New Delhi, February 21
After his name cropped up during the ongoing probe into a hawala racket, separatist Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been told not to leave the National Capital so that he could be questioned by the Delhi police in the case. Some of the hawala money may have been used to fuel the last summer’s unrest in the Kashmir valley, including stone-throwing by protesters, it is suspected.

Sources in the government said the hardline Hurriyat leader had been asked to indicate a “convenient” date and time when he could meet the officer investigating the case of hawala transactions in which a close aide of his was arrested in December last year. Geelani was slated to leave for Srinagar tomorrow and had cited ill-health to seek exemption from the probe. However, his request was declined and he was asked to record his statement before the investigating officer and then go to Srinagar. “We have the evidence to confront him,” said a senior officer while dispelling doubts that the Hurriyat leader was being questioned for his alleged seditious speech at a seminar here a few months ago. Geelani is here for a routine medical check-up and is putting up in his home in Malviya Nagar in South Delhi.

A close aide of Geelani, GM Bhat, was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police in December last year in connection with some hawala transactions. During interrogation Bhat revealed that he had delivered nearly Rs 2 crore to Geelani during the unrest in the Valley last summer. When incidents of stone throwing were at their peak, intelligence agencies had found the money trail leading to a person based in Spain and Italy. The sources said Geelani would surely have to explain why he got the money and what he did with it.

They confirmed that a letter had been sent to Geelani telling not to leave the National Capital and explain things to the probing officer with regard to the hawala case. Bhat was earlier arrested in 2008 in Udhampur district while he was returning to the Valley with alleged Rs 55 lakh of hawala money concealed in a gas cylinder. Two other persons, one from Kupwara and another from Sopore, were also arrested in connection with the case. More arrests were likely after Bhat’s interrogation, the sources said.

Meanwhile, news agency PTI quoted a spokesman for the Geelani’s faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Ayaz Akbar, as saying “if Geelani was being implicated in the hawala case, it was an attempt to defame the movement in Kashmir”. He said the separatist conglomerate did not need hawala money, as it was getting enough funds from people. “We have baitulmaal (Islamic institutions for collecting money) to take care of the money for carrying forward the movement,” he added.

Gulmarg, February 21
To attract tourists to the famous ski resort of Gulmarg, the Department of Tourism today inaugurated a two-day-long snow festival here in which a large number of domestic and foreign tourists participated.

“The aim of the festival is to attract domestic and foreign tourists to Gulmarg. Every year, we have been organising this festival and this year,too, after Gulmarg witnessed had a good snowfall, we inaugurated the festival,” said an official of the state Tourism Department.

The major attraction of the festival is an artificial ice lake that has been created in the midst of Gulmarg.

“In the lake, events like ice hockey, ice rugby, ice skating will be held,” said the official.

He said a large number of tourists had registered to take part in the snow festival.

“We expect this snow festival to be a hit,” said Gulzar Ahmed, a hotel owner in Gulmarg. He said ever since the Department of Tourism decided to hold a snow festival in Gulmarg, the number of tourists had increased.

“For the past few years, the snow festival has become an added attraction for the tourists. Most of the rooms in the hotels are booked for this event only,” Gulzar said.

“I have been to the Alps, but the mountains there are no match to those in Gulmarg. This place is a paradise for snow skiers.So,I have been coming here for the past 10 years,” said Andrew, a tour operator from the USA.

He said he had come here with a group of 15 people who would stay in Gulmarg for 10 days.

Last month, the Department of Tourism had organised a snow festival at Pahalgam and had prepared a plan to create the basic infrastructure at newly identified tourist spots like Yusmarg, the Bangus Valley, Sonamarg and Dodhpathri.

Jammu, February 21
Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Minister Qamoor Ali Akhoon today admitted to the pilferage of the ration meant for the poor in the state.“I can’t change the system with one stroke, but we have initiated steps to plug the pilferage of the ration meant for government-run depots”, Akhoon told The Tribune.

“As there is a mill owner-transporter nexus to steal the ration meant for BPL families, the CAPD Department has decided to take the services of the State Road Transport Corporation, instead of private companies, for transporting the ration.This has been done to ensure the supply of the ration at the prescribed destinations”, Akhoon, who also holds the Transport portfolio, said.

Earlier, the authorities had failed to locate a number of trucks which were loaded in Jammu for transporting the ration to the remote areas but “ went missing midway”.

“ The recent stealing of the government ration at Kathua was the result of a nexus between private transporters and officials”, the minister said. The department had also decided to assign the job of grinding wheat to mill owners.

According to official data, 144 private trucks carrying foodgrains from stores in the Jammu region went “missing”. It was alleged that the foodgrains were sold midway as most of the “missing” trucks had fake registration numbers. 

Jammu, February 21
A large number of government employees, who were taking out a protest rally here today, were detained by the police for violating prohibitory orders issued by the district administration under Section 144 of the CrPC.

The employees, protesting under the banner of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), were demanding the payment of arrears of the Sixth Pay Commission, the redress of pay anomalies and the regularisation of the services of daily wage and contractual employees.

The rally started from the Eidgah and when the protesters reached the Residency road to ‘gherao’ the Civil Secretariat, the police resorted to a mild cane-charge and detained them. The protesters, led by Abdul Qayoom Wani, a senior JCC leader, raised anti-government slogans and clashed with the police.

A senior police officer said the agitating employees were taken to the District Police Lines (DPL) and were released in the evening.

Meanwhile, a number of unions have extended support to the agitating employees and condemned the police action.

Srinagar: Nearly 5,000 government employees held protests and took out a procession in support of their demands, including the payment of arrears as per the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations, here today. The protests were also held in the Ladakh region and Jammu division as part of the statewide protest programme of the employees.

The employees held demonstrations on the premises of the Directorate of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) here this morning and later held a procession, which culminated at the office of the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asgar Samoon. They held a sit-in and later a delegation had a meeting with Samoon and submitted a memorandum to him. The Divisional Commissioner, according to a member of the delegation, assured the members of the Employees Joint Action Committee, which is spearheading the agitation, that the matter would be brought to the notice of the Chief Minister.

A meeting of the state-level Joint Action Committee of the employees would be held in Jammu on Friday and the future course of action would be decided there, Farooq Ahmad Trali, chief spokesman for the employees’ union, said.

The state government employees have been demanding the payment of arrears as per the Sixth Pay Commission’s report, a hike in the retirement age from 58 to 60 years and the regularisation of the services of contractual employees.

Jammu, February 21
The government is planning to develop 28 playgrounds at the block level and 821 at the village level in the second phase to upgrade the sports infrastructure at the grass-roots level.

Minister for Medical Education, Youth Services and Sports RS Chib said this while presiding over a review meeting of the Department of Youth Services and Sports and the State Sports Council here today. He said Rs 96 lakh had been released under the state’s share for the purpose this year.

The minister also held a discussion on the implementation of the centrally-sponsored Panchayat Yuva Khel aur Krida Abhiyan.

He asked the district officers to speed up the execution of works undertaken in their respective districts under the scheme.

He added that the funds earmarked for the works under the state and district plans needed to be utilised by the end of this fiscal year.

He also directed them to consult the local MLAs while selecting playgrounds for development under the scheme.

Taking a serious note of poor response by the Rural Development Department to developing playgrounds under the Central scheme, Chib directed the officers concerned to document all youth related activities organised during the current year.

In phase I, 413 playgrounds had been developed at the panchayat level and 14 at the block level at a cost of Rs 4.21 crore, he said.

Among others, Commissioner/Secretary, Youth Services and Sports BA Runiyal, Director General, Youth Services and Sports, SA Leharwal, besides Deputy Directors and district officers attended the meeting.

Jammu, February 21
A delegation of the State Youth Congress met Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhavan here today.

The delegation, led by the senior vice-president of the State Youth Congress, RS Pathania, presented to the Governor various demands which included the rationalisation of the existing Assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the state, the creation of infrastructure at various tourist spots across Jammu division, better traffic management, the adoption of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment to adequately strengthen Panchayati Raj institutions and the provision of rent for agricultural land, covered by border fencing in the Pargwal area of Jammu.

Other demands included making operational the State Information Commission, the State Vigilance Commission and the State Accountability Commission, streamlining the procedure for bank loans for self-employment ventures, coaching facilities for boys and girls for appearing in various competitive examinations at the national level and early establishment of Jammu Central 
University.

Meanwhile, a deputation of the welfare committee, Durga Nagar, Jammu, also called on the Governor today and presented a memorandum containing its demands.

The demands included financial assistance for the completion of an under-construction community hall, the setting up of a dispensary, land for the construction of a higher secondary school in the Durga Nagar locality, accommodation for the non-camp migrants who had meager incomes, the construction of a park and the enhancement of cash relief provided to the migrants.

The Governor said he would take up the demands with the state government. 

Jammu, February 21
In support of its demand for incorporating the 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Indian Constitution in the J&K Panchayati Raj Act and the J&K Local Bodies Act, the BJP today organised protests at all district headquarters in the state.

The party has been demanding that these amendments should be incorporated in the existing Acts of the state before holding the panchayat and local bodies elections.

The protest at Jammu was held in front of the exhibition ground.

Addressing the gathering, the president of the state unit of the party Shamsher Singh Manhas

said the coalition regime and other successive governments were not interested in empowering the democratic institutions at the grass-roots level. He observed that conducting the panchayat and local bodies elections without incorporating the 73rd and 74th amendments would be futile.

The leader of the BJP Legislature Party, Chaman Lal Gupta, in his

address, said the three-tier democracy was the only way to address the problems at the grassroots.

The BJP’s national executive committee member, Dr Nirmal Singh, lambasted the Congress for not taking a stand on the issue. Jammu East MLA Ashok Khajuria, former Mayor Kavinder Gupta, district president Rajesh Gupta and others addressed the gathering.

Jammu, February 21
Rejecting an objection raised by the Pakistan Rangers, the BSF today said that for better border management, it would continue to install floodlights along the realigned fence on the international border in the Abdulian border outpost in the RS Pura sector.

“They (Pakistan Rangers) made a query yesterday.We told them that we were not carrying out any defence-related activity and just laying underground cables for the purpose of installing floodlights along the realigned fence,” a senior BSF official told The Tribune.

A flag meeting was held at the Bhanot Tekri Post between the officials of the Pakistan Rangers and the BSF and the issue was resolved.

“After realigning the fence in the RS Pura sector, we are now installing floodlights there and the work has not been stopped ”, said the official.“Pakistan recently constructed a double-storeyed bunker near the Suragpur post opposite the Abdulian border outpost in its territory, but we never raised any objection,” said the BSF official.

The BSF has been installing floodlights along the 202-km-long international border to effectively check intrusion bids by militants.

Farmers in the forward areas of Kathua, Samba, Bishnah and RS Pura, who have to go to their fields on other side of the fence, face a number of restrictions imposed by the BSF like fixed timings.

Jammu, February 21
The Centre’s interlocutors, Dileep Padgaonkar, MM Ansari and Prof Radha Kumar, who arrived here today on a three-day visit, interacted with individuals and representatives of political and social groups.

A delegation of the Sawajwadi Party (SP) handed over a memorandum to the interlocutors. Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Higher Education, Tanvir Jehan met Prof Radha Kumar and apprised her of the condition of education in the state.

The interlocutors held discussions with Prof Hari Om, an eminent scholar and historian. In a memorandum to them, the scholar took exception to some of their statements. “I would like to say that there is no problem of Jammu and Kashmir. There is a problem in Kashmir only. The problem is neither constitutional nor political. It is basically a problem of uncontested communalism of the leadership of Kashmiri Muslims. So far, the Government of India has tried to address it by incremental surrenders or by creating a process of circumventing it”, Prof Hari Om stated.

Earlier, the interlocutors called on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and apprised him of the progress of their talks and interactions with different shades of opinion in the state.