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CRPF partially takes over highway security from Army
Hundreds of trees on govt land axed in Rajouri
Former militant’s wife threatens to end life along with family
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Ex-militants’ kin allege denial of passports
Artificial scarcity of essential items to benefit
MNCs: Shanta
Politics behind migration of Hindus from Kashmir: Togadia
Man killed in encounter turns out to be beggar
Houseboats in valley see heavy bookings
Childline hands over lost child to Bal Niketan
Nehru Market police post in charge K Azhar hands over the custody of Lali to project coordinator of Childline, Jammu, OP Gupta (extreme left) on Saturday.
Photo: Inderjeet Singh
Vohra visits Northern Command headquarters
JJSF protests delay in VC’s appointment
Ultras always on lookout to intrude: DGP
Vehicles line up on the Srinagar-Leh highway after it was reopened for light traffic on Saturday. Photo: Amin War
J&K Bank to take services of Khidmat Centres
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CRPF partially takes over highway security from Army
Jammu, April 17 “Almost half of the job is done. We have deployed two battalions, comprising over 2,000 CRPF jawans, up to the Chenab close to Ramban,” Special DG, CRPF, J&K Zone, NK Tripathi told The Tribune. “The further process is on to cover the entire highway, but we cannot give a deadline at this point of time,” he added. From Jammu up to 145 km (the Chenab in Ramban) the CRPF had started performing road-opening duties, said Tripathi. It may be stated here that the strategic highway, as of now the only surface link to the Kashmir valley, had always remained under terror threat from various militant outfits, which were always on a lookout to plant IEDs to inflict the maximum damage to the convoys of the security forces. The militants had been using timers, remote controls and pressure-operated IEDs to target the security forces. A senior Army officer also confirmed to The Tribune that the CRPF had partially taken over the charge of the national highway and was identifying its troops for the remaining stretch up to Srinagar. “Their job would be to keep the highway safe by performing road-opening duties for which the Army has given them requisite equipment,” he said. However, the officer refused to divulge the specifications of equipment given to the CRPF saying “we share several operational issues with them (CRPF), but we can’t divulge such details.” Meanwhile, the CRPF said the Army was operating equipment for the purpose. Defence sources said following the Defence Ministry’s request the Home Ministry had asked the CRPF to take over the responsibility of the entire highway from the Army.
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Hundreds of trees on govt land axed in Rajouri
Rajouri, April 17 The tracts of land on which trees have reportedly been cut have been sold by Jammu and Kashmir Industries Ltd (JKI) to the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police. While the buildings housing resin factories - that have remained closed for several years - have been dismantled and nearly 500 grown up trees, including 384 eucalyptuses, besides other trees have been cut in Sunder Bani alone. When this correspondent visited the site, there were hundreds of stubs, besides stockpiles of logs on the premises of the factory, which had almost been demolished. People living in the vicinity said the trees were being cut for the past over one month and the process was still on. They said most of the wood had been ferried by the contractor. “On the one hand the government has been spending crores on awareness campaigns on afforestation and conservation of forests, on the other hundreds of grown up trees have been felled in one go. This signifies hypocrisy and double standards of the government,” they said. Local officials of the Forest Protection Force said they were obliged to protect trees on forestland only, whereas in case of government land the permission was required to be sought from the tehsildar concerned for cutting trees. Vijay Sharma, tehsildar, Sunder Bani, said: “No one sought any permission from me to fell the trees”. “The land has been handed over to the Police Department by the JKI. It was in their contract that land would be handed over after clearing the entire tract,” he added. Similarly, Balwant Singh, former tehsildar of Rajouri who retired on March 31, and Sayed Khan, in charge tehsildar, said the permission for felling the trees was not granted by either of them. Liyakat Ali, DSP, headquarters, Rajouri, said: “The JKI is getting the trees cut at its own. We have procured only land tracts at two of its closed factory sites in Sunder Bani and Fatehpur, near Thanamandi. Our department has nothing to do with the felling of trees.” “As per the deal, we have paid Rs 8 lakh per kanal, excluding trees and other material. So, the JKI has been demolishing the structures, besides felling the trees to sell material and trees elsewhere,” he added. “We have sold land at both places to the Police Department, while everything else, including concrete structures and trees on the land, have been sold to a private contractor from Srinagar, Farooq Ahmed and Company,” said OP Khajuria, manager, JKI. |
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Former militant’s wife threatens to end life along with family
Jammu, April 17 It may be stated here that former militants in the recent times had staged a protest against what they claimed the indifferent attitude of the state government, which had not given them any benefit under the surrender policy. “We have purchased kerosene to set ablaze ourselves. As a senior bureaucrat had yesterday assured us to provide relief till 6 pm today,” said Shabnam and her husband Shafaqat Mohi-ud-Din Kuchey, a former militant, while talking to The Tribune at their rented house in Janipur here. The duo said they had decided to set ablaze themselves outside the Relief Commissioner’s office on Monday, along with their 4-year-old daughter and 11-month-old son. “With a meagre source of earning, our existence has become miserable, we cannot even admit our daughter to school,” Shafaqat said, adding that in view of threat from the Hizbul Mujahideen he could not work openly to earn a living. At present Shafaqat is working as an agent at the regional transport office and earns a paltry amount. “I hardly earn Rs 4,000 a month, out of which half of the money goes towards house rent. You can well imagine how we are making our both ends meet,” he added. “Almost eight years have passed and we are still waiting to get monetary relief as promised under the surrender policy. Even after visiting the offices of the Relief Commissioner, ministers, including the Chief Minister, a number of times, we have got nothing,” he added. Narrating yesterday’s incident, Shabnam said: “I along with my family members took an appointment from the CM thrice. But when he did not meet us, we tried to take such an extreme step.” |
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Ex-militants’ kin allege denial of passports
Srinagar, April 17 Parvez Imroz, patron of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, said the number of persons indexed here was so large that it was unparallelled in any south Asian country. “More than 60,000 Kashmiris have been indexed (blacklisted) for the issuance of travel documents. This has barred students, traders, human right defenders, unemployed youth, Haj aspirants and sick people from travelling to other countries,” he said. Parvez added that the practice of denying travel documents to a large section of population amounted to collective punishment without being heard. “Will the government bring those indexed in public domain?” he asked. Imroz, who has not been issued a passport since 2002, said, “Passport denial appears to be a policy to domesticate and tame people to the extent possible. The selective issuance of travel document has further divided society and promoted distrust.” “The problem turns grave as a number of registered unemployed youth has reached to 5.65 lakh. They cannot explore job avenues abroad because of the denial of travel rights to them,” he said. Dr Rafiq Punjabi, member, CRT, said people should be allowed to go to any part of the world. “Passports are only for identity, but the government uses them as a tool to punish people here,” he added. Mohammad Amin Bhat, a noted attorney, said: “Being global citizens, we have a right to travel anywhere in world.” Mohammad Yasin Malik, a human right activist, said the forum was open for any person who had been denied passport.
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Artificial scarcity of essential items to benefit
MNCs: Shanta
Jammu, April 17 He also alleged the involvement of vested interests in the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to protect the interests of the MNCs by adopting wrong policies in foodgrain procurement. Interacting with mediapersons after inaugurating the executive committee meeting of the BJP, Shanta Kumar revealed that during the NDA government rule, he had faced intense pressure from different quarters to allow the MNCs in food and allied sectors. He alleged that it was all due to the involvement of the MNCs in this sector that the prices of essential commodities had increased manifold during the last five years. Charging the UPA government with furthering the interests of big business houses and MNCs, Shanta Kumar alleged that an artificial scarcity of essential commodities had been created so that hoarders and middlemen could benefit from the situation. “It is surprising that agriculture production has increased during the last five years, but the prices of essential commodities have also increased,” he quipped. “I don’t think there is any reason for such an unprecedented rise in the prices of ration items,” he observed. There was a need to thoroughly probe why adequate procurement was not made by the FCI, he added. The BJP leader alleged that mismanagement, rampant corruption and nepotism were responsible for the unprecedented rise in the prices of essential commodities. He further pointed out that instead of procuring foodgrains for further supply, the FCI had even allotted some of its godowns to the MNCs that were doing business in the food sector. “It is a clear indication that there is some thing fishy about the whole episode”, he added. “When I was the Food Minister, we did not allow the hoarders and middlemen to create an artificial scarcity of essential commodities. But this government has failed to do so,” he said. The former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister announced that the BJP had decided to make the price rise a national issue to expose the UPA for protecting the interests of rich people. “On April 21 the BJP will organise a big rally in New Delhi to expose the misdeeds of the Union government,” he added. |
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Politics behind migration of Hindus from Kashmir: Togadia
Jammu, April 17 Addressing a function here this evening, the VHP leader pointed out that even at the time of the Dogra rulers, the Kashmir valley was a Muslim-majority region, but not even a single Hindu had migrated from the valley before 1947. “After formation of the so-called democratic governments in the state, migration of Hindus was started from the Muslim-majority areas, especially the Kashmir valley”, he pointed out and alleged that it was a part of the deep-rooted conspiracy of the successive so-called democratic elected rulers of the state to make Jammu and Kashmir purely an Islamic state, so that they can accomplish their nefarious designs. “Jammu and Kashmir is not an isolated case, in many parts of the country, Hindus have been silently migrating from their native place,” he said and narrated examples of some border areas of Assam to substantiate his allegations. “Days are not far when Hindus of Assam will be displaced like their brethren in Kashmir, as thousands of Bangladeshis have been introduced into that state and these intruders have started threatening locals,” he said, adding, “political parties for their petty political gains have been supporting these Bangladeshi intruders.” Togadia argued that neither the BJP nor the Congress could solve this problem, as political parties have their own vested interests. “It is high time to change the Constitution of the country to declare India as a Hindu nation to protect the identity of Hindus in the country”, he argued. |
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Man killed in encounter turns out to be beggar
Srinagar, April 17 After the Army claimed to have killed an ‘unidentified foreign militant’ in an encounter, his body was handed over to the police. The police buried it as it remained unclaimed. But a man turned up at Handwara police station yesterday and identified the deceased as his father. Raj Mohammad Khan, son of the deceased, identified him as his father Habibullah Khan, who was a beggar and mentally ill. Raj said his father used to leave the house and would return after some days. But when he saw the photographs of his father in newspapers he rushed to the police station to claim his body. Meanwhile, the body was exhumed on the orders of the district administration today and after identification it was proved that the deceased was an innocent civilian. “I ordered the body to be exhumed and it was found that the deceased was an innocent man as claimed by his son. This is a murder case and I have asked the police to lodge an FIR against the Army,” Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, Showkat Ahmed Mir told The Tribune. On the day of the encounter, Army PRO Lt-Col JS Brar had said, “A patrol party of the Army and the police had an exchange of fire with a terrorist in Rainwari forest. In the ensuing encounter, the lone terrorist was killed.” He had said an AK rifle along with four magazines and 67 rounds was seized from the slain militant. However, Lt-Col Brar said today that Habibullah was either being ‘exploited’ as a guide or used as a ‘human shied’. “A surveillance-cum-ambush party of 6 RR observed the suspected movement of three to four militants in Rainwari Forest. On being challenged, a gunfight ensued between the two sides. The encounter lasted 10-15 minutes and the militants managed to escape in the thick jungles,” Lt-Col Brar told The Tribune. He said the area was searched after daybreak and one body was recovered along with one AK 47 rifle and ammunition. “As per our assessment, it was a group of militants and possibly the deceased was being exploited as a guide or a human shield. It is believed that the weapon and ammunition seized was possibly dropped by the fleeing militants,” the Army PRO said. The police had also denied that it was part of the operation and said the operation was conducted by the Army alone.
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Houseboats in valley see heavy bookings
Srinagar, April 17 Following the opening of the Tulip Garden here, the tourist season has already begun and a large number of tourists have visited Kashmir. “The Tulip Garden has turned out to be a big hit with the tourists. Since its opening last month the occupancy rate in the hotels and houseboats have increased at a remarkable rate,” said an official of the state Tourism Department. People associated with the hotel industry here say the occupancy rate in the hotels here has touched around 70 per cent as compared to 40 per cent in the corresponding period last year. “With the rise in temperature in the plains, we expect the inflow of tourists to increase,” said Mohammad Sultan, owner of a hotel on the Boulevard road. The state government has also asked the hotel and houseboat operators to provide “best” services to the tourists, failing which their licences can be cancelled. The tourists, who have already arrived in the Kashmir valley, are also enjoying their stay here as they say that they “love to be here”. “Its really beautiful here. This is for the first time we are here and now we are planning to extend our stay,” said a newly wed couple from West Bengal. The local tour operators say they have been getting enquiry calls from people from various parts of the country who want to visit the valley during summer and a large number of them have already booked accommodation here. “Some of the hotels are already booked for the season. We expect this season to be a good one,” said Hamid, another tour operator. Tariq Ahmed Ahngar, who purchased a new taxi recently after taking a loan from a bank, is hopeful that this season “he will be able to pay
instalments”.
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Childline hands over lost child to Bal Niketan
Jammu, April 17 But the police could not locate his residential address and parents as per the details given by him. Thereupon, the police entrusted his custody to the Childline, Jammu. “The child has been admitted to Bal Niketan, Ved Mandir. He will stay there till his family is located,” said project coordinator of Childline OP Gupta. “As we don’t have any accommodation, we keep such children in charity homes. During the last three years, three children were entrusted to Bal Niketan. Later, the parents of two were found by the Childline and accordingly they were restored to their respective families,” he said. Gupta said a minor girl named Seema had been living in Bal Niketan for the last three years as her parents had not been located yet.
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Vohra visits Northern Command headquarters
Jammu, April 17 The Governor, who had a detailed discussion with the Army Commander and senior officers at the command headquarters, presented a trophy to Lt-Gen Jaswal as a memorabilia. Earlier, on his arrival at the Bikram Park helipad at Udhampur, Vohra and first lady Usha Vohra were received by Lt-Gen Jaswal, GS Slathia, DIG, Udhampur; Baseer Khan, Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur; Surinder Gupta, SSP, Udhampur, and senior civil, police and Army officers. A banquet lunch was also hosted in the honour of the Governor at the Command Officer’s Mess. The first lady also interacted with Ritu Jaswal, president of the Family Welfare Organisation, Northern Command, and wives of Army men responsible for various initiatives being undertaken for the welfare of soldiers and their families. |
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JJSF protests delay in VC’s appointment
Jammu, April 17 The protesters, led by state president of the organisation Partap Singh Jamwal at GGM Science college, said, “Though the Vice-Chancellor for Central University in Kashmir has been appointed, it is an act of discrimination that the Vice-Chancellor for Jammu varsity has not been appointed.” They also raised slogans against Union minister Farooq Abdullah, who was the chief guest on the opening day of a cricket tournament organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association on the college ground here today. The protesters were also irked over disturbance being caused to hostelers due to the tournament in the wake of the ongoing examination.
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Ultras always on lookout to intrude: DGP
Jammu, April 17 Khoda said, “So far, we have not received any fresh input about increase in infiltration bids, but terrorist groups are always on a lookout to infiltrate.” Asked about the presence of Taliban, Lashkar-e-Toiba or
Jamat-ud-Dawa militants on other side of Samba district, he added “no, as such we do not any information.” Khoda assured that there was nothing to worry as the security forces were on alert and were doing their job well. “There is no need to get panicky,” he added. Asked about the reports that a 70-year-old man killed by the Army in an encounter at Handwara in the Kashmir valley a few days ago was not a militant, Khoda said the matter was being looked into. “An FIR has been registered and truth will surely come out in a short period.” |
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Srinagar-Leh highway reopens for light traffic
Srinagar, April 17 The highway, the only surface link to the cold desert region of Ladakh, that remains closed due to heavy accumulation of snow, would be formally opened for all types of vehicles within two weeks, said officials here. It was informed that Minister CAPD and Transport Qamar Ali Akhoon, who inspected the snow clearance condition of the road the other day, decided that this year the road would be opened about one month earlier, keeping in view the lesser snowfall experienced this year. |
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J&K Bank to take services of Khidmat Centres
Srinagar, April 17 A spokesman for Jammu and Kashmir Bank said here yesterday that it had received a communiqué from the RBI in this regard a few days back. Under the business correspondent model banking, all basic banking services offered by Jammu and Kashmir Bank would be available to the customers at khidmat centres. The move is seen as an exceptionally encouraging gesture towards the bank’s reaching out to all mission as over 1,100 more branches will be added to the already existing almost 600 business units across the country. These Khidmat Centres, out of which over 300 have already been established, will be established particularly in remote areas of the state under the National e-Governance project. This will further scale up efforts for financial inclusion.
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Grenade defused
Srinagar, April 17 |
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Jammu, April 17
