Jammu, April 2
Security forces gunned down four more militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in Telna forests of Rajouri district today, taking the number of militants killed in the Rajouri-Kalakote-Reasi region in a week to 16. However, a soldier was also killed in today’s encounter.

Official sources said troops of 63 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), 60 RR, CRPF and the Special Operations Group (SOG) had been chasing another group of five to six Lashkar militants in the same area for the past two days. Some of them were hurt in brief encounters with the security forces and around 8 am today the security forces established a contact with the militants, triggering a fierce gunfight, the sources added.

“Four terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, all foreign mercenaries from Pakistan, were gunned down in Telna forests of Rajouri today,” Brigadier General Staff of 16 Corps, Brig Gurdeep Singh, told The Tribune.

The identity of the slain ultras was yet to be ascertained. But the operation that started around 8 am today was called off later. However, searches in adjoining areas were on, said Brig Gurdeep Singh. “We also lost soldier Sivash Singh of the 63 RR in the gunfight,” added the officer.

Meanwhile, two militant hideouts were busted in Sangla forests and Chamb Dhok areas of Surankote tehsil in Poonch district today. A cache of arms and ammunition was seized.

The seizures included one Chinese pistol, one pistol magazine, 16 rounds of pistol, four AK rifle magazines, 220 rounds, three Chinese grenades and three rockets.

Srinagar, April 2
Though the Right to Education Act has come into force, the 12-year-old Bashir Ahmad supports his old, frail and blind grandmother by begging for alms at the city market place, as he is unaware of his right to go to school. He is one among over 36,000 children in the age group of five to 15 years who still do not go to school in Kashmir division, where the annual dropout rate stands at 3.94 per cent.

Like poverty-ridden Bashir many other children stay away from schools to help their families earn their livelihood. It may be through small time vends or washing of vehicles on the roadside in Srinagar as well as elsewhere in the valley.

Tanveer Ahmad, a student of Class VII, like over 12 boys and girls living in huts in the Dal Lake takes a shikara ride every morning to reach Government Middle School at Gagribal (Nehru Park) along the Boulevard. But when it is the peak summer time and there is a good number of tourists, Tanveer usually stays away from school. “If a child brings home Rs 100 or he himself gets half of it, the family is happy and they feel that there is no problem in the child staying away from school,” opines a teacher.

A student has to pay an annual school fee of Rs 120. “When we enquire about the reason for the absence of such students from their classmates we are told that they are busy earning and helping their families,” said a teacher. Otherwise, these students are regular at school throughout the year, but only during the peak tourist season a number of them studying in schools around the Dal Lake stay away to earn money.

“It becomes difficult to keep pace with studies with exams approaching, as students stay away from schools during the farming season,” said Naseema, a government schoolteacher, near Magam on the Srinagar-Gulmarg road. Be it paddy plantation in May-June or harvesting in September-October, students’ attendance declines, said another teacher. He added that the students help their families by working in farms.

The state government is already trying to cover all children in the age group of six to 14 years through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which began in 2002-03, when the number of students out of school in Kashmir division was estimated at 1.56 lakh. As compared to this, the number has come down drastically to 36,000 in 2009-10, according to the reports of the Directorate of School Education, Kashmir. The dropout rate at present is 3.94 per cent. While the total number of students enrolled in schools in Kashmir division is 10.04 lakh, and this includes 7.58 lakh in government schools alone.

Jammu, April 2
Hunted relentlessly by the security forces, Pakistan-based terror groups, facing a shortage of cadres, are now desperate to push foreign mercenaries into the state.

Sources in counter-terrorism forces and intelligence agencies disclosed to The Tribune that having lost top commanders in the recent times, the terror groups were now relying upon foreign mercenaries.

“Out of 16 Lashkar terrorists killed so far in a week in the Rajouri-Kalakote-Reasi area, 15 were Pakistan nationals. This is a clear evidence of how Pakistan-based groups are now pushing in foreign ultras to revive terrorism in the state,” said the sources.

They added after the security forces upped the ante against terrorism and terror groups losing local support the latter in a bid to recruit cadres were now trying hard to send Pakistan nationals to wage ‘jihad’ against the security forces.

It may be stated here that out of a total of 42 terror camps in the PoK, 34 camps having about 2,500 terrorists continue to operate. Similarly, 200 to 250 terrorists have been positioned at various launching pads close to the LoC to intrude into the Jammu region and step up violence.

“Recent seizures from slain LeT militants like Thoraya satellite phones, GPS system with Pakistan registration and eatables from Pakistan-based food companies amply conveyed that terror groups backed by Pakistan’s ISI have now decided to send foreign mercenaries with sophisticated gadgetry to refuel terrorism in the state,” said an Army officer.

Recent intercepts between Lashkar militants and their mentors across the border also revealed that they faced a severe crisis of cadres, he added.

In the wake of fresh intelligence inputs of an increase in intrusion bids, the Army has been maintaining a strict vigil along the LoC.

“During summers when snow melts, terrorists prefer the LoC because of its rugged terrain so as to sneak into the state,” said the officer.

Jammu, April 2
Besides framing a new model for conducting the Class XII examination, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) has cancelled the chemistry (B) paper conducted on March 25 as it had been leaked through SMSes two days before the examination.

However, in view of various professional entrance tests starting from April 10, the paper is not likely to be reconducted. As per the board’s decision, marks alloted in case of the paper would be proportionate to the marks secured by them in chemistry (A) paper.

After the cancellation of the English (B) paper, it is the second paper that has been cancelled following the reports of leak published in The Tribune.

Despite the paper cancellations, there is no breakthrough in inquiries initiated by the police and board authorities.

Talking to The Tribune, Chairman of the JKBOSE, Prof Desh Bandhu, said: “Exams cannot be conducted again. The examination committee of board at a high-level meeting has decided not to evaluate the chemistry (B) paper. But the students who do not agree with the board’s decision can retake their examination. The date would be notified only after knowing the response of students.”

As per the new model of examination that would be effected from next year across the state, there would be a single paper for a subject instead of holding two separate exams (paper A and B).

Also, four different sets of the same paper would be distributed in every centre, thereby reducing the chances of mass copying and leak.

“The new examination pattern matches that of professional entrance examinations and the CBSE examination model. It will certainly be a setback for candidates who remain dependant on paper leak or other unfair means of examination,” the chairman said.

“From the next year onwards, the examination papers would be kept in police stations close to the centres in the Jammu region. The same is being done in the Kashmir region,” he said and added, “The examination superintendents would be entrusted with papers on the morning of the date of examination.”

Jammu, April 2
More than 9,000 voters of 71 municipal wards have applied to the Municipal Corporation for correction in voter lists.

To ensure fair conduct of the Municipal Corporation elections, the Chief Election Officer has extended 10 more days w.e.f April 1, for scrutinising discrepancies in the electoral rolls and removing them. The electorates could now submit their forms for addition, deletion and correction purposes till April 10.

The electoral rolls issued in the municipal wards are in news since its issuance due to discrepancies that had appeared on the voter lists of almost all municipal wards. The electorates as well as former councilors of all municipal wards have raised their voice against this.

In some areas like Satwari and Nai Basti, the electorates held protest demonstrations against the Municipal Corporation and demanded immediate removal of discrepancies in the voter lists.

Talking to The Tribune, joint commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Babu Ram, who was also appointed as electoral registration officer, said the corporation had received applications forms of around 9,283 electorates for correction purpose.

“These are those voters whose names had appeared in the voter lists but were written wrongly,” the joint commissioner said.

According to sources, it also includes those electorates who had found errors in serial numbers, mohallas and ward numbers.

According to the joint commissioner, 41,144 new voters have applied for addition of their names in the voter list, while around 514 forms have been received by the Corporation for deletion of names from the list.

In 2005 when the Municipal elections were conducted after a gap of 27 years, the total number of electorates were 3,30,435 out of which 1,68,209 were males and 1,62,226 were female.

Jammu, April 2
In connection with the nation-wide campaign against price rise, the BJP Gandhi Nagar today conducted a door-to-door signature campaign in ward number 21 and “educated” people against the “pro-rich policies” being adopted by the Centre. The programme was undertaken under the leadership of Vikram Randhawa, district vice-president.

Randhawa said the door-to-door signature campaign was the second step to the party’s ongoing campaign against the Centre’s and the state government’s inability to check inflation and the increasing corruption in the state government.

He alleged that the Congress-led UPA government had utterly failed to contain the prices of essential commodities and a common man was on the verge of starvation as he could not even purchase essential items in present times.

Randhawa said even items like wheat, rice, sugar etc., which were within the reach of a common man, had now gone beyond his reach.

Among others who accompanied Randhawa during the campaign included Gandhi Nagar, mandal secretary, Vikas Sharma, ward president Abhinandan Bhardwaj, Himmat Gupta, Rohit Goel and others.

Jammu, April 2
A middle-aged widow perturbed over the alleged involvement of her son in the abduction of a girl, committed suicide in Dharana village of Mendhar in Poonch district.

The police said Shakti Sharma (25), an Army jawan, in Territorial Army (163 Battalion) allegedly abducted a minor girl from Dharana village on Wednesday.

After the arrest of Shakti, his mother Rita Devi could not bear the humiliation and committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance at her house.

A senior police officer said the driver admitted that the girl was abducted by Shakti, in his vehicle.

A case of abduction has been registered against the jawan. The jawan has been arrested and the girl has been rescued.

Srinagar, April 2
The ambitious project to connect the Kashmir valley with the Jammu region was first undertaken by Maharaja Pratap Singh of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir more than a century ago, but due to lack of funds he had to give it up.

It was in 1983 that the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, laid the foundation stone for the 54-km-long Jammu-Udhampur railway line. However, the progress in the next three years was slow and in 1986, the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, laid another foundation stone for the project.

Before the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, declared it a national project in 2002, three more Prime Ministers had laid the stone -- PV Narasimha Rao in 1996 , who also sanctioned Rs 2,600 crore, HD Deve Gowda in 1997 and then IK Gujral.

Though the train connecting the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country is still far from being a reality, the first train service joining the north and south of Kashmir was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 11, 2008. The scheduled date of the completion of the project was August 15, 2007. However, it is now expected to be completed by 2012. The budget too has gone up from Rs 2,600 crore to Rs 6,000 crore.

“In the Kashmir valley around 6,000 persons travel on five pairs of train that ply daily between north and south Kashmir,” Upinder Singh, chief area manager, Northern Railways, said.