The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Mehbooba steps up tirade against Chief Minister Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Bhalwal, October 18 Stepping up her attack on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti today took national parties to task for allegedly adopting different yardsticks for different regions while dealing with corruption. Addressing a public meeting at Kainka village in Bhalwal block, Mehbooba said: “If Ashok Chavan (of Maharashtra) and B S Yeddyurappa (Karnataka) had to resign on corruption charges (from posts of chief minister), why is the same yardstick not applied to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir?” “It is unfortunate that the yardstick adopted to deal with corruption cases in other parts of the country is not applied to Jammu and Kashmir, where corruption has crossed all limits,” PDP chief said, pointing out that “mafia raj” was operating in the state. “Not only contractual or government jobs but posts of MLCs and Ministers are also on sale in the state,” she said while referring to allegations against some National Conference (NC) leaders following the mysterious death of NC worker Syed Yousuf in Kashmir recently. Mehbooba claimed that after what had happened at the CM’s residence a few days ago, the “ruling party had been completely exposed”. “Instead of getting the matter thoroughly investigated, the authorities have been trying to hush up the case,” she said, alleging that Yousuf’s death had occurred in suspicious circumstances following a dispute over illegal transactions among leaders of ruling party. Taking a dig at the ruling coalition, she said with such corruption at the top level for the appointment of a minister or an MLC, how could an ordinary person expect fairness in recruitments elsewhere. Reiterating the resolve of her party to fulfil wishes of all sections of society, she said her party under the leadership of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had a vision to address aspirations of all regions and sub-regions of the state. Mehbooba asserted that the PDP during its tenure had fulfilled the promises which the party had made to the people of the state in the 2002 Assembly elections. “Although we had only 16 members in our kitty yet we changed the socio-economic scene of the state besides creating a sense of security among the common masses,” she said, adding that in its three-year tenure the biggest achievement of the PDP was that it had earned the credibility of the people through its conviction and commitment. “Unlike the National Conference, the PDP leadership has never compromised on its principles for power,” she asserted and reminded the gathering that her party had entered into a power-sharing alliance with the Congress in 2002 only after the formulation of the common minimum programme -- an agenda to run the coalition.
	This Diwali, gift of peace and apples from Kashmir A first: Apple growers from Valley to hold fruit festival in Jammu from October 23 to 25 Archit Watts Tribune News Service Jammu, October 18 People of the miltancy-hit Kashmir Valley will give the message of peace, harmony and secularism to the entire nation this Diwali. With the efforts of the state government, for the first time, the apple growers from across the state — including those from Sopore and Shopian —which is known as the apple bowl of the state and has been the hotbed of militancy and stone-throwing incidents — will come under the banner of the department of horticulture to give the message “Happy Diwali from Kashmir Valley”. “Apple growers in the Valley, a majority of them Muslims, will come to Jammu to sell their produce in gift boxes this Diwali, not only to make money but also to spread the message of communal brotherhood,” said Mohammad Javed Khan, Director, Horticulture, Planning and Marketing. “The department in association with apple producers will also hold a three-day fruit festival at Kala Kendra in Jammu,” he added. During the festival, all varieties of apple - Red Delicious, Royal Delicious and Golden Delicious - will be made available to the people. “With this event, people will be able to distribute apple rather than sweets to their near and dear ones on the occasion of Diwali,” maintained Khan. He said the aim was to provide the apple fruit to customers at a cheaper price as well as spread the message of communal love and brotherhood. “A majority of the apple growers have confirmed that they will be participating in the festival. The three-day event will be held from October 23 to 25. There will be no middleman between the customer and the producer. As a result, the customers will be able to get the stock at cheaper prices,” Khan said. Lauding the efforts of Horticulture Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Khan declared: “Diwali is the festival of lights, which is not only confined to Hindus and Sikhs. This year, with the involvement of the department, people from all sections of society will celebrate the festival.” Horticulture has been the mainstay of the economy of the militancy-plagued state.
	BJP accuses Cong of doublespeak Tribune News Service Jammu, October 18 Accusing the Congress of doublespeak, chief spokesman for the state BJP Jitendra Singh has said the Congress leadership on several occasions spoke in different tones on crucial issues at the Centre and in the state. In a statement issued here today, Jitendra referred to Union Defence Minister AK Antony’s opposition to the proposed withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from parts of Jammu and Kashmir, while Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram had accepted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s suggestion for its withdraw from three districts each in Kashmir and Jammu divisions. Jitendra also referred to Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Saifuddin Soz’s statement yesterday and Congress national general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s statement last week that the party favoured the extension of the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Indian Constitution to the Panchayati Raj Act in the state while the ministers in the state government belonging to the Congress were toeing the NC line of opposing the move. On the issue of clemency for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, while the central Congress leadership favoured the law of the land to take its course, in the state the party supported the NC’s campaign against the death penalty to Afzal, he alleged.
	Trafficking in women, children worst kind of abuse: Expert Tribune News Service Jammu, October 18 The Department of Lifelong Learning at the University of Jammu today organised a special extension lecture on “Trafficking of women and children in South Asia”. Dr Sarada Sreedevi Amma, a former UN resource person for the sub-regional consultation on “Trafficking of women and children in South Asia”, spoke on the issue. While delivering the lecture, Dr Amma said trafficking in women and children was the gravest form of abuse and exploitation of human beings. Thousands of girls and children are being trafficked everyday to some destination or the other and are forced to lead lives of slavery. They survive in brothels, factories, guesthouses, dance bars, farms and even in the homes of well-off people, with no control over their bodies and lives, she said. Calling trafficking, a flourishing global industry, through the economic exploitation of shysters, who kidnap desperate women and girls entrenched in poverty, Professor Amma said traffickers often use local people in a community or village to find poor and vulnerable young women and children. In some situations, family members sell off their children to middlemen or traffickers. The parents are deceived into believing that their children will get a good job or education, she said. However, most of the time these children end up in a brothel or other business, where they are forced to have sex with clientele, she added. “Though there is no concrete definition of trafficking, it could be said that trafficking necessarily involves the movement or transportation of a person, by means of coercion or deceit, against his or her own will and consent and consequent exploitation leading to commercialisation,” said Dr Amma. She added that abusers, including traffickers, recruiters, transporters, sellers, buyers and end-users etc., exploit the vulnerability of the trafficked person. Earlier, Prof Poonam Dhawan, Director, Department of Lifelong Learning said trafficking showed a phenomenal increase with globalisation. Increasing profit with little or no risk, organised activities, low priority by law enforcement agencies etc, aggravate the situation. “The income generated by trafficking is comparable to the money generated through trafficking in arms and drugs,” Prof Poonam said.
	Eurasian nations must join hands to tackle terror: Governor Tribune News Service Srinagar, October 18 Governor NN Vohra has emphasised the need for effective cooperation among the Eurasian countries to tackle terrorism and fundamentalism and create peaceful environment for establishing productive economic ties, which would lead to the speedy progress and prosperity of the people. The Governor was speaking after inaugurating a four-day international conference on “Globalisation and Eurasia: Changes and Challenges” organised by the Centre of Central Asian Studies, University of Kashmir, here today. He said there was an urgent need for reviving and strengthening historical, cultural and economic links among the Eurasian countries by combating and surmounting all impediments so that all the regional nations could benefit from the phenomenon of globalisation. He added that there was a need for creating a sustained environment, which enabled the free flow of goods, services, expertise, technologies, finances and the movement of nationals for promoting the prosperity and well -being of the countries of the region. Referring to the state, the Governor said the situation in our neighbourhood had adversely impacted the development and economic growth. He released a journal of the Centre of Central Asian Studies brought out on the occasion. He also released the proceedings of two international conferences organised by the Centre of Central Asian Studies during 2007-08 and 2008-09. The Governor wished the conference success and the participants fruitful deliberations. Rajiv Sikri, a former Ambassador, in the keynote address, gave an overview of the geo-political and economic scenario of the Eurasia and the future possibilities of putting in place strong economic cooperation in the region. In this context, he added that the theme of the conference was most relevant and timely and it needed an in-depth discussion. Sikri said bold, innovative and long-term initiatives were needed for engendering greater economic cooperation in Eurasia, particularly in the globalised world.
	SRTC workers threaten ‘chakka jam’ on Oct 20 Jammu, October 18 Fed up with the indifferent attitude of the state government, the Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Workers Union closed all workshops today and gave a call for a “chakka jam” on October 20. Claiming that the government had failed to fulfil their demands, the workers demanded that the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) be run on the pattern of the Himachal Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. “We will observe a two-day shutdown of all the workshops on October 19 and 20 in protest against the state government for not addressing our grievances. If our demands were not met, a “chakka jam” will be observed on October 20,” Ashok Mehra, a union leader, said. He said the decision regarding the shutdown and chaka jam was taken at a meeting of the union held in Srinagar. “We have been demanding that the SRTC should be run on the pattern of the Himachal Pradesh SRTC, as this will not only benefit the employees but also earn profits for the corporation,” Mehra claimed. He, however, said the implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission was also one of the major demands of the SRTC employees. — TNS
	Fake resident certificates seized, 2 booked Tribune News Service Jammu, October 18 The police has recovered at least five fake permanent resident certificates and booked two brothers from the Arnia area of RS Pura subdivision. The police said yesterday that Mohan Lal and Surninder Kumar, both brothers, had submitted documents to Tehsildar, Bishnah, Rakesh Sharma for the issuance of caste certificates. Mohan had also applied for caste certificates for his children. However, the Tehsildar, while scrutinising the documents, discovered that the permanent resident certificates attached with the applications were fake and ordered the re-verification of all the documents, the police said. The seized certificates were issued under the signature of the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Sheetal Nanda.
	Politicians exploited youth in state for 2 decades: Omar Tribune News Service Srinagar, October 18 Describing the youth as the strength of the nation, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has asked them to channel their energy positively and be vanguard stakeholders in the socio-economic development of the state. Speaking to a large number of youth at the Kashmir Youth Festival at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) here today, the Chief Minister said the state during the past two decades of unrest witnessed the exploitation of the youth by both pro-election and anti-election politicians. Omar said the youth of the state nurtured same hopes and aspirations of a better tomorrow, peaceful and honourable livelihood and befitting opportunities to grow as the youth of other states. However, he said during the period of disturbances in the state the youth witnessed only darkness and grew under the shadow of gun. “We have to provide them a platform and an opportunity to show their mettle and lead the state towards new highs of progress and prosperity,” he said. — TNS
	Kashmir Youth Festival Promote sports to make youth energetic: Maken Tribune News Service Srinagar, October 18 Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Ajay Maken has stressed the need for promoting sports like culture to help the youth make themselves healthy, energetic and capable of meeting challenges in life in an effective and result-oriented manner. He was interacting with the youth here today during the inauguration of the Kashmir Youth Festival organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan and the National Service Scheme. Nearly 600 youth from Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Rajasthan, besides the state were participating in the festival. The minister said the Central government was committed to providing better job skill development and employment opportunities to all the 8,000 youth from the state who had been enrolled under the National Youth Corps (NYC) programme launched in 2010 throughout the country. Saying over 1,800 Kashmir youth had toured various parts of the country in the recent past, Maken announced that more youth exchange programmes like the Kashmir Youth Festival would be organised every year in future so that the youth from the state and from other parts of the country could interact and understand each other and develop a sense of belongingness and togetherness. The Union minister exhorted the youth to focus on tapping their latent potential by working hard and maintaining discipline. He said the festival was aimed at creating a youth force, which would help in fostering unity and building long-lasting peace and communal harmony for nation building. During the festival, various sessions, including an interactive session on career counselling and a workshop on environment concerns, had been scheduled.
	Two killed in Mahore road mishap Tribune News Service Udhampur, October 18 Two persons, including a driver were killed in a road mishap in the Chasana area of Mahore tehsil in Reasi district today, when the vehicle they were traveling in fell into a deep gorge. The deceased have been identified as Mohammed Younis (driver) of Dhanu Gharota and Rajinder Prashad of Narwal. Officials said a Tata Mobile (JK02W-8120), carrying vegetables was on its way to Chasana Sungli from Narwal Mandi in Jammu. Negotiating a sharp curve on the way, the vehicle skidded off the road and rolled down into a deep gorge, killing both the persons onboard the vehicle. The police reached the spot, after receiving the information and started a rescue operation. The bodies of both the deceased were shifted to a hospital for legal formalities and post mortem.
	Sanskriti Award for Shahida Shabnum Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 18 Kashmiri poetess and short story writer Shahida Shabnum is the recipient of this year’s Sanskriti Award for Literature, announced a statement issued by Sanskriti Patisthan here today. The prestigious award, which is in its 32nd year, is given to young people in the age group of 25-35 years in five different categories, namely Literature, Journalism, Art, Performing Arts and Social Achievement. Shahida, born in Kupwara, graduated from Nowakadal Women’s College, Srinagar and her post-graduation from University of Kashmir. She has done her M.Phil and is currently enrolled for her Ph.D. Her first collection of short stories was published in 2003 at the age of 25 years. The book Naabidy Baar ( the yoke of candy) comprised 19 short stories and dealt with contemporary social life. Shahida is described as a ‘lone writer, devoting her time and energy to write poems and short stories in the Kashmiri language’. Her writing reflects the anguish of Muslim women in Kashmir.
	Army gives computers, furniture to schools Jammu, October 18 Nine Grenadiers (Mewar) of 52 Infantry Brigade under the aegis of the Crossed Swords Division gave away computers and school furniture to government schools in the Jourian area of Akhnoor subdivision yesterday. The Army handed over the computers and furniture to Government Girls Primary School at Khoi Millan, Government Primary School at Upper Kachrial, Government Primary School at Upper Kalah, which was appreciated by school authorities and locals alike. Brig Mukul Bhandari, Commander 52 Infantry Brigade, distributed the computers and furniture in a ceremony at Government Girls Primary School at Khoi Mallan (Samwan). The Commander emphasised the need for imparting computer skills to the students to confront the technical and educational challenges lying ahead.