Srinagar, June 22
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today expressed hope that the Kashmir issue would figure in the foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan tomorrow.

“I am heartened that the dialogue between India and Pakistan is continuing. We hope that Kashmir does find a mention during the talks as part of the comprehensive dialogue and not as one-off,” Omar told reporters at the sprawling lawns of the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) amid a breeze of fountain waters of Dal Lake here.

He said he did not expect a solution to the Kashmir issue to emerge from tomorrow’s meeting but expressed hope that the engagement with Pakistan would continue.
There were apprehensions that the peace talks could be derailed in the wake of the killing of Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and revelations made by Lashkar-e-Toiba operative David Headley during the trial of the Mumbai attack co-accused Tahawwur Rana, the Chief Minister said.

Omar, however, said the day was not far when a solution to the Kashmir issue would be found. “If we continue the political dialogue with Pakistan (on Kashmir), the day is not far that we will be able to resolve the issue,” he said.

The Chief Minister said, “Election is not the solution to the Kashmir issue. It (Kashmir issue) cannot be resolved through the panchayat poll and I am the first one to admit that the Kashmir problem should be addressed politically.”

Expressing satisfaction over the prevailing situation in the state in spite of some recent developments having taken place across the border, Omar said there was no room for complacency on the security front.

He said no excuses would be accepted in case of the overall security. “Everyday is a challenge for us,” he said hours after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram ended his two-day visit to the state and returned to New Delhi. 

Replying to a question on the final report of the three-member team of interlocutors led by Dileep Padgaonkar, Omar hoped the report would be submitted at the earliest. The interlocutors are supposed to submit their report in October. Though the separatists had stayed away from meeting the interlocutors, one member of the moderate APHC, Moulana Abbas Ansari, did meet them. “We are hoping that some of them (separatists) meet the interlocutors?,” Omar said, adding that there was no issue as the separatists had met the Kashmir Committee led by Ram Jethmalani.

On the rotation of chief ministership, Omar refuted the reports that the Congress was insisting on taking over the post. He added that the NC and the Congress had “strong relations”. “This is the smoothest coalition going on in the state,” he said and held that both parties were equally “promoting good governance”.

The Chief Minister hailed the people and the candidates for their “overwhelming participation” in the just-concluded panchayat elections. He said all security arrangements were in place for the smooth conduct of the Amarnath yatra, which begins on June 29.

“We are prepared and we have reviewed the security arrangements with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram during his visit to Kashmir,” he said. The Chief Minister said he had discussed all related issues with the Union Home Minister during the meetings held at the SKICC, Srinagar, and at Pahalgam yesterday. 

Replying to a question on the reports about threat to security during the yatra, the Chief Minister said there were no such reports. “We will have to be prepared for any eventuality and we are,” he added. 

Jammu, June 22
The state-owned BSNL today announced the launch of cellphone services for the Amarnath yatra, which will enable pilgrims to stay in touch with their families.

“A total of eight Base Transceiver Station (BTS) towers have been installed on the twin tracks of Pahalgam, Baltal and the cave shrine area for the purpose of providing mobile phone services to the devotees,” GM, Mobile, BSNL, KK Thakur told The Tribune.

One BTS tower had been installed in the shrine area while three towers had been set up on the Baltal route and four on the Pahalgam route, added Thakur.

He said the mobile phone services would be made available to post-paid subscribers, who come on the pilgrimage from other states. The facility for the pilgrims would also be available to both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers from within the state. The services would be available to BSNL and MTNL subscribers, he added.

“Round-the-clock services will be provided to the devotees till the yatra concludes on August 15,” said Thakur. He added that connectivity would not be a problem for the pilgrims.

“In fact, the services were launched some three or four days ago,” Thakur said.

Every year, around three to four lakh pilgrims visit the Amarnath cave shrine nestled in the south Kashmir Himalayas, at a height of 14,500 ft. This year, over 2.25 lakh pilgrims have already registered themselves for the yatra.

“This gesture of BSNL will definitely help devotees to stay connected with their loved ones back home,” said Dinkar Sharma, a resident of Jammu. “Being an arduous pilgrimage, where weather is unpredictable, this facility will certainly play a vital role in keeping me connected with my family. My family will also be able to know about my wellbeing,” he added.

“Young and old, men and women and even the physically challenged people undertake the yatra every year. By announcing the launch of mobile phone services, BSNL has done a remarkable job,” said Sakshi, a bank employee at Bishnah.

Jammu, June 22
With the declaration of the results of the first-ever Jammu University Entrance Test (JUET), the admission process to various courses of the University of Jammu began today.The university had conducted the entrance test for all 42 courses from May 26 to June 7, in which 11,000 candidates had appeared. The test was conducted for the first time to streamline the admission system and make it transparent.

Buoyed over the success of the entrance test, Assistant Registrar (Academics), University of Jammu, KPS Sambyal said, “Though we had promised to declare the results within 10 days, these were declared online successfully after 14 days today. We have not even received a single objection as yet.”

He said 22,000 applications were received for different courses and nearly 11,000 candidates took the entrance exam (some students had applied for two or more courses), while 8,600 of them cleared the test. For the general category candidates, the minimum pass marks were 21 and for the candidates belonging to the SC/ST category or Leh district the pass marks were 17.

After declaring the results, the university authorities also announced the admission schedule for the academic session 2011-12.

“The classes will start from July 18 and the candidates have been told to submit their admission forms in the respective departments along with the detailed mark sheets of graduation and the marks secured in the entrance test till July 6 without late fee and till July 9 with late fee of Rs 60,” said Sambyal. He added that the admission forms were available on the university website, www.jammuuniversity.in.

He added that, “No fees is being charged for the admission forms, as the authorities have already collected its charges during the entrance test. The norms of the University Grants Commission (UGC) will be followed in giving admissions on merit.”

Now, every department would make its own merit list on the basis of marks obtained by the candidates in the entrance test and graduation. “For deciding the final merit of a candidate, a 70-marks weightage will be given to the entrance test results and 30-marks weightage to results in the graduation,” added Sambyal.

In case of any problem regarding the test results, students can file objections with the Assistant Registrar (Academics). 

Jammu, June 22
Even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has left for Shimla and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh to record the statements of two classmates of Anjana Sihag, who was allegedly raped by an Army jawan, the Samba police has started looking for a distant cousin of the victim, who lived in the Bari-Brahmana area in a rented accommodation.

Anjana, a second year student of Dogra College, who hailed from Rajasthan, was allegedly raped and she later committed suicide in her hostel room on September 20, 2007.

“The SIT team will also go to Rajasthan to record the statements of the victim’s family. Meanwhile, we are looking for a distant cousin of the victim, who lived in a rented accommodation in the Bari-Brahmana area,” SSP, Samba, Israr Khan told The Tribune. “We want to know if the girl had an affair with the Army jawan or she had been meeting someone else also,” said the officer.

About the accused Army jawan, Abdul Gaffar, who has been brought from the Southern Command to the Army’s station headquarters at Bari-Brahmana, the SSP said the accused was being questioned at Bari-Brahmana police station every morning and later handed over to the Army authorities in the evening.

“He is in the Army custody. We have not arrested him yet, but we are questioning him,” said Khan.

Till October 2010 the accused Army jawan, Lance Naik Abdul Gaffar, had served in the Medical Corps with the Northern Command before being transferred and posted at the 158 Medical Regiment with the Southern Command.

Sources said the case saw some progress only after the GOC, Northern Command, Lt-Gen KT Parnaik, took cognisance of the incident and approached his counterpart in the Southern Command.

Jammu, June 22
The United Nations (UN) has invited a Jammu advocate Rohit Kapoor to a four-day summit of economists, educationists, administrators, manufacturers, researchers, non-governmental organisations and individuals from the public and private sectors to London for assessing the worst global economic downturn since the “Great Depression”.

The aim of the summit is to identify the emergency and long-term responses to mitigate the impact of the crisis and initiate a dialogue on the transformation of the international financial architecture, taking into account the needs and concerns of all countries.

The summit, which would be held in July, was mandated at the follow-up international conference on “Financing for Development” held in New York in June, 2009.

The UN member states requested the General Assembly to organise the meeting at the highest level. The UN has asked interested participants, scholars, financial experts, policymakers and other practitioners to present papers.

Jammu, June 22
The duty magistrate, Jammu, Sandeep Gandotra, yesterday extended the police remand of Rajinder Singh, alias Raju Simblia, by five days on a prayer by the SHO, Bahu Fort, Jammu, seeking the custody of the accused for 10 days more. Rajinder Singh is an accused in the murder case of cement tycoon RB Chopra, his wife, daughter, a driver and a servant.

While granting the police custody of Simblia, the court observed that, “In view of the gravity of the alleged offences and also that the investigation in the case is at its initial stage, the prayer of the police is accepted. The accused is remanded to police custody for five more days till June 25, when he shall be produced before the court of law”.

The court also directed the SHO, Bahu Fort, to get the accused medically examined every 24 hours and in case he required any specialised medical treatment, the SHO concerned should ensure the same.

Simblia, when produced in the court for recording his statement under Section 164-A of the CrPC, had disclosed that he was present at the house of the former NC MLC, Tirlochan Singh, alias, Tallo, where the conspiracy to eliminate Chopras was hatched. Simblia was arrested on June 18. 

Jammu, June 22
Bhim Singh, chairman of the Panthers Party, has constituted a Reorganisation Implementation Committee.

The committee has been entrusted the task of launching a vigorous campaign throughout the state to create awareness about the positive effects of the reorganisation of the state on the social, political and economic conditions of the people.

Bansi Lal Sharma has been appointed as president of the committee while other members of the committee are Daljit Singh, Anita Thakur, PK Ganjoo, Iqbal Chaudhary, Rafiq Shah, MLC Farooq Ahmed Dar, Pushvinder Singh, Vilakshan Singh, Sunil Sharma and Hari Singh. 

During the 45-minute meeting, the Governor suggested to Matussek that among many other sectors of economic activity, entrepreneurs from Germany may assist in agro-fruit processing, canning and packaging enterprises would be beneficial for fruit growers in Kashmir, an official spokesman said. — TNS

Jammu, June 22
The state Forest Department has decided to detain travellers, who are found feeding monkeys along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (1-A).Though it has failed to control the increasing population of monkeys, the Forest Department has now decided to detain for two to 24 hours people caught feeding monkeys.

Monkey menace in the state has assumed such a proportion that in some places residents have migrated from villages and have also left farming, as monkeys have been destroying their crops.

Confirming this development, the Chief Forest Conservator (Wildlife) of the Jammu division, Upinder Pachnanda, said, “Soon, those who are found feeding monkeys along the national highway will be detained in their own vehicles, as it is a crime to feed monkeys. The department is taking this step after taking cognisance of the problems being faced by the villagers”.

He added that it was just a step to make every violator realise that he had broken a law. “Though we have installed boards at several places asking travellers not to feed monkeys, people are in no mood to leave this practice. After detaining a traveller for a maximum of 24 hours, we will hand him or her to the police,” said Pachnanda. He added that their aim was to solve the problem and not to harass travellers.

About the department’s failure in controlling the menace, he cited the shortage of manpower and lack of funds as the main reasons for it. He acknowledged that though they were putting in maximum efforts and issuing challans to control the menace, the population of monkeys was uncontrollable.

“A monkey’s life is normally considered to be 12-13 years. So we cannot even keep them in captivity, as it is very difficult to feed them for such a long period,” he said.

On the steps being taken by the Himachal Pradesh government to curb the menace, the Chief Forest Conservator said, “The Himachal government’s method is not fruitful, as with the use of rubber pellets a monkey cannot be killed. It will definitely return to the same area after some time”.

Leh, June 22
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Assurances, headed by Birendra Prasad Baishya, reviewed the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), Centrally-sponsored schemes on culture and language and the Rajiv Gandhi Vidhutikaran Yojna here yesterday. An official of the Union Culture Ministry at the meeting stated that no Centrally-sponsored schemes for the promotion of culture from the Culture and Tribal Ministries were being implemented in the district, as the state government had not set up a tribal research institute at Leh, which was mandatory for the implementation of the Centrally-sponsored schemes.

He added that no proposal from the state government regarding the promotion of the Ladakh culture had ever been received. The committee comprised Avinash Raj Khana and Shadilal Batra, both MPs.

Highlighting the problems faced during the implementation of the scheme, Tsering Angchuk, Deputy Commissioner, Leh, said the main hindrance in achieving the target was the shortage of labour as well as low wages paid to them. The state Labour Ministry had fixed the minimum wages at Rs 121, while in the market an unskilled labour was getting up to Rs 350.

Jigmet Takpa, director, Ladakh Renewal Energy Development Agency, said, “As many as 40 villages of Leh district are in the process of being electrified under the Ladakh Renewal Energy Initiative, a project of the Union Renewal Ministry, Ladakh”.