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Troop cut to be more from Valley: CRPF
Udhampur-Ahmedabad Janambhoomi Express flagged off
Controversy over Map |
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Kashmir Issue PDP party workers hold a demonstration in Jammu on Monday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
State’s package inadequate
Panchayat poll without 73rd Amendment futile: BJP
Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remains closed
Shell explosion: Toll rises to three
Fake gun licence racket smashed
State plans anti-ragging law
PHE staff strike declared illegal, ESMA invoked
Two Hizbul Mujahideen
militants arrested
Avalanche warning in Kashmir areas
Educational tour for students, teachers
Abandoned girl restored to family
Ailing girl commits suicide
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Troop cut to be more from Valley: CRPF
Jammu, February 14 “An exercise is on in consultation with the state government and the areas from where the CRPF troops will be either reduced or withdrawn are being identified,” a senior CRPF officer told The Tribune. He, however, said the withdrawal of the troops would be more from the Kashmir valley than the Jammu region. The CRPF had 55 battalions in Kashmir and 15 battalions in the Jammu region. A CRPF battalion comprised nearly 1,151 jawans and officers. “The reduction in the paramilitary forces will be more in the Valley and the state government has to play a significant role in the exercise because the CRPF will go by what it wants to be done,” he added. Though the CRPF had initiated the exercise in consonance with the government, the state authorities would decide the areas from where the troops were to be reduced or withdrawn, the officer said. Sources in the Home Department said in the past few years, the security scenario had drastically improved and against this backdrop, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wanted a reduction in the security forces in the state. “Plans to reduce troops, rehabilitation of misguided youths, who had crossed over to occupied Kashmir for arms training, bringing the police to the forefront to deal with the law and order situation, the revocation of the Disturbed Areas Act from peaceful areas and amendments to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) are all measures to restore the confidence of Kashmir people in the government and isolate militants and their sympathisers,” the sources said. Under a well-thought out plan the government had been working in the right earnest to restore normalcy to the state and that was why it had come up with a slew of suggestions, including the reduction in the paramilitary forces, they added. |
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Udhampur-Ahmedabad Janambhoomi Express flagged off
Udhampur, February 14 Besides the local population, the weekly train service will benefit the Army,paramilitary personnel posted here and pilgrims coming from different parts of the country to pay obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. Thanking the Railway Ministry for starting the service, the Deputy Chief Minister said that a provision for Janmabhoomi Express trains had been made in the Railway Budget, 2010-11 to fulfil the travel requirements of defence personnel as Udhampur was the headquarters of the Northern Command of the Army.Moreover, the facility would also help ease the traffic to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and boost pilgrimage tourism. Reiterating the commitment of the state and central governments to improve rail connectivity in the state having a predominantly hilly terrain, Tara Chand said a plan had been prepared to connect all district headquarters to train services. This was likely to be done in Rajouri and Poonch districts soon. A survey to lay tracks in both areas was in progress, he added. He also urged the Railway authorities to increase the number of coaches, including airconditioned ones, in Jammu-Haridwar trains to fulfill the requirements of Haridwar-bound pilgrims. He also stressed the need for expediting the construction work of the Udhampur-Katra line. The General Manager, Northern Railways, SK Budhalakoti, said the Udhampur-Ahmedabad Express would start from Udhampur railway station every Monday at 8.50 pm. Among others, Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur, Vishwesh Chaubey, CAO-II, Northern Railways, RK Gupta, IGP, Northern Railways, Naveen Agarwal, DIG, Udhampur-Reasi Range, Jagjit Kumar, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, Rajinder Singh, ADDC,Udhampur, Ram Rattan Sharma, and prominent citizens were present on the occasion. |
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Controversy over Map
Srinagar/ New Delhi, February 14 Indicating that Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had reacted hastily to the way Jammu and Kashmir was depicted in the map, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said though she had high regard for the minister, he should rather focus on other issues concerning China like the stapled visas for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. “They should do something about the Chinese incursions in the Leh region of our state. The Centre should not get touchy, rattled or bullied by China," she told PTI. Mehbooba said the Centre should appreciate that it was the "only party" which included the parts of Jammu and Kashmir illegally occupied by China in its scheme of resolution. She said the PDP supported the reunification of all territories of Jammu and Kashmir as these existed before Partition. "Is it wrong to do that?" she asked. Meanwhile, Mehbooba has urged the Centre to move beyond the management mindset in Jammu and Kashmir to initiate the actual resolution process that could close the chapter of pain, suffering and uncertainty in the state. Addressing an Indo-Pak Intra-Kashmir Conference in New Delhi, she said the Kashmir issue had been discussed enough at different forums. “Any more discussions which do not focus on the actual resolution are bound to be seen only as delaying tactics by the people of the state, who have suffered physical and psychological pain, economic deprivation and political disempowerment,” she said. “What more do we want to tell the world or educate ourselves through these conferences even as our people continue to suffer the denial of rights,” Mehbooba wondered. Mehbooba, according to a spokesman here, said that the Central Government had to make a real movement towards the resolution of the issue and also stop the repression that had created an unprecedented situation of desperation in Kashmir, especially among the youth. The PDP president said Jammu and Kashmir could be taken up as the starting point for the implementation of a SAARC vision that envisaged free trade and travel across the border. With its strategic position, it could become an epicentre of peace and a growth revolution in South and Central Asia, if the leadership of the country showed the required statesmanship, courage and boldness which would have to be complemented by Pakistan.
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Kashmir Issue
Jammu, February 14 Addressing the protesters, PDP leaders said keeping the sensitive issue on the back burner would prove disastrous as a solution to the problem was important for lasting peace and economic growth in South Asia. The PDP leaders said the party wanted a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue. Cautioning the government against adopting delaying tactics or taking cosmetic steps to resolve the issue, they said it was high time that it took bold initiatives for peace in the region. The PDP leaders said there was need to build an atmosphere of trust and confidence. The release of political prisoners and hundreds of innocent persons languishing in jails was a must to create an atmosphere conducive for establishing normalcy, they added. Those who addressed the PDP workers included former Rajya Sabha member Trilok Singh Bajwa, Balbir Singh, Ved Mahajan, Daman Bhasin, Fallail Singh, Rafiq Hussain Khan, Choudhary Zulfikar and others.
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State’s package inadequate
New Delhi, February 14 “As a matter of fact, no effective steps have been taken for the implementation of the scheme,” the All-India Kashmiri Samaj and other petitioners contended in a statement submitted to a Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia. The Bench, which included Justices KSP Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar, posted the petition for final hearing in July. On housing, the petitioners said there should not be any fixed limit. The government must ask its agencies like the PWD and the Housing Board to evaluate the money required for rebuilding the fully or partially damaged houses and the amount should be sanctioned and paid at one go. All cases where properties were sold after 1989 should be considered as distress sale and declared as null and void. At least Rs 10,000 should be paid per family as relief and this must be linked to inflation every year. It should cover all migrants, irrespective of the fact where they hailed from and whether they were pensioners or not. All loans of the migrants should be waived. The 3,000 posts created for them “are very less,” while the “draconian conditions” for such appointments should go. In its affidavit, the state government said it had “discovered that most of the families were not keen to return to the Valley” to avail of the package. Also, they “ have not been able to come up with any concrete proposal for returning to the Valley.Nor has any proposal emanated for the construction of houses” under group housing societies. Of the 3,000 posts created, selection had been made in respect of 1,800 and appointment orders issued to 1,592 candidates. Already, more than 700 candidates had joined in the Kashmir Valley. As many as 713 flats had been constructed for providing transit accommodation at Sheikhpora (200), Vessu (250), Hawal (65), Baramulla (130), Kupwara (50) and Mattan (18). About 420 flats had been completed and allotted. The Centre and the state had released Rs 30.84 crore of which Rs 20 crore had been spent. “Till date, no migrant family has returned possibly due to the disturbed conditions that prevailed in the state and also in the Valley in 2008 because of the Amar Nath land row. During the summer of 2010, the migrants who had already applied for return were yet to take a final decision,” the state government said. The state government “is keen and committed to ensure early return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants,” it assured the Supreme Court.
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Panchayat poll without 73rd Amendment futile: BJP
Jammu, February 14 Reiterating his party’s demand for the implementation of the 73rd and 74th Amendments before announcing the election schedule for panchayats and local bodies, state BJP president Shamsher Singh Manhas said today that the local bodies’ elections without implementing the amendments would be futile and the aim to empower people at the grass-roots level would not be fulfilled. “While our party activists will protest to build pressure on the government for the implementation of the Amendments, our MLAs will raise the issue in the Legislative Assembly,” he said Manhas had earlier announced to launch an agitation on the issue. “As part of the agitation, the BJP will first hold protests at all district headquarters on February 21,” he had said. As a coalition partner of the NC, the Congress had earlier declared that it would convince the government to incorporate the amendment, but the state Cabinet announced the panchayat elections without amending the existing Act.
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Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remains closed
Jammu, February 14 The highway was also blocked at Panthial in Ramban district, he said, and added all vehicles coming from Jammu were stopped at Nagrota, Udhampur, Chenani, Kud, Patnitop, Ramban and Banihal. He added: “Heavy machines and jawans of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are working to clear the landslides. Meanwhile, the Kishtwar-Padar road and the Doda-Batote road were also closed to traffic due to the landslides. The new track to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine also remained closed for the second day today. Rajiv Kumar, in-charge, Ardh Kuwari police post, said:“It seems it will take some days to reopen the track”. Srinagar:There was moderate to heavy snow in the Kashmir valley for the third consecutive day on Monday. Air traffic to and from Srinagar was suspended due to bad weather conditions.”No commercial flight operated from Srinagar today.Only, the state aircraft took off from Srinagar,” Amir Ali, coordinator, Disaster Management Cell, Kashmir, told The Tribune. “It has been snowing since late last night”, an official of the state MeT Department said. The city,including the surrounding mountains and the Zabarwan hills overlooking the Dal Lake, were also under a thick blanket of snow. Sources said the Pir Panchal range in south Kashmir also received four feet of snowfall,prompting the authorities to issue an avalanche warning. According to officials, there were reports of heavy snow in Kargil and Drass in the Ladakh region. “On the basis of inputs from the Snow Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), a high-danger avalanche warning has been sounded in the Anantnag, Banihal, Kishtwar, Pulwama, Gulmarg, Naugam, Baramulla, Uri, Kupwara, Tangdhar, Keran, Machal, Bandipora, Gurez, Gugaldara, Chowkibal, Sonamarg, Drass and Kargil areas,” Aamir Ali said.
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Shell explosion: Toll rises to three
Srinagar, February 14 The four-year-old girl, Muskan, who was among the five injured in the explosion, died at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) here, officials said. Her elder brother, Noor Mohammad (15), and sister Bisma (9), who were also injured, died last night. The police said the explosion took place in the house of Mohammad Maqbool Bhat around 8.30 pm yesterday. Two siblings, Noor and Bisma,who were seriously injured were taken to the hospital where they died. A police spokesman said Noor had brought the shell home and was fiddling with it when it exploded. A woman, Yasmeena, and two girls, Mumtaz and Muskan,were also injured. Meanwhile, the chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Geelani, has expressed shock over the deaths and blamed the police and the security forces for the incident. In a statement issued here, Geelani said the explosives had not been cleared from the area even four months after an encounter in Maloora village on October 2 last year in which three militants of the Jaish-e-Mohammad were killed by the security forces. He added that another boy had suffered splinter injuries in a similar incident in the village recently. Geelani said the police and the security forces were responsible for not clearing the area of explosives, which led to the deaths. Meanwhile,the government has decided to pay a relief of Rs 15 lakh to the bereaved family. Besides, employment will be provided to one of its members. The information was given by Mubarak Gul,Adviser to the Chief Minister, who visited the village today. He said the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, had been asked to identify a plot for the family. |
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Fake gun licence racket smashed
Jammu, February 14 Acting on a tip-off, a special naka was laid in the Janipur area and two persons identified as Rafiq Ahmed and Nasir Ahmed, both residents of Kotranka (Rajouri) were arrested with .12 bore guns and fake licences, the police said. On their disclosure, two more persons, identified as Chain Singh and Subash Chander, both residents of Rajouri, were arrested, the police added. Meanwhile, two gun houses, Suresh Armours and Singh Gun House, both on the Residency Road were sealed as they were allegedly involved in providing fake licences to their customers. “We have sent a police team to Rajouri to apprehend some absconders and to conduct a raid at a gun factory there,” said the SDPO, SD Singh Chauhan. Sources said the name of an SDM also figured during the interrogation. Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, Kuldeep Khajuria said, “I have ordered an inquiry against the SDM, Mendhar, Mukhtiar Chaudhary, to ascertain how he had issued or transferred the gun licences and whether those who got the licences were real beneficiaries or not.” |
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State plans anti-ragging law
Jammu, February 14 After last year’s incident of ragging at Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU), Rajouri,in which some students were injured and nine weresuspended, the govern-ment has decided to introduce a Bill in this regard in the forthcoming Budget session of the state
Assembly. Sources in the Civil Secretariat here said the Bill would be introduced once the Cabinet cleared it. “Once passed by the legislature, the anti-ragging Bill will help check the meance of ragging in educational institutions,” said a senior official of the Law Department. Most of the anti-ragging cells,set up by colleges and universities, are defunct.President Pratibha Patil had also asked state governments to consider the enactment of anti-ragging laws. GH Tantray, Secretary, Law Department, admitted that at present, there was no anti-ragging law in the state.He,however, refused to comment on the proposed Bill. |
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PHE staff strike declared illegal, ESMA invoked
Jammu, February 14 It may be recalled that a section of PHE employees had decided to observe a strike for 72 hours from February 15 to press for the implementation of their demands. According to an official spokesman, the government had already fulfilled most of the demands put forth by the PHE employee associations like the release of one-day additional salary and the payment of wages under the Minimum Wages Act at the rate of Rs 110 per day. All chief engineers had been directed to make payments on these parameters, he added. The Chief Minister had already agreed in principle to the demand for the release of the second instalment. The third and the final instalment shall also be sanctioned and released in due course of time, he added. The other demands put forth by the employees, the spokesman said, had been examined and found to have no substance. As such the government had declared the strike illegal and against the public interest. The government appealed to the PHE employees not to indulge in such activities. Meanwhile, the spokesman said the government had made all necessary arrangements to ensure uninterrupted supply of drinking water.
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Two Hizbul Mujahideen
militants arrested
Udhampur, February 14 Officials said the encounter took place in the Banj area during a search operation launched by the 58 RR, the state police and the Uniform Force. The security forces had received secret information that the militants were hiding in the area. The officials said the two were working on the directions of a self-styled district commander of the HM, Ghulam Qadir.Arms and ammunition were recovered from their possession. |
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Avalanche warning in Kashmir areas
Srinagar, February 14 “It has been snowing since late last night”, an official of the state MeT Department said. The city, including the surrounding mountains and the Zabarwan hills overlooking the Dal Lake, were also under a thick blanket of snow. Sources said the Pir Panchal range in south Kashmir also received four feet of snowfall, prompting the authorities to issue an avalanche warning. According to officials, there were reports of heavy snow in Kargil and Drass in the Ladakh region. “On the basis of inputs from the Snow Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), a high-danger avalanche warning has been sounded in the Anantnag, Banihal, Kishtwar, Pulwama, Gulmarg, Naugam, Baramulla, Uri, Kupwara, Tangdhar, Keran, Machal, Bandipora, Gurez, Gugaldara, Chowkibal, Sonamarg, Drass and Kargil areas,” Aamir
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Educational tour for students, teachers
Jammu, February 14 The students will visit Amritsar, Jalandhar and Chandigarh. — TNS |
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Abandoned girl restored to family
Jammu, February 14 The police said the girl’s grandfather, a native of Hiranagar in Kathua district, who approached it today after getting information that his granddaughter was in the hospital was handed over the custody of the girl. |
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Ailing girl commits suicide Jammu, February 14 Pooja Devi was taken to Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH) here this morning where she died, the Rajbagh police said. It added that after a post-mortem, the body was handed over to the bereaved family. “Pooja’s parents stated that she had been unwell for the last three years and depressed over her illness, she took the extreme step,” said investigating officer Dharam Pal. Meanwhile, the Rajbagh police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the
CrPC.
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Jammu, February 14
Srinagar, February 14
