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Centre to ask state to repeal Disturbed Areas Act
Governor for pragmatic approach to strengthen library movement
Tributes paid to Lt Sushil Khajuria
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Lack of staff, testing facility hinders anti-adulteration drive
Custodial
death of NC worker
Kashmir fans remember ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh
Plan panel member calls on Governor
20 Bhand Pather productions to be staged in Valley
Camp on national integration
2 teenage boys, domestic help go missing
Potato production to get boost
Health camp organised
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Centre to ask state to repeal Disturbed Areas Act
Sources said the Chief Minister and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram would be meeting in a day or two to discuss the issue. The Centre would have ‘no objection’ to the removal of specific areas from the DAA. Notably, this comes just two days before the three-member team of interlocutors led by Dileep Padgoankar is slated to submit its final report to the Centre on October 12. If an area is removed from the list of the Disturbed Areas Act, the AFSPA is automatically not applicable to it. The AFSPA gives the Army the powers to detain and, if the situation warrants, eliminate suspected militants while fighting insurgents without the fear of prosecution. The Army, on its part, has made it clear that the troops will not carry out operations in the areas not covered under the AFSPA. The Army has an apprehension that the revocation or dilution of the AFSPA can hamper its operational capability to effectively deal with militants and insurgents. The state government has already constituted a committee early this year to review the DAA. The committee comprises the state DGP, the Home Secretary and the Corps Commander of 15 Corps, Srinagar, and the Corps Commander of 16-Corps, Nagrota. The committee has met a few times and has recommended how some areas can be removed from the DAA. The state, which relies heavily on tourism for its economy, has been keen on letting the tourist season and the apple season finish before taking a call on the issue. Some eight lakh tourists have visited the state so far this year. Last month, Chidambaram had said he was “trying to revisit the AFSPA”. However, he had added that a consensus within the government was needed before amendments to the AFSPA could be brought before Parliament. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had already made it clear that the Central government would replace the AFSPA with a more humane Act. Meanwhile, the sources said the final report of the interlocutors would be free from the acrimonious ‘historical baggage’ of the state. It would aim at addressing the concerns and aspirations of all the regions, sub-regions and religions. They said the aspirations of the natural ethnicities that lived in clearly divided geographical boundaries that accrued from the grand mountain ranges like the Himalayas, Pir Panjal, Zanskar and Karokaram would be respected. It would also try to satisfy the aspirations of sub-regions like Kargil district, which unlike the Valley was dominated by Shia Muslims. |
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Governor for pragmatic approach to strengthen library movement
Srinagar, October 10 The conference, being attended by over 300 delegates from various parts of the country, is being jointly organised by the Allama Iqbal Library of the university and the Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centres (IASLIC). Speaking on the occasion, the Governor said pragmatic approaches were needed to establish a grid of public and specialised libraries across the country to share resources and information for establishing a knowledge society at large. He added, “Though we have a very good network of colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning, higher education is inaccessible and this issue needs to be addressed through continuous efforts.” The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the university, directed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, Talat Ahmad, to explore ways and means to make the Allama Iqbal Library accessible to all the colleges in Kashmir. He congratulated the Allama Iqbal Library for hosting the conference and hoped that it would evolve pragmatic approaches for strengthening the library movement and promote effective collection, management and the dissemination of knowledge. Barun Mukherjee, MP and president of the conference, in his keynote address, dwelt on the theme of the conference. He said leaders of the library movement needed to visualise the future needs of the users. He spoke extensively on the theme of the conference, “Library Vision 2020”, and its major components. Dr Jatindranath Satpathi, president of the IASLIC, dwelt upon the history, evolution and activities of the organisation, besides its future action plan. |
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Tributes paid to Lt Sushil Khajuria
Jammu, October 10 Hundreds of people holding candles and flowers paid tributes at the function this evening. Lt Khajuria’s family members, besides friends, well wishers and NCC cadets also paid tributes at the function. On the occasion, college and university students sung patriotic songs, which was followed by a candlelight vigil. A five-minute silence was also observed. The speakers at the function said Lt Khajuria was an ardent follower of Bhagat Singh since his childhood. Throwing light on Lt Khajuria’s life, his elder brother, Capt Anil Khajuria, said, “It was his childhood dream to join the Army. He fought and died bravely, making the family proud.” “Since the day our son laid down his life for the nation, countless well wishers have conveyed their condolences in person and through other means like e-mails, SMSes, letters and press statements. We express our sincere gratitude towards all of them for standing with us in the hour of grief and sharing our loss and sense of pain,” said a statement issued by Lt Khajuria’s family. “We are the proud parents whose all three sons have been in the Army,” said Som Dutt Khajuria and Nirmala
Khajuria. |
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Lack of staff, testing facility hinders anti-adulteration drive
Jammu, October 10 The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), the Directorate of Health and the Legal Metrology Department keep a check on this illegal practice. All these departments submit food samples for testing to the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) on the Canal Road here but the IIIM is already overburdened. The lack of testing facilities at the IIIM is reportedly hindering the anti-adulteration drive. JMC officials say sometimes they face problems while dealing with food adulterers. They add due to the delay in sample testing the cases against defaulters also weaken. As a result, food adulteration is going on unchecked despite the fact that the authorities concerned collect a number of samples everyday and destroy huge quantities of adulterated milk and other adulterated food products. Raman Sharma, a banker, said, “Diwali is approaching and sweet shops have already started preparing sweets. How can we know whether the sweets are adulterated or not when the departments concerned are facing staff shortage to keep a check on food adulteration?” Health Officer of the JMC Mohammad Anwar Choudhary said, “Though we launch drives against food adulteration, sometimes the sample testing gets delayed. We often request the IIIM officials to get the tests done at the earliest.” He added, “With the enactment of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, recently we are hopeful of getting a permanent solution to the problem.” |
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Custodial
death of NC worker
New Delhi, October 10 “Justice can only be done if an inquiry is conducted by an independent agency, which is not under the command of the state
government or the police,” Mankotia said in the petition. Further, there was a public demand for a CBI probe into the “events and circumstances” that led to the death of 61-year-old political activist, which was an “extraordinary offence committed at the residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah,” Mankotia said. He pointed out that the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had already rejected the Chief Minister’s request for an inquiry by a sitting Judge of the High Court. Citing reasons for a CBI probe, the petitioner said no FIR had been filed till date despite appeals by members of the victim’s family. He also took exception to the Principal Secretary (Home) and the state DGP, who had declared that Yousuf had died of “cardio-respiratory arrest” without investigation by any independent agency. |
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Kashmir fans remember ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh
Srinagar, October 10 Many young ghazal lovers, who had watched Jagjit perform here in June this year, besides at a couple of similar events earlier, said though “the man behind the voice is no more, his compositions will live in the memory lane”. Jagjit’s memorable compositions like “Chitthi Na Koi Sandesh……Janey Wo Konsa Desh Jahan Tum Chalay Gayey” continue to the favourite of the ghazal lovers here. The number of Urdu ghazal lovers has been on the rise over the past few decades, as the heart-touching lyrics of Hindi movies started fading away. “I have never seen him perform, but only listened to his ghazals over the past several decades,” said a schoolteacher, Nazir Ahmad Bhat. He added that he had been fascinated by Jagjit’s ghazals. “His ghazals are a soothing companion in the moments of solitude,” says Shabir Ahmad, an engineer, who has a good collection of Jagjit’s ghazals. The Valley residents also took to the social networking sites today to mourn Jagjit’s death with hundreds posting “Rest In Peace” message as a tribute to the singer. “Thanks for lullabying my pain Mr Jagjit Singh, rest in musical peace. Your voice epitomises my childhood sweet pain and innocent fantasies,” a Facebook user wrote in his tribute to the maestro. The Ghazal King’s voice has been a refuge for years now to hundreds of broken hearts and failed love stories of Kashmir. Many Kashmiris have been the lifetime fans of Jagjit’s voice and ghazals, who in return, touched their
hearts with his romantic renditions. |
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Protest held against Omar
Jammu, October 10 A large number of students gathered outside the college and raised slogans against the state government. They also burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister. Partap Singh Jamwal, provincial president of the NPSU, Amit Singh Bhau and Jagdeep Singh led the protesters. |
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Plan panel member calls on Governor
Srinagar, October 10 They also discussed the issues relating to the promotion of the welfare of women and children and the underprivileged sections of society in the state. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Madhav Lal also called on the Governor. He briefed the Governor about various important matters relating to his discussions with a high-level Central team yesterday with regard to the implementation of various development schemes in the state.
— TNS |
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20 Bhand Pather productions to be staged in Valley
Srinagar, October 10 Speaking at the concluding function, Balwant Thakur, Director, Natrang, Jammu, said 20 new concepts and scripts in the Bhand Pather style had been developed at the workshop and were being produced by the respective groups. These new productions would be staged at various places in the Valley from October 22. “This is going to make history when 20 new plays interspersed with new thoughts and innovations will be added to the repertoire of Bhand groups,” Thakur said. The young participants were trained in the new methodologies of play scripting and direction without changing the traditional essence of Bhand Pather, he added. Eminent playwright and director of Kashmiri theatre Moti Lal Kemmu was the workshop director. He stayed with the participants for the entire period and inspired and mentored them to develop new concepts and scripts. The eminent experts, who conducted different sessions, included Nissar Naseem, who presented the concept, ‘Searching Plots for Bhand Pather Style of Theatre’, while Mohammad Amin Bhatt sensitised the participants on the ‘Possibilities of New Innovations in Direction of Bhand Pather’. Bhawani Bashir’s subject was ‘Underlining Strengths of Traditional Design and Craft Patterns in Bhand Pather’, Sajood Sailini attempted on ‘Exploration of New Scripts in Bhand Pather Styles’, while Mushtaq Ali’s session focused on ‘Infusing New Creative Energy in Bhand Acting Styles’. Farooq Faiyaz presented an analytical study of ‘Kashmiri Folk Lore and Bhand Pather’, Balwant Thakur taught the participants the techniques of ‘Managing a Theatre Group Professionally’, while Kemmu inspired them to effectively incorporate the ‘Use of Other Traditional Performance Modes in Bhand Pather’. Anil Tickoo elaborated on the ‘Imaginative Use of Costumes and Properties in Bhand
Pather’.
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Jammu, October 10 The camp is being attended by 320 boy and 180 girl cadets representing all the states of the country. A statement issued here today stated that its aim was to foster national integrity, solidarity and camaraderie among the cadets. “Special efforts are being made to showcase the natural beauty and culture of the region and provide the cadets an opportunity to have an insight into Jammu and Kashmir,” it said. “The camp will provide an excellent opportunity to the cadets coming from far off places like Andaman and Nicobar islands, Kanyakumari, Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh to get an insight into Jammu and Kashmir,” it added. During the camp the cadets would participate in various activities and competitions.
— TNS |
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2 teenage boys, domestic help go missing
Jammu, October 10 Relatives and well-wishers frequented their house in Sector 6 of Nanak Nagar throughout the day today. Besides approaching the police and searching for their children on their own, the parents of the two boys, Jatinder Sharma and Bindu Sharma, have also consulted faith healers to know about their whereabouts. “According to faith healers, they (boys) are in Katra and hence my husband and some relatives looked for them in Katra and the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine last night, but to no avail,” said Bindu Sharma, mother of the missing boys. Kartik and Dhruv are the only children of Jatinder and Bindu. Jatinder had employed Dheeraj in his shop at City Chowk some seven months ago and the boy used to stay at his house as well. “They took away Rs 1,500 from my purse, besides some money from their piggy bank,” said Bindu. She added though it was Sunday yesterday, the boys left home with their schoolbags. Kartik and Dhruv are the students of SP Tarapuri School, Gandhi Nagar. Meanwhile, senior police officers also visited the Sharma’s house and assured them that their missing children would be found at the earliest. SP, South, Rajeshwar Singh said, “We have flashed a message along with the photographs of the missing children to all the police stations. We are also in constant touch with the police in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.” |
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Potato production to get boost
Jammu, October 10 Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir said this while interacting
with farmers at a seed multiplication farm in Kotli Mian Fateh village, near here, yesterday. He said the new mechanisation was very important to make potato production more profitable. He directed the department officials to create awareness among the farmers about the latest farm machinery like automatic potato planter. The use of a potato planter could bring down the cost of sowing by around 50 per cent, he said. Ajay Khajuria, Director, Agriculture Department, was also present on the occasion.
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Udhampur, October 10 DIG, Home Guard, Civil Defence and Auxiliary Police, Jammu, Sham Lal Sharma; Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, (Controller of Civil Defence), Baseer Ahmed Khan; and SSP, Udhampur, Shakeel Ahmed Beig jointly flagged off the rally from the mini stadium here. Over 400 persons, including students from schools and colleges, civil defence wardens and volunteers, holding placards and banners depicting the importance of maintaining peace and communal harmony took part in the rally. It passed through Mukherji Bazaar, Ramnagar Chowk, Hospital Road, Tallab Salain, Chowk Chabutra, Main Bazaar and Gol Market areas of Udhampur city before culminating at the mini stadium. Among others, Chief Warden Surinder Khajuria, Deputy Wardens SD Kotwal and Ved Parkash and volunteers of the Civil Defence and students participated in the rally.
— TNS |
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Health camp organised
Jammu, October 10 The camp was inaugurated by Bhagwan Singh, who had donated the land for the construction of a sub-health centre at Ranjan village. The Crossed Swords Division of the Army, under the operation Sadhbhavana, had constructed the sub-health centre.
— TNS
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Jammu, October 10
New Delhi, October 10