Srinagar, October 2
Normal life was restored after days of curfew restrictions, as the situation was peaceful across the Kashmir valley today for the first time after Eid-day violence, even as prohibitory orders remained in force in parts of Kupwara district.

No relaxation was given in the Kangan area of Ganderbal district where two militants, a civilian and a policeman had died in an encounter that began on Thursday.

One youth, Umar Sulaiman Sheikh, who was undergoing treatment at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), succumbed to his injuries here last night. He was injured in the police firing during clashes at Potkhah near Sopore in Baramulla district on September 16. With this, the death toll in the ongoing violence, which began on June 11, has gone up to 110.

No relaxation in the curfew was given in the Kangan area of Ganderbal district, which remained tense following the death of a civilian, besides two militants and a policeman in an encounter on Thursday last. The police said the civilian, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, was killed in the crossfire between the militants and the security forces that began in the Akhal area on Thursday evening. The search operation was still going on in the area, it said.

However, in Kralpora, Trehgam and Kupwara town, restrictions under Section 144 of CrPC remained in force, the police said.

A semblance of normal life was observed in Srinagar and other areas of the Valley for the first time after the Eid-day violence and no curfew restrictions were in force in any area. Relaxation was given in phases for three to five hours here and in other major towns of the Valley during the past few days, except for Friday, when strict restrictions were enforced in view of the Allahabad High Court’s verdict in the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi case.

All shops and business establishments were opened and traffic was plying normally today. However, educational institutions, banks and government offices remained closed as it was a holiday on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

Normalcy was restored across Kashmir following the modification in its protest calendar by the APHC-Geelani. While the strict restrictions remained in force yesterday as a precautionary measure, Geelani modified the protest schedule. Earlier the APHC had called for a normal working day on Friday and revising the schedule following the curfew restrictions yesterday called for a normal working day today.

Srinagar, October 2
Reminding the people of the sacrifices and struggles of Mahatma Gandhi for creating a society full of values and justice, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah paid homage to the Father of the Nation on his 141st birth anniversary here today.

He said the best way to remember Mahatma Gandhi and pay homage to him was to follow his principles and help create a comfortable society for all to nurture and develop a democratic and secular atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the Gandhian Global Family (GGF) organised a function to observe “International Non-Violence Day” today here at Nehru Park.

On the occasion, an all-faith prayer was organised in which hundreds of volunteers belonging to the GGF from across the state participated.

State president of the GGF SP Verma highlighted the importance of the Gandhian ideology and said it was more relevant in the present times.

He said keeping in view the significance of his ideology, the United Nations Organisation had declared October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, as International Non-Violence Day.

While interacting with the core group of JK Scouts and Guides and various batches of students, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand said the high esteem achieved by Mahatma Gandhi was the result of his strong ideology.

He said humanity had a universal approach and those people who tried to divide humanity in different compartments of religion, caste and race had always tried to trample human values. Mahatma Gandhi stood firm enough to resist such forces of bigotry and communalism.

Calling upon people to shun violence and follow the path of love and mutual coexistence, Tara Chand said conflicts had always resulted in disasters while mutual love had strengthened the pillars of humanity. He said Mahatma Gandhi was a symbol of positive approach towards life, therefore, his philosophy had become universal and people were adopting it to shape their destinies and make themselves symbols of love and brotherhood.

Srinagar, October 2
Principals, chairmen and heads of various private schools and other educational institutions attended a meeting convened by the state education authorities here yesterday.

They assured Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed that they would fully cooperate with the Education Department authorities for the scheduled conduct of examinations. Sayeed advised heads and staff of private school to keep their laboratories and classrooms available for smooth and continuous studies to students.

In order to facilitate the students, he assured them that the examination timing would be extended up to 20 minutes and maximum choices would be given to the students in question papers.

The minister said the morning assembly session as well as the recess session might also be converted into study sessions. He said over 75,000 FaceBook and Internet messages had recently supported the opening of schools, which was a positive step in the direction of education. Accordingly, apart from other examinations, thousands of candidates had appeared in the B.Ed examination at different centres in Srinagar during the last four days and the examinations would continue.

Jammu, October 2
As the situation is improving in the Kashmir valley, the state government has started preparations for holding the panchayat elections in the state.

The Rural Development Department has started organising functions of gram sabhas in different areas of the state so as to prepare people for the panchayat elections. A similar function was held today at Bhalwal in which representatives of Jammu and Samba districts were invited.

While addressing the function, Minister of Rural Development Ali Mohammed Sagar dropped hints that the government was very particular to hold panchayat elections as it was the only mean to ensure participation of people in the democratic institutions at the grass-root level.

Sagar made it clear that holding of the panchayat elections was one of the top agendas of the government and announced that th elections would be held very soon at an appropriate time. He said by establishing panchayats across the state, we would be involving the people at the gross-root level in the implementation and formulation of policies, which form the basis of a democratic setup.

“We would also be getting additional funds which would be instrumental in changing the socio-economic landscape of the areas for which establishing panchayats are essential,” he said.

While highlighting the importance of the Rural Development Department schemes in changing the socio-economic setup of the rural and far-flung areas, Sagar said people should come forward to avail the maximum benefits of these, so that the benefit percolated to the targeted populace and the funds were utilised properly.

The minister also lashed out at separatists for holding the government responsible for the alleged human rights violations. He said they (Hurriyat leaders) should go for an introspection as they were responsible for the same by making the life of people difficult by resorting to hartals, which have destroyed the educational, social and economical setup.

“It would take decades together for people to compensate for the losses suffered due to the frequent hartals and calls given by the separatists,” he maintained.

Srinagar, October 2
Reiterating his government’s determination to tackle unemployment with a multi-faceted approach, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has favoured an umbrella scheme for the engagement of technocrats. He called for a coordinated approach by the departments concerned in this direction in association with the planning and finance departments.

Chairing a high-level meeting to look into various aspects of the regularisation of the services of Rehber-e-Ziraat, the Chief Minister directed the Agricultural Production Department to make a comprehensive proposal for the purpose.

While stressing on the importance of increasing the per unit production and productivity in the agriculture sector, Omar said the agriculture graduates and subject matter specialists had a stupendous role to play in this direction. “We have to utilise our expertise and modern technology to boost the agriculture production and expand agro-based activities in the state,” he said. Omar maintained that it would generate wide-ranging economic activities and also create job opportunities in the private sector.

It was stated in the meeting that over 2,800 Rehber-e-Ziraat were at present working in the Agricultural Production Department on a monthly remuneration of Rs 3,000. They were rendering their services in the field of agricultural practices at the panchayat-level in the state.

Srinagar, October 2
The government has decided to launch two schemes for economically deprived and downtrodden sections of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minority girl students on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

Under the Girl Child Scheme, 5,016 girl students will be covered. An amount of Rs 1.50 crore has been sanctioned at the rate of Rs 3,000 per girl student, an official spokesman here said. The decision was taken at a meeting of officers under the chairmanship of Minister for Education Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed here yesterday.

The amount will be kept as fixed deposit in the bank for which zero balance accounts have been opened in J&K Bank in respective localities. The students can encash this amount after the successful completion of secondary education.

Under the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme, the girl candidates whose parental income is less than Rs 3 lakh per annum will be covered. These girl candidates have to appear in the National Talent Search Test to be conducted by the Board of School Education and the girls who qualified the test will be given a scholarship of Rs 3,000 per candidate for the completion of secondary education.

The aim of the schemes is to make education available to the underprivileged sections of society so that the overall progress of the state becomes a reality towards the upgrading of education in a holistic way.

Srinagar, October 2
The PDP has indicated its unwillingness to resume the Assembly session unless there was an end to the current crisis arising out of the series of killings and the alleged atrocities on the people in Kashmir.

The current crisis created by the government had seriously eroded the credibility of democratic institutions in the state and the state legislature was no exception, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti conveyed to the government here today. Her party’s viewpoint was conveyed in her interaction with MY Tarigami, MLA and CPM leader, who called on her on behalf of the Business Advisory Committee of the Legislative Assembly, here today. The committee had authorised Tarigami to persuade the PDP to call off its boycott of the current session of the legislature.

“Unless, this lawlessness comes to a halt, asking questions in the legislature will sound a meaningless charade,” Mehbooba told Tarigami. She added that staying away from the proceedings of the House to register the protest of the people was an established parliamentary practice.

Mehbooba, according to a spokesman, told Tarigami that the legislature being the fountainhead of democracy and an institution of people’s empowerment should normally be able to ensure security and dignity of people through the rule of law, but the present dispensation had completely undermined it. “While everything in the state is happening undemocratically, how can the legislature command any credibility?,” ” she told Tarigami. She said, “This is a serious issue and unless the government shows some inclination to stop atrocities and initiates action against the killers of 110 innocent persons, the Assembly session will lack any seriousness and credibility. “Our discussions within the four walls of the legislature cannot be isolated from the shameful realities of life outside it,” she maintained.

The PDP president said even on the opening day of the session the government unnecessarily clamped curfew as if to convey its arrogance and dictatorial attitude to the legislators. The following day it went a step ahead and seized all newspapers carrying the proceedings in the legislature after having banned telecast of news on local TV channels.

Jammu, October 2
The traffic police here has come up with a pilot project to block vehicular movement for some time at zebra crossings so that pedestrians could cross the road easily.

Seven busy roads have been identified for this project. The chosen sites include Vikram Chowk, Nai Basti road, Presentation Convent School road, Satwari Chowk and Gangyal road.

In order to execute the plan, IG, Traffic, HK Lohia, along with senior traffic police officers, arrived at the ever-busy Vikram Chowk here today and ordered policemen to block traffic using ropes after every 10 minutes so that pedestrians could cross the road easily.

Lohia said, “We do not have enough policemen and it is a difficult task to maintain the smooth flow of traffic on city roads. Still, our policemen are doing their best and we are hopeful that our idea will yield positive results to control road mishaps.”

Lohia said during daytime, the roads would be blocked after every 10 minutes, and in the evening the time duration would be extended to 15-20 minutes.

Asked whether it was possible to wait for 10-15 minutes to cross the road, he said, “If anyone wants to be safe while crossing roads, he or she will have to follow the rules.”

Terming crossing of road at any point other than zebra crossings as an offence, the IG said they would soon impose a fine on those pedestrians who did not follow the rules.

Srinagar, October 2
A meeting of the Indian Army and the Peoples Liberation Army was held at the Chinese Flag Meeting hut on the Chinese side yesterday.

The meeting was held to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China. The Indian delegation that was led by Brig Ajay Kumar was received by Chinese delegation leader Senior Col Awang Yang Pei.

After the reception, the Chinese national flag was hoisted and both Chinese and Indian delegations saluted it. In the formal meeting held in an atmosphere of mutual trust and camaraderie, greetings were exchanged by both sides. They agreed to contribute towards peace, stability and development of the region in consonance with the Border Peace and Tranquillity Agreements signed between the two countries.

Srinagar, October 2
With the killing of one more militant today, the Army claimed to have killed 14 militants in the encounter that started in the Gurez sector in Bandipora district on September 8.

“Today, we killed one more militant along the Line of Control, thus the total number of militants killed since the encounter started on September 6 was now 14,” said an official source. — TNS

Jammu, October 2
Several colleges and schools of the region today celebrated the birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.

Tributes were also paid to late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, whose birth anniversary also falls on this day.

NSS volunteers of Government Gandhi Memorial (GGM) Science College took out a ‘Parbhat Pheri’ (procession) in the morning from the college and it passed through the areas of Canal Head Road, Bakshi Nagar, Bus Stand and Jewel Chowk and later returned to the college.

Speaking on the occasion, the volunteers highlighted various aspects of the lives of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Discussions on the ‘Role of Gandhian Philosophy in Present Scenario’ were also held.

Addressing the volunteers, principal MS Baloria said the youth should follow the path of non-violence and truth. He stressed upon the youth to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s principles.

Among others, Government Ranbir Higher Secondary School and JK Montessori Higher Secondary School also celebrated Gandhi Jayanti.

Jammu, October 2
The Youth Movement for Peace (YMP), an NGO, has adopted 13 children from flood-hit Leh. It will bring up the children and look after their education as well.

Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, YMP chairman Vikas Sharma said they had conducted a tour of areas affected by flash floods in Leh recently. “While distributing relief among the flood victims we came across some families that had lost everything in the natural calamity. Under such circumstances, it became extremely difficult for them to afford the studies of their children,” said Sharma.

Moved by their plight, the YMP decided to adopt 13 children, out of which five had already been brought to Jammu, he added.

“Now, Rigzin Namgyal (7), Stanzin Wangbo (9), Tswang Tomphel (9), Jigmeet Namgyal (11), and Stanzin Chotak (14) are part of our “Sunehra Kal” family and the YMP takes all their responsibilities, including education,” said Sharma. Within a couple of days, they would be admitted to some good CBSE-affiliated schools here, he added.

Sharma said children like Stanzin Chotak, who is good in soccer, and four others, who like playing cricket, would be supported by the YMP in pursuing their passions. The YMP would hone their skills and hidden talent to see them develop into progressive citizens of the country, he added.

Jammu, October 2
Dogra Higher Secondary School celebrated its annual day at Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar, here today. The function started with the lighting of a traditional lamp, which was followed by a song presented by the students.

Later, the principal of the school presented its annual report and mentioned about its achievements.

Various plays were presented on the occasion. The Punjabi folk dance and the Kashmiri folk dance was liked by the audience.

At the end of the function, prizes were distributed among meritorious students for their achievement in academics and sports.