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To counter separatists, NC holds peace march in Srinagar
Hideout busted in Poonch
Ceasefire violation in Poonch
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2 VDC members hurt in militant attack
24 hurt in road mishap
NGO’s plea on VC
CRPF to have exclusive battalion
Gujjars demand separate channel
Plan to overcome irrigation water scarcity
Golf course to be developed on modern lines
SIDCO manager held for graft
2 minors hurt in ‘explosion’
Sarhand Fateh Diwas celebrations from May 12
Cop shoots senior, kills self
Induct Labana community member into OBC board
English comedy ‘Box and Cox’ staged
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To counter separatists, NC holds peace march in Srinagar
Srinagar, May 2 “ The march is a clear message to separatists and other forces inimical to peace to shun the politics of strikes and stone throwing. The people are fed up with violence and want peace," Minister of State for Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani said. Senior party leaders, including ministers, MLAs, MLCs and hundreds of supporters took part in the peace march. The participants blamed the separatists for the violence in Kashmir and held them responsible for the killing of innocent civilians. “They (separatists) have lost credibility and nobody pays any heed to their calls for strike.So, they enforce the protests by resorting to stone throwing in which innocent civilian lose their lives”, a senior party leader said. Others said the march was necessary against the forces trying to destabilise peace in the valley and the people of Kashmir needed to show the world that people here were peace loving. "Those enforcing shutdowns by throwing stones should come forward, give up rigidity and work for the welfare of the people" Wani said. The party also welcomed the recent talks between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Thimpu.The killing of a school board employee, Shafiq Ahmed Sheikh, in stone throwing on a mini bus in which he was travelling during a strike call given by Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was also denounced. Meanwhile,sources said the ruling party had not sought any official permission from the district administration for holding any such march as Section 144 prohibiting the gathering of more than four persons at a place was still in force in the area. Recently, there has been a round of allegations and counter-allegations between Geelani and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.While Omar had blamed Geelani for the unrest in the valley and held him responsible for the killing of the innocent civilian, Geelani had termed the Chief Minister a ‘puppet in the hands of new Delhi’, who did not care about the common man and was only ‘trying to save his throne’. Meanwhile, the peace march too came under stone throwing today. When the march reached near the Polo Ground, a group of youths who were playing cricket there started raising slogans.They also started throwing stones on the marchers which led to panic among them.Soon, the police chased away the youths. No one was injured in the incident. |
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Hideout busted in Poonch
Jammu, May 2 Acting on a specific information about the presence of terrorists, a search operation was launched, during which one AK Bolt Action, one AK Magazine, one Chinese Pistol
with two Magazines, three Pistol rounds, 398 AK rounds and 2 UMG Link were recovered
rom the spot, the police said. However the terrorists managed to flee from the spot. |
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Ceasefire violation in Poonch
Jammu, May 2 “We have sought a flag meeting with Pakistan to lodge our strong protest but it has not been held as yet,” Brigadier General Staff of 16 Corps, Brig Gurdeep Singh told The Tribune this evening. Singh added, “It was a clear case of ceasefire violation.” In the uncalled for move of the Pak troops, apparently to push armed militants via LoC, a BSF jawan sustained injuries. He has been identified as constable C Romesh of Kerala, posted with 47 Battalion of the BSF. The Army has the operational responsibility of the 749-km long LoC where the BSF has also been deployed. Official sources said the Pak troops opened small arms fire on two forward posts of Kranti and Nangi Tekri in Krishna Ghati Sector around 7.15 pm yesterday inviting a retaliatory action from the security forces comprising the Army and the BSF. The Pak troops had opened fire from their forward posts Daaku and Timple in PoK. Sources said both sides traded small arms fire till 9.30 pm before guns fell silent on both sides of the LoC. Following the incident, troops on the LoC have been put on alert, they added. |
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2 VDC members hurt in militant attack
Jammu, May 2 The VDC members were injured in the grenade blasts, they said. However, the militants manged to flee from the spot. The sources said after the militants escaped from the spot, villagers rushed the victims to the Doda district hospital. Doda district police chief Parbhat Singh said the VDC members were airlifted to Government Medical College (GMC) in Jammu this morning. A senior doctor at the hospital said the injured were out of danger and were responding to the treatment. |
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24 hurt in road mishap
Jammu, May 2 It further said the ill-fated vehicle was on way to Udhampur. A police officer said after getting the information, a police party was rushed to the spot and the injured were taken to the district hospital in Udhampur. |
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NGO’s plea on VC
Jammu, May 2 In a statement, president of the organisation Deep Singh said: “The choice for appointing Vice-Chancellor should not be kept limited to Jammu’s Dogra identity only. Let there be open choice for the selection of candidate. The only criterion for the candidature should be competence and credibility.” “The nomination in favour of a controversial man Amitab Mattoo as Vice-Chancellor of Central Varsity, Jammu, is an immature decision. The nomination and its subsequent opposition in the region has dented the Jammuites-Kasmiri Pandits brotherhood,” he said. — TNS |
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Tackling communal clashes
Jammu, May 2 Recently, the CRPF had trained five of its battalions in the neighbouring Punjab to deal with the problem of stone throwing in the valley. “On the lines of the RAF, the 38 Battalion of the CRPF is being converted into a law and order battalion,” official sources told The Tribune. In a phased manner, around 1,200 men of the battalion would be imparted a reorientation training to tackle unruly crowds and communal clashes in the state, they added. The reorientation would be of four week’s duration and special instructors from within the CRPF would be training the men, said sources. The training would start in a day or two and three companies each from the battalion would be trained in a phased manner, they added. When contacted, a senior officer of the CRPF said that once the jawans were relieved from the VVIP security and other duties their training would start. The CRPF already has 10 battalions trained in tackling mob frenzy and communal clashes but none has been deployed in the state. Sources said, in communally sensitive and militancy plagued state where the CRPF by and large had to maintain law and order, need to have an exclusive battalion trained in the trade was being felt since long. The regiment would also include key areas like how to deal with angry mobs while maintaining patience and how to subtly segregate trouble-makers, who flare up the situation, they said, adding the CRPF had maintained a very good track-record in the past few years when it comes to human rights. But jawans, who would undergo reorientation, would be specifically trained in protecting human rights as well while tackling the tricky situations of mob frenzy. Sources said, the training spanned over four weeks may start this month at the CRPF’s group centre in Ban Talab. It may be recalled here that around 1,500 jawans of the CRPF were injured in incidents of stone-throwing in the past two years in the valley alone. |
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Gujjars demand separate channel
Jammu, May 2 In a communication sent through the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, the community reiterated their long-pending demand and reminded the Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting that speakers of Gojri language felt totally ignored and completely overlooked by the policymakers of country’s largest public television broadcaster working under Parsar Bharti Corporation. The communication suggested that the gap could be bridged by way of declaring PGF Rajouri as DD Gojri. Justifying the opening of a new channel for this tribal language, the letter further reads that Gojri is one of the significant languages of the country and it needs extra constitutional safeguard, special attention and encouragement. Dr Javaid Rahi, secretary, Tribal Foundation, informed here that they had reminded the authorities that a delegation of prominent Gojri writers had met Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Abmika Soni in Srinagar in October last and demanded that DD PGF, Rajouri, be made functional on priority and should be declared “DD Gojri” immediately, but nothing concrete emerged out of it. He further added that a delegation of Gojri writers would visit Delhi next month to pursue their case. |
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Plan to overcome irrigation water scarcity
Jammu, May 2 Addressing a meeting of farmers after inaugurating an irrigation tubewell at Chatha, 5 km from here, Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla said the government was endeavouring hard to provide adequate irrigation facilities to the farmers for enabling them to cope with the long dry spells being experienced in the state. He said the coalition government was committed to provide irrigation facilities to the farmers by constructing tubewells, pump sets and tributaries of the Ranbir canal. The Minister said to uplift the socio-economic condition of the community, the government had launched a number of welfare schemes like loans on nominal rates and seeds on low rates. He asked the Irrigation Department to immediately start the repair and renovation work of water tributaries so that the irrigation water could be supplied to the farmers at the tail ends. Bhalla said to mitigate the hardship of the farmers, the coalition government had established a Kissan Board. He asked the farmers to lodge their hardship in the board for early redressal. |
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Golf course to be developed on modern lines
Jammu, May 2 The Deputy Chief Minister accompanied by other ministers yesterday visited the golf course and reviewed the progress made by the different departments in developing the area as a tourist hub for which the government had earmarked an amount of Rs 44 crore. During the visit, the ministers discussed other issues, including the construction of protection bunds up to Harki Poodi, club building, artificial lake and amusement and entertainment parks, besides irrigation facilities at the golf course. Interacting with the officers, Tara Chand said the state and Central governments had provided liberal funding for conservation and restoration of many projects at different pilgrim sites across the state. He said the main focus of the coalition government was to develop all the tourist spots on modern lines by providing infrastructural facilities to visitors. He asked the officers to remove the encroachments from the land around the golf course. He informed the coalition government had formulated a comprehensive plan to develop the area as tourist spot by constructing a tourist reception centre (TRC), parks, walkway, etc. Asserting that the pilgrim tourism was the priority of the government, Minister of Tourism Nawang Rigzin Jora said the government was contemplating to restore the pristine glory of revered Raghunath Temple. He said a project report of Rs 5 crore had been prepared and would be submitted to the Centre very soon. For the time being, the state government had started the conservation work of the temple. At present Rs 30 lakh was being spent on various works in the temple, Jora said. Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Food Control Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Minister for Revenue Raman Bhalla and Minister of State for Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani also visited gold course. |
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SIDCO manager held for graft
Jammu, May 2 Reports said after receiving a written complaint from a person, a vigilance team laid a trap at the SIDCO office. As soon as the manager accepted a graft of Rs 1,000 from the complainant, in lieu of clearing a file, the vigilance sleuths caught him red-handed. He was sent to police custody for further questioning. Despite repeated attempts, senior officers refused to divulge further details as, according to them, disclosure at this juncture would hamper the investigation in the case. |
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2 minors hurt in ‘explosion’
Jammu, May 2 The incident occurred around 6 pm. Official sources said, Boran Latif (9) and Rehan Latif (3) were fiddling with a device in a field when it exploded suddenly. They have been hospitalised in a Doda hospital. Meanwhile, the police today recovered a rusted hand grenade in Kaily Mandi in Samba. Reports said, a passerby, who spotted a rusted grenade, informed the police. A police party later reached the spot and defused it. |
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Sarhand Fateh Diwas celebrations from May 12
Jammu, May 2 While addressing a press conference, a member of the celebration committee and president of the Jammu United Secular Form, S Avtar Singh Khalsa, said Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, who was a native of Rajouri, had fought courageously against the repressive regime of the Mughals, who were forcing conversions, and finally established the Sikh Raj after seeking the blessings of Guru Gobind Singh. He complimented Mahant Manjeet Singh of Dera Nangali Sahib Poonch for initiating celebration programmes under his supervision. Singh called upon the people in general and Sikhs in particular to participate in the celebrations which are being organised in various districts. As per the schedule, kirtan darbar would be held in Samba on May 12, Udhampur on May 13, Rajouri on May 14 and Digyana Aashram Jammu on May 15. Other members of the celebration committee who participated in the press conference included the president of the Nirbhow Nirvar Organisation, Harjeet Singh, and the chief organiser of the Bhai Khania Nishkam Sewa Society, Mohinder Singh. |
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Cop shoots senior, kills self
Jammu, May 2 The police said the duo first exchanged some heated arguments and then the SPO, Sonu Sharma, allegedly fired four bullets from his INSAS rifle and killed an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Bishan Dass, in charge, Chhan Roriyan police post. After killing Bishan Dass, the SPO shot himself and committed suicide, the police said. It further said around 10:30 pm last night, both persons had a quarrel over some matter and suddenly sound of fires were heard from inside the police post. When the other police personnel went inside, they found the bodies of two lying on the floor, the police said. According to sources, the duo had some problem over the duty timing as the SPO had been performing night duty for a long time. He had requested his senior to shift his duty to morning because he had some family problem but Bishan Dass didn’t pay any heed to it. In a fit of anger, the SPO took such an extreme step. Later, this evening, the bodies were handed over to respective families after a postmortem was conducted on them at a hospital in Hiranagar. A senior police officer said they were investigating the matter and could not ascertain the exact reason behind the whole incident as yet. |
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Induct Labana community member into OBC board
Jammu, May 2 The members emphasised the need for taking prompt action to implement the demands of the community which include induction of at least one member of the community into the state OBC Advisory and Development Board and enhancement in the reservation quota for social castes from 2 per cent to 7 per cent. They also demanded change of nomenclature from Other Social Castes (OSC) to OBC and representation for the OBC and the Labana community in the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The members also urged the government that the OBC people should get proper benefits of sponsored schemes and concessions. |
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English comedy ‘Box and Cox’ staged
Jammu, May 2 John Maddison adapted this play from a French farce in 1847 and was first staged as a comic opera in 1867. This classic play ‘Box and Cox’ is one of the famous works of John Maddison Mortons that presents three main characters namely John Box who is a printer by profession, James Cox, a hatter, and Mrs Bouncer, a lodging housekeeper. Mrs Bouncer has rented the same lodging to Mr Cox who worked during the day and returns to the apartment at night and Mr Box who works at night and comes to the apartment in morning. Through this arrangement Mrs Bouncer is earning double rent for the same accommodation. With the passage of time, both get annoyed when they find their things such as candles, matches, sugar etc. start disappearing gradually. Mr Cox is given a holiday unexpectedly by his employer on a day. He returns and confronts Mr Box. Both of them claim to be lawful owners of the apartment. Later, Mrs Bouncer surprises and shocks them by telling the truth that the apartment belongs to both. Mrs Amanpreet Kandhari in her maiden performance as Mrs Bouncer was very impressive and was supported by Vikram Sharma and Balwinder Singh, two young actors. The lights were designed and executed by Mohit Sharma. The sets were executed by Pankush Verma and music was done by Rohit Verma. The presentations of the show were done by Rajani Bhatti. |
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Srinagar, May 2
