Jammu, February 16
After neighbouring Punjab backed-tracked on an agreement denying Jammu and Kashmir its share of electricity and water from Thein Dam over the Ravi in Kathua district, the work on an alternative channel upstream the river to lift water from the right bank of the river would begin in September this year.

The state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here late last evening gave its go-ahead to the proposal.

The Tribune had reported in November last year that the state government had been pondering over a proposal to directly lift its share of water from the right bank of the Ravi.

“The work will begin after we finish a detailed project report, besides conducting a geological survey in the next six months,” PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Minister, Taj Mohi-ud-Din told The Tribune.

After six months, we would go to the state Cabinet seeking funds to execute the project, said Taj. He added that a four-member high powered committee headed by the Chief Minister had been constituted to work out the modalities, besides looking into the litigation aspect and recovery of dues from Punjab.

Besides Omar and Taj, the committee included Law Minister Ali Mohammed Sagar and Chief Secretary SS Kapur.

The Cabinet decision would be communicated to the Punjab government and the Union Ministry for Water Resources, he said.

The state government earlier claimed that Punjab owed Rs 2,180 crore on account of denial of power share of 20 per cent for the past 10 years from Thein Dam and Rs 1,500 crore for the Punjab government’s failure to build the Shahpur Kandi barrage over the river.

The losses have now swelled to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore on account of the non-execution of the agreement by Punjab signed with us way back in 1979, said the minister, adding that the Supreme Court would be moved for the purpose.

However, we would afford options to the Punjab government before moving the court, asking it to give us 40 per cent share of electricity for the next 10 years, Taj said.

The minister also said now no land would be given to the Punjab government for the Shahpur Kandi barrage till it fulfils other clauses of the agreement. The state government’s decision, if acted upon, would help irrigate 1.33 lakh acres of agricultural land.

Under the agreement, the Ravi canal had to start from the Shahpur Kandi barrage that had to be constructed by Punjab downstream Thein Dam.

In the absence of the Shahpur Kandi barrage, the state government came up with three irrigation lifts at Lakhanpur, Basantarpur and Ujh as a stopgap arrangement, but the irrigation lifts failed to pay desired dividends.

Jammu, February 16
First, she became a victim of atrocities by militants, who broke her bones and drove her out of her native place in the hinterland of Ramban to Udhampur district headquarters. There is no end to the trauma of this destitute woman, who now is getting threats from and thrashing at the hands of the local land mafia that wants to grab her small plot allotted by the administration.

Fajjo migrated from Gool, Ramban, in September 1997, as there was threat to her life from militants. The district administration allotted a six marla plot to her at Bharat Nagar, Jakhani, in Udhampur.

However, she continues to face threats of eviction from the local land mafia, who has beaten her several times to drive her out of the little piece of land she owns. “Last year also, they roughed me up and left me bleeding profusely. Later, on a police complaint, they provided me some medical aid,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“They pelt my hut with stones during night and threatened me with a revolver,” she alleged. She added, “Despite several representations to the police, no action has been initiated against the accused. The police instead harasses me when I approach it.” Recalling the past, she said: “A group of five militants entered my home one night and started beating me. They asked me to send my elder son to join the militant group, to which I refused.”

She added, “They started beating me with the butts of their guns. They broke my both arms and inflicted serious injuries in my legs. The head injury has severely affected my memory.”

Fajjo has become an invalid since then. She begs for her survival. Her elder son lives in Ramnagar, while she along with her 13-year-old son lives in a crumbling tenement put up on the allotted tract of land. “Since migration, I have not got any relief from the government other than this piece of land that they want to grab,” she added.

“She is a mentally disturbed woman. On her complaint, we took cognisance of the matter. But she does not have any witness for obvious reasons,” said SHO concerned Arvind Samyal.

Jammu, February 16
Militants usually use guns and bombs to kill innocent people, but this militant has been settling scores with security personnel and people helping them in anti-militancy operations by chopping off their heads or that of their relatives to spread terror.

The terror of this ruthless militant Mohammad Aslam, alias Jaan Nissar, divisional commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen in Rajouri, came to an end two days ago in a fierce encounter with the security forces.

With him ended a sordid saga of inhuman torture and brutalising of security personnel and their informers. He had in the last few years allegedly killed five security men, and beheaded a six-year-old son of a Territorial Army jawan to teach the soldier a lesson for working against the militants.

Sources in the police and the Army revealed to The Tribune that Aslam was one of the most wanted Pakistan-trained terrorists who had successfully evaded many operations to nab him since 2004. “We were on his trail and after his body was identified, it was confirmed that he was the militant behind the serial killings of security men and their informers.”

A resident of Kalar in the Kandi area of the district, Aslam had kidnapped and killed a TA jawan in 2007, and killed the boy a year later. He beheaded an SPO and a BSF jawan, who had come to his native village in Rajouri on leave.

He kidnapped an SPO, whose headless body was found days later in the forest area of Rajouri. These were just some of the main killings the militant carried out even as the security forces were on his trail.

“He was a local and well trained in Pakistan,” said the sources. They added that he specifically targeted those locals who worked against militants. “This made the locals hungry for his blood and more information about his whereabouts started pouring in. This eventually led to his killing,” said the sources.

They said a joint operation launched by the Amry, Rashtriya Rifles and the police, helped by intelligence agencies, led to his killing.

Jammu, February 16
While the BJP has been utilising all its resources to show its strength during the visit of party president Nitin Gadkari on February 25, the PDP has decided to gherao the Assembly on the first day of the Budget session against the failure of the NC-led coalition government.

For years together, it had been a routine affair for the BJP to march towards the Assembly on the first day of the Budget session, but this time the PDP had hijacked its agenda.

The Budget session is scheduled to start on February 22 and BJP leaders, this time, are more particular about making arrangements for the visit of Gadkari. The PDP leaders have been channelling all their energy to make the proposed protest impressive. A meeting of the party leaders was held today to chalk out a strategy for the programme.

Vowing to aggressively pursue the pro-peace and pro-people agenda, the PDP asserted to become the voice of the common masses, as the party had filled the political vacuum created after the NC and the Congress forged an alliance.

Addressing the meeting that was convened by newly-elected district president of the PDP Suram Singh, the PDP leaders exhorted party workers to educate the masses about policies and programmes of the party. They said the PDP had pioneered an agenda of peace and development and the party workers would aggressively pursue this agenda to mitigate the miseries of the masses.

The PDP leaders claimed it was due to the pro-peace and reconciliatory polices of the party that peace was restored on borders all along from Kathua to Kargil. It was decided in the meeting to hold a demonstration on February 22, the first day of the Budget session.

Party’s vice-president Trilok Singh Bajwa, general secretary Balbir Singh, former minister Rangil Singh, MLA, Darhal, Choudhary Zulfikar, Shanti Devi, Ved Mahajan, AK Sawhney, Suram Singh, Jagjeet Singh Jagga, Deepinder Kour, SK Raina, Choudhary Hussain Ali Bafa, KK Sharma, Mohammed Hanif Choudhary, Chatar Saini, Rafiq Malik, KK Sharma and others addressed the meeting. Party’s youth wing president Bashir Asad, vice-president Rajinder Manhas and secretary Deepu Chib were also present in the meeting.

Jammu, February 16
Already facing criticism for not effectively taking up peoples’ cause, the BJP has made it a prestige issue to “effectively” gherao Union Home Minister P Chidambaram during his visit in the city of temples.

As a majority of the people pointed out that leaders have announced this programme as symbolic protest to hoodwink the gullible masses of the Jammu region by raking up their emotions, the BJP has been “working” overtime to remove this impression.

Party leaders have been trying to give an impression to the people that they are not going to lodge a protest only for publicity. It is alleged that some BJP leaders have taken senior police officers into confidence for their agitation during the visit of the Union Home Minister, though state party president Shamsher Singh Manhas has stoutly denied such charges.

“These allegations are wrong”, Manhas said and vowed that the party would oppose the proposed surrender policy. He asserted that the BJP would not allow the Centre to implement this policy in the state. He said all MLAs and senior leaders had assigned the job to make the scheduled protest a success.

For quite some time, the BJP has been facing criticism for adopting “cooperative” attitude towards the state government. The party faced embarrassment when the PDP had organised an impressive protest in Jammu on price rise and the BJP leaders could not take up this issue on the streets. It was only after the PDP protest in Jammu, the BJP started taking up this issue.

A meeting of the party workers was held today to take stock of the preparations made regarding scheduled protest during the visit of the Union Home Minister.

Manhas assigned the job of protest to senior party leader Chaman Lal Gupta, who was briefed about the meetings being convened in different areas of Jammu city during the past two days to educate the people and the party activists about the surrender policy and ensure their participation in the protest.

It was decided in the meeting that Gupta will lead the massive gathering of party activists, including senior leaders and the MLAs, to hold protest and court arrests tomorrow, the day when Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram is visiting Jammu to discuss the issue of surrender policy with the state government. The motive to court arrests is to warn the UPA not to fall into the trap of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and adopt a firm Kashmir policy.

Jammu, February 16
The Panun Kashmir, All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC) and the Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch have jointly decided to organise a protest demonstration on February 25, the scheduled day for the controversial Secretary-level talks with Pakistan in New Delhi. The protest would be held at Jammu.

While addressing a press conference here today, president of Panun Kashmir Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo asked about the reasons behind the government’s move in taking a complete U-Turn in its policy of not talking to Pakistan, keeping the national interests at bay.

While reminding to Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who will reach here tomorrow, Virender Raina, national spokesperson of the Panun Kashmir, stressed that Pakistan had not kept its promise that its territory would not be allowed to be used for spreading terrorism against India. He said Pakistan had been consistently aiding and supporting terrorism against India.

Meanwhile, these organisations jointly rejected the proposed surrender policy for the terrorists who have crossed the LoC and are stationed in the PoK and Pakistan.

Commenting on the issue, Chrungoo said the controversial move of the government in this regard was dangerous and had serious security implications.

“The stated move of the government to grant amnesty and free passage to the terrorists has agitated the minds of all nationalist forces, including displaced Kashmiri Pandit community,” Chrungoo said. He said the Kashmiri Pandit community and other marginalised sections of the state had been struggling for the past two decades for relief and rehabilitation and the government had always been non-serious towards their plight.

Srinagar, February 16
While separatists have rejected the newly announced surrender and rehabilitation policy for Kashmiri youths who have crossed over to the PoK in the past two decades, the APHC has pinned all hopes on the resumption of the Indo-Pak dialogue process beginning later this month.

An executive committee meeting of the APHC presided over by chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today discussed the forthcoming Foreign Secretary- level talks between India and Pakistan that are scheduled to begin on February 25. Describing the resumption of the dialogue as a “healthy political process”, the meeting resolved that the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir be considered at any level of talks for a permanent and amicable solution to the Kashmir problem.

According to an APHC spokesman,the meeting also expressed concern over the arrest of senior party leaders, including Shabir Ahmad Shah and Nayeem Ahmad Khan, who have been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) following the recent violence in the valley. It also condemned the use of excessive force by the government and added that a resolution of the Kashmir issue was the only way out for the restoration of peace and prosperity to the state.

Both factions of the Hurriyat Conference as well as other organisations have already opposed the surrender policy of the state government.

Meanwhile, reports from Muzaffarabad, PoK, have revealed that the Kashmiris living there after crossing over during the past two decades, have rejected the policy saying that they had been forced by the government of India to cross over. 

Srinagar, February 16
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reviewed developmental works in Ganderbal and Bandipore districts at the district headquarters of Ganderbal, near here, today. The District Development Board meeting of Budgam district is being held tomorrow.

While chairing the Bandipore District Development Board meeting that was held at the Ganderbal district headquarters, near here, this morning, the Chief Minister called for a focused thrust on achieving physical targets. He asked officers concerned not to be complacent with financial expenditure alone, even as he complimented districts like Samba and Reasi for good expenditure and progress in physical targets achieved.

Omar asked the project executors to maintain a strict quality standard and extend full support to NABCOM in the assessment of works being undertaken. He said 600 works across the state had been entrusted to NABCOM for assessment and evaluation. He also directed to furnish a statement of liabilities to him for clearance as no liability would be accepted in the next financial year.

The Chief Minister, who represents his home constituency of Ganderbal, called for an integrated approach by the officers to realise the targets successfully fixed under the current district plan, while chairing a review meeting of the Ganderbal District Development Board. He reiterated his thrust on effective monitoring of works at all levels.

Omar said the government had also roped in NABARD for monitoring work done in the district under various sectors. “This is over and above the monitoring mechanism put in place by the state government through its Planning Department,” he added. The financial expenditures made should be reflected in fiscal achievements on ground, he said.

Laying stress on the maintenance of quality, the Chief Minister told the district administration to make the quality of works the benchmark for performance. “No compromise will be tolerated on this count,” he asserted.

Srinagar, February 16
A day after the killing of two militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit, tension gripped the Kulgam area of south Kashmir today in the clashes between agitating residents and the police, injuring at least 17 persons. The police lobbed teargas shells and fired in air to chase away the protesters in the Redwani area of Kulgam district.

At least seven civilians, three of them seriously injured, were injured in the clashes and have been shifted to the hospitals. Of the seven civilians injured, four had received bullet injuries, while three others were injured due to stone throwing.

According to the Kulgam SSP, a group of agitating youth resorted to heavy stone pelting on the police and CRPF personnel in which about 10 police personnel and CRPF men were injured.

Trouble started when the police stopped people from attending the funeral of two militants, who were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Koimoh yesterday.

The two Lashkar militants — Ashraf Moulvi and Rauf Ahmad Bhat — were killed in an encounter in Koimoh village of Kulgam district yesterday. After their bodies were handed over to the locals, the last rites were being performed in the nearby Rampore village this morning.

The residents alleged that the police prevented the residents to participate in the funeral prayers and indulged in unprovoked firing that injured at least four persons.

The protesters also tried to snatch crash helmets and weapons of the police personnel, prompting the police to fire in air. A curfew-like situation prevailed in the area with heavy deployment of the police and CRPF men to maintain law and order.

Jammu, February 16
Two persons were killed and eight others injured in road mishaps in the Jammu region today, the police said.

It said a truck loaded with onions, on its way from Jammu to Srinagar, fell into a nullah in the Battery Chashma area, killing driver Satish Kumar and another person Vijay Kumar, both residents of Haveli in Poonch, today.

Jammu, February 16
Routine work at all government departments, including hospitals, was paralysed today as the employees went on a two-day strike.

Demanding implementation of the agreement signed between their representatives and the state government last year, the government employees in different departments and public sector undertakings struck their work. The two-day strike has been called by the Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC).

Patients, who came from various parts of the region, had a tough time as the OPD services in Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, and Shri Maharaja Ghulab Singh (SMGS) Hospital could not run in view of the employees’ strike. However, the emergency units of the hospitals worked normally as they were exempted from the strike.

Meanwhile, employees staged protest dharna at the headquarters of different departments and raised slogans in support of their demands. In Jammu, EJAC leaders, including Ram Kumar Sharma and Mohammad Gafoor Dar, visited all office complexes, hospitals and held demonstrations.

In a statement, EJAC spokesperson Balwan Singh Jamwal said they were unanimous in decision to carry the ongoing struggle to its logical conclusion. He impressed upon the government to avoid confrontational attitude and sort out long-pending issues at the earliest.

“The routine work in all state government and public sector offices remained paralysed throughout the state and the strike call has remained successful,” he added.

He also criticised the state government for backtracking from the commitment made with the employees on August 19 last year.

Their demanded included release of arrears of the Sixth Pay Commission in favour of the state government and PSU employees and pensioners, conversion of COLA into DA with immediate effect and full implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission in favour of employees of PSU vide SRO-92, removal of pay anomalies of clerical and all other cadre employees, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, regularisation of all ad hoc, contractual, consolidated and daily rated workers and uniform HRA to the state government employees.

Jammu, February 16
A journalist of a national Hindi daily was allegedly abused and kept under illegal confinement for about an hour by the SHO of Bagh-e-Bahu police station this afternoon.

The incident happened around 1 pm, when the journalist was passing through the Bagh-e-Bahu area on his motorcycle. The journalist, who found that a police party was penalising traffic rule violators, tried to point out to the SHO that he, too, was among the violators because his vehicle had tinted glasses.

“The SHO started abusing me and took me to the police station. If these things can happen with mediapersons, what could be the fate of a common man,” the journalist said.

Later in the evening, a group of mediapersons met SSP Basant Rath and demanded the suspension of the SHO concerned. The SSP has marked an inquiry into the incident and called the SHO for an explanation. 

Jammu, February 16
With the Sawalakote hydroelectric project that remained in the news for all wrong reasons, the Sawalakote Consortium today called on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and expressed desire to restart the execution of the project.

The controversial Sawalakote project, which was envisaged eight years ago with a target of 1200 MW power generation, could not be executed because of various decisions taken from time to time and legal issues involved in the project.

The consortium members gave a presentation of the project and discussed various issues involved in restarting the project.

Omar advised the members to remain in touch with the commissioner, PDD. The professionals and experts of the Power Development Department will accordingly assess all aspects of the project and shall make their recommendation appropriately for consideration by the government.

The project had to come up in the Ramban area over the Chenab river, but allegations of huge kickbacks received by the politicians who remained in power from time to time, had forced then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to revoke the letter of intent, which had been issued to the Sawalakote Consortium.

Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Dr Haseeb Drabu, Advocate General Mohammad Ishaq Qadri, Principal/Secretary to Chief Minister Khursheed Ahmad Ganai, Commissioner/Secretary Planning BB Vyas, Commissioner/Secretary, Power Development Department, BR Sharma and Commissioner/Secretary Finance Sudhanshu Panday were present on the occasion.