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Heavy rain causes flash floods in Jammu region
Consider release of political detainees: NC to govt
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Militants kill kidnapped
contractor
Organisational Elections
Army holds fair to make youth self-dependent
Elders from Ladakh go on educational tour
Missing Girls’ Case
Varsity starts diploma
in human rights
Suicide by Married Woman
Amarnath yatra suspended due to bad weather
Two militants killed in Kupwara
Curfew goes in Baramulla, Sopore
Lanka ex-PM, Omar discuss tourism promotion
Turmoil in Valley
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Heavy rain causes flash floods in Jammu region
Kathua/Jammu, July 22
Several kanals were inundated and some villages were stranded due to the flash floods. To rescue the stranded villagers, the civil administration launched an operation in two villages and helicopters were pressed into service. At Pandoli village, an Army chopper evacuated three families trapped in flash floods to a safer place. Again, at Salalpur village, a chopper was pressed into service to rescue stranded persons. Two school students at Khanpur village had a miraculous escape, as villagers rescued them after tying them with a rope. The administration swung into action only after seeing flooded roads. The flash floods destroyed houses and roads in the area. However, no casualty was reported till the evening. Besides, floodwater entered houses in Rajbagh where people were seen using buckets to throw water out of their homes. Traffic was also diverted at a number of places as floodwater was flowing on the roads. Though losses due to the flash floods have not been assessed so far, a number of people have suffered huge losses in the area. Senior bureaucrats, politicians and police officers reached the spot to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, a woman and four children, who were grazing 15 cattle, were trapped in flash floods in the Tawi river at Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu around 10 am today. However, they were rescued by Army jawans around 4 pm. These Gujjar people had gone into the river when the water level was normal but it rose suddenly. After a long wait, three children showing courage sat on a cattle and came out of the river and asked help for other stranded persons. Later, the police reached the spot and called the Army to launch a rescue operation. Army jawans using a motorboat rescued a child and a woman, who were trapped in the flash floods in the river for the past six hours. After they were saved, Bano and his brother Mohammad Rafiq said, “We had lost the hope of surviving, as the water level was increasing rapidly. But the Army jawans saved us.” They further said they had gone to the river for grazing their cattle, but were trapped in the flash floods. Randeep Kumar, SP City (North), said, “All stranded persons have been saved and there is no need to worry.” Meanwhile, due to the downpour, the boundary wall of the house of DIG (Jammu-Kathua range) Farooq Khan collapsed in the Bathendi area here this morning. Besides, two houses were completely damaged due to the rain, but no casualty was reported. The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal, said, “So far there has been no casualty and the rescue teams have been put on a high alert. Today, three-four incidents happened due to the downpour, but all stranded persons were rescued.” He said people should remain away from rivers these days, as the water level could increase during the rainy season. Earlier, eight pilgrims from Kanpur were trapped in flash floods in the Tawi near the Har Ki Pouri temple here on July 17. As many as 20 persons were airlifted from different areas of Kathua district and a chopper was pressed into service four times.
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Consider release of political detainees: NC to govt
Srinagar, July 22 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other NC leaders attended the meeting. “To build an atmosphere conducive for peace and reconciliation, the NC working committee held a seven-hour meeting today and urged the government to consider the release of all political detainees,” said Dr Farooq Abdullah. The move attains significance as it comes a day after reports that the Centre was planning to extend an invitation to all groups in the Valley for a dialogue. “The move is important for facilitating talks between separatists and the Centre on resolving the vexed Kashmir issue,” a party source who attended the meeting told The Tribune. The chairman of moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is under house arrest, has been demanding the release of all political detainees. Dr Abdullah said: “The state’s is primarily a political problem and needs to be resolved through peaceful political means.The only way to restore normalcy and ensure permanent peace in the state and the subcontinent is to restore autonomy in its pristine form as guaranteed in the Indian Constitution”. He, however, said his party reiterated its stand that if a better solution than autonomy was forthcoming, his party would welcome it. On the ongoing turmoil in the Kashmir valley, he said the working committee “condoled the unfortunate loss of precious lives” and urged the government to provide “adequate relief ” to the families which had lost their loved ones. “It was also resolved that the government should deal with forces of destabilisation firmly and simultaneously build the confidence of the majority of the law-abiding citizens”, Dr Farooq Abdullah said. Putting an end to reports about change of guard in the party leadership, he said this was only a speculation. On the issue of a Cabinet reshuffle, he said it was the prerogative of the Chief Minister.
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Militants kill kidnapped
contractor
Jammu,July 22 “Armed militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen killed the contractor who was identified as Mohammed Ramzan Khandey, ” said Kishtwar SSP Haseeb Mughal. Khandey was a native of Lidri village in Kishtwar. The SSP attributed the killing to declining support to militancy among locals in the remote villages of Dacchan in Kishtwar. “Though the militants couldn’t label villagers in the Dacchan area as informers of the security forces as in the past one year we achieved no success against them, locals have started turning their back on the militants and their so-called cause”, he said. “What we can perceive at this stage of investigation after talking to the locals is that the militants killed the contractor following his refusal to lend them money”, added the SSP. The police officer held a group of six militants responsible for the crime. The contractor was abducted from his house last night and taken to the Panradi forest area where he was killed.Security forces, comprising the Kishtwar police, recovered the body today. In a similar act, the same group of militants had killed a villager, father of five children yesterday in Pinjrari village, again in the Dacchan area of Kishtwar district after he refused to offer food to the militants, said the SSP. Troops of the 17 Rashtriya Rifles and the Kishtwar police have launched a manhunt to track down the militants responsible for the killing. “Locals in both the villages had seen the group moving in the area and hence an operation has been launched to neutralise them at the earliest,” said Mughal. Both the villages were situated in jungles. |
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Organisational Elections
Jammu, July 22 Although the situation was brought under control by the intervention of neutral leaders before it could have taken an ugly turn, this incident has once again exposed a serious infighting among the pro-Ghulam Nabi Azad faction and the pro-Soz group, which are desperate to capture the maximum number of organisational posts at any cost in the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC). Sources in the party said just after the completion of the meeting, which was convened by Birender Singh, Member of Parliament from the Jammu-Poonch constituency Madan Lal Sharma passed some remarks which infuriated another Congress leader Vinod Mishra, who entered into a verbal duel with the MP. Both Sharma and Mishra, who belong to rival factions of the PCC, indulged into hurling invectives in the presence of senior leaders. Taking advantage of the situation, leaders of the both warring factions also indulged into the verbal duel. To control the situation, some neutral leaders intervened and pacified both the leaders. Later, Sharma said he had passed the remarks in a lighter vein and had no intention to hurt any body. Meanwhile, leaders of both the factions of the PCC handed over lists of block returning officers (BROs) to Birender Singh, who has been appointed as pradesh returning officer (PRO) by the Congress high command to conduct the organisational elections. Keeping in view the infighting in the party, both the factions want to make their loyalists as BROs to ensure the election of the maximum number of their own men in the organisation. Insiders in the Congress told the Tribune that during the two-day stay in Jammu, leaders of the both the factions separately met Birender Singh and put forth their demands. Both handed over a list of their loyalists to him for the appointment as BROs. The Central observers have been trying their best to strike a balance between both the factions. For that, they have decided to finalise the names of BROs after consultation with the senior leaders. The organisational elections will be conducted to appoint 67 BROs at the grass root level.
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Army holds fair to make youth self-dependent
Jammu, July 22 Conducted by the Bhimber Gali Brigade at Pine Wood School, Hamirpur, the youth of the militancy-infested Poonch and Rajouri districts were imparted entrepreneurship education and training programmes. The Bhimber Gali Brigade, by way of this fair, initiated activities and provided teaching material to the youth. Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, Kuldeep Khajuria also showed a keen interest in the fair and said the Army’s endeavour would go a long way in making the youth self-employed. The micro- and small-sized sustainable enterprise development, promotion of co-operatives, youth employment and entrepreneurship programmes for the disadvantaged groups got special attention in the mela. The main aim of the initiatives was be to create awareness among job-seekers about the employment opportunities in the market, to motivate them to take up self-employment ventures, assist them in obtaining necessary inputs required for setting up self-employment ventures from different sources, maintain co-ordination with various agencies for promotion of self-employment and provide necessary follow-up assistance to the youth for helping them to sustaining in the market. Khajuria lauded the “Ace of Spades Division” for this great effort and assured the Army to provide continued assistance in the future too for such intiatives. The DC had brought along with him officials of various departments, who had put their stalls and provided information on bee, dairy, mushroom and poultry farmings, fisheries, food processing, sheep rearing, floriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, sericulture, industrial development, social forestry, etc. Besides, officials from various banks also explained about the various loans being provided and the subsidies given by the state and the Central government. The event was very well-received by the local populace and the youth of the area evinced keen interest in various schemes.
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Elders from Ladakh go on educational tour
Udhampur, July 22 As many as 26 elderly villagers from the picturesque valley are part of the tour organised by the Army to promote goodwill. Interestingly, some of them have never crossed the Khardungla Pass even to visit Leh so far. The Commander of the Siachen Brigade flagged off the tour at Partap Pur in Ladakh. As per an Army spokesperson, the people of Ladakh have been the real force behind the armed forces’ success in defending the frozen frontier of the Ladakh region. They have always extended a helping hand to the Army. Till a few decades ago, Ladakh was one of the most isolated parts of India, unaware of the progress and development taking place in the rest of the country. During the two-month tour, the elders from the Nubra valley will visit Leh, Manali, Delhi, Jaipur and Ajmer. They will spend two to three days in each city witnessing the unique cultural heritage and the development taking place there so as to develop a sense of pride at being the citizens of India.
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Missing Girls’ Case
Jammu, July 22 Addressing a press conference here today, state president of the BJP Shamsher Singh Manhas alleged that the SHO of the Gulabgarh police station and his team were responsible for the incident. They should be arrested and a case of rape and murder under the Sections 376 and 302 of the IPC be registered against them. Terming the inquiry ordered by the police as a mere eyewash to hush up the matter, the BJP president alleged that the administration was not serious in solving the case as both the missing girls belonged to the weaker section of society. “How can an officer of the rank of the Deputy SP do an inquiry into the case in which a SHO is an accused?,” he asked, adding that the suspension of the SHO would not serve any purpose. Flaying the government for adopting different yardsticks in similar type of crimes for the people of the Valley and Jammu, the BJP chief asked why had the government shown seriousness in a similar incident pertaining to Shopian and held several inquiries, including a judicial probe, and ordered stringent action against the culprits there. Asserting that the BJP will make all efforts to bring the culprits to book, Manhas said the party would approach bodies like the Human Rights Commission, the Women Commission and the Scheduled Caste Commission in this matter. He also flayed granting of Rs 75,000 as compensation to the families of these girls by the government. “It is not only an insult to the families but also an admission by the government that the girls have been killed during the custody of the police.” He demanded an adequate compensation to the families, besides an immediate withdrawal of false, fabricated and frivolous cases registered against the locals. |
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Varsity starts diploma
in human rights
Jammu, July 22 “After analysing and observing the growing demand and response of the students for the course, the university has introduced it from this year,” Prof RD Sharma, Dean Academic Affairs, Jammu University, told The Tribune. Sharma said 12 seats were available for the course while a large number of candidates had applied for admission. It has been learnt that the university had started the course earlier also but because of poor response it was discontinued. Sharma said, “The same course was introduced by the university around three years ago, but as there was no response it was discontinued.” He added that at that time the five-year law course was more in demand and a majority of the candidates were opting for it. “Now, the postgraduate diploma in human rights is in demand. It is a valuable course and particularly relevant for law students,” said Sharma. However, some other courses like postgraduate diplomas in business management, journalism and mass communication and in other technical subjects have been in demand for a long time. “Though there is a necessity for introducing various technical courses, it is impossible for the university to introduce more courses at this time due to lack of resources, infrastructure and space constraints on the campus,” said Sharma. |
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Suicide by Married Woman
Jammu, July 22 The court, however, granted liberty to prosecution to move an application for the cancellation of their bail if any material was collected that they influenced the witnesses or tried to intimidate the complainants during the bail period. “Regarding the question of influencing the witnesses, it should be seen that material witnesses are parents and brothers of the deceased who cannot be influenced.A mere allegation that the accused are influential is not sufficient to detain them by way of punishment”, said the court. The deceased, Monika Choudhary, who got married on March 3, 2009, had consumed poison and later died.Initially, the marriage was stable. The harassment started thereafter by the accused who allegedly demanded dowry. A demand of Rs 1 lakh was made after three months of marriage.Of this,Rs 50,000 was stated to have been paid by the father of the deceased with a promise to make the balance payment and give a car after some time.Subsequently, Monika committed suicide.The father-in-law and the husband of the deceased moved an application for grant of bail before the First Additional Munsiff, Samba, and on refusal filed a fresh bail application before the Sessions Judge, Samba, who vide his order dated January 18, 2010, rejected it.
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Amarnath yatra suspended due to bad weather
Jammu, July 22 A batch of 2,244 pilgrims, which had left here in a fleet of 49 vehicles around 0500 hours, was not allowed to proceed further by the authorities as landslides had occurred due to heavy rains near Panthal, about 165 kms from here, officials said here. The authorities have made temporary arrangements for lodging of the stranded pilgrims at Ramban, they said, adding they would be allowed to proceed further to their respective destinations at Baltal and Pahalgam base camps after the rubble from landslides is cleared. Reports from Srinagar said it was also raining heavily at many places along the highway and on trekking routes leading to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas. Meanwhile, the movement of vehicular traffic on the Jammu-Pathankote national highway was restored this afternoon, they said. Heavy rains lashed the Jammu region, triggering flash floods in several canals and the Ujh river in Hiranagar and Kathua belts along the Jammu-Pathankote national highway at Hiranagar and Jasrota village this morning, they said. As a result of flash floods in the canal, traffic was blocked on the highway at some places for a few hours. However, it was resumed in the afternoon, they said. Light snowfall also occurred at Maha Gunus top near the holy cave, which houses the naturally formed ice shivlingam. The authorities are monitoring the situation on an hourly basis and all pilgrims, who were returning to the base camps after paying obeisance at the shrine, are safe at various camps enroute, the sources said.
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Two militants killed in Kupwara
Srinagar, July 22 As per police sources, on specific information the security forces had launched a search operation in the Rajwar forest area along the Line of Control (LoC). While the search operation was going on militants opened fire at the security forces and a gunfight ensued. “An encounter took place at Peth Wadder, falling under the jurisdiction of Handwara police station, between the Handwara police and 21 RR and the militants. Two unidentified militants were killed. The search operation is going on,” the sources said. |
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Curfew goes in Baramulla, Sopore
Srinagar, July 22 An official spokesman said the decision to lift the curfew was taken after Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, Bashir Ahmad Bhat held two rounds of meetings with local representatives. During the meetings, the locals had demanded the release of youths, who were detained during the recent protests in the two towns.The Deputy Commissioner assured them that the issue would be considered on a case-to-case basis. Even as the curfew was lifted from the two towns, restrictions on the movement of people continued as a precautionary measure. “The curfew has been lifted, but the restrictions are still there and a large number of police and paramilitary CRPF personnel have been deployed to foil any untoward incident,” said a senior police officer. In Srinagar, restrictions continued under various police stations in the downtown locality.These were also in place in Batmaloo, Maisuma and Parimpora areas of Srinagar city. Meanwhile, in view of the ongoing week-long strike call given by the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference, a shutdown was observed across the valley and schools, colleges and other educational institutes remained closed. Barring a few private vehicles, no public transport plied on the road, leaving people stranded at different places.
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Lanka ex-PM, Omar discuss tourism promotion
Srinagar, July 22 Wickremasinghe discussed various aspects of tourism promotion and economic development with the Chief Minister and showed keen interest in the initiatives taken by the state government for the promotion of tourism and upgrading of tourist facilities in the state. He also appreciated the economic agenda being implemented by the government for an equitable development of all areas and sections of society. Wickremasinghe also lauded the secular temperament and pluralistic ethos of the people who had been living in amity in the state since ages. |
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Turmoil in Valley
Srinagar, July 22 “The Chief Justice should take suo motu cognisance of the situation in the Valley,” said Shah while addressing mediapersons, here. He added that “we will write to the Chief Justice and an action needed to be taken”. |
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The Jammu-Pathankot National Highway was blocked for nearly two hours at Hiranagar in Kathua district due to flash floods.
Srinagar, July 22
