Srinagar, August 24
After a week of shutdown, protests and curfew , normalcy returned to the Kashmir valley today with shops and business establishments opening and people visiting markets in large numbers.

The call to resume normal work was part of the protest calendar of the APHC (Geelani). Educational institutions and banks were also open and students returned to schools after several days.

There was heavy rush of people in the market places throughout the day,leading to traffic jams in many areas.

“As usual, I had to go to many places in connection with my business ,but most of the time I was held up in traffic jams”, lamented Abdul Rauf.

Even as the authorities here claimed that 70 per cent of the educational institutions were functioning normally in the Valley, particularly in rural areas, it had been difficult for the students to go for studies.

Nadia, a student of Women’s College, M A Road, regretted that on the first day of the opening of the college they had been asked to get ready for class tests on the next working day.

The State Board of School Education has announced certain concessions for students in the annual Class X and Class XII examination, and many schools are trying to cover the maximum syllabus before the examination by November.

The Delhi Public School (DPS) affiliated to the CBSE, is sending over 100 Class XII students to Delhi to cover up the courses and prepare for the examinations to be held in March.For other classes, it is planning to continue the class work during the winter month to cover the courses before the examinations by March. 

Jammu, August 24
Torrential rain across the Jammu region again affected the rail traffic at Bari Brahmana in Samba district for over four hours this morning after the water level in a seasonal nullah increased.

A goods train had to return to the Bari Brahmana railway station as the increased water level in the nullah posed danger to a track over the bridge for the movement of trains.

The track over the Balole Bridge was closed for trains around 8:30 am and later opened after 12:30 pm only. Meanwhile, trains were diverted on another track over the bridge, delaying some trains from reaching the Jammu Tawi railway station here. Only when the water level receded, the track was opened for the movement of trains.

GS Singh, Divisional Traffic Manager, Railways, Jammu, said, “This railway track, which was closed earlier also, was again closed for trains, but it was resumed after 12:30 pm.” He added, “Our engineers examined the site in the morning and found it risky to open the track. So they decided to block the track for a short period.”

He said the repair work on the bridge had been started and it would take some time to be restored. Besides, the rain, which started early morning, disappointed children who were excited over the prospect of flying kites on Raksha Bandhan.

Though the water level in rivers, rivulets and seasonal nullahs has increased, no one was reportedly trapped in the flash floods. The water level of the Tawi and the Ujh also increased suddenly.

Deputy Commissioner, Kathua, Sanjeev Verma said, “Though it rained heavily, no untoward incident was reported in the district.”

August 24
Even though more than a fortnight has passed since the flash floods caused destruction in various parts of Ladakh, there are many villages in the area which are still not accessible and continue to remain cut off from the mainland.

Situated around 60 km from Leh town, Ney village was one of the worst affected villages due to the flash floods and till date the village continues to remain inaccessible.

Braving shooting stones and gushing water of a stream, The Tribune team had to track several miles to reach the village where large-scale destruction had taken place.

Sitting in a tent that was provided to him by the state government was Tsewang Phunchak (53), who lost his wife, daughter and a granddaughter. His two-storeyed house was washed away and he too was rescued after several hours from the debris. His two sons were in Leh when the flash floods struck their house.

In the name of relief, the family has received two tents, some ration and utensils that were airdropped by a helicopter. The family still awaits relief.

“To collect the tents, we had to travel several kilometres to Bazgo as our village was cut off. After that only a Tehsildar has visited our area,” Phunchak said. His entire standing crop was also buried under slush.

“Three members of our family died. The body of my daughter is still untraceable and my only source of livelihood, my crop, has been damaged by the floods. The authorities so far have not conducted any survey of the damage caused to the crop,” Phunchak said.

The family is now worried about the coming winter, as it says it cannot survive the winter in the tents and the government should help them construct a house on a war footing.

“They promised that our houses would be reconstructed in two months before the onset of the winter. And now the need of the hour is to do it quickly, as we will also die if we have to live in the tents,” said Tsetan Angdus (27), elder son of Phunchak, who lost his daughter in the flash floods.

Many people in the village, whose agricultural land was washed away, say the government should conduct a survey of the damage caused to the crops and provide relief to the affected families.

“My entire crop has been destroyed and so far I haven’t received any assistance in lieu of it. Whatever I used to earn after selling the crop helped me sustain my family throughout the year. If I don’t get immediate help from the government, my entire family will starve to death,” said Tsewang Phunchok, a farmer in the village.

Srinagar, August 24
Houses damaged due to the flash floods in Leh and Kargil districts will be rebuilt by October-end and the requisite construction material will be dispatched to the areas soon.

This was decided at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs Abdul Rahim Rather here today to review the supplies to Ladakh. It was also decided to take up the work of the temporary restoration and permanent construction of the damaged public infrastructure in Leh and Kargil districts so that the same was completed soon.

Abdul Rather was told that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during his visit to the flood-hit areas, had announced a relief of Rs 2 lakh for totally damaged houses and Rs 1 lakh for partially damaged houses from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. He was told that as the damages were colossal, affecting public infrastructure like bridges, water supply schemes, roads and irrigation canals, there was immediate need to release funds so that it was restored at least temporarily.

The Finance Minister was told that the losses had to be assessed properly so that a detailed report could be projected before the Centre for the immediate release of funds, as the PMO itself was monitoring the relief and rehabilitation work through a high-powered committee. The committee had been tasked to monitor the day-to-day progress of the reconstruction programme.

He was told that since the priority of the government was to reconstruct the damaged houses within two months, the material for it had to be dispatched to the affected area soon. The first consignment would reach the area by September 5. Cement being the key construction material, three lakh cement bags were required for Leh district and two lakh bags for Kargil tentatively.

Jammu, August 24
Taking serious note of the statement made by some leaders in Rajouri in which some provocative remarks were allegedly passed, the Jammu State Morcha (JSM) today cautioned Muslims of the Jammu region against such elements.

A meeting of the JSM was held today under the chairmanship of H B Khajuria in which speakers expressed concern that some “intellectuals” under the banner of the Muslim Coordination Committee (MCC) have been holding meetings in different parts of the Jammu region and trying to identify the Kashmir issue only with the Muslim community of the whole state.

The meeting cautioned Muslims of the Jammu region against designs of such elements who had been trying to create Kashmir-like situation in this side also.”Aspirations and wishes of the Muslims of the Jammu region are associated with the people of this region”, the meeting said and pointed out that when appeals of fundamentalist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani had failed to receive any response in this region, some elements in the name of MCC had been trying to exploit sentiments of the innocent people.

The JSM cautioned the government and the people of the Jammu region against such people and committees who wanted to disturb the communal harmony and peace prevailing in the region and wanted to drag the Muslims along the path of separation from the country. “The people of Jammu region, irrespective of their religion, caste and creed have always stood for the national integrity and showed their extreme patriotism on all crucial moments and such efforts will not be tolerated at any cost”, speakers at the meeting stated in one voice.

Jammu, August 24
Inmates of the Ambphalla district jail celebrated Raksha Bandhan with fervour today. As it is a sacred festival symbolising sister’s love for her brother, the women inmates of the jail tied rakhis on their wrists of the male inmates. Besides, some members of the Satri Sabha also came to the jail and tied rakhis on the wrists of the inmates.

Rakhis were tied to as many as 500 inmates. For peace, brotherhood and communal harmony, a Jain Muni, Kamlesh Muni ji, delivered a religious sermon in the jail today. Speaking on the occasion, Jail Superintendent Vinod Kumar said the festival depicted the strength of the bond between a sister and her brother.

He said, “It is a good social work done by the Satri Sabha and we are especially thankful to Kamlesh Muni ji, who came to the jail to show the right path to the inmates.”

Srinagar, August 24
Governor NN Vohra celebrated Raksha Bandhan with children from the SOS Children’s Village, Srinagar, who met him at Raj Bhavan here today.

Twelve young girls, accompanied by the Director of the village, their foster mother, and teachers/councillors greeted the Governor and First Lady Usha Vohra and tied rakhis on the wrist of the Governor. The Governor and the First Lady interacted with the children and hoped that this festival would further strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and harmony and would be a harbinger of peace, progress and prosperity in the state. The Governor presented sweets, gifts and mementos to the children. He thanked the children and wished them a bright future.

Naushad Raza, Director of the SOS village, briefed the Governor about facilities being provided to the inmates. The Governor appreciated the initiative and called upon the people, particularly the affluent sections of the society and philanthropists, to come forward in a big way to reach out and help the children in need. The Governor presented a cheque for Rs 1 lakh for the village. — TNS

Jammu, August 24
Even as enraged Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC) workers have lifted their 24-hour dharna from City Chowk police station following the intervention of senior ministers, it has created a division among the party cadres. Since last evening, the PYC workers were sitting on the dharna at the police station demanding action against police officers who were allegedly responsible for the unprovoked lathi-charge on the party activists.

As soon as PYC leaders entered into an agreement with the authorities and announced to lift the dharna, some workers resorted to slogan shouting. They were not happy with the assurance of constituting a team to conduct an inquiry into the incident. Some workers charged the party leadership with compromising with the authorities and ignoring the genuine demand of the party cadre. They termed the agreement as an “eyewash” to save the erring officers. Some enraged workers also flayed PYC chief Shoaib Lone over his failure to meet the aspirations of the party workers.

Sources in the Congress said despite the dharna by the party workers, a group of party leaders were supporting the police officers. Throughout the night they repeatedly tried to get the dharna lifted, but in vain.

Meanwhile, Lone told The Tribune that they lifted the dharna only after assurance from the government to constitute a high-level inquiry committee to look into the case. “The government has promised that the inquiry committee to be formed by the DGP would submit its report within eight days,” he said.

Lone hoped that the guilty police officers would be punished. He, however, warned that if action was not taken against the erring officers, the PYC would launch a movement in Jammu.

Earlier a high-level meeting attended by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Minister of Revenue Raman Bhalla, Minister for Medical and Technical Education RS Chib, Minister of State for Cooperative Manohar Lal Sharma, Political Adviser to Chief Minister Davinder Rana and senior police and civil officers decided to conduct an inquiry into the lathi-charge. It was also decided that the inquiry would submit its report within eight days.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Saifuddin Soz has also lodged a protest over the police action on the PYC workers. Soz telephoned DGP Kuldeep Khoda from Delhi and lodged a protest over the incident. He also sought appropriate action in the matter.

Former minister Babu Singh has also condemned unprovoked lathi-charge on the PYC workers. He has also demanded a through probe into the incident.

Jammu, August 24
The city police station that otherwise remains silent during the summer in absence of “Darbar” today resembled a political forum, as the Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC) activists, leaders and ministers overcrowded the place to “corner” the police for its alleged high-handedness in yesterday’s incident.

As one entered the lane connecting the police station to the Shalamar road, a long queue of vehicles, a majority of them brandishing beacon lights on their top, were found parked. For the entire day, politicians and ministers kept on visiting the police station to enquire about the incident and well being of the injured and arrested PYC activists.

A Cabinet minister was seen addressing his loyal activists in SHO Narinder Kumar’s office. All other officers, including the DSP and SP (South), were also virtually on their toes, because senior police officers, including IG Ashok Kumar Gupta and DIG Farooq Khan, were on a visit to the station. 

Srinagar, August 24
The annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath which started on July 1 concluded on Shravan Purnima today.

Shravan Purnima, which coincides with Raksha Bandhan, witnessed religious fervour with the arrival of Chhari Mubarak (the holy mace of Lord Shiva) at the cave shrine after a night’s halt at Panjtarni, the third and final halting station en route. Mahant Deependra Giri accompanied by a large number of sadhus brought the holy mace and offered prayers.

Governor N. N. Vohra, who is also Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB),could not visit the shrine due to heavy rain and bad weather in the morning.

Expressing satisfaction over the smooth conduct of the yatra, the Governor complimented all departments concerned of the state government, the Army, the CRPF, the BSF, the state police, the BSNL, J&K Bank and other organisations. He particularly complimented people for making the yatra a satisfying and memorable experience for the pilgrims who came from various parts of the country over the past 55 days. He had a special word of praise for the close synergy between the security forces, the civil and police administration, all stakeholders, the local population and the shrine board in ensuring a hassle-free yatra.

R. K. Goyal, Principal Secretary to the Governor, and CEO of the shrine board, said over 4.56 lakh yatris paid obeisance at the cave shrine this year.

He regretted that despite repeated advisories and Dos and Dont’s to the Yatris, 61 yatris lost their lives due to medical reasons, the major among them being cardiac arrest and pulmonary failure. In all, 11 Yatris died in tragic accidents during the pilgrimage.

Jammu, August 24
With over 4.56 lakh devotees paying obeisance at the cave shrine of Lord Shiva during the past two months, the Amarnath yatra concluded today without any major untoward incidents.

Professionalism exhibited by 70 companies of various security forces, comprising Army, CRPF, BSF, ITBP and JKP, ensured peaceful pilgrimage. “We will start withdrawing our troops from tomorrow,” said CRPF’s Special DG for J&K zone NK Tripathi.

“In all, 70 companies of various security forces, including 49 of the CRPF, 18 of the BSF, two of the ITBP, the Army and the JKP gave their best to ensure peaceful pilgrimage,” Tripathi told The Tribune.

Among 49 companies, the CRPF had also deployed two women’s companies at the cave shrine. The annual pilgrimage this year had started on July 1 in the backdrop of unruly mobs indulging in acts of stone throwing.

“Our doctors and dispensaries saved many lives by providing timely treatment to pilgrims taken ill at the cave shrine,” he said, adding that the CRPF had also provided shelter to the pilgrims during the heavy rains. The CRPF had deployed 23 companies from Lakhanpur to Ramban.

Besides the highway, the CRPF troopers guarded the railway station, bus stand, 10 lodging centres meant for the Amarnath pilgrims and more importantly yatri niwas, the base camp at Bhagwati Nagar here in Jammu, CRPF’s Jammu region IG AS Sidhu told The Tribune. “Besides higher reaches of the shrine, we guarded the twin tracks leading to the cave shrine,” said a senior Army officer. It may be stated here that in 2007 a total of 2.96 lakh pilgrims had visited the cave shrine, followed by 5.33 lakh in 2008 and 3.81 lakh in 2009. 

Jammu, August 24
A woman and the driver of a minibus were killed when the vehicle rammed into a road divider at Chann Morian in Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district around 11.30 am today.

The minibus was on its way to Samba from Dayalachak when it suddenly hit the divider and overturned. “Driver of the minibus Bharat Bhushan, a resident of Nonath village in Samba, and 27-year-old Sharda Devi, a resident of Dhamyal village in Hiranagar, died on the spot, while five passengers of the minibus were injured,” said an officer of Hiranagar police station.

Soon after the mishap, the police launched a rescue operation and shifted all seven victims to the Hiranagar hospital, where two were declared brought dead. Four critically injured passengers were referred to the Government Medical College and Hospital here.

One of the victims escaped with minor injuries and was discharged from the Hiranagar hospital after first-aid.