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Amarnath Yatra
Morcha holds rally over fuel price hike |
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Ahead of civic poll, surge in demand for MCs
Khem Raj and his wife, Santosh, with the abandoned baby girl at Sunder Bani on Sunday.
Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
Curfew continues in Sopore
Comedy
Chaska-e-Chori takes a dig at corrupt acts
CET concludes; candidates find papers easy
Couple’s death puzzles cops, family members
Rally helped explore new tourism areas, says minister
Fridays proving black for Jammu
Queen’s Baton enters state today
Sardar Patel Medal for Javaid Rahi
Get permits before yatra: Amarnath board
Two arrested with 14-kg poppy straw
Put an end to miseries of Pandits: Panun Kashmir
Youth asked to fight drug menace
Three injured as mini-bus overturns
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Sadhus allege poor lodging facilities, block Canal Road
Tribune News Service
Jammu, June 27 The angry sadhus also attacked mediapersons with trishuls, canes and bricks, resulting in injuries to four photo-journalists. The sadhus, who have been camping at various places in the city for the past one week, gathered at the Canal Road to lodge protest against the district authorities for poor arrangements for their stay. Shouting religious slogans like “Har Har Mahadev”, they started gathering outside the women’s cell here and blocked the road around 12 noon. To control the situation, a number of policemen were deployed there, but they virtually failed to pacify the agitating sadhus. Commuters had to bear the brunt of the protest. A number of vehicles were stranded on the road. Mini-buses plying on the Jammu-Akhnoor road were also stopped near Jewel Chowk as the route ahead was blocked. The situation took an ugly turn when mediapersons arrived there.The sadhus thrashed a number of them, accusing them of not properly highlighting their problems of kitchen, toilets and hall facilities. The agitating sadhus tried to attack the mediapersons a number of times, but the cops present there remained mute spectators. Four mediapersons received minor injuries and one of them, namely, Dheeraj Sethi of a local news channel was rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital from where he was discharged in the evening. A few sadhus also started removing their clothes to lodge their protest. While returning to their lodging places, the sadhus also broke the camera of a person, who was videographing a marriage near Vivek Hotel here. M K Dwivedi, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu said: “The protesting sadhus were demanding stay arrangements at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, which is impossible as the schools will open on July 25 and the yatra will go on till the end of August”. He further said the administration had made proper arrangements for the stay of sadhus at Ram Temple at Purani Mandi in old city and at Mouni Baba Temple at Circular Road here, even the registration had also started. He also added the road was cleared within a few minutes.
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Morcha holds rally over fuel price hike
Jammu, June 27 The Mahila Morcha rally, led by state president Sakina Bano, began from the party headquarters in the city and passed through main bazars before culminating at Parade Ground. Bano, addressing Morcha activists, said the country had been ruled largely by the Congress after Independence but it had always misled the people by hollow sloganeering over eradication of poverty and making India a prosperous nation. “In reality, the Congress had never worked for the mitigation of the sufferings of the people” she said, adding that the recent decision of the Congress-led UPA to hike the prices of petroleum products was one more step towards increasing the problems of the masses. She said the price hike would also lead to a rise in the transport cost and the prices of other essential items. The Congress instead of being apologetic for burdening the masses, was offering lame excuses, she added. Meanwhile, the PDP has asked the government to provide diesel to the farmers on subsidised rates. In a statement issued here today, PDP vice-president Trilok Singh Bajwa regretted that the government had ignored the hardships being faced by the people. He said the prices of diesel and other petroleum products were already high in the state due to additional tax imposed by the National Conference-led government and the latest hike would increase the woes of the masses. Bajwa asked the state government to take some steps at the state level and withdraw additional taxes on petroleum products. He added that poor farmers would be the worst hit due to the hike in prices of petroleum products.
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Legal hurdles in way of abandoned baby’s adoption
Sunder Bani, June 27 The state does not have any specific legislation that permits the adoption of abandoned babies. As a consequence, such babies are usually entrusted to orphanages and in the rarest of the rare cases one can adopt a child from there under the present state Act that makes it mandatory to have a guardian for the baby at the time of adoption. The issueless couple in this case are a Delhi police cop, Khem Raj, and his wife Santosh. On a visit to their relatives here, they coincidentally met with the abandoned baby as one of their family members happens to be a nurse at the sub district hospital and has been entrusted with the custody of the baby for the time being. During all these days, the couple painstakingly cared for the baby. Eventually, they decided to adopt her. But by the time advocates told them about the legal hurdles, the couple had already developed a strong emotional bond with the baby. “It is almost 10 days now, we have been visiting the police, bureaucrats and the court to get the custody of the baby but in vain. Tomorrow, we will meet the DC,” said Khem Raj. “After many years of marriage, we are still childless. We assumed our wish for a child had been fulfilled with this baby,” said an emotional Santosh Kumari. Her husband, Khem Raj added, “We hope the DC will give us the custody of the child.” “We have developed such a bond with the baby that going back without her will not be easy for us now. I have extended my vacations to fulfil the legal formalities,” he said and added: “We can give her an upbringing better than the kind children get in orphanages.” Rohit Kapoor, a lawyer who has filed a PIL over this issue, said: “Though there is no specific law yet adoption is permissible under the given law. In these cases, the state automatically becomes the guardian of the child. After having verified the antecedents of the adoptive parents, the custody of the child is entrusted by the district judge.” However, in case of abandoned babies, sources said officials in the administration or the police are always reluctant to act as guardian for facilitating adoption under the J&K Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1960.
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Ahead of civic poll, surge in demand for MCs
Jammu, June 27 Residents of Gorha Slathia of Samba tehsil have raised this demand. Inhabitants of Bani tehsil have also threatened to launch an agitation if they did not come under a municipal
committee. Bani has tehsil headquarters and a separate assembly segment in Kathua district but is without a municipal committee. Residents of
Ramkot, another important town of Kathua district, are fighting to get a municipal committee in their area. Located on the border of Udhampur district, this town fulfils the requirements needed for setting up of a municipal committee. “After
Billawar, Ramkot is the second biggest town in this belt so this area is the most deserving case for a municipal committee,” argued Satish Sharma, state general secretary of the
BJP. Sharma pointed out that being one of the historical places of Jammu region, Ramkot deserved special attention. He, however, regretted that successive governments had ignored this belt. “People of Ramkot have been struggling to get a municipal committee so that they could have better and faster development in their area, he said. Congress leader R S Pathaania has also demanded that municipal committee should be set up in the Majalata and Manwal areas. Majalata is in
Udhampur, while Manwal in Jammu district is near Udhampur. Pathaania said: “Majalata has been tehsil headquarters for long and by merging adjoining areas of nearby villages
Kuarnoo, Sartari, Peuni, Kathil and Baryalta, a viable municipality could come up at
Majalata.” He also stressed on the need to set up a municipality at
Manwal. “Manwal is a viable trade centre through which thousands of people, vehicles and trains pass on the
Jammu-Udhampur route, he maintained, adding that the area had lagged behind in development for want of proper funds and the setting up of a municipality there would speed up the pace of
development. Manwal, which dots the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) map, has an ancient Devi Bani temple and Baba Pair shrine. |
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Curfew continues in Sopore
Srinagar, June 27 There were no reports of any attempts to violate the curfew today.APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has called for a march to Sopore tomorrow to express solidarity with the people of the area. However, restrictions are likely to be imposed on the movement of the people to the town, 55 km north of here. Some preventive arrests are also being made to maintain the law and order, sources here said. An executive and general council meeting of the APHC was held here today. The meeting,
accor ding to a spokesman, discussed tomorrow’s programme and urged people to make it a success. While the Mirwaiz would lead the march from Srinagar, other leaders would be going from their respective areas, the spokesman added. These include Agha Syed Hassan from
Budgam, Bilal Ghani Lone from Kupwara, Masroor Abbas Ansari from Mirgund and Nayeem Ahmad Khan from
Pattan. The APHC chairman, while condemning the killings, urged the international community to play its role and impress upon the state government to prevent such incidents in future. He also condemned the police action against the separatist leaders in which senior APHC leaders of the Geelani faction, Ashraf Sehrai and Ayaz
Akbar, have been arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA). The trouble had started on Friday afternoon when an agitated mob clashed with the police and the CRPF at
Chhanakhan, Sopore, following the death of two militants in an encounter in the nearby Krankshuwan locality earlier in the day. The residents alleged that one of the two killed was a local. The police, however, had claimed that the two militants were involved in a number of killings, including that of Traders Federation President Ghulam Nabi Khan, last month. Meanwhile, both of the militants killed in Friday’s encounter in Sopore have been identified as Firdous Ahmad Gojri of the Lashker-e-Toiba and Abdul Qayoom
Najar. The sources said one of them was buried amid curfew restrictions this morning. Meanwhile, on the request of parents and as a precautionary measure, the Director, School Education, Kashmir, and the Director, Colleges, have ordered that all schools and colleges shall remain closed in Kashmir division on June 28 and 29, an official spokesman said. |
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Comedy
Chaska-e-Chori takes a dig at corrupt acts
Jammu, June 27 Through a series of comic scenes, the thief is shown losing his repute and facing police harassment. While confronting the police over their efficiency, he declares that the police counts its success only through small thieves like him and never dares to catch the big fish. A transformation comes in him when he loses his love in an attempt to impress her by portraying himself as an accomplished poet and singer and foolishly recites the poetry and compositions of others by claiming them as his original creations. Over time he realises that intellectual corruption is much more serious a crime than stealing material things. Pankush Verma played the lead role of thief with elan. His friend in whom he confides everything was played by Rahul Singh. Tajasvi Sharma in her short entry gave an impressive performance.
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CET concludes; candidates find papers easy
Jammu, June 27 “Both papers were easy. I attempted all questions of both papers. I am hopeful that I will score good marks in the examination,” said Rohit Gupta, one of the CET candidates. Another CET candidate Lovely Sharma said, “I cannot believe that I attempted all questions of mathematics, which I always considered difficult. The biology paper was equally easy.” Other candidates, coming out of the examination centres, also expressed similar views. The Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) has given three days to the candidates for clearing their doubts, if any. Talking to The Tribune, Dr Gopal Gupta, Controller, CET, said, “The students can approach the board within three days to clear their queries. They should come with proper proof of their query.” The biology test was conducted in the morning at seven examination centres, whereas the mathematics test was conducted in the evening at 13 examination centres here. Gupta said, “As many as 6,712 candidates appeared in the biology test and near about 6,000 candidates appeared in mathematics test.” No case of cheating or impersonation was reported from any of the examination centres, he added.
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Couple’s death puzzles cops, family members
Jammu, June 27 Though the police had seized a number of medicines and other articles from the house of deceased Ramesh Koul and his wife Rajni Koul, and found everything intact, it had achieved no breakthrough in the case. The condition in which the bodies were found lying on the bed, and that probably for the past three days, has given a twist to the entire incident. Yesterday, a team of doctors comprising Dr Anil Mahajan from the Forensic Science Department, Dr Zahoor from the Surgery Department and Dr Deepti from the Pathology Department conducted the post-mortem on the bodies at the Government Medical College and Hospital here. They would soon submit the post-mortem report to the Deputy
Commissioner. Later in the afternoon, Nitish Koul, son of the elderly couple, who lives in Bahadurgarh, Haryana, performed the last rites at the Shakti Nagar cremation ground here. Some of those who attended the funeral told The Tribune that it was a suicide case but they failed to substantiate as to why the couple took the extreme step. They described Rajesh as a “jolly fellow” and said his wife suffered from some ailment. She was last noticed on June 22 walking in the street with the help of a stick. Abid Rafiqi, SHO, Trikuta Nagar police station said, “We are investigating the matter, but the post-mortem report will clear the facts.” |
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Rally helped explore new tourism areas, says minister
Srinagar, June 27 While the rally is going to be an annual feature henceforth, Minister of State for Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani informed that two more routes would be explored for the rally next year. A lot of work had been done for the just-concluded rally in the background in addition to the endurance and courage of the drivers, he said. The rally was organised by the Himalayan Motor Sports Association in coordination with the State Tourism Department and sponsored by J&K Bank. For participants like Gaurav Prabhakar and Ravi Prabhakar from Chandigarh and one of the two women participants, Rajni Dutta, it has been a fabulous and fantastic experience which provided them an opportunity to explore the scenic spots. “The message to showcase the beauty of Kashmir is loud and clear”, said Ravi. “Truly, the most scenic sporting event in India’s history, the maiden event ran to a packed entry grid”, the organisers stated. The 33 cars in two categories of Extreme and Enduro set out to overcome challenges and adversity on routes from Daksum to Kishtwar and there onwards to Jammu via the twin lakes of Mansar and Surinsar. In the Extreme category, Sunny Sidhu took the overall first place, followed by Randeep Mighlani while Harpreet Bawa took the
third place. In the Enduro category, Umesh Raheja from Delhi got the first position followed by K Prasad from Chennai, and the third position was bagged by Dharmpal Jhangra from Team Maruti. Later, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah gave away the prizes to the participants of first Moghul car rally at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) here this evening. The first prize of Rs 2 lakh and a trophy was won by Umesh Raheja and Yogesh Raheja, while in the Extreme 4x4 event, the first prize of Rs 2 lakh went to Sanny Sidhu and Jagbir Singh. The Younis Mughal Trophy was awarded to Gurpreet Singh and Vinay Sahi, while the best first timer overall award was given to Taufeeq Mughal and
Ankur.
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Fridays proving black for Jammu
Jammu, June 27 Earlier also, a number of major incidents occurred on Fridays, such as murder of a 10-year-old boy of Nai Basti here, Shalin Gupta. The day proved unlucky in another incident, in which some persons in the Transport Market of Narwal area killed two transporters, Gurnam Singh (32) and his maternal uncle, Rajinder Singh (43), on the night of February 5, when they were returning to their house. The murder was reportedly a result of a feud between two factions on the issue of transporting goods in the Narwal transport market. Not only these, 20 persons lost their lives and 53 were injured on May 21 i.e. Friday, in this year’s biggest road mishap after a bus fell into a gorge in Reasi here. Februray 22, that too a Friday, again proved unlucky as a 6-year-old girl was killed in a car — train collision at an unmanned crossing at Samba,in which the Chennai Express train dragged the car to a distance of 200 metres which later fell into the river when the father of the deceased girl was pushing the vehicle after his vehicle stopped working. A businessman, Darshan Lal, in his mid-thirties was also found murdered at his shop on April 30,a Friday, after a horse-cart driver allegedly killed him with some sharp-edged weapons at Rang Malana village in R S Pura here.
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Queen’s Baton enters state today
Srinagar, June 27 This was stated jointly by Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Naseema Lanker, and Secretary, Youth Services & Sports, B. A. Runiyal here yesterday. Runyal has been appointed Nodal Officer to coordinate the event. He said two reception committees headed
by Divisional Commissioners of respective provinces had been constituted to supervise the arrangements. A roadmap had been prepared for the smooth conduct of the event at all places,Runiyal said. He said that the Baton Relay would be held in the evening at Jammu, which will be flagged off by Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand from M.A.M Stadium, in the presence of the Sports Minister and would culminate at the General Zorawar Singh Auditorium, Jammu University. Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla would receive the Baton, which would be followed by a cultural programme organised by the Cultural Academy. After a two-day halt in the state, it will go to Chandigarh on Wednesday. |
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Sardar Patel Medal for Javaid Rahi
Jammu, June 27 He is the first among Muslim Gujjars of the state to get this prize for his outstanding contribution to the development of the Gojri language and Gujjar identity in South Asia. The prestigious medal was constituted in the name of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the first Home Minister of India. Prior to this, Javaid Rahi has been awarded the J&K State’s highest literary award, the Best Book Award in 1999 in the Gojri language by Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. Among other prestigious awards, he has also received the Best Playwright Award from the state academy for the year 2000. Rahi is the recipient of the National Fellowship Award from the Union Ministry of Culture, New Delhi, for his contribution to the field of Tribal and Nomadic Research of India, with special focus on Gujjars residing in the 11 states of the country. |
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Get permits before yatra: Amarnath board
Srinagar, June 27 The CEO clarified that those without valid yatra permits would not be allowed to proceed beyond the Nunwan and Baltal base camps. He further advised that the yatris, to avoid any inconvenience, might require to adjust their travel plans in accordance with the dates for which the permits had been issued to them. Goyal reiterated that the shrine board had issued a detailed advisory of do’s and don’ts for the yatris, which were printed on the reverse of the permit. |
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Two arrested with 14-kg poppy straw
Jammu, June 27 A case under the NDPS Act has been registered at Darhal police station. The accused has been identified as Mohammad Arif alias Saifu, a resident of Darhal, but the identity of other could not be established till the filing of this report. |
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Put an end to miseries of Pandits: Panun Kashmir
Jammu, June 27 He further alleged that the policy pursued by the Centre and the state government in particular in the last 20 years had led to the marginalisation of the Kashmiri Pandit community. Agnishekhar said the issue of the return of the community was linked to the broader issue of Kashmir’s future. Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Raina, senior community activist, said: “It is unfortunate that the state government has exploited the miseries of unemployed Kashmiri Pandit youth by attaching unconstitutional and draconian conditions to the employment package.” He said this was mutilation of the employment package as demanded by the Panun Kashmir leadership.
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Youth asked to fight drug menace
Srinagar, June 27 “The youths are being lost to drugs and it alarms us to know that drugs have percolated deep enough to engulf young children and girls ”, she said. The event started with a bicycle
race. Later, a symposium on drug abuse and a sketch-slogan competition were also held in which many students representing various schools participated. “We have to fight the menace together and everyone has to shoulder the responsibility to safeguard our future”, the minister said and added that the government was working to establish district-level de-addiction- cum-counselling centres to provide clinical support and treatment to drug addicts to help
them recover. “Our religious scholars and teachers have to focus on moral education of young boys and girls in their areas and at schools. Parents should devote attention and time to kids and keep a watch over their activities. The Health Department should issue instructions to chemist shops and drug stores to provide medicines only against proper prescription from doctors. NGOs should also do their part in the campaign against this curse that is destroying the very fabric of our society”,
Itoo said. IGP (Crime) Raja Ajaz Ali, in his address, sought cooperation of the Revenue Department in the enforcement of preventive and punitive measures against poppy cultivators. “The conviction rate is less because there are too many procedural technicalities and often witnesses to crimes turn hostile”, he said.An Action Plan with the support of agriculture and forest departments had been submitted to the Centre for approval.
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Three injured as mini-bus overturns
Jammu, June 27 The injured were rushed to the local Government Medical College and Hospital, where their condition was said to be stable. The police said the driver and conductor of both the vehicles ran away but the vehicles were seized. The injured have been identified as Kalidass, a resident of Kot Bhalwal, Rafiq of Narwal, and Mohammad Gaffar of Akhnoor. A case has been registered at Warehouse police post.
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Jammu, June 27
