The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Efforts on to facilitate return of Kashmiri Pandits: Omar Tribune News service Srinagar, September 10 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said today that the state government was making all the efforts to bring back Kashmiri Pandits, who had migrated from the Valley due to militancy. Speaking at the 15th National Integration Council (NIC) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Omar said the forced migration of Kashmiri Pandits had created a “big void” in the composite social fabric of the state and efforts were being made to facilitate their return. “The government has been implementing a comprehensive multi-sectoral package as part of the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Programme to facilitate the return of the Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley and thereby, fill this void,” he said. Omar said the state government had also brought amendments to the electoral laws to ensure that the names of the Kashmiri Pandits, who had to migrated from the Valley due to disturbed conditions, continued to figure on the electoral rolls so that they continued to be stakeholders in the electoral process. Pinpointing the challenges of internal and external dimensions the state was confronted with, Omar urged the Centre to find ways and means to remain engaged with Pakistan to address its external dimensions. The Chief Minister said the peculiar security challenges in the state, more often than not, emanated from across the border and had implications which went much beyond the territorial boundaries of the state. “It is often said while one can be choosy about one’s friends, the same principal does not apply to a neighbour,” he added. Omar said the interlocutors appointed by the Centre had visited the state time and again and met a large number of stakeholders. “It is expected that the final report of the interlocutors will provide a road map for a solution to some of the pressing problems confronting the state,” he added. Referring to civil disturbances in the Kashmir valley last year that led to the loss of lives and property, the Chief Minister said dealing with such a law and order situation required a “completely different approach” on the part of the police. Omar added that five battalions of the police had been specially trained for law and order maintenance and the traditional methods of crowd control had been comprehensively modified. The CM said there had been a significant improvement in the overall internal security situation in the state over the past few years with terrorist incidents going down steadily. He said questions regarding the unmarked graves in the Valley needed to be answered. He advocated for a joint state-Centre mechanism in this regard.
	Cong warns NC, other parties against politicising Afzal issue Dinesh Manhotra/TNS Jammu, September 10 Cautioning political parties against taking up legal issues in the Legislative Assembly, the Congress, which is a coalition partner in the state, has given a veiled warning to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah against politicising the issue of clemency for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Congress leaders at a meeting here today warned all the political parties, including the NC, against taking a political mileage out of legal issues like clemency for Afzal. Independent MLA Engineer Rashid had earlier moved a resolution in the Assembly seeking clemency for Afzal. “As far as Rashid’s resolution in the Assembly is concerned, the party high command will take a decision on it. But it is very clear that the Congress does not believe in interfering with the legal and judicial processes,” spokesman for Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Ravinder Sharma told The Tribune. Although Sharma refused to comment on the possible stand of the Congress if the resolution was tabled in the Assembly, he said the issue relating to clemency for Afzal was a legal matter. Congress sources said some senior party leaders were camping in the Union Capital to have directions from the high command for further action on the Afzal controversy. The party leaders had also brought to the notice of the high command a campaign launched by the BJP to corner the Congress on the issue and warned that the interests of the party would be affected in the Jammu province if a clear stand was not taken on the Afzal issue. “The Congress leadership has asked the state unit to remain away from the controversy,” the sources said, adding that the party would oppose any resolution in the Assembly in this regard.
	Omar abetting bias against Jammu students: BJP Tribune News Service Jammu, September 10 The issue of alleged discrimination against meritorious students from the Jammu region has snowballed into a political controversy as the BJP has criticised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for encouraging such discriminatory practices. In a statement issued here today, BJP state president Shamsher Singh Manhas said the NC-Congress coalition had again been exposed for adopting a discriminatory attitude towards Jammu. Taking exception to the recent case of alleged discrimination against Jammu students, Manhas said meritorious students from the Kashmir valley were given cash prizes, besides medals, while the students from the Jammu region were given only medals. “The most unfortunate part is that it happened in the presence of the Chief Minister, the Education Minister and other senior functionaries of the Education Department. Besides, students from Jammu were insulted again when they had to sit on the floor of the auditorium in the absence of chairs on September 5,” he said. “At a prize distribution function held in Srinagar recently to honour all the meritorious students of the state, the toppers from the Kashmir division were given medals and cash prizes ranging from Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000, while the students from the Jammu division were given only medals,” said Rajiv Mahajan, state president of the Shri Ram Sena.
	Jammu cyber cafe owners not keeping users’ records Archit Watts Tribune News Service Jammu, September 10 The state police has directed the cyber cafe owners in Jammu to maintain the records of Internet users after an e-mail claiming responsibility for the Delhi High Court blast was traced to Kishtwar. However, the cyber cafe owners here do not care two hoots for the orders. The SPs of the district held meetings with the cyber cafe owners in their respective areas last evening and told them to maintain the records of their customers. However, The Tribune found today that the majority of cyber cafe owners were not following the directions. It was also decided at the meetings that no one should be allowed to use Internet at the cyber cafes without producing an identity proof. Besides, the contact details with signatures should also be recorded in a register, which the police could check at anytime. However, the situation was not much different. A cyber cafe owner at Gandhi Nagar said, “Yes, the SP directed us yesterday to record all the information about the Internet users with copies of their identity proofs. But it is not possible to implement the orders in such a short period. It will take some time.” The owner of another cyber cafe at Panjtirthi here said though he had pasted the instructions at the shop, most of the Internet users were refusing to produce identity cards. “How can we stop our regular customers or force them to produce identity cards? The directions are good but it will take sometime to implement them, as earlier we were not following any norms,” he added. On the other hand, the Internet users questioned the police directions, which had barred schoolchildren from using the facility unless they were accompanied by their parents. “In this modern era, Internet is a simple facility. Hence, the rules should be confined only to producing identity proofs and maintaining a record of users,” said an Internet user. However, the SSP, Jammu, Anand Jain, said they had not issued any new direction. “We are just trying to implement the rules applicable to the cyber cafe owners in other states and there is nothing new in it. All the cyber café owners have been directed to maintain a record of Internet users and anybody found disobeying the orders would be penalised.”
	Routes to shrines in Jammu region to be illuminated Archit Watts Tribune News Service Jammu, September 10 After facing criticism for its failure to install lights en route famous religious places in the Jammu region, the state government has decided to illuminate the tracks leading to the shrines. The people have requested the authorities concerned several times to develop the surroundings of the famous shrines and install lights on their routes so that the devotees could be facilitated. MK Dhar, Deputy Director, Tourism, Jammu, said, “All the shrines, ziyarats and other religious places in the Jammu region will be covered under a project approved by the Tourism Minister to illuminate the tracks where the pilgrims have to walk to the shrines to pay obeisance.” He added, “High-mast lights will be installed at these places, which will cost between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 35 lakh. We have invited tenders for the purpose so that the installation of lights can be started at the earliest.” Though the issue had been raised a number of times in both Houses of the Legislature, nothing had been done so far. With the project getting the Tourism Minister’s approval, department officials said once the lights were installed, the pilgrims visiting the Shiv Khori shrine in Reasi, the Machail temple in the Paddar area of Kishtwar district, the Shiv temple at Purmandal in Samba district and Shahdra Sharief in Rajouri district would be facilitated. These are important religious places, where a large number of devotees pay obeisance. The officials said it was a long-pending demand of the people of the region and once the lights were installed, the number of pilgrims would increase.
	Need to remove weeds from Dal Lake: Experts Tribune News service Srinagar, September 10 A meeting of environment experts has observed that immediate steps were needed to keep the Dal Lake clean and remove weeds from its surface to give it a clean look. The meeting discussed in detail the present condition of the Dal Lake and the Nageen Lake here yesterday. The vice-president of the Eco-Tourism Society of India, Rakesh Mathur, suggested that the segregation of garbage system be introduced for the proper waste material management in Srinagar city. All the experts unanimously agreed that a vigorous campaign should be started to keep the Kashmir valley, particularly Srinagar city, garbage and polythene free. Those present on the occasion included the Commissioner-Secretary, Tourism Department, Atul Duloo, Director Tourism, Kashmir, Farooq Ahmad Shah, Chairman, Pollution Control Board, Lal Chand and former Director General of Tourism Saleem Baig.
	4,000 take part in Kashmir ‘Run for Fun’ Tribune News service Srinagar, September 10 The first Kashmir marathon, “Run for Fun”, was held here this morning, in which more than 4,000 athletes, besides a large number of policemen, including senior officers, participated. DGP Kuldeep Khoda flagged off the marathon, which started from the Police Golf Course to Ganderbal via the Habbak crossing. Speaking on the occasion, the DGP thanked the athletes for their participation. He said the Police Department had organised various sports events in the Valley earlier also under its Civic Action Programme and the people, particularly the youth, had shown much interest in such events. He said such events aimed at channelling the energy of the youth in the right direction and hone their talent. Lauding the role of ADGP K Rajendra Kumar and his team in organising the event, the DGP said the officers had put great efforts and ensured the participation of a large number of athletes. He said due to support from and cooperation of the Sports Council and the Department of Youth Services and Sports, the event was successful. Khoda also appreciated the arrangements made by the Traffic Police on the routes of the marathon. On the conclusion of the marathon, the winners were given cash rewards and the participants were given certificates. The DGP gave away prizes to the winners. The winners were Tanveer Ahmed, Mushtaq Ahmed, Adil Yaqoob, Ifrah, Gulzar Ahmed, Umar Nabi, Saqib Bhat, Mazia, Mohammad Younis, Feroz Ahmed, Asif Gulzar and Insha Rashid.
	Agriculture can boost state’s GDP: Governor Tribune News service Srinagar, September 10 Governor NN Vohra said today that for achieving all-round rapid growth, it was imperative that well-considered plans for the diversification of agriculture and its allied sectors through the application of the latest technical know how be implemented in a time-bound framework. He was addressing the valedictory session of a three-day J&K Agricultural Science Congress organised by the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, in collaboration with the State Council for Science and Technology, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and the National Horticulture Board, at the SKICC here. The J&K Agricultural Science Congress held deliberations on various aspects of “Mountain Agriculture in Transition: Challenges and Way Forward”. The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the university, said agriculture and its allied sectors in the state had a high potential of contributing significantly towards enhancing the GDP of the state within the next three to four years. To achieve this objective, the Governor said it was necessary that every government department and agency, which were responsible for implementing the schemes and programmes for rural development, made the best use of all the available resources. He added that it was also important for the agricultural universities and the extension agencies of the state to work in complete coordination. This would enable technology, research and new agriculture outputs being taken to the farmers for increasing agricultural production. The Governor said while the Ladakh region faced some constraints, the Jammu and Kashmir regions had a high potential for intensifying cultivation and adopting a multi-cropping pattern. He said intensive vegetable cultivation, including mushroom growing, could lead to an enormous increase in the farm income in the state. Referring to organic farming, the Governor said a beginning could be made by urgently establishing horticulture, agriculture and vegetable cultivation pilot projects, at least one in each block, to demonstrate the profitability of such farming.
	Regularise ad hoc, contractual employees: MLA Tribune News Service Jammu, September 10 Working chairman of the Panthers Party and MLA, Ramnagar, Harsh Dev Singh yesterday demanded that the services of all ad hoc, contractual and consolidated employees working in various government departments be regularised in conformity with the Act passed by the Legislature more than 18 months ago. He said the Bill seeking to regularise the services of all those employees, who had completed seven years of service, was passed by both Houses of the Legislature in February last year. “It is unfortunate and distressing that the government did not regularise the services of the employees in conformity with the provisions of the Act for more than 18 months,” he said. Charging the government with being indifferent towards the issues of the employees, Harsh Dev said such negligence on the part of the government gave rise to agitations and strikes. Seeking early action on the matter, he sought the inclusion of contractual lecturers of government schools and degree colleges within the ambit of the scheme. Harsh Dev demanded that all other ad hoc and consolidated employees engaged under the Centrally-sponsored schemes, who had completed seven years of service, be covered under the scheme. He said similarly circumstanced ad hoc employees could not be deprived of the benefits of the scheme merely on the pretext that they were engaged under the Centrally-sponsored schemes.
	Gujjar mahasabha holds protest Tribune News Service Jammu, September 10 To highlight its pending demands, the Akhil Bharatiya Gujjar Mahasabha (ABGM) held a protest outside the office of Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, today. Led by their president Eshfaq-ur-Rehman Poswal, the ABGM activists from all the blocks of the district assembled at the Children Park and discussed their problems and issues. Later, the protesters raised slogans and moved towards the Deputy Commissioner’s office. Addressing the gathering, Poswal said the Centrally-sponsored schemes like the Indira Awaas Yojna, had not been implemented in any part of the district and demanded its early implementation. He said they were not getting any information under the RTI Act and demanded information regarding all the RTI applications filed by their activists in various government departments.
	Udhampur-Baramulla Rail Line Pay full compensation for land acquired, says Chief Secy Tribune News service Srinagar, September 10 Chief Secretary Madhav Lal has directed that full compensation be paid to landowners, whose land has been acquired for laying tracks and related infrastructure on the Udhampur-Baramulla line. Chairing an apex committee meeting here yesterday, the Chief Secretary stressed the expeditious acquisition of the land coming in the alignment of the project, while driving home the importance of the inter-regional rail communication link. Regarding forest clearance, Madhav Lal asked the railway authorities to process the cases for the examination of the apex committee. The issue of revision in alignment necessitating the acquisition of new land and proper use of the already acquired land also came up for discussion. The Chief Secretary sought the full details of the already acquired land, which had turned redundant due to change in alignment, to deal with the issue effectively. The Deputy Commissioner, Budgam, highlighted the need for constructing a level crossing at Sheikhpora in Budgam for the safety of the pedestrians for which the railway authorities had assured proper action. The meeting was, among others, attended by Chief Administrative Officer, Northern Railways, BD Garg, Principal Secretary, Roads and Buildings, KB Aggarwal and Finance Commissioner, Revenue, Parmod Jain.
	Labourer dies in boiler blast Tribune News service Jammu, September 10 A labourer was killed in an accidental blast at a drug manufacturing unit at Bari Brahamana in Samba district this afternoon. The police said Ashok Kumar, 43, a resident of Himachal Pradesh, was working in the factory when a boiler exploded, killing him. The police has started investigation to ascertain the reason behind the blast. It has recorded the statements of other labourers, who were working in the factory at the time of mishap.
	Sarpanch among two held on molestation charge Srinagar, September 10 Two persons, including a newly-elected sarpanch, were arrested for allegedly attempting to molest a girl in Baramulla district yesterday. Ghulam Mohammad Khan, sarpanch of Bimyar village, and Khursheed Ahmad Khan were arrested for attempting to molest a girl in the Uri area in Baramulla district, the police said. The victim’s father, in his complaint, alleged that his daughter was intercepted by Ghulam Khan, Khurshid Ahmad Khan, Parveez Ahmed Khan, Sajid Ahmed Khan and Hassena Akhtar while she was on her way to school. They beat her up and tried molest her, the police said, adding that efforts were on to arrest other culprits. — PTI