|
|
|
|
|
Amarnath yatra suspended from Jammu
A symbol of communal harmony
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Govt decision to open degree colleges
BJP to start membership drive to expand base
Court withdraws interim bail to commissioner
Rural students denied admission to Jammu colleges
Omar plans PM, panches’ interaction
Rs 50 crore for restoration of heritage sites
17 houses gutted in fire
Man jumps from GMCH roof, dies
|
|
Amarnath yatra suspended from Jammu
Srinagar, July 2 “With improvement in the weather conditions, the pilgrimage was resumed from the Baltal route this morning,” said an official at the yatra control room at Baltal, 110 km from here. He said 12,700 yatris had left the base camp for the cave shrine. Light snowfall at the cave and incessant rains on Thursday night along the Baltal track had forced the authorities to suspend the yatra as the track had been rendered slippery at many places. The pilgrimage was also going on smoothly from the traditional Pahalgam route in Anantnag district as a fresh batch of 4,000 pilgrims started their two-day trek to the cave shrine. More than 22,000 pilgrims had darshan of the Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva at the holy cave today. Nearly 80,000 pilgrims have already paid obeisance at the cave shrine in the first three days since the yatra that began on June 29. “The yatra was stopped from Jammu due to the bad weather conditions and a heavy rush of pilgrims at the cave shrine and en route the Baltal and Pahalgam routes,” a senior police official said. He said, “No fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to move towards Amarnath from the Jammu base camp today.” Besides, over 1,000 Amarnath pilgrims were stopped at various places en route the Jammu-Srinagar national highway at Udhampur, Nagrota, Ramban and Patnitop areas last night and provided lodging facilities. Over 2.50 lakh pilgrims have registered for the annual yatra this year but the number is expected to cross four lakh by the end of the pilgrimage on August 13 as many pilgrims have not registered themselves. Resting time
|
|
A symbol of communal harmony
With the Amarnath yatra gaining momentum in peaceful environs of Kashmir this year, it also symbolises perfect communal harmony between the Hindus and the Muslims.
“We trek treacherous mountains, glacier-fed lakes and frozen passes to reach the cave shrine through two routes of Pahalgam and
Baltal. This becomes possible only with the cooperation of our Muslim brethren,” said Vishal Sharma from New Delhi. “Every year thousands of pilgrims undertake the arduous pilgrimage with the help of the Muslims, who come forward to make this possible,” he added. Sharma said the
yatra, considered to be one of the toughest pilgrimages, “is a perfect example of communal harmony and brotherhood between the two communities,” he said. Tariq Ahmed, a ponywalla from the Sinthan area of
Kishtwar, said, “We welcome the pilgrims with open arms because they are the ones who provide us bread and butter.” Besides
ponywallas, palanquin carriers and pithus lend a helping hand to the young and the old, men and women to undertake the pilgrimage. “Since it was our first day at work, we agreed to charge Rs 150 each from a group of six pilgrims for Sangam Top. After having a brief prayer to start our work, the group approached us for the ponies. We didn’t want to disappoint them and hence agreed to ferry them for Rs 150 each,” said
Tariq. Besides ferrying pilgrims, the ponywallas also serve as a lifeline to various community kitchens and pilgrims’ camps, supplying them eatables and beddings from the base camps at Chandanwari and
Baltal. “They are the real heroes because they work round-the-clock to ensure that required facilities are made available en route the cave shrine and at the shrine itself,” said a CRPF
jawan. Kamlesh Gupta, a septuagenarian from Madhya Pradesh, was all praise for palanquin carriers. “Without them it would not have been possible for me to visit the cave shrine at this age. I am really indebted to them for their help,” she said. Another
ponywalla, Riaz from Pahalgam, said by ferrying the pilgrims to the shrine and back to the base camp he derived a sense of satisfaction. “No doubt we get paid for it, but at the end of the day I get a sense of satisfaction that I helped the pilgrims to undertake the
yatra,” he said with a smile on his face. At the cave shrine, the Tribune team found that the “pooja samagri” was being sold by members of the majority community, who had also erected makeshift bathrooms, providing hot water to the pilgrims so that they could have a bath before paying obeisance at the shrine. “A majority of the shopkeepers here are Muslims and sell “pooja samagri”, including souvenirs of Lord Shiva and religious books,” said
Mushtaq, the owner of shop number 299 in the shrine area. “We perform every sort of work in this
yatra. Hence, the yatra is a perfect symbol of brotherhood and communal harmony between the Muslims and the Hindus,” he added. |
|
|
Govt decision to open degree colleges
Jammu, July 2 Although activists of the NC hesitate from openly criticising the government decision, leaders of the Congress and the PDP have condemned the government for ignoring “deserving” areas. Residents of the Darhal area in Rajouri district resent that the government had ignored the area while sanctioning degree colleges. Party affiliations, notwithstanding, people of this belt have started an agitation in support of their demand for a degree college. While senior Congress leader from Darhal Iqbal Malik has started an agitation, local MLA and PDP leader Choudhary Zulfikar Ali has also taken up the issue and warned the government that the agitation would be intensified. “Deserving areas have been ignored and colleges have been sanctioned on political considerations,” Zulfikar alleged. He added that the areas represented by the MLAs belonging to the opposition parties had been deliberately ignored. He argued that Darhal and Kotranka areas, which comprised a huge population, deserved degree colleges urgently, but they had been ignored. He termed the government decision as politically motivated. The PDP leader charged the coalition government with functioning in a vindictive manner. He said be it the release of funds or the sanctioning of new projects, the constituencies represented by Opposition members were being ignored. Malik, while addressing protesters at Darhal, gave a 10-day ultimatum to the government to reconsider its decision. He warned it that if a college was not announced for the Darhal area immediately, he along with local people would start a march towards Rajouri. A one-day token strike was observed against the government decision at Darhal town yesterday. Malik pointed out that Darhal was the most backward area of Rajouri district and was a fit case for opening a degree college under the Centrally-sponsored scheme. On June 30, the state government had approved the setting up of 22 degree colleges under the Establishment of Model Degree Colleges in Educationally Backward Districts scheme. Higher Education Minister Abdul Gani Malik had claimed that a comprehensive survey had been conducted to ascertain the viability of setting up these colleges, keeping in view the genuineness and educational backwardness of the areas. The Resentment
|
|
BJP to start membership drive to expand base
Jammu, July 2 The meeting was presided over by state BJP president Shamsher Singh Manhas and attended by state chief spokesperson Jitendra Singh and MLAs Jugal Kishore Sharma and Shyam Choudhary. A detailed programme was charted out at the meeting, which included the holding of meetings of district working committees, organising prashikshan shivars (training camps) at the district and block levels and educating masses about the ideology and objectives of the party, both at the national and state levels. The party’s national-level programme, “Mandal Se Gaon ki Aor”, would be effectively implemented in Jammu and Kashmir as well so that the BJP’s spirit could percolate down to the grass-roots level in the rural and remote areas, it was decided. Manhas also informed the core group members about the party decision to hold contact programmes with the candidates, who contested the panchayat elections recently and the newly-elected panches and sarpanches. At the meeting, Manhas expressed displeasure over the NC-Congress coalition government’s attempt to influence the newly-elected panches and sarpanches to join the ruling parties. He also updated the core group about the “Aajivan Sehyog Nidhi” programme and informed about the enthusiastic response received from the supporters, sympathisers and friends of the BJP, who were coming forward voluntarily to contribute to the party fund at the state and national levels. |
|
Court withdraws interim bail to commissioner
Jammu, July 2 The petitioner in his capacity as the Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir State Financial Corporation, in collusion with other accused/beneficiaries, breached the order of the High Court dated September 12, 2006, and facilitated the issuance of an auction notice to confer lease hold rights of the land belonging to M/S Anand Bricks Pvt Limited and M/S Jammu Ceramics Pvt Ltd at a low cost and thereby caused a huge loss to the state exchequer. The petitioner in a complete nexus with the beneficiaries not only conferred undue benefits on them, but also became a party and privy to the tampering with the valuation report of one of the evaluators. The Judge, while dismissing the pre-arrest bail application, observed that, “In order to protect the liberty of the petitioner during the summer vacation, an interim bail was granted to him and the matter was left to be decided finally after the vacation.” He held that, “It is true that the petitioner had attended the investigation once, but has not divulged the facts, which are seminal to the controversy. It requires to be ascertained as to what made him breach the order of the High Court and sell the property at a low cost without following the norms, as stated by the Vigilance Organisation, Jammu.” The Judge said the petitioner had not been cooperating in disclosing the vital facts required to be investigated. The court did not find any reason to exercise discretion in favour of the petitioner because a huge loss was said to have been caused to the state on account of the wrongful conduct of the
petitioner. |
|
|
Rural students denied admission to Jammu colleges
Jammu, July 2 There are many instances where the newly-opened degree colleges have been operating from two-three rooms or makeshift structures without toilets, labs and libraries. Students said the city colleges were asking the applicants to seek a no objection certificate (NOC) from the colleges in their respective districts. However, the latter colleges were denying the fact that they were not offering the students the subjects of their choice. “The higher education policy is in a contravention of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equal opportunities to all its citizens,” said an admission-seeker, Priyank Goswani from Billawar. “There should be an open competition for the students whose names appear on the cut-off lists. Despite getting good marks, I am not getting admission here just because I was born in a village. It is a proof that the rural students are being discriminated against,”
he rued. “The principal of the degree college is not issuing an NOC saying that I should opt for only those subjects, which were being taught in the college,”
he said. Ajeet Angral, principal of MAM College, said, “We can enrol such students provided they bring an NOC from government colleges in their respective areas”. Another student wishing to take admission to the SPMR College of Commerce said, “The principal of the college has denied me admission, citing limited seats. However, students, who have secured lesser marks, are getting admission just because they belong to Jammu. Only students belonging to districts other than Jammu have been denied admission,” the student said. “The government does not have a higher education policy due to which the rural students are suffering,” said Vikas Sharma, president of the National Secular Forum. “The government has not been able to provide infrastructure and manpower to colleges in the rural areas,”
he added. Sham Lal Gupta, Director, Colleges, said, “The colleges in the city have been accommodating students beyond their intake capacity. Therefore, we have issued a circular asking the principals of the city colleges to accommodate the rural students only in such cases where they are not getting a subject combination of their choice in the government colleges in their respective areas. For that, the admission-seekers will have to produce an NOC from the principal of the college in their area”. |
|
Omar plans PM, panches’ interaction
He said the meeting would facilitate a direct interaction between the Prime Minister and the panchayat members and would prove highly beneficial on the development front. “I will strive for such a session in September-October this year,” he said. “While we are hopeful the dialogue process between India and Pakistan and the task entrusted to the interlocutors will yield positive results in addressing the basic political issues of the state, relieving us permanently of the shadow of gun, we want to address our development issues simultaneously,” Omar said. Speaking to the sarpanches and the panches of Srinagar district, the Chief Minister said the beauty of democracy was that the grass-roots public representatives were sharing the same conference hall in the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre with the Chief Minister, ministers and government officers, where the Prime Minister and Union ministers interacted with the top leaders of the state. Announcing the formulation of a fresh below poverty line list in the state as per the latest Census report, Omar said the panchayat members would be actively involved in its formulation. |
|
|
Rs 50 crore for restoration of heritage sites
Srinagar, July 2 The funds were sanctioned under the project recently, Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora said at a high-level meeting convened to discuss the acquisition of land for the project today. He said various components of the project were the restoration of Kalai around Hari Parbath in the erstwhile Mughal city called “Naagar Nager”. The city was established by Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century. Jora said the Kalai was recently declared a protected monument by the Department of Archives. |
|
|
17 houses gutted in fire
Srinagar, July 2 “A massive fire broke out at Nawhatta, opposite the Jamia Majid, this morning and it engulfed 17 houses and affected 21 families. The Joint Director, Fire Services, RT Dubey, personally monitored the fire-fighting operation,” Ali said. He said the administration distributed 50 mattresses, 120 sleeping bags and 120 carpets among the affected families. The Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Mehraj Ahmed Kakroo, also inspected the incident site and gave instructions to the tehsildar and naib-tehsildar concerned to complete the loss assessment so that relief could be provided to the affected people at the earliest. |
|
|
Man jumps from GMCH roof, dies
Jammu, July 2 He died on the spot. Puran’s wife, Paramjeet Kaur, was undergoing treatment at the burns ward of the hospital. She was brought to the hospital on June 29 in a serious condition and she died today, possibly prompting Puran to take the extreme step. The police has registered a case and is investigating the matter. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Srinagar, July 2