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Faction-ridden Congress fails to project united face
BJP rebels form new party
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Two IEDs defused in Rajouri
Celebrations with a difference in Valley
Seminar on ‘Nehru’s vision of Asia’
Army restores eyesight of woman in Khour village
Police to interact with martyrs’ families
Separatists must list achievements: Langate MLA
Seminar at science college
Old bridge collapses in Baramulla, 7 injured
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Faction-ridden Congress fails to project united face
Jammu, February 19 As the rally was organised by Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla, a staunch supporter of Soz, formal invitations were extended to all dissident leaders, who owe their allegiance to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Even a banner with picture of Ghulam Nabi Azad was placed on the stage to project a united face to the warring factions but the dissidents preferred to skip the rally organised by the Soz loyalist. “It is the first time during the last three years that a picture of Azad was on the stage of a rally organised by the Soz group,” a senior Congress leader told The Tribune even as he added that efforts to iron out differences were not properly reciprocated by the dissidents. Besides Soz loyalists, the rally was attended by Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohiuddin and Minister for Public Enterprises Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, but both these leaders are considered in the Congress circle as “neutral”. Sources in the Congress said during the Legislature Party meeting on Friday evening, all party legislators were present and a formal invitation was extended to them to attend the rally. Today’s rally had been projected as a show of unity in the faction-ridden Congress to take on the coalition partner, National Conference. It had also been decided that the rally would mark the beginning of campaign for the forthcoming civic bodies elections in the state. Soz in his address downplayed the conspicuous absence of dissidents from the rally. He stressed on the need to strengthen the Congress in the state to counter communal and fundamentalist forces. He said the party was committed to equitable development of all three regions of the state in every sphere of life. “The Congress has always advocated balanced and equitable development of all three regions as that would strengthen the bonds of unity and integrity in the state. The Congress is the only party that fulfils the aspirations of the people across the country,” he said. Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for Medical Education RS Chib, former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma and others also attended the rally. |
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BJP rebels form new party
Jammu, February 19 The JKDF today launched a membership drive and 1,100 people, mostly former BJP workers, enrolled themselves as members of the new party. A function was held today on the premises of Brahman Sabha headquarters to announce the agenda of the party in the presence of some prominent citizens. Although all seven MLAs expelled from the BJP did not formally join the party, they offered full support to the new front “to propagate nationalist and pro-Jammu agenda in the state”. Technically, these MLAs cannot join any party because according to the Anti-Defection Law of Jammu and Kashmir, the MLAs expelled from any party would lose their membership of the Assembly in case they joined any other party. Chairman of the JKDF Anil Gupta said they had the support of all expelled MLAs because all their supporters had already joined the front. “Our first target is to contest the coming civic bodies elections to register our presence,” Gupta said, adding that besides the Jammu Municipal Corporation, the JKDF would contest elections to all local bodies. The JKDF had already formed a list of potential candidates for all wards of the JMC, he declared. Gupta, while addressing the meeting, said the national parties had failed to protect the wishes and aspirations of the people of the Jammu region.
He said there was a need to have a regional party in Jammu and the JKDF had been launched to fulfil this need. He assured the gathering that the JKDP would try to come up to the expectations of the people of the Jammu region. |
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Two IEDs defused in Rajouri
Jammu, February 19 “On a tip-off regarding the planting of the two IEDs, the police with the assistance of jawans of Rashtriya Rifles carried out a search operation in Loharka village of Manjakote tehsil yesterday and recovered the two IEDs which were fitted alongside water pipes,” the Senior Superintendent Police (SSP), Rajouri, Vijay Singh Sambyal, told The Tribune. The SSP said the IEDs were planted just a few metres away from the road. “The IEDs were defused successfully,” Sambyal said. Yesterday, security forces had also defused an IED in Kotli Kalaban village in Mendhar tehsil of
Poonch district. 2 militants held Srinagar: Two Pakistan-trained militants were arrested in Kupwara district, the police said on Sunday. Acting on a tip-off, the Handwara police apprehended two Pakistan-trained militants, identified as Naseer Ahsmad Bhat of the Hizbul Mujahideen and Atiqullah Malik of the Al-Badar at Kulangam in Kupwara. Both Naseer and Atiqullah had recently infiltrated into the Valley. A case has been registered in this regard. — OC
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State govt dragging feet on combating corruption: Mufti
Jammu, February 19 Addressing a meeting in the RS Pura area, Mufti observed that those facing corruption charges had managed to get stay orders from the court of law but the government on its part had not taken any serious initiative to get such orders vacated because those at the helm were not interested in properly investigating such corruption cases. “Without its own independent investigating agency, the SAC has to depend upon other organisations to investigate corruption cases. So political interferences in such investigations is inevitable,” he observed, adding that corruption cases could not be investigated without providing the SAC with its own independent investigation agency. The PDP patron said corruption was rampant in the state, right from bottom to top. So much so that the credibility of those at the top of the administrative system was under a cloud. Those at the helm of affairs had lost the moral authority to speak about corruption due to their own involvement in such practices, he added. “During our three-year tenure, we brought accountability and transparency in the government because we had never compromised with our principles,” he said, while pointing out that his government had established the SAC in 2003 with the objective of curbing corruption at the top level. He said after emerging as the biggest political force in the Kashmir valley, the main objective of the PDP was to provide a secular alternative to the people of the Jammu region. |
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3-day Shiv Khori festival gets under way
Shiv Khori (Ransoo), February 19 The festival is being jointly organised by the state Tourism Department, the Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board (SSKSB) and the Reasi district administration. A procession on the inaugural function was also taken out in the town up to Darshan Deodi, carrying the palanquin of Lord Shiva followed by a large number of religious and cultural troops of Reasi district. The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal, who is also the chairman of the Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board; Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, Sheetal Nanda; Director, Tourism, RS Mehta; SSP, Reasi, Atul Goel; board members, including Seema Shaker; SM Saini; Additional Deputy Commissioner RS Tara; Assistant Commissioner Sukhdev Singh Sambyal; senior officials of all departments; prominent people from the Ransoo town and thousands of people were also present on the occasion. Praying for eternal peace and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir, the minister said all efforts were being made for the promotion and beautification of the Shiv Khori Shrine, which was emerging as an important pilgrimage destination in the Jammu region after the Vaishno Devi Shrine. Jora said special efforts were being made to divert the pilgrimage rush from the Vaishno Devi to other tourist and pilgrimage destinations in the state. For the purpose a comprehensive tourist circuit connecting various destinations with tourism
potential is being chalked out, he added. The minister also appreciated the efforts of the former minister Jugal Kishore for his contribution towards the development of the area. The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, gave a detailed resume of various developmental activities taken up in the area, which included the construction of a bus stand on 64 kanals, survey of a cable car, construction of a conference hall at Ransoo, installation of solar lights on the 3-km track, widening of the Kanda-Ranoo roadn and beautification of the Ransoo baazar. He also
told the minister that about 61,000 plants of different varities had been planted in the area. The district administration, Reasi, have made all necessary arrangements, which include security, drinking water, power supply, medicare facilities with ambulance, sanitation, fire services, yatra slip counter with announcement counter by the Information Department and provision of blankets etc. The Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Cultural and languages, Jammu, presented a cultural programme on the occasion. Various social and religious organisations have arranged langers for the visiting pilgrims at various locations near the base camp and en route to the cave shrine. Governor greets people on Mahashivratri
Jammu: Governor NN Vohra has extended warm greetings to the people on the auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri, which is celebrated as ‘Hairath’ by the Kashmiri Pandits. The Governor observed that the festival symbolises the values of piety, devotion, brotherhood and harmony, which are an important facet and hallmark of our glorious pluralistic ethos. He prayed for sustained peace, progress and prosperity in the state. |
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Celebrations with a difference in Valley
Srinagar, February 19 “Special nightlong prayers that will be held tonight are part of our distinct Hearath celebrations. Only Kashmiri Pandits hold pooja on the eve of Shivratri while other Hindus celebrate the day tomorrow,” said Manoj Koul, a local. Traditionally, Kashmiri Pandits pray to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati during night while offering walnuts that are placed in “watuk” (earthen pots). “The ‘wisarjan’ of the watuks is done on amavasya, three days after the pooja, and the walnuts are distributed among relatives and friends,” said Manoj. The Kashmiri Pandits also cook fish and lotus stem on the occasion. The Department of Fisheries has made elaborate arrangements for the sale of trout fish on the eve of Mahashivratri. Trout fish was put up for sale at the Harwan, Indira Nagar, Lal Chowk, Ganpatyar, Habbakadal, Jawahar Nagar and Karan Nagar areas of the city and also at Migrant Colony in Sheikhpora in Budgam district for the convenience of the Pandit community residing there. The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, has directed all Deputy Commissioners and heads of departments to make the requisite arrangements for the festival. Instructions have been issued to the Chief Engineer, EM&RE, and the Chief Engineer, PHE, to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity and potable water during the festival. |
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Seminar on ‘Nehru’s vision of Asia’
Jammu, February 19 About 20 delegates from other universities, including Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Jamia Millia Islamia from New Delhi, the University of Allahabad, Panjab University and the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh, will participate in the event. |
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Army restores eyesight of woman in Khour village
Jammu, February 19 Kaushalya Devi, a widow from Khour village, has nobody to take care of and had never thought that she would get her eyesight back and see again. A medical team of the Army, which found her in her house while screening old patients for cataract, decided to carry out her free of cost cataract surgery at Military Hospital. After undergoing the surgery at Military Hospital in Akhnoor, Kaushalya no longer has to depend on her neighbours for most of her daily chores. The initiative by the Cross Swords Division to restore the vision of needy and old patients of far-flung areas like Danger, Jogma, Batal, Kalla, Khour, Bandwal, Dharkhod, Dolidiggar has helped 30 elderly patients, who had lost the hope to see again. An eye specialist and an anaesthetist screened more than 100 patients for cataract surgery at Military Hospital, Akhnoor. Necessary laboratory investigations were carried out free of cost and 30 patients were short listed for surgery. The patients were successfully operated upon by ‘sutureless cataract surgery’ (phacoemulsification) and post-surgery periodic reviews have also been carried out by the specialists. The patients have also been provided with spectacles. To mark the finale of the eye camp at Military Hospital, Akhnoor, Deputy GOC, Cross Swords Division, Brig AK Shukla, gave away spectacles to 30 patients and interacted with them. |
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Satire on struggles of a doctor
Jammu, February 19 The play Doctor Palta was a satire and depicted the struggle of professionals in the early stage of their career. Payara Singh Palta after losing every penny to complete his undergraduate degree in dental surgery struggles to get a job, but all in vain. He finally decides to set up his own clinic to earn his livelihood. Here he faces a lot of problems in the absence of resources. There is no client, no work, no money, which frustrates him. He strikes upon an idea and wants to attract clients by using latest trends in marketing. To begin with he prepares his beautiful wife to become a stylish attractive nurse so that her beauty may lure some clients. The experiment becomes counterproductive, as his friends start making advances on his wife, which is a cause of more frustration for him. Dr Palta then plans to have a telephone line at the clinic to boast of getting an overwhelming response to his practice. The drama reaches a climax when Dr Palta mistakenly carries out some dental procedures on a telephone lineman, who had come to his clinic to connect a telephone line with the instrument. Rahul Singh played Doctor Palta with ease. His wife was played equally well by Sajra Qadir. The cast also included Pawan Verma, Balwinder Singh, Pankaj Anand and Sahil Kanojia. The lights were designed and executed by Neeraj Kant. The presentations were done by Vikram Sharma and Sumeet Sharma coordinated the show. |
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Police to interact with martyrs’ families
Jammu, February 19 An official spokesperson of the police said the sammelan would be chaired by DGP Kuldeep Khoda and chairperson of the Police Wives Welfare Association Indu Kaul Khoda. All the Jammu-based senior police officers will attend the function. “Besides, reviewing the general welfare of the families of the police martyrs, individual grievances of each of these families with regard to their pending claims, education of children and wards of martyrs and other genuine problems would also be heard and looked into,” the spokesperson added. The IGP, Jammu zone, Dilbag Singh, who is the organiser of the sammelan, has finalised all necessary arrangements for the transportation, lodging and boarding of families in Jammu. Nodal Officers have also been nominated for the purpose, who would coordinate and make all arrangements for the martyrs’ families. |
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Separatists must list achievements: Langate MLA
Srinagar, February 19 Rashid was on a visit to Laiser village in Rafiabad where he met with the family of Ashiq Hussain, who was killed in “accidental” Army firing. He claimed that people of Kashmir had not “offered sacrifices” for autonomy, self-rule or “sadak, pani and bijli”. Rather they wanted a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem. Calling for a long-term solution to the issue, he said the same was not possible until a serious dialogue was initiated with all stakeholders, including Pakistan-based United Jihad Council. Regarding the killing of the Rafiabad youth by the Army, Rashid said: “The Government of India should explain what happened to its promise of zero tolerance to violation of human rights in Kashmir. The Central government and the state government owe an explanation to the people of the state.” |
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Seminar at science college
Jammu, February 19 At least 48 participants from different colleges participated in the seminar, while 24 presented their papers. Those who presented papers included Kavita Suri, associate professor, Department of Lifelong Learning, JU, Vishwa Raksha, associate professor, Department of Sociology.
— TNS
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Old bridge collapses in Baramulla, 7 injured
Srinagar, February 19 The bridge connecting the Uri town with Kamalkote near the Line of Control in Baramulla, 100 km from here, collapsed when the labourers were pulling it down, officials said. They said seven labourers, including five from Bihar, were injured in the mishap. The injured were admitted to the Uri sub-district hospital.
— PTI
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Changing face of street protests
Corruption in
the air Days after the government issued premature retirement orders to 13 officials found guilty of accepting bribes, the State Accountability Commission issued a notice to the state government over according ministerial status to political advisers of the chief minister and heads of various corporations and boards. Now, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has to appear before the SAC on March 5. Earlier, corruption charges were levelled against PHE minister Taj Mohiuddin while Peerzada Syed lost the education portfolio on charges of fraudulently getting his son to pass the matriculation exam. While the government axed 13 officials on corruption charges, it is hoped that strict action will also be taken against the ‘tainted’ ministers and other higher-ups if found guilty. Accidents on highway Four members of a family and two others were killed in a road accident at Khooni Nullah about 130 km from Srinagar on the
Srinagar-Jammu national highway early Saturday morning. The Traffic Police was caught by by surprise as vehicles were not supposed to ply on the highway at that time. Certain restrictions have been in place on the movement of traffic on the highway following bad weather conditions since the first week of January. In view of the poor road condition following snowfall, the highway had been closed for three days last week. However, the negligence of the Traffic Police and also violation of rules by the driver and those on board the ill-fated vehicle led to the accident. The public in general and the Traffic Police in particular should abide by the instructions for the safety of human lives. — Contributed by Ehsan
Fazili, M Aamir Khan |
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Watching each other’s back
Inaccessible bureaucrats Bureaucrats are always hard to reach, even on days when there is very little activity in state offices. And when the budget session of Legislative Assembly is right round the corner, they have a perfect reason to avoid meeting deputations or delegations of the civil society. No matter how hard one tries to seek an appointment with an official, it is impossible to access them, as they are “busy preparing replies to queries sought in the Assembly”. It seems to be a long wait for those trying to reach officials, as they will be “available” only after the session gets over. Poster girl Although Priyanka Gandhi has not officially joined the Congress, party leaders have started cashing in on her charisma. The venue of a recent public meeting organised by Congress leader and Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla was dotted by Priyanka’s banners. Although banners of other leaders like All-India Congress Committee chief Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi and PCC chief Saifuddin Soz were also put up in large numbers, those of Priyanka clearly outnumbered the others. Perhaps, the organisers were out to make it a point to focus on Priyanka so that they could draw maximum mileage. Health-wise The recent implant of a permanent pacemaker in a newborn, belonging to the Chhani Himmat area of Jammu, at Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, reflects lack of super-speciality medical facilities in J&K. As the baby was diagnosed with complete blockage of heart before birth, the parents decided to go in for a pacemaker implant by a renowned cardiac surgeon in Ludhiana. A vast majority of people who live in tough terrain across the state lack even the basic medical facilities. It is high time that the state government equips its hospitals and promotes private ventures offering quality treatment. — Contributed by
Jupinderjit Singh, Varun Suthra, Dinesh Manhotra and Raju William |
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There was a time when people of the Kashmir valley used to take to the streets in protest against the alleged human rights violations at the hands of the security forces. But of late, most of the demonstrations have been held against the lack of basic amenities. This winter, protests against power shortage in the Valley were common. One such protest even claimed the life of a civilian at Uri in Baramulla district. Demonstrations have also been held against LPG and water shortage. On Saturday, a civil society group hit the streets over the failure of the government to tackle the menace of stray dogs in
Srinagar. Last year, the government managed to keep the situation under control after violent street protests in 2010. However, it appears while cooling the tempers over human rights violations, the government has ignored day-to-day issues. It is imperative that matters related to the daily lives of the people are resolved as any issue in Kashmir can snowball into a major law and order problem. 
Sometimes a collective adversity brings estranged friends or family members together. This holds true especially when it comes to politicians. It is no secret that the state Congress is a divided house, having Soz and Azad factions. Lately, Congress Ministers have been facing a barrage of corruption charge. And, some of the charges have been levelled from within the party. But a single direction from Delhi has changed it all. The Congress ministers, who had thus far been fighting the charges alone, came together to defend one another and present a united front in public. During a rally at Gandhi Nagar on Sunday, Irrigation Minister Taj Mohiuddin was seen helping his bête noire, Higher Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, get up from the dais as the latter struggled to stand. Both are facing charges of misuse of authority. Taj was swift to come to Peerzada’s aid, giving a perfect opportunity to photojournalists to capture the moment. (See pic)