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PDP wants Valley people to replicate Egypt: Omar
Article 370 cause of many problems: BJP
Forum protests against criminalisation of politics
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Militancy victims hold protest in Rajouri
Erratic
Power Supply
Shri
mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board
Awareness camp for BPL families
Farooq seeks land for cricket stadium
Rain, snowfall in Valley
Work on voter cards’ revision reviewed
Arms seized in Kupwara
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PDP wants Valley people to replicate Egypt: Omar
Srinagar, February 12 Within a few hours of Mehbooba addressing mediapersons at her Gupkar residence, the Chief Minister posted a comment on the Twitter. Omar tweeted, “Mehbooba Mufti calls for Kashmiris to replicate Egypt. Seems she wants Army rule as well since her party is in opposition now.” Last night, after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as the Egyptian President, Omar wished to “wake up in peaceful surroundings”. “With the hope that Egypt wakes up to a promise of a government they deserve and we continue to wake up in peaceful surroundings,” he tweeted last night. Omar’s latest tweet follows Mehbooba’s comment in support of Egyptian people “for their victory”. “We congratulate the people of Egypt for their victory. The role of the Army there was laudable, as it seemed that they were protecting their people,” she told reporters here. Drawing a parallel between the Egyptian protests and the last summer’s unrest in the Kashmir valley, Mehbooba said while the people in the most populous Arab country were not charged with any offence, the leadership in the state had been dubbing protesters here as “drug addicts and LeT agents”. Seeking a political solution to the Kashmir issue, Mehbooba hailed the transformation in Egypt in its fight for democracy. She congratulated the people of Egypt and also appreciated the role of the Egyptian army for protecting its people as “they fought for democracy.” Drawing a similarity between the unrest in Kashmir and Egypt, Mehbooba said the people of Kashmir were fighting in spite of democracy over the past 63 years. She pointed out that following the 9/11 attacks in the USA the first impact on Kashmir was people’s immense participation in the two subsequent Assembly elections by choosing ballot over the bullet. Referring to the unrest during the summer in Kashmir, Mehbooba said, “Unfortunately, the NC leadership is bent upon defaming its own people.” She added that the government had adopted an attitude of vengeance by resorting to continuing arrests of youths, their humiliation and repression. Advocating the withdrawal of security forces from civilian areas, she said people of Jammu and Kashmir on either side of the Line of Control should be granted freedom of travel and trade and the erstwhile princely state be declared a “free economic zone” in the SAARC region. “The SAARC countries have set 2020 deadline for coming closer. We demand that they should start by declaring Jammu and Kashmir as a free economic zone where the currency of all member states will be acceptable,” she said. Referring to the PDP’s plan to hold protest rallies in Srinagar and Jammu on Monday, she elaborated on the political resolution of Kashmir. “We want a political resolution of the Kashmir issue with economic self-reliance,” she said.
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Article 370 cause of many problems: BJP
Jammu, February 12 Commenting upon the activities of the interlocutors, Gupta termed it as a futile exercise that could lead to more problems than any good. “Their (interlocutors) observations clearly indicate that under certain internal and external pressures, the Central government has already made up its mind on certain issues and they have been employed to be used as tools in this regard,” he added. Gupta particularly referred to the statement of the interlocutors that the special status of Jammu and Kashmir should not be disturbed and said it confirmed their belief. The real problem, he added, was the special status of the state. Gupta said the talk about azadi, plebiscite, autonomy and self rule were the offshoots of Partition and it was deplorable that the Congress had not learnt any lessons from the painful events of this division of the country.
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Forum protests against criminalisation of politics
Jammu, February 12 The removal of the dictator, Hosni Mubarak, as a result of the democratic protests by the people clearly negated the vile propaganda that all Muslims were terrorists, said Prof Zahoorudin, president of the forum. Zahoorudin resented the role of the local administration that had imposed prohibitory orders in order to curb all dissent, including peaceful protests. “Unfortunately, as an example of the state’s undemocratic character, the peaceful procession of the forum was not allowed to proceed beyond the Press Club grounds,” he added. He said the forum was concerned about the increasing criminalisation of politics in the state as well as in the rest of the country. He added that to counter such trends, it was important for people to come together and take the responsibility of raising substantial issues and giving a progressive, pro-people direction to the political process. ID Khajuria, vice-president of the forum, said the protest was also against corruption prevalent in the government dealings and the victimisation of honest employees. He expressed concern over the non-implementation of the RTI Act in the state. “The State Accountability Commission, which can be a huge step towards ensuring transparency, is now defunct. The forum is for reviving the commission,” he added. Others present on the occasion included former MP Sheik Abdul Rehman, Kulwant Singh, Dr Janmeet Kaur Raina, Santosh Khajuria, Bhupinder Singh and Jaleel A Kazmi.
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Kranti manch holds rally against corruption
Jammu, February 12 Dr Ashok Bhan, a former DGP and at present member of the National Security Advisory Board, flagged off the rally from the Parade Ground here. Prof MR Puri, former Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University, Dr Ved Ghai, a social activist and literary figure, and Ashwani Kumar Sharma, MLA, also participated in the rally. Commencing from the Parade Ground, the rally passed through the Purani Mandi, City Chowk, Raghunath Bazaar, Gurdwara Sunder Singh road and Vivekananda Chowk and culminated outside the Press Club. Addressing the rally, distinguished speakers lauded the role of the manch in starting the drive for eradicating corruption from all walks of life. They also appreciated the role of some NGOs, intellectuals and enlightened citizens for their contribution in the drive against corruption. The founder of the manch, Dr RR Khajuria, urged the state and Central governments to take stern action against corrupt people so that it proved as a deterrent for others. The manch stressed upon the need for the effective enforcement of the Right to Information Act, accountability laws and egovernance as part of the measures to eradicate corruption. It also urged upon the government as well as educational institutions to introduce moral and ethical education in the curriculum and also in the judiciary, police force and the administration. The prominent among those who participated in the rally included ID Soni, Dr Gurmeet Singh, SK Jain, Madan Mohan Sharma, Col Baldev Singh, HN Tickoo, Subash Rekhi, Dr Usha Tickoo, Balvinder Singh, Hafiz Fani, Mulkh Raj, Bimaghi, PK Dhar, CM Sharma and Kulbhushan Khajuria. They stated that the purpose of holding the rally was to mount pressure on the state and Central governments to take immediate effective steps to curb corruption. They appreciated the role of the media for exposing the corrupt elements in public life, the administration and the civil society. A memorandum was submitted to the Chief Minister at his official residence listing the demands aimed at eradicating corruption.
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Militancy victims hold protest in Rajouri
Jammu, February 12 Addressing the protesters, the state general secretary of the Tehreek-e-Insaf, Mohammad Shafi Dar, said a large number of people from Rajouri district were victims of militancy and a majority of them were forced to migrate from their native place. He, however, regretted that the authorities were deliberately ignoring them with regard to compensation. He said a large number of families which had migrated from Rajouri-Poonch, at present camping at Beli-Charana in Jammu city, were on the verge of starvation due to the lack of compensation. He threatened that they would come out on streets if adequate compensation was not given to these displaced families. Vibodh Gupta, adviser of the Tehreek-e-Insaf, said the government had failed to provide relief to the militancy-affected people of the Jammu region on a par with Kashmir migrants. |
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Erratic
Power Supply Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 12 The minister, who went to Poonch to inaugurate a power receiving station today, faced the wrath of villagers as a large number of protesters blocked the road for nearly two hours, demanding uninterrupted power supply to their area. The protesters, including women and children, raised anti-government and anti-Power Development Department (PDD) slogans. They said being the residents of the border area they faced hardships and the erratic power supply had increased their woes. Meanwhile, the district police and administration officers pacified the protesters and assured them that their problem would be taken up with the minister concerned. The traffic remained disrupted from 10 am to noon due to the blockade, causing inconvenience to the commuters. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah holds the power portfolio. Shabir Ahmed, while talking to The Tribune over phone, said, “Yes, residents of Mendhar tehsil lodged a protest during my visit to Poonch today, demanding uninterrupted power supply. As repair work on the 132 KV transmission line is going on there, the power supply to the area has been disrupted.” He admitted that there was a problem of power supply to far-flung areas across the state. “I assure the people of remote areas that their problem related to power supply will be resolved at the earliest. The Chief Minister has also announced a number schemes for providing electricity to every household,” added Shabir.
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Shri
mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 12 The review meeting was attended by RK Goyal, chief executive officer of the board, Dr MK Bhandari, additional CEO, and other senior officials of the board here today. In the meeting various schemes, including the installation of waste management plants, campaign to plant saplings and measures to stabilise mountainous slopes in the shrine area to check landslides, were discussed. The Governor, who is also the chairman of the shrine board, issued instructions to Goyal to speed up the ongoing activities to ensure a time-bound implementation of the projects. Briefing the Governor about the implementation of the recommendations of the TERI, a Delhi-based organisation, in regard to solid and water waste management projects, Goyal said, “The expression of interest was being invited for the purpose”. He said the board, at the behest of the Governor, had engaged THDC India Ltd, a Government of India undertaking, to secure the route to the hill shrine against landslides and falling boulders that were causing trouble to pilgrims in certain areas. It would be done on the basis of a geological survey and investigations, he added. Goyal said the THDC had a vast experience of setting up hydro-electric projects and undertaking slope stabilisation works. Under the continuing plantation drive launched by the board, he disclosed that over 60,000 saplings of various species of trees and flowering plants had been planted in the shrine area during the past nine months. He said in addition to the afforestation efforts, several measures aimed at preventing forest fires, including the pruning of trees in the vulnerable areas, had also been undertaken.
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Awareness camp for BPL families
Udhampur, February 12 As many as 300 participants, including women members of the self help groups (SHGs) of the area, attended the camp. They were made aware about the benefits of the yojana and other government schemes meant for the rural people. At the camp, the target group of the SHGs was given a practical orientation on record keeping and other aspects of the yojana. Satish Sharma, project officer, Self Employment; Dr Arvind Karwani, block development officer, Chenani; NGOs, assistant project officers and panchayat inspectors gave lectures on various aspects of the schemes. Officials from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Horticulture also briefed the participants about various activities related to their department. The participants were informed that the yojana was a credit-cum-subsidy scheme in which multiple doses of credit were given at different stages of the economic activities undertaken by the beneficiaries.
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Farooq seeks land for cricket stadium
Srinagar, February 12 Farooq, who is also the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, said the JKCA had requested for the allocation of land for the construction of an international cricket stadium in the Valley on the pattern of the stadium being constructed in Jammu. He said the Chief Minister had allocated 512 kanals for an international cricket stadium in Jammu, which would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 75 crore. Farooq, who visited the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar today to review the ongoing works, also chaired a meeting of the cricket association. He stressed on the fast-paced completion of the work on the stadium’s academy so that the Valley’s aspiring cricketers could avail of its benefit. — PTI
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Rain, snowfall in Valley
Srinagar, February 12 “A fresh weather system has developed over the Kashmir valley, due to which there will be rain and snowfall at some places during the next 48 hours,” an official of the MeT Department said. He said the rain in the plains and the snowfall on the upper reaches would continue for the next few days and there would be a drop in the minimum temperature in the Valley. “The minimum temperature is expected to remain above zero degrees Celsius, but due to cold winds it could drop below the normal,” the official added. |
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Work on voter cards’ revision reviewed
Udhampur, February 12 Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) Udhampur, Gurvinderjeet Singh apprised Sharma of the addition, deletion, correction, claims and objections received so far in the district. The tehsildar (AERO), Udhampur, Ramnagar, Chenani and Majalata also apprised the RO of the progress of the work in the areas under their jurisdiction. Sharma expressed satisfaction over the work done by the officials concerned in their respective areas and made suggestions on some issues. |
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Arms seized in Kupwara
Srinagar, February 12 Acting on a tip-off, the troops of the 28 Rashtriya Rifles and the police launched a joint search operation at Surigam Village in Kupwara and seized an IED in pressure cooker, one AK rifle magazine and 150 rounds of AK ammunition from outside the house of Fayaz Ahmad Hajam, a resident of Surigam, the sources added.
— TNS |
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Mehbooba Mufti calls for Kashmiris to replicate Egypt. Seems she wants Army
rule as well since her party is in opposition now — Omar Abdullah, Chief
Minister
While the people in Egypt were not charged with any offence, the leadership in the state had been dubbing protesters here as drug addicts and LeT
agents — Mehbooba Mufti, PDP president