Baltal, July 5
Even as intelligence agencies have sounded a high alert with inputs that militant groups, especially the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), may try to hamper the smooth flow of the Amarnath yatra this year, neither Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board nor the security forces are checking the registration slips of pilgrims anywhere en route the holy cave.

The registration slip, which is considered mandatory for every pilgrim to have a darshan of Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva at the holy cave, being issued from the branches of J&K Bank across the country, is being dispensed with as hundreds of pilgrims are paying obeisance at the holy cave daily without registering themselves for darshan.

Accompanying the first batch of pilgrims up to the holy cave, The Tribune team found that no official checked the registration slips of yatris and the latter were free to go ahead without any problem.

The registration slip not only serves as an identity card and permission for having the darshan of the Ice Lingam, but also has the insurance cover of the pilgrim. Still some people are not taking the registration slips seriously nor the administration is checking these. Moreover, the data about the exact number of yatris, who pay obeisance at the shrine, also depends on it.

“We have paid obeisance at the holy cave and are returning to our native place. But we are surprised that no one asked us to show our registration slips,” said Monika, a resident of Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab, who came here with her family.

She said at a time when the Kashmir valley was on the boil and the yatra was going on, the authorities concerned were showing leniency in checking the registration slips of pilgrims.

Another pilgrim, Rajesh Chabra of New Delhi, said, “I procured a registration slip after much effort as the slips were out of the stock at all J&K Bank branches in Delhi. But after coming here I came to know that this is just a piece of paper, which has no value.”

En route the holy cave from Baltal all security in charges of the Army, BSF, CRPF and the police stated that this year they had major inputs about possible militant attacks, especially by the LeT, during the yatra. “Intelligence inputs of possible militant attacks are always there during the yatra but the situation is graver this year. We have alerted the jawans and are ready to face any situation at all hours,” said RS Solanki, Assistant Commandant, CRPF, Baltal Base Camp. He further said foolproof security arrangements had been made.

Baltal, July 5
Despite a bandh called by the BJP over the price rise and curfew in south Kashmir, the sixth batch of 3,094 Amarnath pilgrims left Jammu this morning.

The batch of 3,094 pilgrims comprising 2,106 men, 738 women, 111 children and 139 sadhus left Jammu in nearly 120 vehicles around 8 am. The batch of pilgrims crossed Udhampur town at noon and was expected to reach Pahalgam and Baltal this evening.

At a number of places, vehicles were stopped for security reasons and because of narrow roads. After covering a few kilometres from Jammu, the convoy of the pilgrims was stopped at Nagrota, where other pilgrims accompanied them.

As the Bharat bandh was called by the BJP, a majority of pilgrims started the pilgrimage travelling in their own vehicles last night. Till midnight hundreds of vehicles had crossed the Jawahar Tunnel, which links the Jammu region with the Kashmir valley, as the pilgrims were aware of the bandh call and they did not want to delay their yatra, so they preferred to travel in the night, said a senior police officer.

With the beginning of the day, a number of pilgrims reached the Baltal base camp and started their journey for the holy cave to have the darshan of Shiv Lingam.

Harish Dhamija, a resident of Bhatinda in Punjab, said, “We travelled the whole night and reached here in the morning, as we were aware that there would be a complete shutdown on Monday. Now, we are going to start our yatra.”

Meanwhile, the convoy carrying the sixth batch of pilgrims reached near the tunnel where they were stopped for a while, as the curfew was imposed in south Kashmir.

However, the pilgrims, who arrived in Jammu today, had to face problems as minibus services remained off the road and some banks and markets were also closed due to the bandh.

A senior security officer told The Tribune that till 10 am a large number of pilgrims had left for the cave shrine from the base camp here.

Srinagar, July 5
Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) today allocated 50 more helicopter seats to the hospitality industry in the state for the ongoing Amarnath yatra. It was done with a view to giving a boost to tourism-related activities here with increased participation of local stakeholders.

The decision to this effect was taken on the directions of Governor NN Vohra, who is the chairman of the SASB, aiming at engendering increased economic benefits for the hospitality industry.

Chief Executive Officer of the board Raj Kumar Goyal said an additional 50 helicopter seats had been allotted to the hospitality industry. Of these, 10 each had been allocated for the Hotel Associations of Kashmir and Jammu divisions, 10 for the Pahalgam Hotel Association, 10 for the House Boat Owners Association and another 10 for the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation.

This was in addition to the quota of 140 helicopter seats earlier allocated to the four recognised travel and tour operators, two each from Kashmir and Jammu divisions, he added.

Goyal stated that on the chairman’s instructions, the shrine board had provided outlets at the Baltal and Nunwan base camps to the HELP Foundation J&K, a Srinagar-based NGO working for the welfare of women and children, for selling their products, including shawls, rugs, cushion covers and jute handbags.

Meanwhile, despite heavy rains and snowfall in the high mountains, the yatra is progressing satisfactorily. However, this morning, over 3,000 yatris left the Yatri Niwas, Jammu, for Pahalgam and Baltal base camps.

As many as 12,527 pilgrims today left from Nunwan-Pahalgam and Baltal-Sonamarg base camps of the Valley to the holy Amarnath cave for having the darshan of the Lingam.

According to official sources, 6,949 pilgrims left for the holy cave from Pahalgam, while 5,578 pilgrims left from Baltal.

Srinagar, July 5
To foil the proposed march by the separatists to Anantnag, curfew restrictions were reimposed across the capital city and other major towns of the Valley today. The march to Anantnag, about 52 km south of here, was called by the hardline APHC faction led by Syed Ali Geelani to express solidarity with the people of the town where three youths allegedly fell to the bullets of the CRPF during clashes on Tuesday last.

Restrictions remained in force in most of the areas of Srinagar today, a day after the residents of downtown localities got some relief from the week-long restrictions. The roads across the city were deserted as the police and the CRPF had created barricades and razor wire blockades to restrict the movement of people. All offices and educational institutions remained closed.

The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway leading to the south Kashmir district headquarters of Anantnag was blocked on the city outskirts to prevent any march led by the separatists. Mediapersons were also stopped near Pampore township, about 14 km from here, from proceeding towards south Kashmir.

Anantnag town that witnessed the killings of three youths last Tuesday was also under strict curfew restrictions. There was no relaxation in the restrictions today in view of the proposed march by the APHC (Geelani), while the town witnessed clashes during the curfew relaxation for the past two days.

Other major towns in south Kashmir where restrictions were imposed to prevent the proposed march included Pulwama, Shopian, Kakapora and Kulgam.

This was the fourth proposed march by the separatists following the recent killings which began with the killing of two youths in Sopore on June 25. The moderate faction of the APHC led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had called for a march to Sopore on June 28 last to express solidarity with the people. The Geelani faction called for a women’s march to Pathar Masjid in Srinagar on July 1, followed by the march to Eidgah here on July 2. These proposed marches were foiled by imposing strict restrictions to avoid any law and order problem.

Jammu, July 5
Normal life was thrown out of gear due to the Bharat Bandh called by the BJP and other political parties of Jammu today. Most of the shops and business establishments remained closed and the movement of public transport was also affected due to the bandh call against the rise in the prices of essential commodities and petroleum products.

Activists of the BJP and the CPM took out rallies in the city. The BJP activists under the leadership of state president Shamsher Singh Manhas took out a scooter rally, which started from Pandit Prem Nath Dogra Chowk and after passing through different areas culminated at Maheshpura Chowk, where the party leaders addressed the protesters.

Manhas said it was unfortunate that people had to suffer due to rise in the prices of essential commodities whenever the Congress comes to power. “The Congress first misleads with pleasing slogans while seeking votes and later on attaining power it takes decisions that are totally against the interests of people,” he said, adding that, “The Congress has only one point agenda and that is to give benefits to a handful of capitalists, hoarders and black marketeers and encourages them to raise prices to earn huge profits.”

Manhas said people had been suffering due to the manifold rise in the prices of essential items and the recent decision of the UPA to hike the prices of petroleum products would further result in the rise of prices of food items.

Jammu, July 5
The Bharat bandh call given by the BJP against the price rise today disrupted the ongoing BA/BSc/BCom-I admission process in some city colleges. The admission process remained closed in Government Colleges for Women, Gandhi Nagar, and also in Government Colleges for Women, Parade. However, Maulana Azad Memorial College and the Sri Pratap Memorial Rajput College of Commerce witnessed marginal rush of admission seekers.

“Earlier, we were directed to affix important notices on walls regarding the admission process, but we have decided to do the same work tomorrow as a few students are coming,” said an employee of one of the government college.

Though the bandh was partial in the city, traffic remained off roads in most of the distant areas, due to which admission seekers could not commute. “Though I was in the second merit list, which was declared yesterday, my name was missing from the merit list. I was directed by the authorities to visit the college today for getting information about the omission, but could not do so as the traffic was completely off roads,” said Ritu Rani, a student. However, in some areas, where commercial vehicles were plying infrequently, the admission seekers were in doubt as whether colleges were functional or closed.

According to college authorities, tomorrow will be the last date for getting admission in the undergraduate courses. Students can get admission with a late fee of around Rs 120 from July.

Leh, July 5
Hamid Ansari, Vice-President, who arrived in Leh yesterday on a three-day tour, said today that India could produce 10,000 MW of geothermal power. He stated this after inaugurating a three-day International Conference on Geothermal and other Energy Resources of Ladakh:Technological and Business Viability.

The conference is being organised by the Institute of Energy Research and Training and Business School, Jammu University, in collaboration with MPRG University College, London (UK).

The Vice-President, in his address, supported the view that the technology and the human ingenuity would lead us to newer sources of energy as well as to better utilisation of existing sources and qualities. He said it was a recorded fact that all civilisations depended for their survival and prosperity on their ability to access energy in sufficient quantities in the form of food and fuel. The advancement of the past two centuries highlighted this truism, he said.

The Vice-President said it was estimated that there was a technical potential to produce about 10,000 MW of geothermal power in the country. From the point of view of electrification of rural and remote areas, he said there was even a greater potential in terms of the impact of geothermal power where even small projects of 5 KW could significantly change the economic situation and living standards.

Ansari said exploiting geothermal energy was not new, as the ancient Romans built elaborate complexes in the areas where they came across hot water springs. In our country hot water springs were traditionally used. He said though India had been one of the earliest countries to begin geothermal projects way back in the 1970s, the geothermal energy had not emerged as a significant renewable energy option in the country.

About thirty scientists, scholars and academicians from all over the world are attending the conference to present their papers on the exploitation of geothermal energies.

Among the dignitaries, who were present on the occasion, included Tourism and Culture Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Qamar Ali Akhon, Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University Varun Sahni and Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, Tsering Dorjey.

Later, Ansari along with his wife visited Thiksay and Hemis monasteries and the Shahi Hamdan Mosque at Shey village.

Srinagar, July 5
Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla and Minister of State for PHE Nasir Aslam Wani paid obeisance at Gurdwara Chathipadshahi, Ranawari in Srinagar today.

The ministers greeted people on the Gurparb of the sixth Sikh guru, Guru Hargobind and prayed for the welfare of the people and peace and development of the state.

Greeting the people on the occasion, Bhalla said Guru Hargobind’s teachings showed a path of kindness towards fellow beings and urged people to follow the teachings of the Guru, which were universal in maintaining peace, prosperity and brotherhood.

Wani took stock of the arrangements made for the devotees and visitors to the shrine and expressed satisfaction.

He hoped age-old brotherhood would further strengthen the bond of love and kinship among all Kashmiris belonging to different faiths.

Srinagar, July 5
To ease the ongoing tension in various parts of the Kashmir valley following the killing of three youths allegedly by the CRPF in Anantnag on June 29, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has undertaken to meet and interact with people personally.

After meeting with people from various walks of life in Srinagar yesterday, the Chief Minister went to Baramulla, another troubled town, today to interact with people there. “I will continue to reach out to people at the grass-roots level, understand their aspirations and strive to resolve the issues close to their heart as per their expectations. I will soon roll out a programme of meeting civil society at the tehsil level,” Omar said while interacting with people at Baramulla.

He said time had come to go to the root of the problem in Kashmir and address it with all sincerity. He appealed to the Union government that while a dialogue had started with Pakistan at different levels, a political dialogue between the Centre and different shades of opinion in the state must also begin in the right earnest. His government was ready to act as a facilitator for such a dialogue, he added.

Omar suggested that the Uri-Muzafarabad road opened for the members of divided families on April 7, 2005, should be opened for the general public in both sides of the border. He said he wished that someday in his lifetime Muzafarabad and Srinagar would be linked by a railway line.

The Chief Minister said during the Manmohan-Musharaf talks “we were close to a solution but circumstances derailed the process. However, we should not lose heart and restart efforts to initiate a meaningful dialogue and strengthen confidence-building measures between the two nations and their people.”

He said certain elements in society, who were not happy with the initiatives of developments taken by his government, were trying to derail the process of development during the limited working season available in the Valley, but the state government was determined to fight such forces.

Omar said, “It is unfortunate that disturbances are affecting the education of our children, tourism, trade and commerce and development activities,”

Jammu, July 5
After a suspicious-looking man was nabbed outside a temple at Purani Mandi on Saturday, the Special Operations Group (SOG) yesterday said no connection of the arrested individual with any militant group had been established as yet.

The SOG arrested a sadhu near the Ram Temple at Purani Mandi on Saturday after he tried to gain entry into a camp set up for the Amarnath-bound sadhus allegedly on a fictitious name. “He is being questioned but as of now we could not establish his connection with any militant outfit,” SP, SOG, Pawan Parihar said. However, the sadhu possessed a small poison bottle and a Pakistan one rupee coin, he added.

The suspect is a physically challenged man, not having the right hand. After the SOG sleuths arrested him near the temple he was sent to the joint interrogation centre at Miran Sahib for sustained interrogation. Parihar said he had faked his identity as Aman Sharma of Ludhiana to gain entry into the camp, but his real identity was Aman Khan of Roorkee in Uttar Pradesh.

After noticing his suspicious activities some sadhus in the camp informed the police. With the Amarnath yatra usually under the terror threat, police and SOG personnel have been deployed in and around the capital city to keep an eye on anti-social elements.

Official sources said intelligence inputs had warned of a possible misadventure by militant outfits to create disturbance during the ongoing pilgrimage. In the wake of this incident, the police has beefed up security and has started random checks in hotels, lodges and camps housing Amarnath yatris and sadhus to nab suspicious-looking elements.