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39th Mountain Division withdrawn from valley
Militant hideout busted, arms seized
Gujjars missing at key posts, says survey
Minister meets agitating technocrats
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Hurriyat leader critical but stable
Unite for rights, CPM to people
Omar aims to strengthen SKIMS
Forum hails CM’s remarks on women reservation
Morcha to highlight issues of PoK refugees
Promote communal harmony, says Vohra
Natrang Theatre stages plays
PDP concerned over lack of facilities
Need to ‘revive’ baand pather
Home guards celebrate raising day
CBI books 4 officials for fraud
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39th Mountain Division withdrawn from valley
Jammu, December 6 The Army has completely withdrawn the 39th Mountain Division from Rajouri and Poonch and has relocated it to its base in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Although senior Army officers are tight-lipped on the issue sources informed that the entire division comprising of 15,000 men has been withdrawn from the insurgency affected districts of Poonch and Rajouri. Even as the Home Minister had admitted that the withdrawal of forces was a "risky step", the residents of the frontier districts are apprehensive that due it militant activities in the area would increase. Jammu based PRO of the Ministry of Defence Lt Col Biplab Nath said, "These are operational matters which can not be disclosed, but I must tell you that there are certain elements which have been relocated." The process of relocating the 39th Mountain Division had started four months ago, but the withdrawal was completed in November end. The 39 Mountain Division, which originally is a part of the Yole based 9 corps of the Army, was deployed in Jammu and Kashmir in the early 90's to strengthen counter-insurgency grid in the area. Albeit it was withdrawn once, the Division was redeployed during the Kargil conflict in 1999. In J&K the division was working under the Nagrota based 16 corps of the Army. The General officer in Commanding of the 9 corps Lt Gen GM Nair while addressing mediapersons on September 1 this year had said that the process of shifting the Division had started and some units had already reached their base in HP. Last year, the Army had withdrawn the Naria (Rajouri) based 27 Mountain Division - a step allegedly taken by the government under pressure from the then ruling partner PDP's demand for demilitarisation of the region. The step of phased relocation of the Army from the state is seen as part of the Centre's planning to increase the role of the state police to look after security in the state. Last month, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also hinted on the withdrawal of the Army from the state by saying that the government wanted to give more responsibilities to the paramilitary forces and state police. He had also said the Srinagar-based 15 Corps was providing specialised training in counter insurgency operations to the police force.
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Militant hideout busted, arms seized
Jammu, December 6 An Army spokesman said acting on specific information, a joint team of the Army and the police yesterday launched a search operation and seized a consignment of four AK 47 assault rifles 60 round, three pistols and around 3.5 kg of RDX and 17 explosive sticks from a hideout in the Balakote sector of Mendhar tehsil. An Army spokesman said following the recoveries, the security forces had launched a massive search operation in the Balakote area to ensure that no militant had entered into Indian side from across the LoC. As per sources, the consignment was kept for the infiltrating militants, who have been desperately trying to infiltrate into the Indian side prior to the closure of various infiltration routes due to heavy snowfall. Late last month Chief of Army Staff General Deepal Kapoor had said around 2,000 to 2,500 trained terrorists were waiting across the LoC to infiltrate into the Indian side. Meanwhile, the BSF averted a major tragedy after they detected and defused a land mine near the Indo-Pak International Border border in Samba district today. Acting on a tip-off, BSF personnel deployed near the Manguchak area recovered a land mine, which was later defused by them. Last month, a senior BSF officer of the rank of DIG lost his life when the vehicle he was travelling during a combing operation came upon an IED in the Balad outpost of the Ramgarh sector of the same district. |
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Gujjars missing at key posts, says survey
Jammu, December 6 Releasing the survey, Dr Javaid Rahi, National Secretary of the Foundation, said: "We had chosen 10 major government institutions for conducting the survey, which was aimed at knowing the reasons for the backwardness of Gujjars, who constitute more than 20% of the total population of the state and are Scheduled Tribe since 1991, getting 10% reservation in government jobs." According to the survey conducted in all 32 departments of Civil Secretariat, there was not a single Gujjar working at the rank of Under Secretary or above to the rank of Chief Secretary. The survey conducted in Civil Administration reveals that in Senior KAS, there are 319 senior officers in civil administration and only three belong to Gujjar tribe while as per the constitutional provisions there should be 32. As per the population, this number ought to have been 64. There are 41 Super Scale, 39 above Super Scale and 163 HODs/IAS (96) officers/others in the civil administration of the state and only one Director (Social Welfare) belong to Gujjar tribe. In district administration, only one Deputy Commissioner belongs to Gujjar Community and no Gujjar is serving as district SSP anywhere in the state. The situation was even worse in the police department. Out of 30 SSPs, only one belongs to Gujjar tribe and he too was posted as Staff Officer, while among 2l DIGs, 19 IGs and ADGS/DGs, there is no representation of Gujjars, the survey revealed. In the state judiciary, there are 67 district and session judges but only two are from Gujjar community while as per quota, this number should have been seven. As per population ratio, it should have been 14. Out of the 303 teachers in Jammu University, only two belong to Gujjar tribe. As per quota, the number of Gujjars should have been 30 and as per population ratio it should have been 60. Out of 364 teachers in Kashmir University, there was not a single Gujjar teacher whereas as per constitutional provisions, 36 ought to have been from Gujjar tribe. In Government Medical College, Jammu, five teachers are Gujjars out of a total strength of 160. Among 170 teachers in GMC, Srinagar, only one teacher is from the Gujjar community. The situation was similar in other government departments as well. |
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Minister meets agitating technocrats
Jammu, December 6 However, president of Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture Technocrats Association (JKATA), Surinder Radhotra, in a statement today said it was again a fake assurance. He said the condition of one of the fasting technocrats was deteriorating but the government was indifferent. Later, one of the agricultural technocrats, Yaqoob Hussain of Baramulla, sitting on a hunger strike outside the Press Club here fainted today. He was rushed to the Government Medical College. —
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Hurriyat leader critical but stable
Srinagar, December 6 The police lobbed teargas shells in Maisuma locality in central Lal Chowk area and downtown localities around Nowhatta to disperse the agitating youth, following rumours about the deteriorating condition of the injured APHC leader. However, there were no reports of any serious injuries. Police investigations into the attack on the APHC leader are in progress, sources said. “We are on the right track,” said a police officer without divulging further details. Meanwhile, the condition of senior Hurriyat Conference leader, Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi, who was injured in the attack on Friday evening, is stable but critical at the ICU of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) for the second consecutive day today. “He is stable but critical and continues to be on ventilator,” Director, SKIMS, AH Zargar said. He added that there was no major change in Qureshi’s health condition during the past
24 hours. The injured leader continues to be under a constant observation and any decision to remove the support system would be taken tomorrow, the Director said. |
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Unite for rights, CPM to people
Kathua, December 6 |
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Omar aims to strengthen SKIMS
Srinagar, December 6 Addressing the 27th annual day function of SKIMS at the SKICC here yesterday, Omar asked the doctors and management to make every effort to strengthen the institute and provide better medicare services to the people. He said late Sheikh Sahib founded Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) to provide specialised medical facility to the people at their doorstep and “we have to ensure it fully”. The function was organised on the occasion of the 104th birth anniversary of the founder leader of National Conference and former Chief Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. A number of functions to mark the inauguration of various other projects were held on the occasion across the state. The Chief Minister maintained that SKIMS is the result of the vision of Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who conceptualised the SKIMS, SKICC and other major projects and laid the edifice for all-round development of modern Jammu and Kashmir. He said the Sheikh was far ahead of his times in formulating policies for largescale development and administrative reforms to involve public representatives at grassroots in the process of plan formation and implementation of schemes by giving the conception of ‘single line administration’. In his address while inaugurating Government Degree College, Ganderbal, near here, Omar’s home constituency, the CM impressed upon the teaching community to devote full time for imparting quality education to the students to enable them meet the challenges of life better. He said the infrastructure required for all the colleges would be provided, including teaching staff. Earlier, the Minister for Higher Education, Abdul Gani Malik, said the Degree College had been completed at a cost of Rs 7.50 crore and is spread over 55,000 sq ft area. He highlighted the requirements of the colleges functional across the state and appreciated the role of teachers. He said the Higher Education Ministry has plans to make websites of all the colleges and that they would be fully equipped in respect of hostel, library, laboratory, computer lab facilities etc. The Chief Minister also laid the foundation of a colony being constructed for displaced families of Chuunt Kul under JNNURUM costing Rs. 8.08 crore, at Athwajan near here. The colony will house 246 families and work is expected to be completed in two years. |
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Forum hails CM’s remarks on women reservation
Jammu, December 6 While addressing a press conference at the University of Jammu, president of the forum Dr Anuradha Goswami welcomed the statement of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for giving 50 per cent reservation to women in the coming Panchayat elections for proper decentralisation of political values among the masses. Dr. Goswami said if the spoken words of the Chief Minister got implemented on the ground, it would be the milestone achievement in the history of the state. She also hailed the statement of Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather, who announced to open a women cell at district level. Dr. Goswami appealed to the state government to reconstruct the State Women Commission before opening the women cell in every district, for effective counseling and justice to the women in the state. The president of the Forum expressed gratitude to the state government for opening women colleges in every district to provide education to each and every girl of the state at their doorsteps. Meanwhile, Dr. Goswami announced Shalika Gupta as vice-president of the forum, Saleem Qureshi as legal adviser, Rakesh Chib as convener and JP Singh as general secretary of the forum. |
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Morcha to highlight issues of PoK refugees
Jammu, December 6 A three-member committee called “Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) Sangharsh Morcha has also been constituted. Talking to mediapersons at Geeta Bhawan, Ramesh Chander Sabharwal, member of the PoK Refugees Forum, said the anti-national elements should not be given right to take decision on the issues of the PoK refugees of 1947. Expressing discrimination on the part of the government, the members of the Forum said though they had also faced genocide, till date they had not been given the status of refugees and were not given compensations, as were given to other displaced persons/refugees. “At present over 12 lakh PoK refugees are residing in different camps in Jammu province but they sans all basic amenities,” Prof Narrinder Singh, member of the Forum, said. Demanding registration of the families of the PoK refugees, Prof Narrinder Singh maintained that lakhs of people were vacated from the PoK in 1947, but till date the government had not registered them. He demanded that the government should also maintain a record of their evacuated property and give them compensation, keeping in view the size of their population and property which they had in the PoK. The members of the Forum demanded that the government should announce reservation for their children in the fields of health and education. “The government should constitution a refugee development board for the welfare of the PoK refugees,” Yuvraj Gupta, member of the Forum, said. Meanwhile, different organisations of the PoK refugees of 1947 constituted a united three-member committee called “Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) Sangharsh Morcha” to highlight their common issues in front of the state government. The committee includes Yuvraj Gupta as chairman, Prof Narrinder Singh as convenor and Rajeev Chuni as adviser. Ramesh Chander Sabharwal warned the state government that if it continues to ignore the PoK refugees, then they would launch an agitation for their rights. |
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Promote communal harmony, says Vohra
Jammu, December 6 The awards instituted by the Council for Promotion of Dogri Language, Culture and History and sponsored by The Voice of Millions Publications comprised a shawl, citation and memento. Speaking on the occasion, the Governor emphasised the need for promoting communal harmony, brotherhood and secular ethos, as these contributed in a big way to peace and normalcy, which enables the harmonious growth of society as a whole. Referring to the disturbances which took place last summer, he said they caused enormous academic loss to the students, besides the gigantic economic loss. He said we should also think of practical measures to protect and promote the languages and literature, which portray history and carry forward our invaluable heritage. Referring to Sanskrit and other languages, including Dogri, he said there was need for building up these languages from the school-level upwards. The Governor congratulated the recipients of the Dogra Ratan Awards for their contributions in various fields. The Governor complimented Balwant Thakur for his play “Ghumayee” staged on the occasion, adding that the message portrayed by this play is frighteningly close to the situation likely to emerge in regard to water scarcity due to climate change. The Governor also released a special issue of The Voice of Millions brought out on the occasion. Convener of the Council for Promotion of Dogri Language, Culture and History Prof Bhim Singh spoke about the aims and objectives of instituting the Dogra Ratan Awards. Earlier, the former Vice-chancellor of Jammu University and chairman of the Dogra Ratan Awards Committee Prof MR Puri, in his welcome address, appreciated the Governor for tackling difficult and challenging situations. |
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Natrang Theatre stages plays
Jammu, December 6 The first play, ‘Bhanwar Dar Bhanwar’ in Hindi, directed by Balwant Thakur and was staged at the Natrang Studio Theatre and the second, ‘Ghumayee’ in Dogri, written and directed by Balwant Thakur was staged at the Abhinav Theatre. ‘Bhanwar Dar Bhanwar’ was a comedy of the post-Independence period. The play was full of funny episodes, which the audience enjoyed to the fullest. The story revolves around two sisters having contrasting interests. The elder one is an introvert whereas the younger is outgoing. They enter into confrontations most of the time, owing to opposite ideologies. A boy enters their life with two different identities suiting ezch one their perspectives. His relationship with both reaches a stage where both are willing to marry the man of their choice, not realising that it was the same person who was befooling them. Finally, when the truth is revealed, both give a sound thrashing to the boy. The play underlines the fact that ideological differences create such divisions that an outsider can play havoc! Gaurav Jamwal played the lead role, while Romilla Besnet and Rajani Bhatti played the two girls. |
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PDP concerned over lack of facilities
Srinagar, December 6 Addressing a one-day workers conference at Shangus in south Kashmir, PDP MLAs Mansoor Hussain, Abdul Rehman Veeri and Muhammad Rafi Mir lashed out at the state government for its failure to mitigate the sufferings of people. While the government had failed to look into the basic problems confronting the people of the state, especially in the rural areas, Kashmir was facing acute shortage of water, power and rations, they said. The speakers said the biggest achievement of the PDP government was that it restored the confidence of the people in the democratic setup and large participation in the elections was a strong indication that the people wanted their representatives to perform both on the political as well as developmental fronts. “However, the situation has worsened on all fronts since the new coalition took over,” they said. |
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Need to ‘revive’ baand pather
Srinagar, December 6 “We have to concentrate on art for the revival of baand pather. It needs to be taken seriously,” says Bhawani Bashir Yasir, a theatre director. The theatre director said this folk art had now been commercialised. “Element of belongingness, which is vital for its revival, is missing,” he added. This Kashmiri folk form is an art of presenting a play in any folk form. “It is a style and doesn’t belong to any particular class,” says the theatre director. “Bands were wandering performers and earned their livelihood through plays. Baand pather includes mimicry, humour and satire “on every trade or community. Performances are based on oppression and suppression that people faced at the hands of rulers. Baands (folk performers) communicated between rulers and public.” He added that though the number of baand pather was growing, it was losing its quality. Referring to the folk theatre artistes performing during the week-long festival (November 16-23) organised by the Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Yasir said a few were seriously interested in art. He believes that simply holding such festivals don’t guarantee its revival. “It requires professional guidance, full-time involvement and concentration. The festival shouldn’t be organised for the sake of it. Artistes should interact, discuss and identify loopholes to explore the folk art.” |
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Home guards celebrate raising day
Jammu, December 6 An impressive parade by the contingents of the auxiliary police, home guard and the civil defence was held to mark the day. Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda took the salute on the occasion. Thereafter, IGP S Gopal Reddy read out the raising day messages of her excellency, President of India and NN Vohra, Governor of the state. The members of the Civil Defence, Jammu, who have been awarded with the President’s Home guard/Civil Defence meritorious service medals, were honoured with the medals by Kuldeep Khoda. |
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CBI books 4 officials for fraud
Jammu, December 6 Sources said the woman, who had been shown as a physically challenged person and whose qualification had also been supported by fictitious certificate, had also been booked. In a separate case, the CBI booked two officials - RK Gupta and SK Ghassi - of the Archaeological Survey of India for causing a loss of Rs 4.86 lakh to the state exchequer. —
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