Jammu, August 16
The state BJP chief spokesperson, Dr Jitendra Singh, has described Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s disclosure in his Independence Day address that he had been assured by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram that the Centre’s interlocutors’ recommendations will be implemented in “letter and in spirit”, as an act of impropriety.

Dr Jitendra Singh reiterated his party’s demand that the interlocutors’ report be made public before it was taken up for any follow-up action.

He said the Chief Minister’s unguarded assertion had pushed the interlocutors into yet another controversy and raised fresh questions instead of solving the earlier ones.

“Why is the NC keen on implementing the interlocutors’ report? Is it because its leadership has received some kind of clandestine assurance from the Union Home Minister that the interlocutors’ report would be largely based on the NC’s autonomy draft? If so, it would only confirm the doubts that the interlocutors are biased and in favour of a particular political lobby. The interlocutors have clearly exceeded their brief by eliciting diverse political viewpoints in the state and placing them before the Union government ,” he said in a statement issued here.

Singh further said the BJP would never allow the reversal of nomenclature to Sadar-e-Riyasat and Prime Minister, which was changed to Governor and Chief Minister and ratified by Sheikh Abdullah himself when he took over as the Chief Minister in 1975 and constituted the DD Thakur Committee for the purpose.

If the Congress-led UPA government resorted to any misguided adventurism to appease the separatists and separatist-friendly political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP would launch a stir against it, warned Singh.

He reminded that Parliament had declared Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India and thus, there was no room to accept any proposal that inclined to weaken the relationship of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India, either physically or psychologically.

Jammu, August 16
Students, faculty and the management of the Gandhi Memorial College of Education, Raipur, celebrated Independence Day with fervour yesterday. The president of the Hindu Education Society, Kashmir, Anil Dhar, along with the members of the college management, hoisted the National Flag, which was followed by National Anthem.

Speaking on the occasion, Dhar said India earned freedom due to the relentless struggle and sacrifices of the freedom fighters and hence it was our duty to pay homage to all the valiant men and women who took part in the freedom struggle. General secretary of the Hindu Education Society, Kashmir, Sanjiv Misri, Dr GK Muju, Vimal Tiku, Sanjay Dhar, MK Bangroo, Ashwani Kumar and principal of the college Prof Kusum Tiku also spoke at the function.

The college students presented a colourful cultural programme to mark the occasion.

Jammu, August 16
In the last six days, heavy rain has claimed 15 lives, injured about 100 persons and damaged property worth Rs 25 crore in the Jammu region. It also triggered landslides, blocking a number of link roads, and damaged bridges, disconnecting a number of villages.

The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal, while talking to The Tribune over the phone, today said the administration had already started the restoration work, which would take some time. “Almost half of the restoration work has been completed,” Kotwal said.

He added that, “The losses are estimated at Rs 25 crore, as a number of bridges and houses have been washed away in the flash floods triggered by heavy rain in the region.”

Talking about the monetary support to families of the deceased and other affected people, Kotwal said, “All the Deputy Commissioners have been told to prepare a detailed report of the losses and after the report is ready, we will decide the compensation to be paid to the victims and their families.” He added that Purmandal, Bandhu Rakh, Uttar Vahini and the Circular road were the worst affected areas.

As it rained heavily yesterday, the Circular road, which earlier witnessed a landslide on August 11, was blocked again and two persons were injured. However, it was cleared later with the administration appealing to the people to avoid using it during the monsoon.

A part of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway also caved in near Nagrota, which was later repaired. Till the repair work was completed, traffic moved at a snail’s pace. The Billawar-Malhar road in Kathua district was still blocked, as rain hampered the repair work.

Meanwhile, rain lashed several parts of the region this morning. However, there was no report of loss of life from anywhere. Officials of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said 230 mm of rainfall was recorded from August 11 to 16 in the region.

Jammu, August 16
Protests took place in Jammu today against the arrest of Anna Hazare with several groups, including lawyers, students and social activists holding rallies. Several political parties and supporters of Anna called the move “unconstitutional” and demanded his immediate release.

They described it as a reflection of the colonial mindset of the UPA government.

Over 300 supporters of Anna blocked the traffic at Satwari Chowk on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and raised slogans against the Centre.

They castigated the government for deliberately coming out with a “weak” Lokpal Bill in Parliament, without bringing the Prime Minister and the higher judiciary under its ambit.

Holding placards and photographs of Anna,the protesters said they would intensify the stir, if Anna was not released immediately.

“We will court arrest in large numbers as Anna is the face of the common man,” said Om Prakash Sharma, who sat on an indefinite fast at the Satwari Chowk.

He regretted that instead of weeding out corruption, the government had trained its guns on Anna, by trying everything possible to scuttle his movement.

A sit-in was also held in front of the Press Club here by several social organisations under the banner of the Jammu and Kashmir Sangharash Movement.

The protesters raised slogans against the Congress-led UPA government and the Delhi police.

Meanwhile, lawyers also struck work and came out in support of Anna.

“We are with Anna Hazare and his campaign against corruption because this menace has ruined the country and hit the common man,” said BS Salathia, president of the Bar Association Jammu.

The government should solve the issue instead of resorting to other tactics to suppress the movement, he said. The Panun Kashmir, an organisation of the internally-displaced Kashmiri Pandits, and SOS, an organisation of refugees from the PoK also staged a protest near the Press Club.

Protests were also held in other parts of the city, including Satwari, Purani Mandi, Janipur, Manda Belt, Muthi, Gandhi Nagar and the Gangyal area of the city by various social, trade and community organisations. 

Jammu, August 16
After unearthing a multi-crore scam in Vijaypur on July 22 this year,the Samba police has sent a team to Delhi and Ambala to arrest the remaining two accused.

In the fraud-and-cheating case registered at Ramgarh police station, the Samba police had arrested Nirmala Bhagat,wife of Dr Arvind Bhagat,a resident of Nandpur in Ramgarh, who is a co-accused in the case,from the house of Sudesh Kumari, wife of Darshan Kumar of Kabir Nagar in Bari-Brahmana.

Later, two other accused, Dr Buti Ram and KL. Bhagat, also reported at Ramgarh police station along with their lawyers and produced an order of the Sessions Court,Samba, granting them anticipatory bail.

The main complainant, Om Parkash Attri, as well as a large number of investors, have been duped by Dr Bhagat, his associate, Rajesh Edwin from Pathankot, Nirmala Bhagat,wife of Dr Bhagat, Dr Buti Ram, K.L. Bhagat, Kamal Bakshi and Udyan Bakshi of Ambala and Anupreet Kour.

The police has already arrested Udyan Bakshi, Kamal Bakshi, Rajesh Edwin and with the arrest of Nirmala Bhagat, Dr Buti Ram and K.L.Bhagat, only Anupreet Kour of Ambala and Sri Lanka-based James, the owner of the firm,”Unipay to You”, remain to be arrested.

All the accused had duped investors of their hard-earned money by closing its website and accounts in a hush-hush manner.

Samba SSP, Israr Khan said acting upon a complaint ,”we initiated a probe into the scam where the accused have been duping innocent people of their hard-earned money by promising them 20 per cent returns on their investments in a month.”

Udhampur, August 16
Independence Day was celebrated in district Udhampur with patriotic spirit and enthusiasm at the district, tehsil, block and niabat headquarters by hoisting the Tricolour and paying tributes to the leaders and heroes of the freedom struggle yesterday.

Various educational institutions, political and social organisations and trade unions also celebrated the day. The day-long celebrations started with the playing of Shehnai Vadan by the Information Department, Udhampur, in the wee hours yesterday.

The main function was held at Government PG Degree College, Udhampur, where the Minister for Technical Education, Youth Services and Sports, RS Chib, hoisted the National Flag and took the salute at an impressive march past presented by police personnel, the Forest Protection Force, NCC cadets and students of various educational institutions.

MLA, Udhampur, Balwant Singh Mankotia; MLC Yash Paul Khajuria; Director, SKPA, Ashok Gupta; DIG, Udhampur-Reasi Range, Jagjit Kumar; District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, Baseer Ahmed Khan; SSP, Udhampur, Shakeel Ahmed Beig; Principal Government, PG College, Udhampur, senior civil, police and BSF officers, prominent persons and local citizens were present on the occasion.

Complimenting the people on the auspicious day, the minister recalled the sacrifices made by leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi and various freedom struggle heroes for attaining the freedom. The minister said it was now the prime duty and responsibility of every citizen, especially the youth to protect and safeguard the hard-won freedom and ensure that the country flourished in every field.

Chib said the coalition government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was fully committed to meet the developmental aspirations of the people of the state, besides creating ample employment avenues and ensure the socio-economic transformation of the weaker sections of the society, irrespective of caste, colour and creed.

The minister said massive development activities had been launched across the state to improve the healthcare facilities, road connectivity, drinking water supply and education in the remote and hilly areas. He said the construction of the Polytechnic College building in Udhampur would be started soon for which land had already been acquired.

Similarly, the sports stadium at Sajalta was being developed as a full-fledged sports complex with latest sports facilities, he added.

The minister awarded trophies and certificates of merit among the students, who had excelled in academics, sports activities performances, besides distributing cheques under the National Family Benefit Scheme (NSAP) among five beneficiaries.

Srinagar, August 16
Governor NN Vohra has complimented the state government, the Army, the paramilitary forces, the police, local stakeholders, the people and all those associated with the management of the Amarnath yatra this year. He congratulated all of them on their valuable support for ensuring the peaceful conduct of the pilgrimage.

Addressing a post-yatra review meeting here today, the Governor said it had been convened to obtain the feedback and suggestions regarding the need to change the existing systems and procedures from all the officers who were manning responsible positions during the pilgrimage. Based on such a valuable feedback, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) would endeavour to introduce meaningful improvements in the yatra management next year to provide the best possible amenities to the pilgrims.

Referring to the record number of over 6.35 lakh Amarnath yatris this year, the Governor asked RK Goyal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SASB, to draw up an objective assessment of the wherewithal available with various agencies concerned to cater to the requirements of the progressively increasing number of pilgrims.

Observing that 107 pilgrims had died during the yatra, of whom around 100 lost their lives due ot heart problems, the Governor stressed the need for enforcing certain regulatory conditions regarding the medical fitness of the yatris. He added that the safety and security of the yatris was the prime concern of the SASB and, as such, all related issues would need to be kept in mind in planning the Amarnath yatra in the future.

Meanwhile, the annual pilgrimage of Chhari Mubarak or the holy mace of Lord Shiva, on its return from the Amarnath shrine, culminated at Pahalgam yesterday with the performing of ‘pujan’ and ‘visarjan’. A large number of sadhus, pilgrims and a few tourists joined the ‘pujan’ on the banks of the Lidder. 

Udhampur, August 16
Minister of State for Power, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Shabir Ahmed Khan conducted a surprise inspection of the 220-KV grid station located at Jakhani, near here, today.

The minister took a round of the complex and took stock of its functioning. He enquired from the engineers concerned about the distribution of power and the condition of transformers and feeders, besides the problem of overloading. He also enquired about the power supply to Udhampur town.

The Executive Engineer, grid station, Udhampur, Som Raj Sharma, told the minister that the station was supplying power to the substations at Batote, Chander Kote and Banihal in Ramban district, Khelaini in Doda district, Kishtwar in Kishtwar district, Anantnag in the Kashmir valley and Udhampur district, besides Sarna in Punjab.

The minister was also informed that the grid station was established in 1980-81 and its transformers had become obsolete and needed to be replaced and upgraded.

During the inspection, the minister expressed dissatisfaction over the working of some engineers. He asked the Chief Engineer, Systems and Operations, to take strict action against Junior Engineers Suraj Rakwal, Rohit Sharma and Shewata Dhar.

The employees of the grid station also met the minister and apprised him of their problems, particularly the urgent repair and renovation of employees’ quarters. The minister assured them of all possible help in this regard.

En route Kishtwar, the minister visited Bhadarwah, Doda and Khelaini, where a large number of people met him and urged him to ensure uninterrupted power supply to their areas. The minister gave on-the-spot instructions to the officers concerned to address the complaints of the area residents.

Jammu, August 16
The Jammu and Kashmir State Judicial Academy yesterday organised a lecture on “Time management” by famous expert in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) NC Sridharan.

NLP is the latest state-of-the-art technology to perform at one’s full potential, which became popular in the West during early eighties and is now gaining popularity in India. The objective of organising the lecture was to make the participants aware of the concept of developing the skills of tapping one’s potential in full with a special focus on time management.

Speaking on the topic, Sridharan said though every individual had goals and ambitions in life, but everyone was able to use time and talent in a proper way. He said there was a need to learn how to inspire, empower and motivate to enable one to operate at an enhanced level.

He said by employing simple NLP principles, concepts and skills, one could effectively use time to realise the best in life. He said these techniques helped overcome the lack of consistency, laziness and procrastination, which would,in turn, help realise one’s goals.” We are to help the individuals and businesses to make the fullest use of their talent with better time management.”

To support his point, he cited examples of the people, who despite their physical inabilities had achieved high aims and goals. He said the secret of the success was in adding more quality and life to one’s life and NLP was all about that. — TNS

Srinagar, August 16
Welcoming the recent progress in the Indo-Pak talks, CPM state Secretary Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami has sought an impetus to the dialogue process as the people of the state are the biggest beneficiaries of the cordial relations between the two neighbours.

Talking to mediapersons here today, the Kulgam MLA, also urged India and Pakistan to ensure result-oriented talks, which would provide relief to the people of both the countries. “The confidence- building measures (CBMs) decided in the recently held meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan at New Delhi are quite inadequate.Obstructions regarding free travel and trade across the Line of Control (LoC) must be removed,” he said.

On the arrest of Anna Hazare, Tarigami said it was highly condemnable. This was an attack on the democratic rights of the citizens to protest peacefully, he maintained. He added that corruption was rampant at every level and had assumed dangerous proportions.

Tarigami said there was need for comprehensive measures to strengthen the legal and administrative framework against corruption, both at the national and state levels, along with the law for setting up an independent Lokpal.

The CPM leader said the eight-point CBMs announced by the Centre last year were meant to provide relief and instil a sense of security and confidence among the people of the state. He lamented that most of the people-friendly measures were yet to be implemented. He said some of the youth arrested last year continued to be either under detention or cases against them were not withdrawn.

Srinagar, August 16
A day after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced that the Kulgam rape allegation was false, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) began a probe into the circumstances that led a 32-year-old woman to level the charges against Army personnel.

“The investigation in the case is still going on to find out what led the woman to lodge a false FIR against the Army personnel,” SP, Kulgam, Mubassir Latiefi said.
Latiefi said the woman, who had earlier alleged that she was raped, had deposed before the Magistrate that she was not raped. — PTI