Jammu, March 4
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh kept his promise with Kashmiri Pandit migrants when he inaugurated a satellite township at Jagti, near Nagrota, today and handed over allotment letters of two-room tenements to 12 migrant families, three each from the migrant camps at Muthi, Purkhoo, Nagrota and Mishriwala.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister said the Centre was trying its best to restore normalcy in Kashmir. “I had promised the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandit migrants during my first visit and I believe I have fulfilled the promise,” he said. He added that “I hope the Kashmiri Pandit migrants, who are living like refugees in their own country, will happily go back to their homes when peace is restored in Kashmir.”

The Prime Minister congratulated the state government for the completion of the project in the stipulated time. “Nearly, 2,100 tenements are ready for allotment while another set of 2,100 tenements will be ready by April-end,” he said.

During his visit to the migrant camps in 2004, Manmohan Singh had sanctioned a project for the construction of 5,242 two-room tenements for the migrants, who were living in one-room tenements without kitchen and bathroom facilities. At least 1,024 such flats at Muthi, Purkhoo and Nagrota have already been allotted to the migrants since 2008.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah said, “Even if they (migrants) get places outside Kashmir, the Kashmiri Pandits will like to go back to their homes in Kashmir with improvement in the situation.” He added that the Centre was making necessary efforts in this regard.

“Only we people know how our families have lived in one-room tenements for more than 20 years after displacement. But it’s never too late. We are thankful to the Prime Minister and hope that the government will keep on taking such welfare measures in future as well,” said Ravinder Kumar Raina, who received a letter of allotment from the Prime Minister.

A widow, Babli, who had lost her husband in a bomb blast, was also among those who received allotment letters. “I will never go back to Kashmir in my life. What I have lost there can never be compensated. Still it is a big relief that I have got a dignified shelter for me and my 11-year-old daughter finally,” she said.

Others who received the allotment letters were Susheel Raina, Vinod Kumar, Makhan Lal Handoo, Onkar Nath, Bharat Bhushan, Bihari Lal, Bansi Lal, Dwarika Nath, Triloki Nath and Jagan Nath.

The Prime Minister also released a booklet of the Relief and Rehabilitation Organisation of the state government. “This is rehabilitation. Resettlement is yet to come. We will continue our struggle to achieve the final settlement for which the migrants aspire for,” Panun Kashmir president Ashwini Kumar Chrungoo said.

Meanwhile, the All Migrant Camps Coordination Committee presented a memorandum of demands to the Prime Minister.

Prominent among others who attended the function were Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Member of Parliament Lal Singh, Governor NN Vohra, PCC president Saifuddin Soz, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Raman Bhalla and Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed. 

Jammu, March 4
Delegations of various political and social groups called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here today and highlighted their problems.

A delegation of the PDP led by its president, Mehbooba Mufti,which called on the Prime Minister,urged him to intervene in stopping repression in the state and restoring civil liberties.

According to a press note issued by the party, Mehbooba urged the Prime Minister that unless a congenial atmosphere was created in the state, initiatives like an internal dialogue or the resumption of the Indo-Pak talks would not yield any results. “You will have to address the concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and ensure their democratic rights for the realisation of your dream of resolving the Kashmir issue, ” she told the Prime Minister.

She said the PDP and other parties, including the Hurriyat Conference, were demanding the release of prisoners, the revocation of AFSPA and the Disturbed Areas Act.

A delegation of the Bar Association of Jammu, led by its president, B.S Slathia, also met the Prime Minister and highlighted various issues.

Besides highlighting issues related to the judiciary, the delegation also demanded that the feeling of discrimination among the people in Jammu and Ladakh should be removed.

A delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (National) under the leadership of Gurdev Singh met the Prime Minister and highlighted the plight of displaced families of PoK.

A delegation of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry headed by Vikram Kuthiala also met the Prime Minister and presented him a memorandum highlighting the issues related to infrastructure development, employment, education, tourism and industry.

Jammu, March 4
To increase road connectivity in the hill areas of the erstwhile Doda district, Thathri and Assar areas have been put under the jurisdiction of the Roads and Buildings (R&B) division, Doda. This decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Minister of State for Roads and Buildings Javed Ahmad Dar today.

MLA, Kishtwar, Khalid Najib Sohrwardi; MLA, Doda, Abdul Majid Wani; MLA, Ramban, Ashok Kumar Sharma; Principal Secretary, R&B, KB Agarwal; Deputy Commissioners of Doda and Kishtwar districts, besides Chief Engineer, R&B, Jammu, Biptilal Sharma were present on the occasion.

Javed said the decision would go a long way in ensuring the timely completion of the projects taken up in the areas. “Road communication is imperative for development,” said the minister and directed the engineers of the R&B Department to speed up work on all projects coming up in the division.

He added that all unconnected areas needed to be connected through a road network and instructed the Chief Engineer to come up with new projects for submission to the Centre for funding.

The minister said public representatives had an important role in the development of the state and asked the MLAs present to monitor the projects under execution in their areas. He asked the R&B Department officers to formulate development plans in
consultation with local MLAs to ensure equitable development. “There will be no compromise on the quality of work,” he said and warned that erring officials and the executing agency would be taken to task.

Udhampur, March 4
The district unit of the Youth Congress, Kishtwar, has demanded compensation for families of the victims of the recent landslide in the Seergwari area of Kishtwar. A school student was killed and several others were injured in the landslide. Besides, about 16 houses were damaged.

Youth Congress leader Sheikh Nasir Hussain urged the state government to give compensation as well as order an inquiry to find out whether the landslide could have been prevented. He sought an inquiry as the area residents had for long been demanding a change in the alignment of the Shivnagar-Srawan road as the present alignment jeopardised the nearby village.

However, the Youth Congress leader alleged that the authorities concerned failed to take action despite repeated requests by the villagers. The incident confirmed the apprehensions of the villagers about the impending danger. In the incident, two houses were completely damaged while 14 others suffered partial damage. Hussain demanded that those responsible for the incident should be taken to task. Next of kin of the deceased, who was a Class XI student, should be given adequate compensation. The injured should be given free treatment and compensation as well.

Hussain also demanded that immediate steps should be taken for the rehabilitation of the displaced families and compensation should be provided to those whose property and land were washed away in the landslide.

Srinagar,March 4
With snow continuing on the higher reaches of the Kashmir valley, the authorities today issued an avalanche warning for several areas close to the LoC.“An avalanche warning exists for the Chowkibal, Tangdhar, Potkha, Gogaldara, Uri, Bandipora and Gurez areas in the Kashmir valley," an official of the Natural Disaster Management Cell said here. He said a similar warning had been issued for the Kargil, Batalik and Drass sectors in the Ladakh region.

A medium danger avalanche warning was also issued for the Gulmarg, Keran, Machil, Gagangir, Sonamarg, Zojilla, and Gumri areas.

People living in the areas had been advised to avoid movement during the snow and not venture close to steep slopes.

Meanwhile, moderate to heavy snow continued to lash various parts of the Kashmir valley since yesterday.

Srinagar and its adjoining areas had snow and rain.

“Since last night, the Kashmir valley, had moderate to heavy snow, followed by rain, bringing down the minimum temperature, ” said an official of the state MeT Department.

As per the official, the minimum temperature in Srinagar was 0.8°C.

The official said about 34 mm of rainfall was recorded in Gulmarg this morning. The upper reaches, including Afarwat and Khilanmarg, had more than two feet of snowfall.

“It was snowing in Pahalgam, the base camp of the holy Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir, ” said the official. The coordinator of the Disaster Management Cell, Kashmir, Amir Ali said: “There are no disturbances over Jammu and Kashmir and there was no forecast of rain or snow in the coming days”.

Meanwhile, a fresh spell of snow disrupted normal life and revived the cold wave in the Ladakh region. Icy winds were blowing throughout the day and the weather remained mostly cloudy. The minimum temperature recorded in Leh this morning was -3.4° C.

Due to the snow, all the five daily scheduled flights from Delhi to Leh, were cancelled for the second consecutive day today. 

Jammu, March 4
Congress leaders of the state today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take people of all three regions into confidence while finding a solution to the Kashmir problem.Leaders of the warring factions of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) met the Prime Minister to highlight the problems of the people.

The 15-member delegation was led by veteran Congress leader Mangat Ram Sharma, while the two Lok Sabha members of the party from the state were also present.

The delegation said that leaders of the Jammu and Ladakh regions being 
equal stakeholders in the Kashmir issue should also be taken into confidence while preparing a formula for the resolution of the issue.

The party leaders especially mentioned the plan formulated by the Rangrajan Committee to enhance the job prospects of 1 lakh Kashmir youths and demanded that it should not be confined to the Valley. “The Prime Minister assured us that the employment plan was not confined to the Valley. It was for the unemployed youth of the state,” Ravinder Sharma, spokesman for the PCC, who was part of the delegation, told The Tribune. He added that Dr Manmohan Singh also assured them that a consensus would be evolved while finding a solution to the Kashmir problem. Thanking the Prime Minister for the liberal financial support for the overall development of the state, besides the constitution of task forces for Jammu and Ladakh to speed up developmental projects, the delegation urged him to ensure an equitable development of the three regions while maintaining the unity and integrity of the state. It stressed the need for devolving and decentralising adequate powers to the regions.

The delegation also discussed with the Prime Minister the issues of PoK refugees of 1947, 1965 and 1971 and those from West Pakistan. It also demanded the settlement of their issues and genuine demands. The delegation also stressed the need to boost the production of basmati and rajmah on the pattern of the saffron production.

Interestingly, the leaders of the warring party factions met the Prime Minister together. 

Udhampur, March 4
A symposium-cum-exhibition titled, North Tech-2011, was organised under the aegis of the Northern Command at Udhampur today by the Northern Command Eagles.Lt-Gen KT Parnaik, GOC-in-C, Northern Command, inaugurated it.

Its purpose was to provide users, maintenance agencies and the civil strata an opportunity to exhibit their innovations and technical products on a common platform. In his address, the GOC-in-C, Northern Command, emphasised on all the personnel to have mental mobility, spirit of innovation and out-of-the box thinking to effectively combine these with operational concepts for a proportional increase in the combat potential and military effectiveness.

The event showcased innovations in a finished and ruggedised form ready for production and introduction along with various safety and security technologies that could enhance the effectiveness of weapon systems and the soldiers. Civil vendors also exhibited a large array of modern tools, test and diagnostic equipments that would help the maintenance agencies in reducing the time for diagnosis and repair while improving the quality of repairs.

Jammu, March 4
The proprietor of an flour mill was crushed to death in a grinder at his shop at Pappad village in Samba district today.

The police said the deceased, Punnu Ram, was working at his shop in the afternoon when he suddenly got entangled in the grinder. He was taken to hospital, where the doctors declared him brought dead. — TNS