Srinagar, February 24
A day after the encounter between hiding militants and the security forces ended in Sopore, a militant was gunned down after he emerged from the rubble of three houses and opened fire at the troops engaged in search operation this afternoon.

The troops had already recovered the body of another militant from the debris after the search operations were resumed this morning and recovered three AK rifles. The identity of the militants whose bodies were recovered from the encounter scene was yet to be ascertained, Defence spokesperson Lt-Col JS Brar said.

When combing operations were going on today, an armed militant emerged from the debris and tried to attack the troopers, sources said.

The militant was,however,killed in retaliatory fire by the troops, sources said.

This was the first time that militants were able to launch an attack during the combing operations after the encounter. The militants who had engaged the troops in the encounter since Monday night, had killed a Captain after he was trapped in the cluster of houses during the search operations. When trying to contact him on his cell phone yesterday, his colleagues were threatened by the militants who had killed the officer and took away his phone.

Jammu, February 24
Pandemonium continued in the Legislative Assembly on the third consecutive day today as the PDP was adamant on its demand for the suspension of Question Hour for a special debate on situation in the Kashmir valley.

Throughout Question Hour, PDP members shouted slogans against the government and later staged a walkout from the House when Speaker Mohammed Akbar Lone refused to accept their demand.

As soon as the proceedings of the Assembly started this morning, the PDP members, who were on their toes, resorted to sloganeering. They were demanding that instead of conducting routine business, a special discussion be held on the law and order situation in the Kashmir valley. The House started functioning at 9.30 am and around 9.33 am all PDP members trooped towards the well of the House. Marshals, who were deployed in adequate number, stopped the PDP members from proceeding towards the Chair. As they were not allowed to reach in front of the Speaker, the PDP members created an uproar in the House.

PDP MLA from Bijbehara and former Home Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri, who was the most vociferous in shouting slogans against the government, tore all replies of questions supplied to him. “What is the fun of discussing issues of development in this House when lives of people in Kashmir are not safe,” he shouted while tossing papers in the air.

Ignoring the agitating PDP members, the Speaker directed other members to ask their questions. Amid pandemonium, members, expect PDP MLAs, started asking questions. Though there was din in the House, the ministers replied to their queries and some MLAs even asked supplementary questions.

As the question of PDP leader Peerzada Mansoor Hussain, who was also shouting slogans, figured at number second, the Speaker urged him to ask the question as it was of public importance. “Instead of creating an uproar, please ask you question as it is related to public,” the Speaker asked the member, but the PDP members were adamant on suspending Question Hour. “What we are demanding is more important than the routine business,” shouted Abdul Rehman Veeri.

After the Speaker refused to accept their demand, all slogan-shouting PDP members sat on the floor of the Assembly. Mansoor Hussain even uprooted a mike from the table, but the watch and ward staff did not allow any member to come forward. During entire Question Hour, the PDP members created a furore and after the completion of the session, they staged a walkout.

Later Minister for Law and Rural Development Ali Mohammed Sagar objected to the statement of a political leader that alleged the government of raising a force to counter stone throwing.

He said this spoke of their frustration and political bankruptcy. Since the government was nearing exposing those behind stone throwing, the leaders of a particular party got unnerved. “On the one hand the leaders of this party in Srinagar are justifying stone throwing and on the other they make allege the government of raising a force to counter stone throwing,” he said. He would resign if these charges were proved, he added.

Jammu, February 24
The science paper of the Class VIII final examination was leaked here today.

Taking serious note of it, the authorities cancelled the paper.

The new date for conducting the examination would be announced by the Chief Education Officer (CEO) N.R.Dingra in two days. Dingra said the remaining examinations would be held as per schedule.

However, students, who reached the centres this morning to appear in the examination, were taken aback when they were told to return home.

Expressing disappointment over the cancellation, Anita Sharma, a student of a private school said: “ The leak of the question paper has brought to the fore a disturbing fact that corruption is eating into the very vitals of society and now not even Class VIII exam papers are free from the menace of leak.”

Another student, Rohit Gupta, said: “ The authorities concerned should take exemplary action against those responsible for the paper leak.The incident has put a big question mark on the functioning of the administration. How can we say that our remaining papers were not leaked,” asked Komal Sharma, a student.

However, the CEO told The Tribune that after getting reports about the leak of the question paper from some examination centres, he immediately issued orders for cancelling the same. The CEO suspected that an examination centre superintendent might have leaked the question paper.

“But in the entire province, the examinations are being conducted at 322 examination centers and it would be very difficult to find out the culprit,” said the CEO.

He appointed a four-member team, including three principals and one headmaster, to look into the matter.

Jammu, February 24
Over 14,000 hectares of forest land has been encroached upon by people in the state. Minister for Forests Mian Altaf said this while replying to a question by CPI member MY Tarigami in the Assembly today.

The minister told the House that as per the record of the department 9,496.98 hectares of forest land in the Jammu region and 4,877.62 hectares in the Kashmir valley had been encroached upon. He, however, said the Forest Department had intensified its anti-encroachment drive and stringent action had been taken against guilty people.

Altaf said the drive had succeeded in containing encroachments and retrieving the encroached land. He informed the House some persons, who had encroached upon forest land, had been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

The minister, while pointing to the record in the Forest Department Codal Books, said the recorded forest area in the state was 20,230 sq km and this area was largely distributed in the Kashmir valley and the Jammu region. “Leh and Kargil are mostly devoid of forest vegetation as the region is a cold desert,” he informed the House. Out of the total forest cover in the state, 8,128 sq km in the Kashmir valley, 12,066 sq km in Jammu and 36 sq km in Ladakh were under forests.

Asked about steps being taken to prevent smuggling and loot of the green gold by smugglers in connivance with some forest officials, the minister said there was no unabated smuggling at present. He, however, said some incidents did take place in the Pir Panchal range, Rafiabad and Shopian and the department had taken effective steps.

The minister informed that the Forest Protection Force personnel had also been deployed in vulnerable areas for day and night patrolling. “Whenever any forest official is found involved in damaging forest, action is taken against him under rules,” he stated.

Altaf said the government was bracing up to launch a massive afforestation drive across the state in April next to restore degraded forest land for which the state had received special funds.

Sharing the concern of the members about damage done to the forest cover in the state over the years, Altaf dwelt in detail on the measures taken by the Forest Department for the restoration of the degraded forest land and conservation of forests.

Jammu, February 24
Charging the coalition government with adopting undemocratic means to stifle dissent, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and leader of the Opposition Mehbooba Mufti today warned that such autocratic attitude of the ruling National Conference would fuel alienation and anger of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The ruling National Conference has made a mockery of the assembly by suppressing the voice of the Opposition with undemocratic means”, she stated while interacting with mediapersons.

Giving reasons for staging a walkout yesterday, she asked “what is the fun of being in the House when the government is not ready to listen to our voice?”.

“Not only the Opposition, but also this regime is trying to pressurise the media not to highlight ground realities”, she charged and especially mentioned Tuesday’s incident when the Speaker denied re-entry to reporters.

“Being the Opposition, people expect us to voice their problems in the Assembly so that ground realties are reflected in the House, but this autocratic regime is not ready to listen to any voice of dissent”, she said.

Jammu, February 24
Thousands of Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers and education volunteers from all districts of the state held a protest against the government on Exhibition Ground here today. The protesters holding placards raised slogans in support of their demands and marched towards the Civil Secretariat in a procession.

The protest was held under the leadership of Vinod Sharma, state president of the Association of the ReT teachers. Their demands include the regularisation of services of education volunteers as generalised teachers who had completed seven years of service; five years of rendered service of ReT teachers be included for seniority benefits; formation of a transfer policy for regular ReT teachers, enhancement of wages and provisions of SRO-43 in favour of ReT teachers and education volunteers. Sharma lambasted the government for ignoring their long pending demands.

Meanwhile, the protesters gave an ultimatum of one month to the government to fulfil their genuine demands and threatened to come on the roads with their family members if the government failed to do so.

Katra, February 24
Governor NN Vohra inspected security arrangements from the Ban Ganga entrance to the holy cave shrine of Vaishno Devi and various other development projects en route yesterday.

He also directed the authorities to tighten security and install a high-capacity scanner to check building material being carried on mule backs. He also issued directions for the time-bound completion of ongoing schemes aimed at improving facilities for pilgrims.

Accompanied by his Principal Secretary and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Raj Kumar Goyal, Additional Chief Executive Officer Mandeep K Bhandari, the Reasi Deputy Commissioner, the SSP and other senior officers,he covered the track from Katra to Bhawan and back.He interacted with pilgrims and enquired about the arrangements.

The Governor, who is also the Chairman of the Board, laid the foundation stone of a Rs 3.60 crore four-storeyed Parvati Bhawan complex, which is planned to be constructed by the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation(JKPCC) in two years. He asked the JKPCC authorities to complete it on time.While reviewing the pace of work on the construction of the Manokamana Bhawan, Phase-II, the Governor directed the CEO of the Board to expedite the work.

Later, he paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum.

Jammu, February 24
A large number of contractual lecturers/teaching assistants working in different colleges of the province held a protest in front of the office of the College Nodal Officer at Government Gandhi Memorial (GGM) Science College here today.

The protesters were demanding regularisation of their services, raise in salary to Rs 21,600 w.e.f. August 2009 and the release of salary pending since August 2009.

The demonstrators led by Prof Suresh Sadotra, president of the Contractual Lecturers Association, criticised the government for maintaining silence over the matter.

He said the services of employees working in all departments were being regularised, but no action initiated with regard to contractual college lecturers.

“The state government has framed a policy for regularising the services of contractual/ad hoc/consolidated employees working in different departments, but has done nothing with respect to contractual lecturers working in colleges. In spite of repeated assurances from the Chief Minister and the Education Minister,” said Sadotra while addressing the gathering.

The association also criticised the Higher Education Department for not giving salaries to contractual college lecturers even after eight months. They appealed to the minister to constitute a committee to ascertain reasons for the delay and take action against the guilty.

The association also criticised college principals for not raising the issues of their fellow employees.

Jammu, February 24
Bhim Singh, chairman of the Panthers Party, today asked Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take leave for good and let people live in peace.

In a statement issued here today, Bhim Singh said the NC-Congress government had failed totally to deliver. He said the government had become non-functional, which was evident from the day-to-day killings of innocent people, even security personnel. Corruption was all pervasive and the government lost acceptability among common masses.

Reacting to the statement of Omar in the Assembly, Bhim Singh said a government that could not control stone-throwing angry boys on the streets, how would it control gun-wielding terrorists whom it intended to bring back from Pakistan.

He said both Union Home Minister and the Chief Minister lacked the understanding of the ground realities in Jammu and Kashmir. Their slogans for the return and rehabilitation of the terrorists and jihadis from Pakistan were intended to divert the attention of people from their failures. “Their first misadventure on pre-paid mobile phone services failed and then another shortsighted slogan for the return and rehabilitation of the jihadis from Pakistan also met its waterloo,” he observed.

Bhim Singh said Governor NN Vohra may save the situation by sending the Chief Minister on long leave and constitute an all-party government without any delay to accomplish the agenda for the return of peace and end to violence and terrorism.

Udhampur, February 24
Even as the administration has already been facing opposition from people whose land has been acquired for the proposed Jammu university campus at Bhaderwah, it is now facing opposition to another land acquisition for the telephone exchange building in the area.

Joginder Singh, a farmer, said the administration had started proceedings to acquire his agricultural land measuring 6 kanals.

He maintained the decision would spell doom for him as his family was dependent on this piece of land. The administration is reportedly acquiring 10 kanals for the purpose.

Bhaderwah SDM Yasha Mudgal, who was approached against the acquisition, said proper process had been followed to acquire the land.

He added that the administration had duly invited objections from public when the notification was issued for the purpose, but no one came forward.

So the proceedings of acquisition were initiated, he said.

On the other hand, Joginder Singh and others, whose land is also being acquired, have demanded that the acquisition proceedings should be stalled as it would affect the economy of five families. He claimed to have requested the previous SDM Kalyan Singh in this regard. The SDM had assured to consider their request, he added.

It is pertinent to mention that the administration has already been facing opposition from those people whose land has been acquired for the construction of the university campus.

They claimed to have been assured a job to one member of the each affected family apart from monetary compensation for the land. They have been publicly protesting that the administration failed to honour the assurance.

Srinagar, February 24
To deal with the problem of stone throwing by protesters, the CRPF has started a contact programme to educate youth.

In the past almost two years, a ‘new trend’ of stone throwing has started in the Kashmir valley in which more than 1,500 personnel of the paramilitary forces (CRPF) have been injured, a large number of them seriously. More than 12 vehicles of the CRPF were also damaged by the protesters.

“Recently, the protesters also attacked the vehicles of the security forces with petrol bombs. During a protest, two petrol bombs were thrown at the CRPF vehicles,” Prabhakar Tripathi, Commandant of the 117 Battalion of the CRPF, who is also the spokesperson for the force in the Kashmir valley, told The Tribune.

He said the CRPF was exercising restraint while dealing with the problem, but it was more of a law and order problem and the force was assisting the local police to maintain that.

Since the agitation over the controversy of the Amarnath land, the valley has been witnessing violent protests in which the agitators threw stones at police and security personnel.

IG, CRPF, PVK Reddy said: “The authorities are aware of the people who indulge in such activities and they will be dealt with as per law. We have asked the local police to identify the miscreants.”

He said 99 per cent of the people were law-abiding and only one per cent were those who indulged in the activities.

“Unemployment is a major problem and some are being paid for stone throwing to create a law and order problem in the valley. If these youths are given employment, the problem would be solved to a large extent,” Reddy said.

As part of the contact programme, the CRPF has started holding career counselling for the youth and also offers sports and recreational facilities to them.