Jammu, August 29
With the death toll increasing to more than 60 in the troubled Kashmir in the past over two months, security forces, which are trying hard to restore the law and order, see the continuous cycle of violence as a brainchild of Hizbul Mujahideen and separatists, who want to keep the Valley on the boil.

Posters and leaflets published and distributed by the Hizbul Mujahideen in various areas of the Valley described a tale of coercion and intimidation, said sources in one of the counter-insurgency forces.

To keep the situation burning, innuendos and fabrication were being used

to incite passions and instigate youths to see them take to the streets ostensibly to show that separatist’s “agenda” still had the relevance, they added.

Sources said, separatists called it an “indigenous mass movement” in stark contrast to the fact that mass movements did not have to rely on threats or duress.

The Army and the CRPF have reports indicative of groups of hooligans ostensibly paid off by separatists to threaten shopkeepers and traders in certain towns of the Valley, to shutdown their businesses and “show solidarity” with their cause or face the consequences, said sources.

“Reports also suggest that hooligans are being resisted by traders and villagers in hinterland and rural areas,” said sources.

About posters and leaflets circulated by the Hizbul Mujahideen and sympathisers of the Hurriyat, sources stated the act demonstrated desperation on their part.

“Apart from playing with the sentiments of the local populace by eulogising deaths of hapless young boys, who were forced to participate in stone throwing, they also sermonise people on martyrdom,” said sources, in a bid to expose designs of the separatist camp.

Sources in the CRPF also divulged an interesting fact that those who did not side with the violent agenda were being labelled as sympathisers and informers.

Even they were intimidated of being ostracised from the community and, thereafter, threatened with “dire consequences,” they said.

The shopkeepers and school administrators were also “warned” and asked to cooperate in strikes, added sources.

Sources said adding fuel to the fire, agencies from across the LoC were asking their functionaries to incite passions at an “opportune” time and at “appropriate” forums.

“None of these functionaries has ever come out on the streets to be with the youths as they fear coming face to face with the security forces,” said a senior officer.

“They have always been conspicuous by their absence, but are always very solicitous after the event to be present at the houses of those who are injured or have lost someone as a result of their machinations,” he added.

Jammu, August 29
Over 10,000 passengers, mostly pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi Devi, were either stranded or had to travel by road with the Northern Railways today cancelling 14 trains to and from Jammu following the closing down of a bridge over the Baloli Nullah, which is in a very poor state.

The cancellation, which will remain in effect till further notice by the Railways, has severely hits pilgrims to the Mata Vashni Devi Shrine as they usually book tickets many weeks or even months in advance. Trains were being stopped at the Pathankot railway station and only the Malwa Express is operational on the route in which some of the passengers were adjusted, a spokesman said.

The Malwa Express also stops for two to three hours at the Bari Brahmina Railway Station, 12 km short of Jammu, before it gets clearance to move at a very slow pace. Most passengers deboard there to reach Jammu by road.

Nearly 600 workers, apart from a battery of senior officials and engineers, are working round the clock since August 26 to repair bridge no 224, but it would still take five to ten days before the traffic is restored fully.

Falling under the Ferozepore division, the repair work on the 35-year-old bridge had been pending for over five years.

The Railways had been calling tenders for the repair work but the work was never awarded. The latest tender was offered in July and the opening date is August 31. The delay has meant the cost of work escalates many times. It is shocking but true that the Railways have yet to lay Wire Mesh Crates that prevent soil erosion and direct damage to the pillars.

Railways sources said the bridge pillars were affected when a strong current of water that almost touch the base of the bridge on August 25 and damaged it. The highest level of water in the seasonal rivulet was recorded in 1975 but that was two feet below the August 25 level. The trains that had been cancelled included Ahmedabad-Jammu Tawi Express, Jammu Tawi-Bathinda Express, Varansi-Jammu Tawi Superfast Express, Rajendra Nagar (Bihar)-Jammu Tawi Archana Express, Anand Vihar Terminal-Jammu Tawi Express, Tatanagr-Jammu Tawi Express and Patahnkot Jammu-Udhampur DMU Express. 

Jammu, August 29
Gujjars of the state today insisted that they should be granted the status of “Primitive Tribal Group” with a separate share of reservation in the category as they felt suffocated under the common Scheduled Tribes status.

Dignitaries from the community signed a memorandum and sent it to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation. They appealed for more special rights and extra-constitutional safeguards in the state.

They, in the memorandum, pushed vigorously for bifurcation of their separate share of 8 out of 10 per cent reservation available to 12 ST groups with a plea that Gujjars and Bakerwals were not as forward as to compete with other tribes, especially those eight tribes living in the Ladakh region.

Javaid Rahi, secretary of the foundation, said they had highlighted that the Gujjars and Bakerwal which constitute 80 per cent of the tribal population of the state deserves special attention and a fair deal from the Centre and the state. He added they were ST since 1991 in the state along with 10 other communities but they were not getting due share in the education and employment sectors due to hard competition among STs.

He said Gujjars should be categorised as “Primitive Tribal Group” as without this status the all-round development of the community could not be possible.

The memorandum further read, as per the Constitution of India, under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, some tribes had been identified as more backward communities among the tribal population groups and were categorised as “Primitive Tribal Groups” by the Government of India and their share in reservation has bifurcated from other STs enabling them to grow independently.

The memorandum said the livelihood of Gujjars was based on primitive agriculture, a low-value closed economy with a low level of technology, which contributes least to alleviate them from poverty. They have low levels of literacy and health.

Jammu, August 29
The Rastriya Krantikari Samajwadi Party (RKSP) has expressed concern over the delay in the work on the three hydro-electric projects sanctioned for Kishtwar district.The power projects on the Chenab are at Dhrabshalla, Kheeru and Padder, which are to be executed by the state government.

President of the RKSP Babzada Tanveer Hussain, who was on the tour of Doda and Kistwar districts recently, said funds for undertaking these projects stand sanctioned and even released to the department concerned, yet the work on these projects has not commenced till date.

He observed besides easing out the electric power problem in the area, these projects would provide jobs to a many unemployed people in the area. He appealed to the agencies concerned to start the work on these projects immediately and complete the same at the earliest.

Babzada, who met farmers in hilly areas of two districts, stated heavy rains had damaged the crops of the farmers. “Farmers have lost the agricultural land and cattle to the flash floods. But, unfortunately, no relief has so far been provided to the affected farmers”, he alleged. He complained that the officers concerned did not pay any heed to the suffering farmers.

Jammu, August 29
Besides being visible in every nook and corner of the state and taking a big leap forward from the 16th position to the ninth position during the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi this year, the NCC of J&K Directorate has come a long way.

Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, Deputy Director-General of the NCC Directorate, J&K, Brig Anil Gupta said the directorate had carved a niche for itself by showing a marked improvement in its performance over the years.

“From the 16th position, the J&K Directorate stood ninth during the Republic Day parade held in New Delhi,” he added.

The directorate also won the best Directorate General Proficiency and Mandatory Condition Trophy and the Best All-round Improvement Trophy, he added.

Brig Gupta said he took an extra initiative in pursuing the long-pending issues pertaining to upgrading NCC units and raising new units.

His constant interaction with the civil dignitaries of the state and staff at all levels paid dividends and a sanction was obtained to upgrade three NCC units and raising three NCC Army units at Udhampur, Kupwara and Leh, one Air Squadron at Awantipura, one naval unit at Mansar and one group headquarters at Udhampur.

Brig Gupta would retire on August 31 this year after putting in 36 years of service in the Army.

To commemorate the occasion, a cycle rally was also organised as part of “My Earth My Duty” campaign.

The Deputy Director General flagged off the rally that commenced on August 24 from Bhaderwah.

Twenty NCC cadets took part in the rally covering around 300 km from Bhaderwah to Jammu. 

Jammu, August 29
Residents and traders of the New Plot, Janipur, Sarwal, Rehari, Pacca Talab, Amphala, Paloura, Patoli, Subash Nagar, Roop Nagar and Bantalab localities held a demonstration against scarcity of potable water and erratic power supply today.

According to a statement issued here, the protest was held under the banner of the Jammu West Assembly Movement (JWAM).

The protesters broke pitchers on the road and blocked traffic. They raised slogans against the Public Health and Engineering (PHE) Department and the Power Development Department.

The protesters also submitted a 24-hour ultimatum to the Public Health and Engineering Department and appealed to officials to restore water supply in the constituency.

Jammu, August 29
A BSF constable allegedly committed suicide after firing two bullets from his service rifle on his duty late last night at the Khawara Border outpost in Samba district.K P Lokesh, son of Putty Gowde, a resident of Karnataka, was doing his duty at the border outpost around 10 pm when his colleagues heard a loud noise and found him lying in a pool of blood, the police said.

Gian Chand, SHO, Samba police station said:”We have received information, but the officers of BSF have not yet given us any information in this regard”.

He further said the reason behind taking the extreme step by the constable could only be confirmed only after the statements of the BSF officers. 

Jammu, August 29
A 25-year-old girl was killed in a road mishap at the Gangyal area here on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway today, when her fiancé was going to leave her at her house in Shankar Colony of Gangyal.

The police said an over-speeding minibus coming from Bari Brahmana to Jammu hit a motorcycle (JK-02-AG-4397) on which the girl was riding pillion from behind around 10.15 am. The girl died on the spot.

Though the deceased, Sheetal Thusoo, was taken to Government Medical College and Hospital, immediately after the accident, she was declared brought dead by the doctors, citing the reason of excessive bleeding. Later, the body was handed over to the family members.

As soon as the family of the girl came to know about the tragic event, a pall of gloom descended on the entire locality. A huge number of people gathered at the house of deceased.

Luckily, the boy, Sunil Pandita, a resident of Talab Tillo, had a miraculous escape, as he received minor injuries.

Impounding the minibus, a case was registered at Gangyal police station against the driver of the minibus, Dharminder.

After this accident, the tall claims of the traffic police and the regional transport office (RTO) have fallen flat, which had always claimed that their departments had done well in the past to curb the menace of over-speeding mini buses after issuing challans to the drivers.

This stretch of the National Highway between Kunjwani and Gangyal has been worst hit during the recent rains. Still the minibus drivers run their vehicles on a very high speed, which often claims the life of commuters. The repeated attempts to contact RTO JS Manhas proved futile.

Srinagar, August 29
Governor NN Vohra today visited the Amarnath cave shrine and camps at Panjtarni, Sheshnag, Baltal and Domel to review the special sanitation drive being carried out there on his directions.

He also discussed steps to further improve facilities in the camps during the next year’s Yatra with Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) officials and the security forces.

RK Goyal, Chief Executive Officer of the shrine board, disclosed that on the instructions of the Governor, a special sanitation drive had been launched more than two weeks ago at all camps and along Yatra routes with a view to ensuring effective disposal of garbage and waste.

He added the Governor, who is also the Chairman of the shrine board, had been emphasising the importance of cleaning the Yatra area before the onset of the winter and had been personally monitoring this aspect on a regular basis. He further said the board had taken several steps for sanitation and environment protection, involving significant expenditure.

He also took stock of the damage caused to the Yatra-related facilities on account of flash floods on August 22 and issued instructions for taking preventive measures. 

Jammu, August 29
At an age when most youngsters have a starry-eyed view of the world, Sonia (19) of Nowshera sector is providing comfort to families and fellow villagers who have suffered due to bloodshed in the form of encounters between militants and security forces, bomb blasts and infiltrations from across the border.

But unlike others, she doesn’t want to wait for things to improve. Instead, she is out there, trying to contribute her little bit. She is among 20 girls who have been trained by the Army to keep an eye on the LoC with Pakistan and report any suspicious movement. Not only that, she along with her group would help the village women to work in their fields close to the LoC without facing the embarrassment of being frisked by men in the uniform.

The girls won’t be deployed like women constables of the BSF are deployed along the Indo-Pak border in Punjab, but there duties would be to work close to the LoC.

“I want peace in the state. We have so many resources and so much wealth but bloodshed is destroying it all.” She said while talking to The Tribune over the phone from Nowshera after being honoured by senior Army officers for completing a short training course.

“We have trained them in handling weapons and noting suspicious movements,” said an Army officer. The Army has provided cellphones to the girls.

As many as 150 such persons, all members of various Village Defence Committees (VDCs) were honoured today for their courage and dedication for the motherland.

Neetu, another girl, is quite a name in this area. She is known for her near perfect mark and handles guns like village women handle a sickle usually. “I wanted to do something instead of sitting at home waiting for marriage,” said Neetu.

The girl’s parents have been supportive, “Parents know we are getting trained for safeguarding the nation as well as for self-defence and village defence. So, they are supporting us.”

“These girls are the eyes and ears of the security forces. Their information has saved many innocent lives,” Army sources said. Most of the girls are pursuing graduation as private students.

The girls and other VDC members took part in Gram Rakshaks Diwas function organised by Tithwal Brigade at Kalsian today. In this function, those who had done good work were honoured while new members who had finished their training were inducted in the VDCs

The General Officer Commanding (GOC), Ace of Spade Division, was the Chief guest for the event. Prominent civilian officials, including the DIG, Police, also attended the event.