Jammu, March 29
The Legislative Assembly was adjourned without any business here today, as legislators cutting across the party lines created pandemonium in the House and demanded action against a senior bureaucrat for allegedly humiliating the BJP legislator from Bani, Lal Chand. They later staged a walkout from the House.

The legislators belonging to both opposition and treasury benches vehemently demanded action against the bureaucrat. Although the Speaker of the House, Mohammad Akbar Lone, tried to pacify the agitating members, the legislators were adamant on their demand for action against the bureaucrat to “maintain” dignity and protocol of the institution of MLAs. As all his efforts to placate the legislators failed, the Speaker adjourned the House for the whole day.

As soon as the House assembled this morning, BJP legislator Lal Chand was on his toes and he narrated how Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education, RK Jerath “humiliated” him yesterday. “I had gone to meet the officer to discuss an issue related my constituency. Instead of listening to my grievance, the officer humiliated me despite I being a legislator. The officer told me to get out of his office,” Lal Chand said.

Within no time a majority of MLAs, irrespective for their party affiliations, joined the BJP legislator and termed the incident as a humiliation to the institution of MLAs. “This incident calls for strict action against the officer because the MLA did not go to him for some personal favour,” shouted PDP legislator Abdul Haq, who was supported by his party colleague Choudhary Zulfikar Ali.

Congress legislators Mohammad Sharief Niaz, GM Saroori and Vakar Rasool also supported the agitating BJP and PDP legislators and appealed to the Speaker to take cognisance of the incident and initiate strict action against the officer concerned. Meanwhile, National Conference legislators Nazir Gurezi and Mir Saifullah also joined the slogan-shouting opposition legislators. There was total chaos in the House for more than 10 minutes, as legislators shouted, “We want action”.

Amid din the Speaker announced that without listening to the views of the officer concerned he would not take any decision. “The said officer, according to my knowledge, is an upright man. How can I take action against him without listening to him?”, the Speaker argued. He added that, “Even natural justice demands that both parties should be listened to before giving any judgement”.

But legislators, who were on their feet demanding action against the officer, said, “Uprightness of the person does not allow him to misbehave with anyone,” shouted Mir Saifullah of the NC. The protest continued for over 20 minutes as all legislators, except ministers, were shouting slogans. Pandemonium broke out in the Assembly and later all MLAs staged a walkout from the House. As there was no quorum, the Speaker adjourned the Assembly for the day without conducting any business.

Later speaking to mediapersons outside the Assembly, legislators said the members of the Assembly had decided to boycott the proceedings of the House till action was taken against the erring officer.

Jammu, March 29
Tracing the root cause of the raw deal meted out to terrorism-affected people of the Jammu region to their disproportionate representation in the state Legislative Assembly and the Lok Sabha, Justice on Trial, an Ahmedabad-based Trust, today laid emphasis on the delimitation of Assembly constituencies without further delay to address their grievances. Justice on Trial is headed by former Judge of the Gujarat High Court and former Lok Ayukta of Gujarat SM Soni and former Governor of Himachal Pradesh and former Acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court VS Kokje.

Addressing mediapersons here today after submitting a copy of their report on Jammu migrants to Governor NN Vohra, Justice Soni said there was little awareness among the people in the rest of the country about the problems of terrorism-affected people of the Jammu region. “Hence, their problems do not get the attention of those who can solve them,” said Justice Soni. He added that Justice on Trial constituted two inquiry committees, which visited Rajouri, Poonch, Surankote, Mendhar, Reasi, Talwara, Banihal, Ukharal, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Gandoh, Bhaderwah and Belicharana in the past one year, interacted with the victims of militancy and local leaders.

“We met nearly 300 persons and came to know about several discrepancies in providing relief to the victims of militancy in the Jammu region,” said Justice Kokje. He observed that the state government had not done enough when it comes to compensation to the terrorism-hit people, who had to migrate from the Jammu region. “The processing of relief applications was utterly sluggish and the application for issuing a dependence certificate remains pending for years,” Justice Kokje said. He added that in the absence of a clear and unambiguous definition of “migrant” and “displaced persons” several deserving families were deprived of relief and rehabilitation.

He said terrorism-affected people of the Jammu region were not being treated on a par with the militancy-hit people of the Kashmir valley in terms of relief and rehabilitation.

Justice Kokje felt that members of village defence committees (VDC) and special police officers (SPOs), who played a significant role in containing militancy, should be treated on a par with policemen and jawans of the armed forces. They should be paid properly and regularly, he said.

Earlier, talking to The Tribune, Justice Kokje said the remedy to the ills plaguing the Jammu region and an end to discrimination against militancy-hit people of the region lay in the delimitation of Assembly constituencies. “But if the delimitation of Assembly constituencies cannot be done before 2026, the state government can at least give to the Jammu region the Assembly seats reserved in the state legislature for occupied Kashmir to strike a balance between Kashmir and Jammu regions,” Justice Kokje said.

An equitable and proper delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies was required for correcting the imbalance and giving the people of the Jammu region a real say in the affairs of the state, he added.

Despite the Jammu region being geographically bigger it has 37 Assembly seats as compared to 46 Assembly constituencies in the Kashmir region. Ladakh has three constituencies in the present Assembly, while there are two nominated women MLAs from Jammu.

Jammu, March 29
A high-level delegation under the aegis of an Ahmedabad-based Trust, Justice on Trial, led by the chairman of its inquiry committee and former Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Justice VS Kokje (retd), met state Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today.

Justice Kokje presented to the Governor the first copy of the report of the inquiry into the problems faced by militancy-affected people of the Jammu region. It contained the findings of the inquiry as well as recommendations for further action.

Interacting with the delegation, the Governor said he would apprise the Chief Minister about the recommendations contained in the inquiry report.

Jammu, March 29
Governor NN Vohra highlighted the importance of publicity organisations in generating greater awareness among the people about the development and welfare schemes launched by the Central and state governments for the socio-economic uplift of the masses.

The Governor was inaugurating a three-day Sangeet Sammelan organised by the Inter-Media Publicity Coordination Committee (IMPCC) at Abhinav Theatre here last evening.

The First Lady, Usha Vohra, Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir, MLA Syed Basharat Ahmad Bukhari, Senior Director, Doordarshan, Srinagar, Rafeeq Masoodi and Information Director Farooq Renzushah were among those present at the function.

The Governor said the Central and state governments had continually launched various schemes for promoting development and welfare of the people. To ensure that the public at large was aware of such development schemes, it was essential for the information and publicity organisations to pro-actively disseminate the requisite information about various schemes among the people, particularly those living in the remote and unconnected areas, he said.

The Governor stressed the need for paying attention to launching awareness campaigns in difficult areas like Marwah, Warwan, Paddar, Machil, Gurez, Tangdhar, Zanskar, Nubra and other far-flung and remote areas so that details about such schemes reach people, enabling them to derive optimal benefits.

He impressed upon Masoodi and Renzushah to lay the required emphasis on generating awareness about the salient aspects of the State Right to Information Act. He urged both of them to coordinate effectively to revive the field publicity units and song and drama groups, both of which were bound to get significant attention of the people.

In his welcome address, Dr Rafeeq Masoodi, dwelt on the aims, objectives and details of the Sangeet Sammelan. He said the IMPCC meetings were held in the state once a month to secure improved coordination among various Central and state government agencies.

Renzushah, speaking on the occasion, said the role of the information and publicity organisations of the Central and state governments were to project the government’s point of view and create awareness about various policies and programmes.

Kashmiri, Dogri, Ladakhi, Gojri, Pahari and Punjabi folk music and dance items were presented by the Doordarshan Kendras of Srinagar, Jammu and Leh as well as Radio Kashmir, Srinagar and Jammu.

The Department of Information and Public Relations, J&K Government, presented a ghazal. Another highlight of the function was a mixed language folk music and dance presentation titled “Fusion”, in which artistes from Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu regions performed.

Jammu, March 29
Lt-Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, GOC, 15 Corps, Kashmir, has asserted that China is playing mind games with India with regard to occupied Kashmir (PoK). “The interest shown by China in the PoK is nothing but mind games and such an exercise is a part of political, military and diplomatic posturing,” Lt-Gen Hasnain said on the concluding day of a two-day national seminar on “PoK, its Internal Dynamics and Externalities” organised by the Department of Strategic and Regional Studies (DSRS) of the University of Jammu.

Lt-Gen Hasnain, however, opined that India could live with such kind of a situation. “All we need to do is to develop our infrastructure and enhance the defence Budget,” he said.

Lt-Gen Hasnain ruled out any war with Pakistan or China saying, “Chinese will only posture a little bit, make a few bases along the LoC”. He, however, apprehended that China was working on a long-term strategy. “The Chinese interest lie in ensuring that their energy corridor is built on land and sea. The emergence of the US and Indian navies in the Indian Ocean could be one of the reasons for China to accord strategic importance to the PoK,” Lt-Gen Hasnain said.

He said the unexploited mineral potential lay in Afghanistan and its periphery and “China thinks that the PoK is in the middle of this belt”.

The 15 Corps Commander said, “We need to look at the PoK from the angle of future integration. The 1994 resolution of the Parliament is very clear that our ultimate aim remains in the integration of the whole of Jammu and Kashmir”.

Commenting on the present situation in Kashmir, Lt-Gen Hasnain said the infrastructure for infiltration and launching pads in the PoK remained intact. “With the rapid melting of snow this year, we have to, as usual, remain on guard, as nothing has changed in all these 22 years of insurgency,” he added.

Udhampur, March 29
As part of the review of the functioning of schools being run under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) in Udhampur district, the authorities decided to conduct a survey of child labour in the district.

In a review meeting chaired by District Development Commissioner (DDC) Baseer Ahmed Khan here today, the task of conducting the survey was entrusted upon a team of the National Youth Corps of the Nehru Yuva Kendra.

Baseer instructed the project director, NCLP, Udhampur, and the district coordinator, Nehru Yuva Kendra, to chalk out a comprehensive programme for the purpose. Another decision regarding organising a Bharat Darshan tour for students of various schools under the NCLP was also taken.

After a detailed discussion, decisions like filling posts of vocational master trainer, vocational instructors and providing uniform, bags and shoes to the students of the NCLP schools were also taken.

Ram Paul Choudhary, project director, NCLP, Udhampur; Anjana Tikku, project officer, ICDS; SK Gandotra, chief education officer; Dr Anil Amla, Chief Medical Officer; Dr VP Sharma, secretary, District Red Cross Society; Yash Pal, district social welfare officer, and various NGOs associated with the Udhampur chapter of the National Child Labour Project Society were also present in the meeting.

The DDC also issued instructions for regular inspections of the NCLP schools to check the quality of mid-day meals, attendance of students and other co-curricular activities being undertaken there.

Jammu, March 29
Even as a day is left for filing nomination papers for the elections to the six seats of the Legislative Council, the Congress and the National Conference (NC) have failed to arrive at a consensus on seat sharing.

For the last two days, hectic meetings between the leaders of two parties have been going on but consensus eluded them, as the NC is adamant on leaving only two seats for its coalition partner while the Congress wants three seats.

This evening, a meeting of leaders of the NC and the Congress remained inconclusive. The meeting, which started at 4 pm, lasted for three hours. It was attended by senior leaders of both parties. The Congress was represented by Health Minister Sham Lal Gupta, PCC spokesman Ravinder Sharma and Amrit Malhotra, while Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar represented the NC.

Sources said the leaders of both parties discussed all aspects but failed to arrive at a consensus. Ultimately, they decided to leave the decision regarding seat-sharing on the high commands of both parties. The leaders of both parties are aware that keeping in view the strength of their MLAs in the House, they can win only five seats.

Sources said a meeting between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Saifuddin Soz would be held late this evening to take a final decision on seat-sharing.

Although the coalition parties are yet to arrive at a consensus on seat-sharing, serious differences have cropped up in the Congress over the names of the candidates.

Loyalists of Soz have decided to oppose any move to give ticket to sitting legislator Abdul Gani Lone, who is a known detractor of Soz. Meanwhile, the BJP today released a list of candidates for the elections to the six seats of the Legislative Council despite the fact that it was not in a position to win even a single seat. For the Jammu province seat, it cleared the candidature of Ranjit Singh while the candidatures of Satish Sasan and Mohammed Maqbool were finalised for Poonch district and for Kashmir province seats.

Jammu, March 29
Leh town, which was devastated by flash floods in August last year and about 170 persons were killed and 230 went missing, still lacks a filtration plant for the main water supply.

While replying to a question by Congress legislator Narboo Gialchan, Minister of State for Public Health Engineering (PHE) Nasir Aslam Wani informed the Legislative Council that there was no water filtration plant for the town.

“The source of water being supplied to Leh is tubewells drilled through percussion up to the depth of 150 ft from the ground level and the quality of water is being checked regularly,” said Wani.

He added, “The water has been found safe for drinking purpose and there is nothing to worry about”.

However, dissatisfied with the minister’s reply, Narboo asked whether had the government any plan to provide a filtration plant to the people of Leh. Wani replied, “The provision has been made for the construction of a filtration plant in the re-construction of the damaged water supply scheme under the Re-construction of the Flood Affected Lift Water Supply Scheme for Leh town”.

He added, “The total scheme costs Rs 7.03 crore under the Prime Minister Natural Calamity Relief Funds and the filtration plant will also be included in it”. He assured the House that the water filtration plant would be installed within a short period.

Leh, March 29
Nine ice speed skaters from Leh will represent the country in the Asian Short Track Ice Speed Skating Trophy in Beijing, China, from April 1 to 3.

It is for the first time that the ice speed skaters from the region have been selected to represent the country in an international event. They were selected after they performed well in the National Ice Skating Championship in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and the Open Dhoon Ice Skating Championship in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, in January this year.

General secretary of the Ladakh Winter Sports Club Mohammad Bashir said, “Three ice speed skaters, including two women skaters, will represent the country in the senior category while the other six have been selected to participate in the junior category”.