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Tight security for Budget session
Yellow rust hits wheat crop
A yellow rust- affected crop in a field on the outskirts of Jammu. A Tribune photograph
Pro-Soz faction declares war on Deputy CM
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RTI activist with crusading zeal
Victims of rights violations record statements
Kashmir Issue
Surrender
Policy
PDP vows to expose state’s
anti-youth policies
Militant outfits join hands
Workshop on primary education concludes
Chote Bade - A tale of two unemployed youths
Women-child meet held
Two held with heroin
Clashes in valley
Smuggling bid foiled
‘Govt believes in action, not slogans’
Meeting to create new admin units
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Tight security for Budget session
Jammu, February 21 Unprecedented security arrangements have made been for the session as a large number of cops have been deployed in Shalmar and adjoining localities. In the 43-day-long Budget session, there would be 25 sittings in the Legislative Assembly. The session commencing would conclude on April 5. The Budget for the year 2010-2011 will be presented on April 12. “As far as discussions during the Assembly session is concerned, we have received 1,133 questions from the members for discussion,” secretary of the Assembly Mohammad Ramzan told The Tribune. Out of these questions, 628 are starred questions, while as 505 are un-starred. “Total 57 questions, including 31 starred and 26 un-starred, were disallowed in the House”, he said and informed that 1,076 questions be allowed for discussion in the House. Mohammad Ramzan further informed that he had received 62 private members bill out of which 16 were disallowed. Similarly, 30 members have presented 112 resolutions for the discussion in the Assembly in the 25 sittings. Meanwhile, both opposition and ruling coalition have started hectic activities in view of the Budget session. A meeting of the legislators of the coalition government would be held late this evening at the residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Leaders of both Congress and National Conference would attend this meeting to evolve floor coordination. “Being partner of the coalition, we have already given directions to our members to coordinate with the NC for smooth functioning of the House,” spokesman for PCC Ravinder Sharma told The Tribune. A meeting of the PDP legislators was held this evening at the residence of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in which party devised strategy for the Budget session. All senior leaders attended the meeting in and it was decided to corner the government on different issues. The PDP has already announced to gherao the Assembly on the first day of Budget session on the issue of shortage of ration and price rise. The Pensioners’ Association has already announced to start a march on the first day of the Budget session. |
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Yellow rust hits wheat crop
Jammu, February 21 This has increased the worries of farmers as during the last year the air borne fungal disease had caused extensive damage to the crop. The impact of disease was visible in the entire command area having 14 agricultural zones. The Department of Agriculture had assessed that wheat crop of over 11,000 acres was affected by the disease, causing nearly 70 per cent loss of the
produce. This year, the disease has started affecting wheat fields in entire region with highest reports from the Bari Brahmna area. The scientists fear that it may devastate the wheat crop if not controlled in time by spraying fungicides. According to Dr VS Verma, senior scientist (Plant Pathology), SKUAST, Jammu, this time the wheat crop in irrigated belts has been attacked by yellow rust disease. “The disease is caused by a fungal pathogen, Puccinia striiformis that destroys foliage. In severe cases, followed by sterility of spkilets it affects yield due to shrivelled gains,” he said. “The disease appears as small yellow coloured pustules, mainly on leaves, and in severe infection on leaf sheaths, stalks and also on glumes. The colour of leaves fades and the disease is recognised by yellow powdery mass on leaves and other infected plant parts,” he said. “The disease attacks wheat plant in presence of high humidity in the field, which is easily met under irrigated wheat fields. The farmers of the area are advised to spray the crop without any delay with Propiconazole using 1 gram of chemical per litre of water. The fungicide may be available as Tilt or any other name in the market. Subsequent sprays may be repeated at an interval of 10-14 days, depending upon the severity of the disease,” he added. Director (Agriculture) Ajay Khauria said though our field agencies keep constant monitoring, the issue was not brought into his notice yet. “If the reports are true, timely action would be initiated to minimise the impact of
disease.” |
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Pro-Soz faction declares war on Deputy CM
Jammu, February 21 The pro-Soz faction organised a rally in the hometown of the Deputy Chief Minister and showed its strength. Although Congress leaders, including Lok Sabha member Madan Lal Sharma and Minister of Medical, Technical Education and Sports R S Chib avoided a direct attack on Tara Chand, workers seized this opportunity to launch an attack on the Deputy Chief Minister and charged him with misusing funds. They minced no words in attacking him and alleged that he had been adopting a pick-and-choose policy in initiating development activities in the constituency. Some workers alleged that undeserving persons had been given the benefit of the schemes meant for the poor and the downtrodden. The pro-Soz faction also seized this opportunity to consolidate its position by roping in some party leaders who are annoyed with Tara Chand. The Deputy Chief Minister had received a setback when one of his detractors, Kuldeep Raj Verma, was nominated vice-chairman of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs)
Board. He had opposed the nomination. Verma is a native of Khour which is also the constituency of the Deputy Chief
Minister. At today’s function, the pro-Soz faction felicitated Verma on his appointment. “Through this function, we want to give a message to Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, who has already opened a front against PCC chief Saif-ud-Din Soz”, a senior Congress leader told The
Tribune. Not only Verma, but also all newly nominated vice-chairpersons of boards were felicitated. |
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RTI activist with crusading zeal
Jammu, February 21 Raman did not forget that.When the RTI Act was implemented, he went there again with the power of asking a question. Action was taken immediately against those misusing domestic cylinders at the railway station. Subsequently,Raman filed 185 applications and became one of the most prolific RTI activists of a state which is yet to fully implement the Act; is without information officers and has no head of the Information Commission. “Of the 185 applications I filed, 10 were sent to different offices in Jammu and Kashmir, but there has not been any response”. "I find this disturbing that state politicians harp on autunomy and independence, but when it comes to empowering
the masses, there is dilly-dallying”. Raman remembers his first RTI application was for an uncle whose landline phone security was not refunded. “He had lost hope after making endless rounds of BSNL offices. But when I routed an application under the RTI Act through the Prime Minister’s Office, the security refund came within a few weeks. He, however, demanded fine for the delay.The BSNL sent a cheque of Rs 2 as interest which was later raised to Rs 17. “I have kept the cheques with me. I got a note that the money would be deducted from the person handling the matter.That was more satisfying than the interest”. “ In another case, I noticed a broken letter box in Nai Basti Chowk. I filed an application seeking the reason for the delay in the repair. The letter box was repaired the next day”, he recalled. Raman says officials even make false promises in reply to RTI applications. He once petitioned the Centre about a broken bridge over the
Ravi and asked when a new one would be constructed. After a lot of delay, the government promised a new bridge in nine months. “But it is two years now. And the new bridge hasn’t come up. This is where the State Information Commission has to look into-the validity of promises made under the RTI Act.” Raman has now taken it upon himself to train people free of cost.He also feels bad about the headless State Information Commission.“ The RTI movement is suffering in the state.
This may not affect the government, but the movement is defeated,” he complains. |
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Victims of rights violations record statements
Srinagar, February 21 The tribunal comprised retired judges, human rights activists, journalists and academics. The hearing, “An independent Peoples’ Tribunal on Human Rights Violations in Kashmir”,was organised by the Act Now for Harmony and Development (ANHAD) and the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). Haseena Bano, mother of Tanveer Ahmad, in her statement alleged that police and CRPF personnel shot her son in the chest as he came out of his shop in Safakadal chowk a few years ago. “Initially, the police refused to register an FIR.But later,it did so. An ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh was sanctioned, but it was never given”, said Bano. Another middle-aged
woman, Mehbooba Bano, said the family neither received the promised ex-gratia nor was provided a job after losing its son, Feroz Ahmad Khan. Javaid Ahmad Tak, president, Humanity Welfare Organisation, while appreciating the public hearing said:” This is a forum
for sufferers to narrate their tales of woe”. Parveena Ahangar, president, Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP),
questioned:” Why there is no rule of law for the Army, the Special Task Force, surrendered militants and others ?”. She observed that courts had failed them. Masooda Parveen’s husband, Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Regoo, an advocate, was in the saffron
business.” He had problems with security forces and counter insurgents and that became the reason for his death”. G N Shaheen, general secretary, Kashmir Bar Association, pointed out that simply filing FIRs would not solve the
problem.” It is important to see under which Section the cases have been filed”. Justice Hosbet
Suresh, a former judge of the Bombay High Court and a jury member, suggested the APDP to approach the apex court for cases related to disappearances. “Approaching international bodies will help build public opinion, but enforcement is important”. He added that the
tribunal had recorded the statements and would prepare a report that would be circulated internationally. |
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Consensus must for solution: Mufti
Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 21 “Political parties should realise that there is no substitute for dialogue.So, it is imperative to start the talks with Pakistan to restore sustainable peace in this region,” he added. Expressing concern over the recent statement of BJP leader LK Advani, in which he opposed foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan, the Mufti reminded the party that it was during the regime of Atal Behari Vajpayee that the peace process was started with Pakistan. “The BJP should stop viewing any dialogue with Pakistan with suspicion,” he said and asked the party to lend support to the new efforts. Referring to the historical steps taken by Vajpayee in 2003 during his visit to Kashmir, the Mufti said it had come against a grim and potentially disastrous scenario as the two nuclear armies were in eyeball- to- eyeball position following the Parliament attack. He said the announcement made by Vajpayee on April 18, 2003, in Srinagar was one of the bold steps because he had extended hands of friendship towards Paksitan at that time. “Instead of creating hurdles in the resumption of the dialogue process, the BJP should rather support the government to accomplish incomplete task of the former Prime Minister,” he said and called upon the party to rise above partisan political interests. He termed the Kashmir problem as “festering sore” that had dampened the immense economic potential of the South Asian region for decades and bruised the body and soul of the state.The Mufti, while stressing on solving external dimensions of the Kashmir problem, said internal issues should also be addressed to fulfil the aspirations and wishes of all regions and sub-regions. He said Jammu and Ladakh regions be given political and decision-making power.
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Panthers Party seeks PM’s
intervention
Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 21 In a letter to Dr Manmohan Singh, party chief Bhim Singh alleged the NC government had felicitated a large number of youths during its 1988-1990 rule to cross over to the PoK. The NC managed to bring back nearly 2,000 trained boys and successfully persuaded the Centre to recruit some of them in the CRPF and the BSF. The Panthers Party chief said the NC wanted to rehabilitate their boys at the cost of other innocent and nationalists and hijack the Hurriyat agenda in the name of return and rehabilitation of jehadis. He observed that the Union Home Minister was unaware of the ground realities in the state. He urged the Prime Minister to reopen the past record of NC leaders, part of which Indira Gandhi had released to the public in 1984 at the time of dismissal of the Farooq government. Prof. Bhim Singh said the Indo-Pak talks could not bring peace unless the leadership on both sides takes up the issue of the LoC without any hesitation. He said the LoC was the real and only problem vis-à-vis Jammu and Kashmir, which needs to be settled through a dialogue. Meanwhile, the Nirbhow Nirvair Organisation (J&K) held a meeting yesterday and welcomed the statement of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on the surrender policy to rehabilitate the Sikh youths involved in militancy. The meeting which was held at Karan Bagh under the chairmanship of Harjeet Singh and other members of the organisation lauded the statement. Ramnnek Singh, Harmeet Singh, Punjab Singh, Manjeet Singh and Kuldeep Singh attended the meeting. Meanwhile, the state unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal hailed the statement of Chidambaram to consider and grant the amnesty to the Sikh youths on the pattern of one proposed for Kashmir youths. They also appealed to the government for speedy justice in the 1984 riots.
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PDP vows to expose state’s
anti-youth policies
Jammu, February 21
At a meeting of the executive committee of the youth wing, a resolution was passed in which it was decided to effectively fight for the cause of the youth in general and the unemployed educated youth in
particular. The meeting observed that the youth were anxiously waiting for the government to announce the employment policy as the ruling National Conference during the assembly elections had promised
it. It regretted that the employment package was nothing but a cruel joke with the educated youth.
The speakers regretted that the National Conference had been repeating the same mistakes which were committed by the successive governments. They especially mentioned that instead of providing jobs to deserving youth, ruling elites had resorted to backdoor appointments to adjust their kith and kin.
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Militant outfits join hands
Srinagar, February 21 “Due to specific information and surgical operations, we were able to eliminate the top leadership of militant outfits. Last year was a year of achievements for the security forces,” DGP Kuldeep Khoda said. Official sources say that various militant outfits have joined hands to fight the security forces with strength and perform more professionally. The recent incidents in which top commanders of the militant outfits managed to give security forces the slip after hours long encounter signifies the fact that these outfits are now working in close tandem than before. Yesterday, Abdulla
Uni, a top commander of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Numaan, a top commander of the Harkat-ul
Mujahideen, managed to give security forces the slip after a night-long cordon and search operation in Sopore town of Baramulla district. “The trend shows that these militant outfits are now working in close tandem and have joined hands to strengthen their presence,” spokesperson for the CRPF Prabhakar Tripathi said. In earlier days of militancy, different areas in the Kashmir valley were divided between various militant outfits operative in the state and one organisation was not allowed to operate in the area of other outfit, but now the militants of one outfit are operational in the area of the other outfit. “Last year we killed maximum number of terrorists, but there was maximum number of infiltration bids. Though most of the bids were foiled, some militants managed to sneak in. There is presence of militants in the valley and the presence has increased,” Tripathi said. Sources said there were more than 100 militants in south Kashmir and an equal number of militants were present in north Kashmir. “We share a very long LoC with Pakistan and we have a long international border. The entire area cannot be manned by armed personnel all the time. So there are possibilities that the militants had managed to come in,” a police officer said. |
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Workshop on primary education concludes Jammu, February 21 Senior volunteers of GGM Science College organised the workshop under the guidance of programme officers Prof VK Chandan and Dr RK Sharma. Director Colleges of Higher Education, Dr ND Wani was the chief guest. He appreciated the role of young social workers for organising the programme. Dr Sham Lal Gupta, principal of GGM Science College, was also present on this occasion. He highlighted the achievements of NSS volunteers and appreciated them for their social work in the past two months. Around 80 NSS volunteers of the college were conducting the classes of children of depressed society at Bhagwati Nagar. They taught about 100 children of the area in groups.The meeting observed that the youth were anxiously waiting for the government to announce the employment policy as the ruling National Conference during the assembly elections had promised it.It regretted that the employment package was nothing but a cruel joke with the educated youth. The speakers regretted that the National Conference had been repeating the same mistakes which were committed by the successive governments. They especially mentioned that instead of providing jobs to deserving youth, ruling elites had resorted to backdoor appointments to adjust their kith and kin.
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Chote Bade - A tale of two unemployed youths
Jammu, February 21 Living in their fancy world, at one time they find more comfort, but gradually they realise of befooling themselves. From their perspective, the play further highlights lawlessness, sense of insecurity, crime, scams, loot, and deteriorating quality of life is attributed to the failure of democratic institutions in the country. Both of them discover that corrupt politicians and people in power have eaten up the vitals of society and talented aspiring youth of the day are left to be either a part of the corrupt system or to frustrate and suffer. Mohammad Yaseen played the role of Chote and Rohit Verma played the role of Bade. Both were able to evoke the emotional response of the audience as they successfully portrayed the inner turmoil of the youth today. The lights of the play were designed by Mohit Sharma and sound effects were executed by Rahul Singh. The show was coordinated by Sumeet Sharma.
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Women-child meet held
Jammu, February 21 She interacted with the participants and stall holders and appreciated their talent and themes. She gave away the prizes to the winners of cultural items and the rangoli, painting and spoon race competitions. She also inaugurated a week-long awareness camp for rural women at Jagti Panchayat, which had been sponsored by the Jammu and Kashmir State Social Welfare Board and gave away certificates to the girls who had participated in the two-month-long soap-making training held under the aegis of Khadi and Village Industries Commission of India at Nasik. The vice-president, ASHI, J&K Chapter, Sushma Choudhary said the ASHI had adopted the Jagti panchayat for intensive development and enhancement of socio-economic indices of the community. In her vote of thanks, secretary of ASHI, prof Kailash Rajput, dwelt on the activities of the organisation and also its future plan of action.
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Two held with heroin
Jammu, February 21 The troops of the Crossed Swords Division launched a search operation late last evening and arrested two persons - Yashpal Sharma and Arjun Singh, both residents of Khour. A senior Army officer said, “The duo was found moving suspiciously near the international Border last evening. On seeing the troops, one of them ran away and managed to hide the consignment. However, later he was apprehended at the LoC fence gate.” He added, “Search operations were launched to recover the smuggled booty subsequently. The search operation was called off later due to poor visibility.” He further said again a search operation was launched in the morning and a bag containing 16 sealed packets of narcotics comprising 15 packets of heroin and one packet of opium was found concealed under the land. As per officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau, price of heroin in the international market is approximately Rs 5 crore per kg. “Yashpal Sharma was a known smuggler of the area,” said Col Biplab Nath, spokesperson for the Army said. Later, both the accused were handed over to the Khour police and a case under various Sections of the NDPS Act was registered.
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Clashes in valley
Srinagar, February 21 In Baramulla,clashes between the police and local youths were reported from various parts. A large number of youths threw stones at security personnel while demanding the release of those detained in the last two days for protesting against alleged human rights violations in the valley. Since early morning, the youths gathered at various places in the town and threw stones at the security forces, prompting them to fire rubber bullets and lob tear gas shells. The police also resorted to a cane charge to disperse the violent mob.Four persons were injured in the clashes. Meanwhile, the police said a youth, Mohammad Ishaq Lone, was hit by a rubber bullet and shifted to Srinagar for treatment. It said 12 youths were taken into custody for indulging in stone-throwing. In the downtown locality of Srinagar, clashes continued between the security forces and the protesters demanding the release of those arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
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Smuggling bid foiled
Jammu, February 21 The police said at least 145 bags of willow clefts, a special wood to be used for making cricket bats, were seized, but the accused managed to flee. It said each bag contained more than 20 pieces of willow cleft and the wood was concealed
under rice. The incident came to notice when a clerk at the parcel office asked the accused to bring the bill of the items before booking it for transportation. Yashpal Singh, SHO, Railway Station, said, “A case has been registered. The wood was seized in a joint operation of the police, GRP and the Forest Department.” |
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‘Govt believes in action, not slogans’
Srinagar, February 21 Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a new treasury at Langate, he said human rights violations would in no case be tolerated, saying that those involved in the killing of Zahid Farooq of Brein, Nishat, were arrested and would be punished as per law. Rather said the coalition government believed in action and not hollow slogans. He said any case reported from anywhere would be investigated in a transparent manner as the government was fully aware of its responsibilities and fulfilling these. |
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Meeting to create new admin units
Srinagar, February 21 The meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner Naseem Lankar and deputy commissioners of the valley. After threadbare discussions with regard to creation of new administrative units, the deputy commissioners were advised to review the early recommendations and furnish revised proposal and recommendations in the light of modified terms of reference (amended by the government in April 2008). The proposals for the same should be supported by proper justification (population density and nature of terrain) and requisite statistical data. The officers were also advised to make recommendations for creation of new administrative units. They were asked to furnish requisite information and proposals along with maps within 15 days. |
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Even as farmers were yet to cope with crop failure due to prolonged dry spell, yellow rust also known as wheat rust has invaded the standing wheat crop in the different areas of the region.
