Jammu, September 18
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today assured the people in twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch of an impartial probe into the killings in the police firing in Mendhar. He also urged them to maintain calm and not get carried away by emotions on September 24 when the Allahabad High Court would come up with the Ayodhya verdict.

On the Mendhar killings, Omar said the law would take its course and the guilty, whosoever, would be punished as per the law of the land.

On a day-long visit to the border districts to soothe the frayed nerves of the people, Omar met several deputations, including of ulemmas, senior citizens, politicians and social workers. He assured the delegations that the guilty in the Mendhar incident would not be spared. “An inquiry officer (Jammu Divisional Commissioner Pawan Kotwal) has been appointed and requisite FIRs have also been registered. So, let the law take its own course,” he said.

However, a delegation from Mendhar felt that the police should have exercised restraint while dealing with the protesters on the fateful day of September 15.

Following the instructions of the Chief Minister, the Poonch district administration this morning provided a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of three persons, who were killed in the police firing.

Omar hoped that the common masses would extend sincere cooperation to put the state back on the track of progress and development. He, however, asked the people to remain vigilant against elements inimical to peace and progress. “There are certain elements who want to keep Jammu and Kashmir in a state of uncertainty and turmoil. We have to identify them and isolate them,” he said.

“The state is passing through a bad patch but we have to restore the confidence of the people and fight back the forces inimical to peace,” Omar added. The Chief Minister regretted the use of brute force on the protesters. He, however, hailed the people of the border districts, particularly of Rajouri, for maintaining harmony.

Earlier at Rajouri, the Chief Minister met several deputations at Dak Bungalow and expressed gratitude to the people for maintaining peace and calm despite provocations by certain elements. He also went to the shrine of Shahdara Sharief and offered prayers there before moving to Poonch.

Meanwhile, the Poonch district administration relaxed the curfew in Poonch town from 5 pm to 9 pm today while there was no relaxation in the curfew in Mendhar town for the fourth straight day.

“We have relaxed the curfew for four hours from 5 pm to 9 pm in Poonch town and so far no untoward incident has been reported,” said Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, KL Khajuria.

Jammu, September 18
To unitedly highlight, what they allege, the step-motherly treatment meted out to them by the successive state governments, representatives of Jammu and Ladakh regions have decided to jointly submit a memorandum to the all-party delegation in Jammu.

The representatives will try to convince the all-party delegation about the domination of the Kashmir-centric parties in the state politics despite the fact that the Valley has the less geographical area and population as compared to these two regions.

Buoyed over the merger of the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) with the party, state president of the BJP Shamsher Singh Manhas said people of Ladakh and Jammu had decided to jointly fight for their cause.

“As the all-party delegation is unlikely to visit Ladakh, we have decided that the representatives of Ladakh will be part of our delegation in Jammu so that the victims of both areas properly inform the visiting dignitaries about the discriminatory policies of successive state governments,” he said.

Besides opposing the dilution of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), the party would also try to educate the visiting dignitaries about the nefarious designs of the anti-national forces, he added.

Former Lok Sabha member and leader of the LUTF Thupsang Chewang, who joined the BJP on Wednesday, would lead representatives of Ladakh. Sources in the BJP said the party had decided to aggressively pursue the demand for the union territory status for the Ladakh region. The party has suggested to the Ladakh representatives to effectively take up the issue with the visiting team with proofs of discriminatory policies of the governments.

The BJP has also prepared a charter of demands to be presented to the visiting all-party delegation. Besides staunchly opposing the proposed autonomy move, the party has also decided to oppose any attempt to repeal or dilute the AFSPA. The party also decided to take up the issue of discrimination against the Jammu region.

Although the party has not been openly supporting the demand of statehood, the BJP has mooted the idea of a regional council for the Jammu region with special administrative and financial powers. The local unit of the party is likely to put this proposal before the visiting delegation.

Srinagar, September 18
A deputation of the Tyndale-Biscoe and Mallinson Educational Society called on Governor NN Vohra here today and submitted a memorandum with regard to the recent incidents involving the torching of a school at Tangmarg.

The deputation led by Rt Rev Pradeep Kumar Samantaroy, Bishop, Diocese of Amritsar and chairman of the Tyndale-Biscoe and Mallinson Educational Society, recalled the significant contribution of the society in the Valley for the past over 125 years, particularly in the education sector. The members stressed the need for urgent effective measures for ensuring the safety of their minority community and the security of their institutions and places of worship.

Other members of the deputation included Rev Chandermani Khanna, Presbyter in charge, All Saints’ Church, Srinagar, and Parwez Samuel Kaul, Principal and Director of the Tyndale-Biscoe and Mallinson Educational Society, an official spokesman said. Interacting with the delegation, the Governor observed that the Christian missionaries had been doing a commendable work, especially in the education and healthcare sectors, in various parts of the state for many decades now. Referring to their demand for ensuring the safety and security of the minority community and their institutions and places of worship, the Governor informed the delegation that he had specially discussed this matter with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during their meeting two days ago.

The Governor expressed concern over the losses being suffered, in every arena of functioning due to the unfortunate situation in the state and particularly referred to the most irreparable damage caused to the student community due to the continuing disruption of the academic schedules. He called upon the delegation to consider initiating every possible effort for restoring and strengthening the bonds of communal harmony, amity, brotherhood and secular ethos, which had been the hallmark of the state’s glorious pluralistic traditions for centuries past.

Udhampur, September 18
Kashmir may be a bone of contention between India and Pakistan, but wrestlers on both sides of the border think it best to test each other’s strength in the sporting arena. They will be fighting for the 6th Mission-e-Dosti Rustam-e-Indo-Pak Dangal title at Vivekanand Sports Stadium, Katra, next month.

To be held on October 14, the event is a part of the coming 15th edition of the Navratra festival commencing from October 8 at Katra. The J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association is organising this friendly event in association with the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, the Navratra Festival Committee, the J&K Department of Tourism, the Katra Municipal Committee and the district administration.

The decision to organise the event was taken in a meeting held at the office of the board at Katra under the chairmanship of Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal, who is also the chairman of the Navratra Festival Committee.

Around Rs 7 lakh was estimated to be spent on hosting the event, which was expected to attract more than 30,000 spectators. Besides a silver Gurj and a Patta, a prize money of Rs 51,000 would be at stake for the top honours.

The participating wrestlers from Pakistan include Abdul Majeed, Yousaf Riaz, Maroof, Muhammad Shafiq, Muhammad Bashir, alias Bhola, Safdar Ali, Israr Hussain Awan, Khawaja Muhammad Falahud-Din, Muhammad Umair and Bilal Hussain. From the Indian side wrestlers from Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Railways, Air Force, BSF, J&K Police, and the Army would participate in this one day historic wrestling event.

Jammu, September 18
People here burn domestic waste unaware of the fact that it is hazardous to health and an illegal act.

In various localities, particularly in the areas those fall under the jurisdiction of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), people are usually seen burning the domestic waste. In some areas, people say they burn the waste in the open as the MC has not installed garbage bins in their areas.

However, in other areas, people allege that instead of lifting garbage from the bins to dump it at a proper place, safaikaramcharis of the corporation burn garbage in the bins.

According to an officer of the State Pollution Control Board, the burning of the domestic waste in the open is an illegal act. “Neither people can dump the domestic waste in the open, nor they can burn it as it contains toxic material that is harmful to health as well as environment,” said an officer.

Dr Anwar Choudhary, MC Health Officer, said, “No one is allowed to burn domestic waste in the open. It is an offence because it is against the Pollution Control Board Act and the Jammu Municipal Corporation Act.”

He said, “Yes, we receive complaints about the burning of domestic waste by people in some areas and we take immediate action against the guilty.”

“Because of such acts, most people are falling prey to asthma and those who are already asthmatic their problem is getting aggravated because of the polluted air,” said the Health Officer.

Choudhary appealed to the people that they should avoid such a practice as it was not only polluting environment, but also causing harm to the health of the people.

Srinagar, September 18
According to the Director School Education, Kashmir, the timings of schools in Kashmir division will be changed from September 23.

The new timing shall be from 9 am to 3 pm in Srinagar city while in rural areas the timing shall be observed from 10 am to 4 pm, an official spokesman said. — TNS

Jammu, September 18
Many road projects in the Sunder Bani area of Rajouri district have hit a roadblock whereas construction work on some bridges too have been abandoned halfway.

In the absence of road connectivity, people living in far flung areas have been facing hardships.

Many road projects either just saw stone-laying ceremonies by ministers and politicians or the work was suspended halfway due to reasons unknown.

Of late, the All-Party Joint Action Committee, Sunder Bani, a combination of several parties, has prepared an account of suspended road projects and the roads that needed repairs. Calling upon the Roads and Buildings Department to pay attention to incomplete projects, a memorandum has been submitted to the government.

The memorandum read that even after 36 years, the proposed link road from Devak to Shakti Nagar (in Reasi) could not see the light of the day. The work on the road started in 1974 but the project seems to have run into rough weathers.

The foundation stone of the Khour-Sunder Bani project was laid by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and former Minister for Roads and Buildings GM Saroori in November last year. Villagers living near the Line of Control (LoC) had pinned great hopes on the Rs 171.24 lakh road project but the work was abandoned halfway. The road was also aimed at connecting border villages like Dori Degaire, besides double-laning of the 7-km stretch from Chak Malal to Kaleeth.

Similarly, the road from Dhok Banyard village to Meenka has not been completed. In Hathal village, the construction work on the road connecting it to Mawa Pathrara has been suspended.

The committee also demanded that the construction work on the proposed road from Mawa Patrara to Rah Salyote and Mawa Patrara to Thanda Pani and Kund village to Kaur (in Akhnoor tehsil) be expedited.

The committee further complained that even the road in the town was potholed as it was blacktopped many years ago. In peripheral villages, the roads from Sunder Bani to Teryath via Badigala, besides Laiter to Devak Hathal had not been repaired for the past many decades.

The committee also cited many bridges that were incomplete for years. The work on an approach road connecting Khui Dhari village (Siot) with Thichka (Kangri) was started around 15 years ago but the same was time and again suspended. The road link needs a bridge on the Tawi en route.

In 1993, a bridge project was undertaken by the department at Barnara on the Tawi to provide the road connectivity to Barnara Nohti but the work was later abandoned midway.

The committee urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to get the pending work on the projects get done without any further delay.

Jammu, September 18
The newly appointed in charge of the state affairs of the BJP, Om Parkash Kohli, today visited Jammu to assess the functioning of the party.

Kohli’s visit is attached importance as the BJP has once again brought the issue of Kashmir on its main agenda. The party has been desperately trying to strengthen its base in the state by launching a “decisive” battle against the special status to the state.

As the all-party delegation is visiting the state on Monday and Tuesday, the BJP has deputed its newly-appointed in charge especially to properly guide the local leadership about the issues to be taken in the meeting.

Sources in the party said while addressing party leaders Kohli asked them to shun their differences as the BJP had chalked out a strategy to launch a decisive battle against the pro-secessionist policies of the state as well as the Central government.

Kohli, a former president of the Delhi BJP, was aware of the factionalism in the state unit of the party as he had been the state party chief from 2001 to 2003.

During his earlier tenure as in charge, he attempts to bring peace among the warring factions of the party proved futile.

Meanwhile, in connection with the visit of the all-party delegation to the state, a meeting of the senior party leaders was held today under the presidentship of state president Shamsher Singh Manhas. Kohli was also present in the meeting.

Manhas and other leaders, while addressing the meeting, expressed concern over the turmoil in the Valley, which had crippled normal life due to the total collapse of the law and order machinery.

They said it was a matter of concern that the soft approach of the coalition government towards the anti-national elements had resulted into the deterioration of the situation.

They observed the state government had been presenting the wrong impression about the whole situation by terming it as a political and economic problem. In reality, it was the law and order problem and needs to be dealt firmly under the law of the land, they observed.

Jammu, September 18
The Sabre Brigade held “Know Your Army Mela” at the Ratnuchak Military Station, near here, today to make the schoolchildren familiar with its functioning. State-of-the-art weapons and equipment of the Army were displayed for satisfying the inquisitive minds of the schoolchildren.

Over 4,000 children from various schools witnessed the event in which various food stalls were established.

The mela helped the schoolchildren interact with Army men. It was heart warming to see the youth of the region eagerly participate in the mela. They pledged to join the Army and voiced their solidarity with the men in olive.

The event was inaugurated by Naveeta K Singh, Director, Family Welfare Organisation, Sabre Brigade.

Pune, September 18
National Conference president and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah has said Kashmir has been and will always remain a part of India.

Addressing the 22nd Pune Festival, Abdullah said: “Many innocent children died (during the recent unrest in Kashmir). Many of our security persons got hurt.... But that is the price India has to pay if it has to remain united. Those forces that work to divide us, those forces that talk of independent Kashmir, we have to defeat them at all cost.” He also called for the revoking of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) where it had become redundant.

“The AFSPA should be removed where there is no need for it. In the border areas, you have to keep it because we have danger from the neighbours, but where it is not needed, gradually it should be lifted from there,” he added.

He also condemned the wave of unabated stone-pelting protests in the Kashmir Valley.

“There are crazy people who think that they would separate Kashmir from India by pelting stones. They are just digging their own graves by propelling violence,” he added. — ANI