Abdulian, June 22
After reclaiming 4,650 acres of fenced-out land along the 229-km-long international border, the BSF, much to the relief of villagers here, is all set to fortify the border with Pakistan.

Consequently, nearly 150 feet of land would be used for raising embankments, water trenches and a network of roads to strengthen the security grid and provide an almost impregnable cover to the villagers from firing by Pakistan troops.

A day after Pakistan Rangers opened heavy fire on a forward post here, the BSF is now set to start the work on the project tomorrow.To be executed in phases,it has already been approved by the Centre.

It may be recalled here that The Tribune had reported on June 19 that the realignment of the fence on the international border had brought cheer to the farmers here after the BSF reclaimed 4,650 acres of fertile land.

“The project has been approved by the Government of India for effectively protecting the international border.Under the project, 14 feet of land for danger space, eight feet for fence, 22 feet for lighting purpose, 15-20 feet for constructing water trenches, 36 feet for raising embankments and another 44 feet for having a network of concrete roads for the movement of vehicles would be utilised”, said a BSF officer.

The excavator had already reached the village and the work would start tomorrow, he added.

Meanwhile, two state ministers Surjeet Singh Salathia and RS Chib, besides National Conference (Youth Wing) leader TS Tony,SDM, RS Pura, Ashwani Khajuria, and Company Commander of the Abdulian post of the BSF, Akram Khan today visited the village.Tony requested the ministers to redress the grievances of residents of Abdulian, Nikowal, Devigarh and other forward villages on a priority basis.

“Landmines planted during the Indo-Pak war should be removed to enable the farmers to cultivate their fields and the authorities should also do something about the timings fixed by the BSF at the gates to allow easy access to the farmers to their lands”, he said. Abdulian village sarpanch Ujagar Singh drew the ministers’ attention to pending cases of compensation relating to the land acquired by the BSF for fencing since 2004.

Srinagar, June 22
Defence Minister AK Antony on the last day of his two-day visit to the Ladakh region visited the Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield, today. The minister at the Siachen Glacier paid homage to the martyrs at the Siachen War Memorial. He interacted with the troops and praised them for carrying out their task with élan, whilst braving the hardships of weather, high altitude and terrain in the most inhospitable area.

He assured the soldiers that the entire nation was grateful to them for safeguarding the country’s borders and exhorted them to continue doing the excellent work. Lt-Gen SK Singh, General Officer Commanding, 14 Corps, briefed the minister on the state of operational preparedness, training activities and numerous development activities undertaken by the Army in the remote regions of Ladakh, a defence spokesman said here.

Antony landed at the Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) at Nyoma at an altitude of approximately 13,600 feet in the Eastern Ladakh today. Speaking on the occasion, he congratulated the Army and the Indian Air Force for achieving the arduous task of operationalising the airfield. He especially appreciated the troops, who worked under severe cold conditions and harsh weather, and asked them to complete the construction of the ALG. The GOC 14 Corps informed the minister that the commissioning of the ALG would eliminate much of the operational hazards being faced by the troops deployed in the area.

The most important gain would be in the reduction of the induction time of the troops to the forward areas and would also assist in achieving better logistic capability. Overall, with the start of the the ALG the operational capability of the Army had further strengthened.

Jammu, June 22
Dissidents in the Congress have intensified their campaign against president of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Saifuddin Soz as a group of detractors is camping in New Delhi for the past five days to inform the high command about the “mess” in the state unit.

After meeting with senior party leader Oscar Fernandes, a group of dissident leaders also called on All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi.

Interestingly, senior leaders of the rival faction deliberately skipped the Delhi tour and deputed their supporters to inform the party high command about the affairs in the state Congress. The dissidents have been camping in the Union Capital for the past five days and meeting senior party leaders to muster support for their campaign against Soz.

Although the party leadership has not given any hint to bringing changes in the state unit at this juncture, the dissidents tried to convince Sonia Gandhi and Oscar Fernandes that Soz had weakened the party by projecting “detractors” and ignoring genuine workers.

A leader camping in New Delhi told The Tribune over the phone that the response of the high command was “very encouraging”. “We have made it clear to the party high command that instead of taking all leaders together the PCC chief has been projecting only his loyalists and ignoring genuine and loyal Congress workers,” he said. He claimed that the party leadership was convinced with our logic. The dissidents tried to convince Sonia that Soz had been projecting a former NC leader in the party and ignoring those who had been associated with the Congress since long.

Sources said the dissidents complained to Oscar that they were not involved in the membership drive and only Soz loyalists were given membership copies. They demanded that the membership drive in Jammu and Kashmir be declared null and void as, what they alleged, fictitious persons were enrolled as members.

They further alleged that instead of filling forms of genuine party workers, forms of the relatives and friends of some leaders were filled and projected as dedicated party workers.

The dissidents claimed that Fernandes, who is the in charge of the membership drive, took a serious note of their complaints and assured them that appropriate action would be taken to check bungling in the membership drive.

Veteran party leader P Namgyal, Janak Raj Gupta, Bhupinder Singh Slathia, Choudhary Garu Ram, Amin Bhat, Vinod Sharma from Rajouri were prominent dissident leaders who met with senior party leaders in New Delhi.

Srinagar, June 22
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has underscored the smooth functioning of legislatures as an important way to ensure accountability of the Executive. He was speaking at a symposium on “Performance of the Legislators in the House — Ensuring Accountability to the People” held here as part of the 75th All-India Presiding Officers Conference here today.

“The legislators fail in their responsibilities if they are not able to make the government answerable to the House. This can only be achieved when the proceedings are not disturbed and the Treasury Benches made accountable for their duties and commitments to the people. It becomes easy for the ministers to avoid volleys of supplementaries and questions when Question Hour gets disturbed and the House adjourned,” Omar said.

Several steps had been taken in the state to streamline the working of the state legislature and ensure greater accountability, the Chief Minister said. He added that during the last Budget session of the state Assembly, no business was lost and no Question Hour was adjourned despite attempts to disturb the proceedings.

Jammu, June 22
The Army handed over 445 acres of de-mined land to farmers in the Khour block of the Akhnoor subdivision today.

The Crossed Swords Division at a simple ceremony at Budhwal formally handed over the de-mined 445 acres to the tehsildar concerned.

As has been reported earlier, a total of 1,954 acres was mined by the Army during Operation Parakaram in the wake of the Parliament attack in December 2001. Now that the threat has waned, the Army taking cognisance of difficulties being faced by the locals, as they were not able to cultivate their land and hence were being deprived of their livelihood, took upon itself to de-mine the area and handed over the land to its owners.

The tedious process of de-mining is fraught with risk to life and takes time. The entire de-mining is being carried out in phases. Till date the Army has handed over 590 acres to the owners after de-mining in three phases.

Srinagar, June 22
The Vigilance Organisation, Kashmir, today registered a case against some officers and workers of the Watershed Management Division of the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) for abusing their official position and misappropriating lakhs of rupees.

The misappropriation, according to an official spokesman, was detected in the construction of gabion check-dams erected in the shape of stone beds covered with crate wire for the treatment of Sang Reshi Nullah at Khimber Takya, Srinagar, to protect the Dal Lake. Those booked included Mehraj-ud-din Shah, the then DFO, MA Chisti, the then DFO (Watershed Management), Wiqar Ahmad, JE, and others.

Ten works were shown executed by different contractors at a cost of Rs 1.099 crore during the financial years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. It was found that the estimates of some of the important engineering works had been prepared by the forester, who is a non-technical official. For these 10 works, Rs 35.04 lakh was shown spent on the carriage of stones from Athawajan Quarry and Wussan Nullah to the site of construction viz. Nullah Sang Reshi, while no stone was found to have been used or transported from the said places to the site. Instead, available stones at the site were utilised in the construction of the check dams.

The joint surprise check also found out that a large quantity of the crate wires shown utilised in these gabion check dams were already existing over which new crate wire work had been based and accordingly executed over the foundation of the old check dams raised in the past.

It was also found at the site that the gauge of the two crate wires used was entirely different in size, shape and specification. The underground part of the work (earthwork etc.) shown executed in these check dams was also found at variance with the records maintained by the department. However, the payment for the existing works, including works executed in the past, had also been drawn and made to the contractors. 

The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board(SASB) has issued a detailed advisory of do’s and don’ts for pilgrims visiting the Amarnath shrine. Since the yatris have to undertake an arduous trek through high mountains, they should try to achieve a satisfactory level of physical fitness. For this, they should take daily morning/evening walks. It may be useful to start deep breathing exercises, preferably “pranayam”. As the yatra involves trekking at an altitude of 14,800 feet, they must get themselves medically examined and everyone is required to self-certify his medical fitness while registering for a permit.

Every yatri should carry adequate woollen clothing, a small umbrella (which covers the head with an elastic band around the forehead and supported by a strap around the chin),a wind-cheater,a raincoat, a sleeping bag, waterproof shoes, a torch, a walking stick with a proper hand grip,a cap (preferably a monkey cap), gloves, a jacket, woollen socks and trousers as the climate is unpredictable and changes abruptly from sunny weather to rain or snow and the temperature may sometimes abruptly fall to 5 degree celsius or lower. For women pilgrims, saree is not a suitable dress.Salwar kameez, pant shirt or a track suit will be more comfortable. Small children shall not be allowed to undertake the pilgrimage.

Before hiring a pony, dandi or a labourer, the yatri must satisfy himself or herself that the ponywalla, the labourer or the dandiwalla is duly registered and carries an identity card. The yatris can do the hiring at rates fixed by the local administration at the camps at Baltal, Nunwan (Pahalgam), Panjtarni.Care should be taken to see that the porters and horses/ponies with their luggage move close to them as it may be difficult to trace them in case they get separated.. During the yatra from Pahalgam/Baltal onwards, the yatris must keep their clothes and eatables in a suitable waterproof bag to avoid these getting wet.

The yatris have been further advised to carry sufficient money to pay for their accommodation at base camps and at other halting stations en route the Holy Cave. To enable the authorities to take the necessary action in case a yatri is involved in an emergency, they are advised to keep a note containing the name,address and mobile phone number of any other pilgrim proceeding for darshan on the same date and route as they are following. They must also carry their identity cards/driving licences and the yatra permits. Every yatri is advised to carry all medicines which he or she takes daily and, besides, general medicines such as glucose, disprin, combiflam, move/iodex. They should also carry water bottles, dry fruits, roasted baked grams/channa, toffees and sufficient chocolates.The best way to complete the trek is to maintain a slow and steady pace instead of walking fast. The use of plastic is strictly banned and punishable under law. The yatris are advised to use latrines/bathrooms in the camps established by the board.

They have been advised not to stop at places carrying warning notices. They must neither smoke nor carry/consume any kind of narcotic or alcoholic substance.

They are also advised not to use slippers because there are steep rises and falls on the route. They must not break traffic discipline or try to overtake others in difficult stretches.The pilgrims have also been advised not to touch or place/throw anything on the Holy Lingam.

Srinagar, June 22
A shutdown was observed across the Kashmir valley for the third consecutive day today in protest against the death of a youth in police firing in the Noorbagh area of the city on Sunday.

Earlier, another youth of the area, who was injured in clashes on June 12, succumbed to his injuries in hospital after a week.

There were stray clashes in various parts of the city and elsewhere, reports said. While the government ordered an inquiry into the killing of the Noorbagh youth, Javed Ahmad Malla, allegedly in firing by the CRPF, the APHC faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani had given a bandh call for today.

All shops and business establishments remained closed and traffic was off the roads. Strict restrictions were in force in the downtown area of Srinagar to prevent any untoward incidents. Educational institutions were closed for the second consecutive day today while a thin attendance was reported in the government offices. Meanwhile, Geelani-led APHC faction has said there would be no bandh for the next two days. 

Jammu, June 22
The special investigation team (SIT) of the Jammu police, which had gone to Guna in Madhya Pradesh to take custody of Sangram Singh, the main accused in the Chopra murder case, is returning empty-handed as a local court in Guna has reportedly refused to give his custody.

The team will return here on June 24, a senior police officer said.

The court in Guna said the MP police wanted to interrogate Sangram Singh as he was involved in 12-13 cases, mostly of dacoity and robbery in the state, and the recovery was pending in the cases.

The Jammu police team had left for Guna on June 15 after obtaining the production warrant from a local court here.

After reaching Guna, when the police produced a Jammu court’s warrant before a court there, the relatives of Sangram along with others protested outside the court against the demand of the Jammu police.The Guna police intervened and pacified them, sources said.

On the intervening night of September 16-17, 2006, Rajendar Chopra alias Raju, his wife, Madhu Chopra, their daughter, Saloni Chopra, a servant and a driver were bludgeoned to death by some unidentified assailants at their house in Trikuta Nagar here.

All the 10 accused, namely Sangram, Mahesh Singh, Rusy, Vicky, Nanju, Bhawani Singh, Narain, Lalit, Sikandar and Kiran have been arrested in the case.

A senior police officer told The Tribune that now they would have to get again a production warrant from the Jammu court to get the custody of Sangram and his brother, Kiran. Repeated attempts to contact Farooq Khan, DIG (Jammu-Kathua Range), proved futile.

Jammu, June 22
Yesterday’s landslide near the Mughal Road in which an engineer was killed and his driver injured has not come as a deterrent to participants of the Mughal Road Car Rally, which will be held on June 25-26.

A total of 40 cars will cover a total distance of 819 km from Srinagar to Jammu and back to promote tourism.Rallyists from places like Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh and other states have already reached there.

Talking over the phone to this correspondent, Sunny Sidhu, a rallyist from Chandigarh, said: “We will definitely participate in the rally”. Showing great enthusiasm, the participants feel that the it would be a lifetime experience for them because the Mughal emperors had used the road to reach the Kashmir valley and the road has not been opened to public yet.

On the other hand, the Engineering Department of the Mughal Road Project has started conducting a survey to know the reason behind the incident. “The road has been cleared, but there are some landslide-prone areas on the 84-km-long stretch which can pose a danger to the rallyists”, said Kabir Shah, Executive Engineer (Bafliaz) of the project.

He further said the incident took place about 27 km away from Bafliaz. “There is no threat to the rally from landslides so far, but if anything happens, the event could be delayed or cancelled”, Kabir added.

Meanwhile, local MLA Rafiq Ahmed Khan has appealed to the state government not to allow vehicular movement on the road till its completion so that no untoward incident takes place in future. 

Jammu, June 22
A woman was killed and three others, including two students and a driver, were critically injured after a school bus of Kendriya Vidyalaya-II, Akhnoor, in which they were travelling, collided with an Army vehicle at Batada village in Kanachak here 
this evening.

The school bus was going to Kanachak around 5 pm from Akhnoor when the mishap occurred. All the injured belonged to KV School-II, Akhnoor.

The police said Murshada Begum, wife of Mohammad Qasim, was declared dead, while two students, namely, Yogeshwar Singh , a resident of Daskal village, and Rajat Singh, a resident of Kanachak, received head injuries and were taken to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Jammu.

Later, they were referred to a hospital in Amritsar. The driver of the school bus, Farooq Ahmed, was also taken to the GMCH, Jammu, where he was recuperating from his injuries.

Another student, Vineet, also received some minor injuries and he was released after first-aid. A case has been registered at Kanachak police station.

Srinagar, June 22
A militant and a policeman were killed while four others were injured in an encounter overnight between militants and the security forces in Sopore town of Baramulla district.

The house in which the militants were hiding was damaged and a body,believed to be of one of the hiding militants, was recovered from the debris. A constable, Ghulam Hassan, was also killed in the encounter, while four others, including an SPO and an Army jawan, were injured.

According to the police, the militants opened fire on a search party in Bagat Mohalla, Sopore, last evening and entered a house. In the encounter that followed, the house was damaged and one of the hiding militants was killed.

Meanwhile, a shutdown was observed across the Kashmir valley for the third consecutive day today in protest against the death of a youth in police firing in the Noorbagh area of the city on Sunday.

There were stray clashes in various parts of the city and elsewhere, reports said. While the government ordered an inquiry into the killing of the Noorbagh youth, Javed Ahmad Malla, allegedly in firing by the CRPF, the APHC faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani had given a bandh call for today.