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Citizenship right for West Pak refugees
Kashmir Issue
BJP blames Centre, state govt for plight of lakes in Jammu
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Old Srinagar City
Two LeT militants gunned down
Governor inaugurates
Kashmir fest at Pune
Young artists’ camp concludes
Separate development block for Suchetgarh, says minister
Valley to get mobile lab to check petro products
Kashmiri Pandits to go on hunger strike for govt jobs
‘Ved Pal Deep lecture’ held by DD
Cancer screening camp held
Land encroachments main reason for man-animal conflict, say experts
Governor greets people on Eid-i-Milad
Two traders held for credit card fraud
Youth held for running fake gun licence racket
Fresh avalanche alert issued
NH closed as rain, snow lash Valley
Eid-i-Milad
Chamber flays govt for tax hike
Governor inaugurates ‘Khushboo-e-Kashmir’ at Pune
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Citizenship right for West Pak refugees
As the Congress leadership has failed to fulfil the promises made to these people, the move of the BJP to table a resolution is aimed at “exposing” the Congress, which is a partner in the coalition government headed by the National Conference, on the issue. The budget session of the Assembly is scheduled to begin from February 23. “We have drafted the resolution and the same will be submitted to the Assembly Secretariat on Monday for discussion on this issue in the coming budget session,” BJP Legislature Party leader Jugal Kishore Sharma told The Tribune. Sharma regretted that successive governments in the state since 1947 had failed to resolve the humanitarian issue, prompting the party to move a resolution. In its resolution, the party has demanded permanent resident certificate (PRC) or “State Subject” status for the West Pakistan refugees who have been living in Jammu and Kashmir since 1947. Unlike other states of the country, a PRC is mandatory for purchase of land, securing government jobs or continuing higher studies in Jammu and Kashmir due to its special status. “All problems of the West Pakistan refugees will automatically be solved once they are granted the PRC,” Sharma said, while seeking cooperation from all political parties, including the NC and the PDP, for resolving the issue. The BJP Legislature Party leader admitted that they had decided to move the resolution to expose the “double standard” of the Congress, which had repeatedly made promises to the refugees to get their problems solved once and for all. “Our resolution will expose all those groups that have been taking up the issue of human rights violation in the state,” he said, adding that denying citizenship rights to the helpless refugees was a glaring example of human rights violation. Welcoming the decision of the BJP to move a resolution in this regard, Labha Ram Gandhi, chairman of the West Pakistani Refugees Action Committee (WPRAC), said they had been cheated by all political parties from time to time. “Let us see which political groups will support or oppose this resolution,” he maintained, adding that they hoped that all political parties would support the resolution. Gandhi said the Congress leadership had assured them of solving their problems from time to time, but nothing had been done so far. “Pradesh Congress Committee chief Saifuddin Soz had promised to take up our issue with the Centre for a permanent solution, but these promises are yet to be fulfilled,” he said. Barring the domicile certificate, no step had been taken to grant them the status of “State Subjects”, he added. |
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Kashmir Issue
Engineer Rashid, who grabbed nationwide attention after his “controversial” resolution on amnesty to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during the autumn session of Assembly last year, believes all MLAs — irrespective of their political affiliations — will support his resolution. The resolution on clemency to Afzal Guru couldn’t be taken up for discussion following uproar and pandemonium in Assembly soon after it (resolution) was moved in the House. He said there was a need to engage all stakeholders in a meaningful dialogue to resolve the “contentious Kashmir issue” as the people of Kashmir had suffered a lot during the past 63 years. “The people who have taken up guns are important stakeholders and without their involvement it is not possible to evolve a consensus for finding an amicable solution to the problem. “The Home Minister of India should initiate separate talks with the UJC chairman, Hurriyat leaders and the elected representatives to bring them on a single platform,” Engineer Rashid maintained. The legislator said apart from India and Pakistan, let the Kashmiris, including separatists, be part of the dialogue process. “Without engaging the separatists and people who took up arms, an everlasting solution to the Kashmir tangle is impossible,” he said. Official sources, however, said the rejection or acceptance of any resolution was the prerogative of the Speaker of Legislative Assembly. The UJC chairman had announced that guns couldn’t fall silent in Kashmir unless the Government of India accepted his demand for right to self-determination. He had also asked separatist leaders not to enter into any kind of “bilateral dialogue” with New Delhi. |
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BJP blames Centre, state govt for plight of lakes in Jammu
Jammu, February 4 In a statement issued here today, state president of the BJP Shamsher Singh Manhas said the grant of an additional Rs 356 crore exclusively for the Dal Lake by the Union Government had once again proved that be it the state’s coalition government or the Congress-led UPA, both were Kashmir-centric and had no place for Jammu in their scheme of things. Manhas expressed the party’s concern over repeated discrimination meted out to Jammu, in the allocation of funds for developmental activities. He also alleged misappropriation of funds, obtained from the Centre for the maintenance of lakes. Manhas said the successive governments in the state, which had been run either by the NC or the NC-Congress coalition or the PDP-Congress coalition, always gave preferential treatment to Kashmir in all the spheres and at all levels. The pro-Kashmir approach of the NC and the PDP can be understood because for both these two parties Kashmir was their core constituency, but the total surrender of the Congress before them was unfortunate. “The people of Jammu displayed their faith in the Congress while returning maximum Congress candidates to the state Assembly in 2008 elections with the hope that their grievances will be taken note of and discrimination with Jammu will end.” “But high hopes of the people were dashed to the ground when the Congress formed an unholy alliance with the Kashmir-centric political party, the NC, for the sake of power and did not utter a word to seek justice for Jammu,” he said. He added that the silence on the part of the Congress by not demanding funds for the Mansar and Surinsar Lakes was not a healthy development for Jammu and its people. He said the people were watching the role of the Congress minutely and would teach it a lesson, as and when an election would be held. Manhas said the state government had in the past received funds of more than Rs 2,200 crore from the Centre in the name of development of the Dal and Wullar Lakes. He added that the BJP scams committee and its co-ordinator Dr Jitendra Singh had been working to gather details about the alleged misappropriation of funds. |
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Old Srinagar City
Srinagar, February 4 This information was given by officials to Minister for Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Sagar during a tour of various areas of the city yesterday. He visited Bulbul Lanker, Aali Kadal, Zaina Kadal, Khankhai Moula and Dastigeer Sahib to review the pace of work on various development projects. The officials told the minister that Rs 6.50 crore would be expended on the construction of the banks of the Jhelum at Zaina Kadal. Of this, Rs 1.5 crore had been spent by the Flood Control Department. The work on beautifying the banks of the Jhelum was under way. Also, Rs 50 lakh would be incurred on restoring the glory of Zaina Kadal. Sagar also visited the “ziyarat” of Hazrat Rehman al Maroof Bulbul Shah and took stock of the progress of the project there. A sum of Rs 1.90 crore is being spent on the project. The minister was accompanied by a team of senior officials, including Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control; Superintendent Engineer, R&B, Srinagar; Superintending Engineer, Srinagar Municipal Corporation; and Additional Deputy Commissioner,
Srinagar. |
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Two LeT militants gunned down
Srinagar, February 4 Militants opened fire on an advance party, triggering an encounter. The
militants remained holed up in Bashir Ahmad Shah’s house. The encounter resumed this morning and ended with the killing of two holed-up militants, the police said. The two have been identified as Ashiq Ahmad Shah, a resident of Panzgam-Awantipora, and Mudassir Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Yamrach-Yaripora (Kulgam). Two AK-47 rifles, two AK magazines, 120 rounds of AK ammunition, two diaries, three Matrix sheets and two pouches were seized from the two. |
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Governor inaugurates
Kashmir fest at Pune
Jammu, February 4 The Governor, who was the chief guest on the occasion, recalled the prolonged turmoil faced by the people of Kashmir and the large number of innocent persons, who had lost their lives during the period, besides an enormous economic loss and disruption of the educational system, which had adversely affected the youth of the state. Lauding the initiative of Sanjay Nahar for the invaluable work he was doing under the banner of SARHAD, the Governor called upon corporate institutions, affluent sections of society and NGOs to come forward and help orphans, destitute children and other less privileged segments of society. He stressed the need for nurturing moral and ethical values among the children, along with academic learning for their balanced personality development. The Governor said SARHAD was among the leading NGOs, which had come forward to secure the welfare of orphans and destitute children of the state. He hoped that many other organisations would emulate the excellent work being done by SARHAD to enable orphan children to stand on their own feet. Referring to the Kashmir Festival, the Governor said such events provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the glorious composite cultural heritage of the state across the country. He wished SARHAD high success in its endeavours. Earlier, the Governor was received by Sanjay Nahar, functionaries of the organisation, teachers and students. Nahar dwelt on the aims and objects of organising the festival. He expressed his gratitude to the Governor for inaugurating the festival and taking a keen interest in the socio-economic and educational advancement of orphans and destitute children in particular. He said presently, 100 children from the state were receiving free education and boarding and lodging facilities at a school with hostel facilities set up by SARHAD at Pune. Students from Kashmir presented a welcome song on the occasion, which was followed by a performance by Immersion Band of Dr Amit Wanchoo. Those who were also present on the occasion included Dr Mohan Dharia, a senior Gandhian leader, Mehmood-ur-Rehman, former Additional Chief Secretary in the state government, and Prataprao Pawar, chairman of the Sakal Group of Newspapers. |
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Young artists’ camp concludes
Jammu, February 4 Speaking at the valedictory function, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Nasir Aslam Wani called for providing a platform to the youth of the state for tapping their hidden talents in a better way. Describing 2012 as the year of cultural dialogue, Wani said, “The need was to focus on increasing the infrastructure and exploit suitable podiums. The government is mulling over the implementation of various schemes.” The young artists, who participated in the week-long camp included Asif Iqbal Khan, Tassadaq Hussain, Mudasir Gul, Arshad Hussain, Adil Ahmad Zargar, Mohammad Ashraf Munshi, Saqib Gulzar, Manoj Chopra, Insha Manzoor, Sahil Sharma, Rajinder Paul Singh, Sunil Dutt, Rigzin Paljore, Hriday Kant, Narinder Kumar Bhagat, and Lovesh Sharma. The minister presented certificates of participation to all the sixteen participants and impressed upon them to keep up the good work. |
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Separate development block for Suchetgarh, says minister
Jammu, February 4 The minister, who was on a day-long tour of the area, said this during a public meeting at Pindi Sarochan village of border tehsil RS Pura. During the tour, the minister visited various villages, including old and new Dewangarh and Pindi Sarochan. The minister said the state government was focussing on the development of far-flung and border areas, adding that a massive development plan had been launched in this regard. He said for the first time in the history of the state, the government had constituted Kissan Welfare and Other backward Classes (OBC) Welfare Boards for the well-being of the OBC and farming communities. The minister said the government would organise a two-day medical camp at Baspur village of RS Pura tehsil for providing healthcare facilities to the people on their doorstep, adding that another camp would be organised in the tehsil. The minister said work on second lift-irrigation schemes had been completed and would be commissioned soon, adding that another such scheme had been sanctioned for the area. The minister interacted with people and was apprised of the problems confronting them. He also interacted with players of various village teams and announced five cricket and 10 volley ball kits for them. He said a playground would also be developed at Dewangarh for promotion of sports in the area. Local residents’ demands included regularisation and release of daily wagers’ wages in the irrigation, PHE, and R&B departments, bridge over nallah between Pindi and Mula Chak, renovation and upgrade of Dablehar-Pindi road, construction of a community hall, inclusion of left-out beneficiaries in the BPL list, installation of additional transformer, etc. The minister was accompanied by sectoral officers. |
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Valley to get mobile lab to check petro products
Srinagar, February 4 This was stated by the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asgar Hassan Samoon, at a meeting held here yesterday, an official spokesman said. The mobile testing lab would check all tankers filled with petroleum products being supplied to the Valley for any adulteration and any defaulting tanker driver would be arrested and dealt with under law. Earlier, Samoon held a video conference with all the Deputy Commissioners of Kashmir to review the stock and supply position of essential commodities. He was told that an adequate quantity of essentials was available in all the districts of the Valley. — TNS
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Kashmiri Pandits to go on hunger strike for govt jobs
Jammu, February 4 The office-bearers of the MSA organised a meeting under the chairmanship of Sanjay Koul here and held a threadbare discussion relating to the problems being faced by the Kashmiri Pandit migrants. Koul said the government seemed to be confused on its own Cabinet decision, thereby negating its commitment of absorbing the remaining Kashmiri Pandit migrant youth within the 800 “de-reserved” and 762 other “non-joining posts” according to the waiting list released by the Service Selection Recruitment Board . Koul appealed to the government, particularly Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla for their intervention to save the community youth from mental harassment. He warned that the MSA would be forced to re-launch its strike, in favour of its demands from February 8 at the Relief Commissioner’s office, if the government didn’t take any initiative to fill up the vacant posts. “We will not hesitate in launching a chain hunger strike in New Delhi, if the government continues to maintain criminal silence towards the problems being faced by the migrant youth,” Koul added. —
TNS |
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‘Ved Pal Deep lecture’ held by DD
Jammu, February 4 Director, DDK, Shabbir Mujahid said such programmes would be included in the schedule of their regular features. |
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Cancer screening camp held
Jammu, February 4 Dr Rajeev Gupta, eminent oncologists, screened around 50 patients and examined at least five cases of ENT. CDs were distributed among female patients free of cost for self-breast examination. Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma said the health department was pioneering the project to take lead in the field or cancer awareness. —
TNS
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Land encroachments main reason for man-animal conflict, say experts
Jammu, February 4 Four persons, including three brothers, were reportedly injured when a leopard attacked them in Ramban district in the recent past. The leopard mauled them near their houses at Wanpora in the Banihal area of the district. In another case of man-animal conflict, a leopard mauled four persons at Gagrota in Kalakote tehsil of Rajouri district in 2010. More sighting of leopards in various hilly districts of the region are being reported every now and then. Experts say unchecked land encroachment over the past two decades in the two regions is the main reason for the increasing man-animal conflicts. According to the records, the state government has notified four national parks, 14 wildlife sanctuaries and 35 conservation reserves comprising 15,912 sq km, which is about 15.59 per cent of the total geographical area of the state. The Wildlife Department claims about 1,600 sq km area in the Jammu region, 800 sq km in Kashmir and 11,500 sq km in Ladakh. However, the department has failed to procure most of its land, as even after the issuance of a notification by the District Development Commissioner, Jammu, in 1981, the department could not take the possession of the land reserved for the wetlands. A senior official wishing anonymity said the department could procure only few marlas in the famous Gharana wetland and due to the lack of cooperation and coordination with the Revenue Department most of their reserved land had been encroached upon. The official said, “The increasing man-animal conflict is a matter of concern, but unfortunately little is discussed about the restoration of habitats to wild animals. Although, there are many proposals, but nothing can be implemented in the absence of a strong will.” “Checking the land encroachments and restoring land to the Wildlife Department would be the only way to end man-animal conflicts,” said, Bhushan Parimoo, president of the Environment Awareness Forum. Reports said the issue was also raked up in the second meeting of the State Board for Wildlife (SBW) on Friday. While chairing the second meeting of the SBW, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also its chairman said measures should be taken to minimise the man-animal conflict. He stressed that the conditions put by the Forest and Environment Department while granting permissions for some necessary development works should be adhered to in letter and spirit. He also discussed matters relating to the enhancement of ex-gratia compensation for loss of life, livestock and crop, in case of wild animal-human conflict. |
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Governor greets people on Eid-i-Milad
Jammu, February 4
The Governor described Islam as a religion of peace and said this holy day marked the birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), whose life was an embodiment of love, equality and brotherhood. The Governor prayed
for the well-being of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
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Two traders held for credit card fraud
Srinagar, February 4 Afaq Ahmad Zargar and Muzaffar Ahmad Wani, residents of Srinagar, who own a computer outlet, AM Group, made the transactions through international credit cards from December 19 to 24 last year, the police said. The credit cards used in these transactions belonged to persons from Canada, the US, Great Britain and Brazil, they said. The shopowners swapped the credit cards at the point-of-sale machine and swiped the cards for making payments by customers at their office in Pattan, 27 km from here, on the Srinagar-Baramulla road, the police added. According to the preliminary inquiry, the persons whose credit cards were used had never visited the Valley but their passport and visa copies were used as proof during the transactions, they said. Investigations in the case were on, the police said, adding that the involvement of some persons outside the state was also suspected. —
PTI |
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Youth held for running fake gun licence racket
Jammu, February 4 Following a tip-off, a police team conducted a raid in the Potha area and recovered six fake gun licences, eight fake permanent resident certificates (PRCs), three copies of “Form-3” and fake stamps from Abdul Hamid’s residence, an official spokesperson said. On questioning, it came to light that Hamid’s son Mohammad Farid was allegedly running a fake gun licence and PRC racket in the area. The police has registered a case and started its investigations. |
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Srinagar, February 4 “On the basis of reports from SASE, a medium-danger avalanche warning has been issued for higher reaches of snow-bound areas along the Line of Control (LoC), central and south Kashmir,” coordinator, Divisional Disaster Management Authority, Aamir Ali said. He said the areas included Chowkibal, Tangdhar, Machhil, Keran, Gurez and Uri along the LoC; Zojila, Sonamarg and Drass on the Srinagar-Leh national highway; and higher reaches of Baramulla in north, and Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts in south Kashmir. The people living above the height of 6,500 feet in these areas have been advised not to venture into steep and avalanche-prone areas, Ali said, adding that the warning was valid for the next 24 hours. — PTI |
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NH closed as rain, snow lash Valley
Srinagar, February 4 The tourist resort of Gulmarg received 48 cm snow today, while most other parts of the Valley received heavy rain and snow intermittently. The intermittent downpour also led to the temporary suspension of air traffic to the Srinagar airport in the morning. The traffic was restored as conditions improved in the afternoon. Qazigund, the gateway town to the Kashmir valley, received maximum rainfall of 6.4 mm. |
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Eid-i-Milad
“Let the day be harbinger of peace and development for the state and the country,” Omar prayed. The Hazratbal shrine will attract a large number of devotees on Milad. Special arrangements for ferrying devotees from different areas of Srinagar and elsewhere in the Kashmir valley are in place. Thousands of devotees have been thronging the shrine, which houses the holy relic of the Prophet, since the beginning of this holy month. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the Dargah and reviewed the arrangements put in place by the administration and the Waqf Board for the celebrations. The Chief Minister paid obeisance at the shrine, prayed for peace and prosperity of the state and interacted with devotees. He directed the Waqf Board and officers of the Divisional administration to ensure the provision of all facilities to the devotees during the celebrations. He stressed the need to ensure cleanliness, power and water supply Omar also received brief about the arrangements made for Milad celebrations and development programmes being undertaken in the area for beautification and upgrade of facilities during a meeting of the Waqf Board there. The vice-chairman of Waqf Board, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, various members of the board and other officers were present. Interacting with people, the Chief Minister said the beautification of Hazratbal and upgrade of various facilities in the area was on top of the priority list of the government. |
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Chamber flays govt for tax hike
Jammu, February 4 In a handout issued here today, YV Sharma, president of the CCIJ, said they had been receiving representations from various sections of civil society, complaining against the harsh way in which various taxes or tariffs were being levied on the people without any public notice. “The taxes on water and electricity, maintenance charges by the municipal corporations and many such levies are being thrust upon the people by the officials without any government notice, circular or order in any public channel,” Sharma said. —
TNS
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Governor inaugurates ‘Khushboo-e-Kashmir’ at Pune
Jammu, February 4 The Governor, who was the chief guest on the occasion, recalled the prolonged turmoil faced by the people of Kashmir and the large number of innocent persons, who had lost their lives during the period, besides an enormous economic loss and disruption of the educational system, which had adversely affected the youth of the state. Lauding the initiative of Sanjay Nahar for the invaluable work he was doing under the banner of SARHAD, the Governor called upon corporate institutions, affluent sections of society and NGOs to come forward and help orphans, destitute children and other less privileged segments of society. He stressed the need for nurturing moral and ethical values among the children, along with academic learning for their balanced personality development. The Governor said SARHAD was among the leading NGOs, which had come forward to secure the welfare of orphans and destitute children of the state. He hoped that many other organisations would emulate the excellent work being done by SARHAD to enable orphan children to stand on their own feet. Referring to the Kashmir Festival, the Governor said such events provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the glorious composite cultural heritage of the state across the country. He wished SARHAD high success in its endeavours. Earlier, the Governor was received by Sanjay Nahar, functionaries of the organisation, teachers and students. Nahar dwelt on the aims and objects of organising the festival. He expressed his gratitude to the Governor for inaugurating the festival and taking a keen interest in the socio-economic and educational advancement of orphans and destitute children in particular. He said presently, 100 children from the state were receiving free education and boarding and lodging facilities at a school with hostel facilities set up by SARHAD at Pune. Students from Kashmir presented a welcome song on the occasion, which was followed by a performance by Immersion Band of Dr Amit Wanchoo. Those who were also present on the occasion included Dr Mohan Dharia, a senior Gandhian leader, Mehmood-ur-Rehman, former Additional Chief Secretary in the state government, and Prataprao Pawar, chairman of the Sakal Group of Newspapers. |
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Two militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit were killed in an encounter with security forces after a night-long siege in Pulwama district of south Kashmir today.
Acting on a specific input about the presence of militants in Auwdora village of Pulwama district, 55 RR Unit of the Army and 182 Battalion of the Central Reserved Police Force launched a joint operation and cordoned off the area last night.
Jammu, February 4
The police yesterday arrested a youth for allegedly running a fake gun licence racket in the Surankote area of Poonch district.
The youth has been identified as Mohammad Farid (25), a resident of Potha, in
Surankote.
Jammu, February 4
Jammu, February 4
“I have decided to move a resolution with a sole aim of bringing UJC chairman and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen supreme commander Syed Salahuddin, Hurriyat leaders and all legislators on a single platform for a meaningful dialogue process to settle the Kashmir problem,” the MLA told The Tribune over the phone from his Assembly segment — Langate — in Baramulla district. 
Srinagar, February 4