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Militants luring women to work for them
2 striking students hospitalised
Employees’ Strike |
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Firdous: NGOs to get funds on performance basis
Annual function
Taken for burial, man comes ‘alive’
2 held with narcotics
VHP to launch stir against ‘anti-women Bill’
Women’s Quota Bill
Lack of Development
Conservation of Water Resources
2 girls rescued, kidnappers arrested
Kashmir resolution possible only through dialogue: Mufti
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Militants luring women to work for them
Jammu, March 10 Sources in the intelligence wing of the state police told The Tribune that in the recent past, the number of women overground workers had increased in the region. The militants had changed their strategies and were now using women as their sympathisers, the sources said. “The number of arrested women overground workers has increased during the past six months,” a senior police officer said. He added that the increase in the number of women workers of militants reflected the new strategy of the militant outfits. “Earlier, youngsters were lured by the militants to join militancy, but now they are luring women to become their sympathisers, especially in the mountainous belt of Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch and Rajouri, by giving fake assurances,” Ravinder Singh Manhas, a resident of Doda, who himself has played an important role in war against the militancy, said. He further said there might have many reasons behind the women to join or support militant outfits, as this area was much affected with poverty and unemployment. However, the police has been claiming that peace to some extent had been restored in the region, including Kishtwar and Poonch districts, which were once considered as the stronghold of militancy. Ashok Gupta, IG, Jammu Zone, said: “The security forces have done a good job in the recent past and we are assessing the exact number of women overground workers in the region. So far, the security forces have identified 15 overground workers presently active in Doda and six in Kishtwar district.” He said the police was also identifying the women sympathisers of militants in Rajouri and Poonch too. “With change in weather, we have adopted a new strategy to curtail militancy. Even the DGP is regularly visiting the area to give instructions to officers.” |
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2 striking students hospitalised
Jammu, March 10 Pratap Singh, state vice-president of the JJSF, said both were admitted to the GMCH following deterioration in their health condition as reported by the doctor, who did their medical check up yesterday. Pratap said the students refused to take any medical help, but police personnel took them forcibly to the hospital. The students reportedly said they would not even drink a drop of water until their demand
was met. Later, while addressing the students at Shaheedi Sthal, Pratap condemned the forcible lifting of students and warned the university authorities that the agitation would continue till their demand was fulfilled. Meanwhile, Mohammad Arif and Yogesh Talwar today sat on an indefinite fast so as to strengthen the movement. State secretary of the National Students Union of India, J&K State Wing, Abhishek Koushal warned the university administration that if their demand was not met, college students would boycott all examinations. |
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Employees’ Strike
Jammu, March 10 While factionalism has created confusion among the employees, common people continue to bear the brunt of the strike. Amid factionalism and prevailing confusion, the employees found an easy excuse to avoid official duties under the garb of the strike, an attendant of a patient at a district hospital here said. Meanwhile, senior EJAC leader Abdul Qayoom Wani said the employees were prepared for a decisive battle if their demands were not conceded to by March 13. “We have asked the employees to assemble at their respective district and tehsil headquarters across the state and observe the strike till March 13,” Wani said. He suggested the government to honour its decision at the earliest and avoid confronting its employees. “The fifth phase of our agitation will be decisive and we can even gherao the civil secretariat in the winter capital,” he said. About confusion among employees vis-à-vis hardship to people because of two factions giving separate strike calls, another EJAC leader Ram Kumar Sharma said a few elements having vested interests were trying to sabotage the strike. He described the EJAC as an umbrella organisation fighting for the employees since 1991. The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) had been disbanded long back and we wanted another faction to come and fight as a cohesive unit, but they wanted to maintain their hegemony at the expense of the employees, Sharma said. |
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Firdous: NGOs to get funds on performance basis
Jammu, March 10 Shamima said this while addressing the members of the J&K Women Society, an NGO, in a training programme organised by
them at the Forest Information Centre, Vikram Chowk, today. Later talking to The Tribune, she said around 30 NGOs had applied to the commission and shown their willingness to work with the commission, but it would give approval to only those NGOs which would perform better in the field. “We will not check their work on the basis of press releases issued by them, instead we will check their past records and the present ways of working before giving them approval,” Firdous said. With the cooperation of these NGOs, the State Women Commission is intending to work for the uplift of women, particularly of those living in the far-flung areas of the state. She said the commission would first focus on rural belts and would open family courts there so as to settle the cases of affected women in the presence of their own people on their doorsteps. “The reason for opening family courts in far-flung areas is that earlier women, who come to the commission office, used to hide details as they hesitated in disclosing their history in front of unknown people. In family courts, they might feel comfortable in describing their case, which will help the commission to understand and solve their cases quickly,” the chairperson said. Shamima said, “The Family Court Act should be extended by the state government or our own Act should come into force. The Domestic Violence Act should be passed by the Assembly during the current session and the State Commission for Women should be given civil court powers.” |
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Annual function
Jammu, March 10 Pranab Jain won the first prize in BBA I and Archana Gupta won the first prize in BBA II. Pallavi Gupta (BCA I), Nupul Kumar (BCA II) and Mayur Kak (BCA III) secured the first prize. Prizes were also given for outstanding performance in literature, cultural activities, sports and the NCC. The function started with the lighting of a traditional lamp and Saraswati Vandana. In the beginning of the function, the principal of the college, Dr Hemla Aggarwal, presented the annual report of the college. The students presented Dogri jagran, bhangra, light vocal solo song, hip-hop, creative dance by Amandeep and skit, which mesmerised the audience. Prof NA Gani, Dean Academic Affairs, Jammu University, was the guest of honour, while NK Verma, Commissioner/Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, presided over the function. |
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Taken for burial, man comes ‘alive’
Jammu, March 10 Karim’s family members today misconstrued him as dead and took him to a graveyard for burial, but the man started moving, taking everyone aback. He was taken back home and his family members were advised to look after him. The SSP denied doctors had declared him dead. —
TNS |
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2 held with narcotics
Jammu, March 10 In another incident, the police arrested Nalani Yadav of Bihar from the industrial area in Kathua and seized 11 kg of hashish from his possession on
Monday night. Cases had been registered under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. |
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VHP to launch stir against ‘anti-women Bill’
Jammu, March 10 “It is unfortunate that when this anti-women Bill was introduced in the Legislative Assembly, a senior Congress minister, who claims to be the champion of the cause of weaker sections, was present in the House,” state president of the VHP Rama Kant Dubey said while addressing a press conference here today. Dubey regretted that the Congress minister, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly with the votes of women, did not even speak a single word against the controversial Bill. “Instead of protecting the interests of all sections of society, our ministers are more concerned about enjoying power,” he said and asserted that the VHP would launch an agitation against the Bill. “The introduction of this controversial Bill in the House is a move aimed at lowering the integrity of the state with the rest of the country in the garb of Article 370. We make a fervent appeal to all sections of society, especially women, to come forward and oppose this arbitrary Bill tooth and nail,” he said. Ridiculing political parities for celebrating the passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Dubey charged the Congress leaders with adopting a dual policy on women issues. “It is surprising that on the one hand, the Congress is rejoicing the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha, while on the other it has allowed introduction of the anti-women Bill in the Legislative Council of Jammu and Kashmir,” the VHP state president said. Suspecting some alignment between the PDP and the Congress, he said Minister for Revenue and Relief Raman Bhalla’s no objection was itself an indicator that they had developed some sort of “hidden alliance” to disintegrate the sovereignty of the country. He said the Bill was deemed to be introduced in the House after the government raised no objections to it. |
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Women’s Quota Bill
Jammu, March 10 This morning, women activists of the BJP took out a victory procession that passed through different areas. The BJP activists claimed that the passage of the quota Bill was made possible only due to the support of their party. With an eye on the forthcoming elections of local bodies and panchayats, the Congress has already started a campaign to woo women voters. The passage of the quota Bill had given further impetus to the efforts of the party. The Congress today organised a number of victory processions throughout the region. Sources in the Congress said party leaders had directed their cadre to effectively exploit the issue to strengthen party’s base among women. The party had asked the Mahila Congress leadership in the state to organise seminars and workshops on the issue so that the party could capitalise over the development. The sources further disclosed that following directions of the party leadership, the Mahila Congress had decided to hold a seminar on the issue on March 13 in Jammu. In the seminar, Union minister Prithiviraj Chavan, All India Mahila Congress president Prabha Thakur and other senior leaders of the party are likely to participate. The BJP on the other hand is also devising a strategy to hold a counter campaign to take credit for the historic Bill. While taking out victory processions today, state president of the Mahila Morcha Sakina Bano repeatedly mentioned that it was all due to the support from the BJP that the historic Bill could be passed. She reminded that the BJP was the first party to have reserved 33 per cent seats for women in the organisation and it had categorically declared that it would extend unconditional support to any Bill aimed at giving political reservation to women. Women activists of the NC also took out a victory procession. Party MLA Bimla Luthra termed the passing of the Bill as a historic victory for women. |
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Lack of Development
Srinagar, March 10 Shops and business establishments remained closed and work in government offices, educational institutions and other establishments was paralysed in response to the bandh call. The call was given by the Youth Forum in the district headquarters of Pulwama today after there was a rising resentment over the lack of development activities in the district, mainly in the town. The protesters expressed concern over the lack of development, power supplies and bad roads in the area and alleged that the authorities were not paying any attention towards their problems. They said the people of the area were facing a lot of problems due to lack of developmental activities in the district. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who recently presided over a review meeting of the District Development Board, had assured that all issues would be addressed. However, the residents alleged that the funds released by the Chief Minister at the review meeting were not being spent for the developmental activities. The four Assembly constituencies of Pulwama district - Pulwama, Tral, Pampore and Rajpora - are represented by PDP members. The PDP has got 12 out of the 16 Assembly seats from the four districts of south Kashmir, including Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam. |
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Conservation of Water Resources
Jammu, March 10 Vohra was interacting with a batch of 20 students from the Handwara area of the Kashmir valley, who on their return from a 12-day-long visit of various places of historic, cultural and educational importance in the country, called on him at Raj Bhavan. During their tour, the students had visited Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Jammu. The Governor said though nature had bestowed Jammu and Kashmir with snow-capped mountain ranges, glaciers, rivers and large water bodies, it was the duty of all residents to contribute effectively for ensuring the conservation of the state’s biodiversity. One of the places visited by the students was Fatehpur Sikri. The Governor told the visiting students that this town was built by the Mughals as their capital town, but they had to abandon it in view of the acute water scarcity. He said we must learn a lesson from this event in the history and asked teachers to educate students about such historical facts. He emphasised that an essay writing competition should be arranged by Army Goodwill School, to which the students belonged, to enable the students to record their impressions of the tour and the places they had visited. The Governor enquired from the children about their experiences of the tour and the places that they had visited. He advised them to work hard, achieve excellence in life and serve the State and the country with zeal and enthusiasm. The students were all praise for the 21 RR of the Army for providing them an opportunity to experience the rich composite cultural heritage and the tremendous strides made by the country in varied fields of development. |
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2 girls rescued, kidnappers arrested
Jammu, March 10 It said the girls had been identified as Sheetal, who was abducted from the Nanak Nagar area last month, and Suraiya, who was allegedly abducted from Kotha Saine village in the Bishnah subdivision four months back. The police said it was interrogating the accused. |
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Kashmir resolution possible only through dialogue: Mufti
Srinagar, March 10 Addressing a day-long meeting of party leaders, legislators and office-bearers here today, the Mufti said his party would use its energies within the democratic space of the country to fight for the rights of the state as enshrined in the self rule document. “We will fight for our rights on every forum employing all democratic means as we feel we are right in demanding what we do for the resolution of the problem,” he said and added that no body would concede our rights on a platter. The PDP patron said the peaceful assertion of people’s power alone could change the mindset that had blocked the resolution of the problem for six decades. This, he said, had been established very clearly by the revocation of land transfer order in 2008 and the resumption of trade across the LoC in the wake of a peaceful agitation. Referring to the feeling of unease and dissatisfaction among people that manifested itself on the streets, the Mufti cautioned against attempts to trivialise it by attributing it to the unidentified ‘vested interests’. “I don’t know to what extent the government accusations of money playing a role in street protests are valid, but no one can deny that people’s problems have only aggravated during the last one year,” he said. There was a need to revive the post 2002 election spirit that witnessed an unprecedented change in the situation as a result of the multi-pronged strategy adopted by the then coalition government, he added. The Mufti recalled how the political atmosphere had transformed from despair to hope when the peace process was started from Srinagar in response to the yearnings of people here. Similarly, the internal dialogue was initiated and an atmosphere of understanding and security helped launch a massive reconstruction programme. The creation of the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA), the construction of new bypasses, an international airport, railway line, universities, colleges and numerous other educational facilities, Mughal Road, Islamabad-Kishtwar link, revival of tourism and a host of measures made people believe in change through governance. But, unfortunately, that process had come to a halt and the present government had confined itself to opposition bashing, ribbon cutting of projects completed by the previous government and photo opportunities alone, and leaving people in a lurch. |
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Mohammad Ashraf and Devinder Singh, college students, who were on a two-day chain fast, were referred to the emergency ward of the
GMCH here today.
Jammu, March 10
