. The significance and the primary role of science and technology in conservation, and even understanding cultural heritage could not be overlooked.

Jammu, November 23
Employees of the power development department (PDD) here today began an indefinite strike in support of their demands.

The employees held a sit-in protest outside the Janipur grid station. “Our peaceful protest started from 10 a.m and lasted till 5 p.m.Around 1000 daily wagers participated in the protest”, said Tarun Gupta, president of the PDD Daily Wagers Association.

He said the daily wagers would be holding peaceful protest demonstrations for three days after which they would decide their future course of action to intensify the stir.”For the first three days, we would be holding a peaceful protest after which it would be intensified and the government itself would be responsible for the consequences”, Gupta said.

The employees have been demanding regularisation and release of the pending salaries for the past 35 months.They also want to convert the need-basis employment to the casual day labour (CDL).

“There are employees who haven’t received their salaries for the past 35 months.

We had earlier served an ultimatum on the government, but nobody paid any heed to our demands.So,we were left with no other option but to go on indefinite strike”, said Gupta.

There are around 3500 daily wage employees of the PDD who have been working on the critical power generation and transmission in the Jammu region.A large number of the daily wagers have lost their lives while discharging their professional duties, they allege and say that the department has not paid a single penny to the family members of the daily wage employee who died while performing their duties.

Jammu, November 23
Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda today promoted 29 personnel for displaying exemplary courage while combating militancy and saving the life and property of people. He lauded the role of all ranks in the force for maintaining vigil and mounting pressure on militants and their mentors.

Khoda said personnel have been fighting in tough and extremely hostile conditions and putting their lives at stake. “These bravehearts in the line of duty avoid any collateral damage during operations against militants across the state,” he said.

Two sub-inspectors have been promoted to inspector rank, three Selection Grade Constables have been made head constables and 24 constables have been promoted to Selection Grade Constables. Recognising the bravery and courage exhibited by these personnel, the DGP - while presiding over the Police Establishment Board meeting - said that they have boosted the morale of all ranks of the force.

“All police personnel who have shown such exemplary courage in eradicating militancy would be honored in the same manner,” said Khoda, reiterated that the Jammu and Kashmir Police was determined to wipe out militancy from the state and create a well-protected environment where the rights of the people were safeguarded.

Jammu, November 23
Accusing Dean Student Welfare (DSW) JR Tara of not taking action against the Director Business School for delay in registration of aspiring Phd students, activists of the National Secular Forum (NSF) held a protest on the campus of Jammu University today.

The protesters gheroed the DSW office and blamed the authorities concerned for delay in action against the Director Business School.

Addressing the protesters, Vikas Sharma, president of the NSF, accused the Director Business School of manipulating the registration process of Phd.

He said out of 30 students, who had cleared the entrance test, the case of only two students was discussed in the meeting of the board of research study, thereby neglecting other deserving students.

“Students whose case was taken up in the meeting of the board of research study are closely associated with the Director Business School,” Vikas alleged. The protest continued for two hours. Mohammad Ansari, president of the varsity unit of the NSF, accused the Vice-Chancellor of being indifferent towards the problems of the students.

“The Vice-Chancellor never exhibited interest in meeting student organisations,” he alleged and demanded that the existing Vice-Chancellor be immediately removed.

Sanjay Sharmam, chairman of the NSF at the university, has appealed to the Chancellor and the Pro Vice-Chancellor to hold an inquiry into the matter and take strict action against the Director Business School. He also demanded the Vice-Chancellor be replaced by a local.

Meanwhile, JS Tara assured the students that an inquiry would be initiated in the matter on November 25.

Jammu, November 23
To keep a check on the activities of some unidentified persons wearing service uniforms and entering remote villages to harass civilians, Udhampur District Magistrate Ajay Khajuria has ordered a ban on the sale, purchase, stitching and use of service uniforms by unauthorised persons in the district. The ban has been imposed with immediate effect and would remain in force for two months.

The order has been issued on the basis of reports from security and intelligence personnel that militants wearing service uniform had been found moving around in remote areas of the district posing as Army, security force personnel and committing atrocities on civilians.

According to the District Magistrate’s order, unauthorised persons have been barred from selling and purchasing combat dress, besides use of uniform articles.

The use of Army-type painted vehicles by civilians has also been banned in the territorial jurisdiction of Udhampur district.

Srinagar, November 23
Experts and academics today underlined the importance of documentary film making in addressing different issues concerning society.

Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day South Asian Film Documentary Festival at Kashmir University, film-makers and academics asserted that documentary films were a powerful medium of expression. “Documentary films can address critical issues confronting society like global warming, deforestation, conservation of Dal Lake and extravagance. It is a forceful medium of expression when it comes to dissemination of information or educating people about these issues,” said Prof AR Yousuf, Dean Academic Affairs, who presided over the festival.

He said the festival gave an opportunity to the students to examine the technology being used in making documentaries and the issues addressed by the documentary film-makers. The festival is being organised by the varsity’s Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC) in collaboration with the Anhad Institute of Media Studies (AIMS).

Jammu, November 23
Protesting agriculture technocrats engaged under Rehbar-e-Zerart have threatened to go on an indefinite fast and resort to immolation if their demand for regularisation of services was not fulfilled before December 5.

Demanding the regularisation of services as junior agriculture assistants, the protesters have been on a chain fast in front of the Press Club, Jammu. The protesting employees continued with their demonstration for the eighth consecutive day today.

In a statement, Surinder Randotra, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture Technocrats Association (Jammu division), said various organisations had supported their cause.

“Last time, we committed a mistake by calling off the dharna in Srinagar on the assurance of the Chief Minister. We are determined this time to continue our protest till our demands are fulfilled,” he said.

Bilal Ahmed Gani, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture Technocrats Association (Kashmir division), said the government had assured to meet their demand in August. “Three months have passed and we do not see any headway. So, we have decided to intensify our struggle from next month,” he added.

Jammu, November 23
After recording the statement of a minor schoolgirl, the police yesterday booked the Principal for abetting the victim to attempt suicide.

At the same time, the police also booked the minor for attempting suicide. It may be stated here that 12-year-old Raj Rani, a class VI student of Government Middle School in Gorkha Nagar, had set herself ablaze on November 17 after the Principal, Rizwan Ara, accused her of stealing money from her purse and had paraded the victim on the school premises.

Giving details, SHO, Bagh-e-Bahu police station, Anu Kumar, said in her statement the girl told us that she had been accused of stealing money from the purse of the Principal.

Subsequently, the girl had threatened to commit suicide. The Principal had asked her to do whatever she wanted to, said the SHO. “Acting on the girl’s statement, we booked the Principal under Section 109 RPC (a bailable offence)”, he said, adding the victim had also been booked under Section 309 RPC (attempt to commit suicide).

The girl, who had sustained 15 per cent to 20 per cent burn injuries, is under observation in Government Medical College and Hospital here.