Srinagar, October 30
A day after the Durbar Move offices closed in the summer capital, posters appeared here today appealing the hardline Hurriyat faction to review its protest calendars in view of the problems being faced by a majority of people due to continuing strikes.

In an appeal to the APHC, the hitherto unknown organisation, Jammu and Kashmir Islami Ittehad (union), has issued an ultimatum of two days to the Hurriyat to reconsider its decision on continuing the strikes. “In case the decision is not taken within the next two days, the situation would be different in the Valley,” the statement added. These posters appeared in the central Lal Chowk and the posh market of Residency Road early this morning.

“We want to convey to the Hurriyat leaders that we have been observing shutdowns for the past four months,” the posters pasted on the walls and shutters of the shops stated. They added that the outcome of the shutdowns was only “unemployment, destruction and a bleak future for Kashmiris”. It urged the Hurriyat leadership to keep in view the economic condition and loss of human lives due to the ongoing situation.

It also blamed the stone throwers, whose number was very less and who were adding to the problems of the people by targeting patients in particular. “The number of stone throwers is between 100 and 125, who appear for their own interests in some areas,” the statement said. It added that these stone-throwers keep waiting for trouble to erupt so that they get benefited. Such elements were taking refuge under the Facebook and spread rumours to create trouble for their own benefits,” the statement said.

It referred to such incidents of rumours spread with the help of Facebook, which included the alleged rape of a girl in Palhalan, Pattan of Baramulla district and the reports about an indefinite Kashmir bandh called by Syed Ali Geelani, both of which were wrong.

Srinagar, October 30
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said the expeditious harnessing of hydel power potential of 20,000 MW would not only make the state self-reliant but also help meet the power requirement of the entire country.

Addressing the Meeting of Group of Ministers for Power of different states of the country in New Delhi yesterday, the Chief Minister said despite a huge hydel potential, Jammu and Kashmir continued to face an acute shortage of energy, particularly in winter, when power curtailment schedules stretching up to 10 hours had to be implemented. Union Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde and the power ministers of all states of the country attended the meeting.

Omar pointed out that Jammu and Kashmir suffered heavily as a result of the discriminatory provisions enshrined in the Indus Water Treaty. He said the state had lost its right of impounding and optimally utilising the waters of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers to take care of the seasonal variations in power demand. “But for the restrictions imposed by the Treaty, the state could have created storage facilities to take care of its increased requirements of energy during winter months and we would not have been forced to buy costly power under short-term arrangements,” he added.

The Chief Miniser said the state had not been compensated for this loss despite an agreement in principle to do so expressed on several occasions. He called for a symbiotic relationship between the state and the Centre for ensuring that additional resources were made available in the state as well as Central sectors to optimally utilise precious water resources, which, otherwise, are going waste.

Flagging the issue of reduction in transmission and distribution losses as his priority, Omar said though the generating activity had been unbundled, “the state Cabinet has in principle approved the privatisation of the transmission and distribution of electricity and the engagement of a consultant for the purpose,” he said. He hoped the Centre would extend all possible support for the restructuring, corporatisation and capacity building of its utilities.

On the issue of purchase of power through competitive bidding, the Chief Minister said the state had gone a step ahead with the J&K State Power Development Corporation awarding one hydel power project, Ratle-690 MW, under the IPP (BOOT) mode after following the competitive tariff bidding process. “To make this possible, the necessary amendment was carried out in the J&K State Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, thereby, facilitating the signing of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the promoter. The electricity is to be purchased from the proposed unit at a competitive rate of Rs 1.44 paise per unit. Thus, for new power projects to be developed in the state through the IPP mode, a transparent mechanism for competitive tariff bidding has been established successfully.”

Srinagar, October 30
Normal life continued to remain affected across the Kashmir valley due to the general strike called by the hardline separatist APHC, while curfew restrictions were imposed on parts of north Kashmir as preventive measures today.

Shops and business establishments in most areas of the city and major towns elsewhere in the Valley were closed today. Educational institutions, government offices and banks functioned normally, while passenger traffic was off the roads. Private and government vehicles were plying in many areas.

However, the authorities imposed the curfew on parts of north Kashmir as preventive measures today. These included the Delina and Palhalan areas of Baramulla district. The district headquarters town of Bandipore reeled under the curfew for the second consecutive day following the recent trouble in which at least five civilians and three policemen were injured.

Meanwhile, one policeman was injured in the clashes in Pulwama town yesterday. Five youths were arrested on the charges of stone-throwing in Shopian town yesterday, the police said.

Jammu, October 30
Hostelers of Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, find it hard to swallow the proposed raise in the prices of meals. With the private contractor increasing food charges, the students and the hostel authorities are at loggerheads leading to the closure of the mess for the past over a week now.

Due of the closure of the mess, the students said they were “starving” while the hostel authorities were not taking their demands seriously.

They rued that while they were already peeved over the quality of the food being served, the authorities had unilaterally decided to hike the charges of meals.

“We were not consulted before the decision was taken. The hostel authorities did not do anything all these months when we were complaining of unhygienic and low-quality food,” the students said.

“We have to bring our meals from outside, which is proving a costly affair. Moreover, meals from outside can cause health problems,” they added.

Earlier, the students were charged Rs 1,200 per head, while the new proposal wanted an increase of Rs 100 per month.

“If the authorities cannot ensure improvement in the quality of food, it should cancel the present contract and award it to some other person or else allow us to manage the mess,” the students said. They added that the administration never took action over their regular complaints.

“We have brought the matter to the notice of the principal of the college and are awaiting his response,” the hostel inmates said.

However, the hostel warden, Naini Seru, denied these charges and said, “I do not know why you are making an issue out of it. They (hostel inmates) have already got a new contractor and she will be taking charge from tomorrow or day after.”

Jammu, October 30
Security forces continued to search the deep jungles of Navapachi in Kishtwar district for the second consecutive day today to track down a group of three Hizbul Mujahideen militants, who had shot dead an Army soldier yesterday.

“It is a thickly forested area, but our search parties are on the job,” Kishtwar police chief Haseeb Mughal told The Tribune. Yesterday, the militants had shot dead a jawan of the 159 Territorial Army, Manzoor Ahmed Ilahi, a resident of Kishtwar.

Mughal said the security forces had identified a group of three Hizbul Mujahideen militants comprising Sajjad Ahmed, alias Rizwan, a self-styled Hizbul commander; Shakir Hussain, alias Chota Hafiz; and Mohammad Shafi.

While Rizwan and Chota Hafiz are dreaded ultras operating in the area since long, Mohammed Shafi joined the Hizbul Mujahideen just six months ago, said the officer. All of them were local militants, he added.

The same group of ultras had recently abducted two Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers in the Marwah area.

Though one of the abducted teachers had escaped captivity, the other was rescued by the security forces. It may be stated here that around 20 militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen still remain active in Kishtwar and Doda districts.

The police, along with the Army, has intensified operations in the Marwah, Dachhan, Chatroo and Gandoh areas of Kishtwar and Doda districts to eliminate the surviving Hizbul militants, said sources.

“We cannot afford the Hizbul Mujahideen an opportunity to spread its tentacles and lure naïve and gullible youths in the name of freedom struggle and money,” said a senior Army officer.

Leh, October 30
Home Minister P Chidambaram today interacted with victims in the cloudburst-ravaged areas of Leh to assess the ongoing rehabilitation work in the area.

Chidambaram, who is on a two-day visit to the state, went to Puga and Saboo villages and talked with the victims to take stock of the steps taken to rehabilitate them. He visited the worst-hit Choglamsar and inspected the prefabricated homes built for flood victims. Expressing satisfaction over the rehabilitation efforts, he asked DGP Kuldeep Khoda if similar prefabricated shelters could also be built for the police and Army jawans.

The Home minister then went to the ITBP campus to inaugurate a newly built complex and have an interaction with the jawans. — PTI 

Jammu, October 30
Even as interlocutors appointed by the Centre have stated that they would frequently visit the state to hold a dialogue with a cross-section of society, political parties have stepped up attack on them for giving “confusing and provocative” statements during their first visit to the Kashmir valley.

While the BJP termed the visit as a “futile exercise” aimed at “furthering” the agenda of separatists, the Panthers Party said the interlocutors were “confused and bewildered” who added to the prevailing confusion after their visit.

Already furious over the statement of one of the interlocutors regarding the involvement of Pakistan in the solution to the Kashmir problem, the anger of political and social groups in Jammu was further ignited on the reported statement of Radha Kumar regarding an amendment in the Constitution for accommodating the term “azadi”.

Although Kumar had clarified that some of her statements were fabricated by the media, political groups in Jammu have stepped up an attack on the interlocutors for “fulfiling” the agenda of separatists.

“Statements made by the interlocutors in the state indicated the confusion and bewilderment of those entrusted with the highly sensitive proposition,” said Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh, while interacting with mediapersons here this morning.

He pointed out that the interlocutors had made certain “unsavoury and offensive” remarks which were not in tune with the national mood.

He said the interlocutors had created controversies by using words like “disputed” for Kashmir and by entertaining the proposals for “azadi” mooted by certain quarters and asking for framing a blueprint for the same.

Pointing towards the decision of one of the interlocutors, MM Ansari, to skip the Jammu visit, Singh said there was incompatibility within the interlocutors as MM Ansari had withdrawn.

It was, therefore, a case of breakdown before breakthrough, he observed.

Singh was of the opinion that the interlocutors had transgressed their authority and mandate in making unwholesome suggestions supporting the involvement of Pakistan and describing the state as “disputed”.

He said as interlocutors they were supposed to obtain viewpoints of different sections and report the same to the Central Government without propagating to the public their personal views and opinions on the subject.

He said they had to understand that they were not negotiators or middlemen, but interlocutors assigned the job to study, question and report their findings for a possible solution to the Union government.

Statements made by the interlocutors indicated the confusion and bewilderment of those entrusted with the highly sensitive proposition  — Harsh Dev Singh, Panthers Party leader 

Jammu, October 30
The UPA government has sanctioned Rs 156 crore under the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) for farmers in 18 districts of the state.

It may be stated here that the drought-hit farmers had suffered huge losses in 2009.

Making this announcement here today, Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla said the government had sanctioned the relief in favour of drought-hit farmers of the state.

Divisional Commissioners would distribute the relief among the affected farmers after the Darbar Move re-opened in Jammu, he said.

Out of the 18 districts, which were affected by drought in the wake of scant rainfall last year. Ten belong to the Jammu region while eight to the Kashmir region.

A loss to the tune of Rs 211 crore was assessed in 2009, and subsequently, the state government sent a proposal for adequate relief to the Centre, he added.

Bhalla said Rs 71 crore was earlier released by the Union government and it was distributed among the beneficiaries for providing them free ration.

Out of Rs 71 crore, Rs 64.31 crore was given to the Jammu region, while the remaining amount of Rs 6.13 crore was distributed among the needy in the Kashmir region, he said.

Now, the Centre has released Rs 90 crore as relief to the affected farmers, he added.

According to official figures, the Kharif crop standing over 4,53, 698 hectares was affected across the Jammu region, while the crop in 20,819 hectares was damaged in Kashmir in 2009.

Jammu, October 30
Describing Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India, the Jammu West Assembly Movement (JWAM) said yesterday that the Kashmir issue was a self-created problem. It advised the Centre to stop listening to the hawks in the separatist camp.

Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, JWAM president Sunil Dimple said in a meeting with the group of interlocutors led by Dilip Padgaonkar the JWAM submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the self-created Kashmir problem.

“We amply made it clear that there could be no compromise on redrawing of borders except taking back the occupied Kashmir from Pakistan. There is also no room whatsoever for a road map to discuss so-called azadi,” said Dimple.

He added through the memorandum the JWAM apprised the interlocutors about the previous regimes in Delhi, which failed to save and ensure the safety of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Time has also come for New Delhi to change its weak-kneed foreign policies towards Pakistan and China,” Dimple said.

The JWAM also said no political package, quite diplomacy, rehabilitation policy and compensation to militants, who had surrendered, besides the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was acceptable to the patriotic people of the Jammu region. 

Udhampur, October 30
As many as 102 beneficiaries today received scholarships amounting to Rs 61,200 at an awareness-cum-scholarship distribution programme organised jointly by the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) project, Udhampur, and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India here today.

The beneficiaries under the Shiksha Sahyog project of the Janshree Bima Yojna included 58 children of anganwadi workers and 44 of anganwadi helpers of the district. District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, Baseer Ahmed Khan was the chief guest on the occasion.

Project officer, ICDS, Udhampur, Anjana Tikoo informed that the aim of the scheme sponsored by the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development was to provide aid to the children of anganwadi workers and helpers for their studies.

Chief Planning Officer, Udhampur, HH Dutt and Chief Education Officer, Udhampur, SK Gondotra were present in the ocassion.

Jammu, October 30
Two minor boys sustained severe burn injuries after an LPG cylinder blasted at their house near the Shahidi Chowk area here this afternoon.

Though the injured were taken to the Emergency Block of the Government Medical College and Hospital by their neighbour around 2 pm immediately after the incident, the hospital authorities dilly-dallied in treating them.

It was only after the intervention of the policemen posted at the GMCH police post that the doctors started the treatment. Even then it took nearly half-an-hour to start the treatment, alleged Ashok Kumar, an auto-rickshaw driver and neighbour who brought the injured boys to the hospital. He said the doctor on emergency duty in the burns unit was absent, and this delayed the treatment.

A policeman told The Tribune that the injured were lying in a corner on stretchers and no doctor showed sympathy towards them. Only when he talked to the CMO, a doctor was immediately deputed for the treatment of the boys.

Meanwhile, the father of the injured, Thomas Masih, a sweeper at the Jammu Municipal Corporation, said he had no complaint against anyone.

Narrating the incident, Masih said his wife was cooking rice at the house around 1.45 pm when the cylinder blasted due to gas leakage. Three other children, who were present in the house, suffered no injures, as they were sleeping in another room. His wife, Sangeeta, too, ran into another room to save her life. Till the filing of the report, the condition of the injured was said to be stable.

Jammu, October 30
A few days before Divali, the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Jammu Municipal Corporation (MC) seized 850 kg of spurious khoya from the Shalimar Express this morning.

A GRP officer said 17 bags of spurious khoya weighing 50 kg each were seized from the train. The illegal consignment of khoya was to be delivered at Kathua, but it reached Jammu and was seized at the railway station, he added. The officer said the consignment was dispatched from Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh and they were trying to ascertain the identity of the person who was to receive the consignment.