The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Curfew on in Rajouri 20 arrested for ‘inciting communal tension’ Arteev Sharma/TNS Jammu, March 9 Even as curfew restrictions remained enforced for the second consecutive day today in the border town of Rajouri following clashes between two communities, the police has arrested at least 20 persons for “inciting communal tension” in the area. Thousands of state police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in the sensitive parts of the town. All major streets and roads were barricaded and public as well as private transport remained off the road. Shops and commercial establishments remained closed for the second day, subjecting locals to hardship. The day, however, passed off peacefully. The district administration as a precautionary measure had imposed curfew in the town yesterday after a Hindu procession was stoned on Wednesday evening. Nine persons, including four policemen, had received injuries in the clashes between members of the two communities and in the police cane charge that followed. Tension had simmered in the town after the controversial remarks by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international president Parveen Togadia during his visit to the town on March 4. The police had also registered an FIR against Togadia for allegedly hurting the sentiments of a particular community. Officials said the situation was still tense but “under control” and would review the situation to see whether relaxation in restrictions was advisable. “The situation remained peaceful throughout the day and no untoward incident is reported from any part of the town. We are constantly reviewing the situation and the decision for any relaxation in curfew restrictions will be taken after getting final details from field agencies,” Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Khawaja Ghulam Ahmad told The Tribune over phone. He disclosed that over 20 persons were arrested for trying to “incite communal tension in the town”. “We have identified some troublemakers and a crackdown has been launched to defeat their designs by arresting them,” Khawaja said.
	BJYM activists hold protest Jammu, March 9 Activists of the Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM)-the youth wing of the BJP today held a protest in the city against the failure of the authorities to protect minorities in Rajouri town. The protest was held under the leadership of Munish Sharma, state president of the BJYM. A large number of BJYM activists carrying flags and placards marched in the city and shouted slogans against the state government and district administration for not taking action against some anti-social elements, who had let loose a reign of terror on minorities in Rajouri.
	Cricket association scam Mehbooba points finger at Farooq Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, March 9 The siphoning off of Rs 50-crore from the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) has snowballed into a major political controversy as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today reiterated its demand for action against Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, who is president of the association. Even as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly did not allow the Opposition to take up the issue in the Assembly on Thursday, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti today expressed concern over adopting different yardsticks in different cases. “If a case can be registered against Suresh Kalmadi for financial bungling in the Commonwealth Games, why has no action been taken so far against Farooq Abdullah?” she asked, adding that “Farooq Abdullah is heading this organisation and unfortunately is once again looking for scapegoats.” Blaming Farooq Abdullah for the “embezzlement”, Mehbooba remarked, “Rs 50 crore was fraudulently withdrawn and it cannot be done without the knowledge of the person who is heading the organisation.” The PDP chief regretted that in other parts of the country corruption was a huge issue but in Jammu and Kashmir all corruption issues in which big guns were involved were brushed under the carpet. She said the cricket association scam would also go the same way the Haji Yousuf Shah murder case went. “In Yousuf’s case, allegations were levelled against Farooq Abdullah that he had taken a huge amount for making some persons Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs),” she alleged. The BJP has also targeted the coalition over the issue. Party spokesman Jatinder Singh said: “The truth must come out. Since the National Conference-Congress coalition has been stressing on transparency, this case gives them an opportunity to prove its credibility as a transparent and honest regime. The Congress, however, has preferred to stay neutral. “The whole issue is between the BCCI and JKCA. It is out of the purview of the state government,” senior Congress leader and Minister of PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohiuddin told reporters outside the Assembly. “The BCCI should conduct an inquiry into the case,” he added. Meanwhile, NC leader Mustafa Kamaal came out openly in favour of his elder brother Farooq Abdullah. “Firstly, the JKCA is an autonomous body. Secondly, it is the JKCA that has exposed the scam,” he said and flayed the PDP for trying to score a political point on the issue. ALLEGATIONS OF EMBEZZLEMENT Two officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) were axed three days ago following reports of siphoning off of Rs 50 crore from the association. It has been alleged that this amount was diverted to a bogus account. Farooq Abdullah is president of the JKCA and his political adviser Mohammad Aslam Goni is chairman of the association. Goni, while reacting to Mehbooba’s allegations, has said the PDP president was unnecessarily trying to get political mileage out of the issue as the truth was that top officials of the JKCA were the whistle-blowers in the case.
	NC legislator, Oppn criticise budget Tribune News Service Jammu, March 9 The ruling National Conference-Congress coalition government today faced an embarrassing situation in the Lower House when its senior legislator joined the opposition parties in criticising the budget presented by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather. While a senior ruling NC member observed that the budget lacked “future vision”, the Opposition described it as “paupers of balance sheet” aimed at misleading the public by using complicated arithmetic. Participating in the general discussion on budget, NC legislator Mir Saifullah said the budget shouldn’t only be “calculations of income and expenditure”, but it should have a vision for future, which was missing in the recent budget. He added that no major difference was seen in the economic surveys during the last five years and things had almost remained the same. Saifullah said the government should focus on providing maximum benefit to the people by creating more avenues for them. Quoting the recent statement of a minister in the Punjab Government, he said, “The minister asked the Centre to waive off Rs 71,000 crore-debt on them. The per capita income of Punjab is 1.20 Lakh and it is unfortunate that the per capita income in Jammu and Kashmir is just Rs 32,000.” The NC legislator also criticised the government for “lacking a perspective to tackle the increasing unemployed problem” and for its failure to explore and develop other tourist destinations in the state. “The Finance Minister’s budget was a tribute to the privileged and affluent sections and virtually has nothing to offer to the poor and marginalised sections of society,” Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh said, adding that the Finance Minister had “perfected the art of jugglery and had attempted to mislead the public by the use of complicated arithmetic in his speech.” Harsh Dev said though the budget was pegged at Rs 33,853 crore, but the state didn’t have the capacity to generate even one-fourth of the same. In his speech, senior CPM legislator Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami suggested that the government should provide ample livelihood opportunities to unemployed youth for a lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir, as “hunger promoted violence and aberrations in society.” “The need of the hour is to provide adequate livelihood opportunities to unemployed youth to achieve the dividends of peace on sustained basis,” Tarigami said, adding that peace dividends achieved last year could not sustain longer unless youth were provided jobs.
	Police refutes reports on detention of Hizb militant’s wife Raju William/TNS Udhampur, March 9 The Kishtwar police has refuted reports that the wife of a Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant suspected to be involved in a blast outside the Delhi High Court last year has been detained in Kishtwar district. Talking to The Tribune over phone today, SP, Kishtwar, BM Tutti, denied the reports, appearing in a section of the media, that Tasleema Begum, wife of HM commander Shakir Hussain, alias Chota Hafiz, was detained at Tatapani in Kishtwar district. Tutti, however, admitted that questioning of family members or acquaintances of surviving militants was a regular exercise to get information about active militants in the area. “I refute the reports that the wife of HM commander Shakir Hussain has been detained,” said Tutti. Tutti, however, confirmed the presence of seven HM militants in Kishtwar district, including those wanted in the Delhi High Court blast case. Tasleema and her parents were reportedly brought to Kishtwar under tight security for questioning by the police, which is on a lookout for HM militants suspected to be involved in the blast case.
	Adviser to PM meets Governor Jammu, March 9 The Adviser to the Prime Minister, TKA Nair, held discussions with Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan last evening and this afternoon, before returning to Delhi. During the two meetings, the Governor and Nair discussed wide-ranging issues related to the measures required for securing rapid development of the state on all fronts, particularly with reference to power, water, roads and bridges, education and health. They also discussed matters concerning early establishment of urban and rural local self-governing institutions — TNS
	BJP, Panthers Party target govt over resident certificate issue Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, March 9 The BJP, Panthers Party and Jammu State Morcha (JSM) today corned the government in the Assembly for its failure to appoint a competent authority to issue Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs) to residents of Jammu. They pointed out that during the last four months no officer had been authorised to issue PRCs to people, especially students, who had been facing hardships. Taking a serious note of the issue, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Mohammad Akbar Lone gave direction to the government to take the matter seriously. “The issue is related to the future of the students so the government should take a serious note of it,” the Speaker said. Due to the special status of the state, a PRC is required to get admission in universities or to apply for government posts. BJP legislator Choudhary Sukhnandan raised the issue during the Zero Hour and was joined by his party colleagues and members of the Panthers Party and JSM. The agitating members said the students were the worst victims, as no PRC had been issued during the last four months because no officer had been authorised for the purpose. Earlier, Panthers Party members staged a walkout from the state Assembly, protesting against the alleged failure of the government in implementing infrastructural projects, concerning pilgrim tourism in the state. Replying to a question of Congress MLA Vikar Rasool, Minister for Public Health and Engineering Taj Mohiuddin on behalf of the Tourism Minister said 55 tourist spots had been identified for development during the financial year 2011-12. After the minister completed his reply, Panthers Party members, including Harshdev Singh, Balwant Singh Mankotia and Yashpal Kundal sought a reply from the government over the issue of non-implementation of several tourism-related projects in their constituencies. After failing to get a satisfactory reply, the Opposition members staged a walkout. Earlier, PDP member Nizamuddin Bhat also staged a walkout from the House, in protest against the comment of Law Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar that he was only resorting to noisy scenes. PDP member Javed Mustafa Mir and Independent MLA Engineer Rashid raised the issue of delay in Trans-world Islamic University.
	Women’s Day celebrated at Vaishno Devi varsity Katra, March 9 To commemorate the achievements of women on International Women’s Day, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra, organised a series of programmes on Thursday, which included a debate “Empowering Rural Women: A Dream or a Reality” followed by a presentation on women achievers and self-composed poetry recitation. The debate aimed at mapping the rehabilitation of rural women. A presentation was also made by scholars of the School of Languages and Literature. It journeyed through the historical and contemporary women personages all over the world. The scholars, including Vaishali Sharma, Quleen Kaur and Simranpreet Kaur took part in the programme. Dr Vandhana Sharma, Director, School of Languages and Literature, dwelt on the United Nations theme for Women’s Day for 2012, which is focused on empowering rural women. She said empowerment at the grass-roots level was the need of the hour. Dr Vandhana said such programmes provided productive forums for debate on women issues to sensitise people. — OC
	IAF holds cycling expedition to Reasi Udhampur, March 9 The 132 FAC flight of the IAF organised a bicycle expedition from Udhampur to Reasi from March 5 to 7. It was flagged off by Wing Commander SS Kalia, Station Commander, 39 Wing AF. The aim of the expedition was to inculcate a spirit of adventure and camaraderie among air warriors of the unit. The route followed by cyclists was Udhampur-Tikri-Katra-Reasi and back. Cyclists had a tough task on the hilly and dirt roads and completed the distance in eight hours, said the defence spokesperson here today. Ten cyclists from the IAf unit had participated in the expedition, which included three officers, six airmen and one NC(E). It was led by Wing Commander Ajay Bhardwaj, Commanding Officer of the 132 Flight. The cyclist interacted with various Army and paramilitary formations en route and also interacted with civilian population. The cyclists spread awareness among civilians about the IAF by giving lectures in schools and colleges in Reasi. The IAF unit undertakes casualty evacuation of civilians in Jammu and Kashmir sector and therefore the interaction with civilians will go a long way in fostering the spirit of cooperation and belongingness among the military, paramilitary and civilian population. — TNS
	Sakina Itoo calls on Governor Tribune News Service Jammu, March 9 Minister for Social Welfare Sakina Itoo met Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today. The Governor and Itoo discussed several important matters concerning the welfare of the economically-depressed and socially-neglected segments of the population and the need to secure effective implementation of the state government’s policy of providing reservation to differently-abled persons. The Social Welfare Minister briefed the Governor on various measures, which were planned for securing the larger welfare of those falling within the less-privileged sections of society in the state.
	HC restraint on JKSAC order Legal Correspondent Jammu, March 9 Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court (Jammu wing) today stayed the operation of order dated February 17, 2012, wherein the J&K State Accountability Commission (JKSAC) had decided to draw proceedings against Khem Lata Wakhloo, chairperson of the State Social Welfare Board. The petitioner, Khem Lata Wakhloo, had contended that she had drawn salary and perks as per the allocation of funds by the government, after following the due procedure as established by the law. The counsel for the petitioner further submitted that the commission had passed the impugned order without jurisdiction and, therefore, the same was illegal. Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir, after considering the arguments and the matter, issued a notice to the respondents and held that “the court is prima facie convinced that there are such legal issues involved in the petition as go to the root of the exercise of the powers by the JKSAC and require determination by the court. Therefore, it would be just appropriate to stay the operation of the impugned order in so far as it relates to issuance of a show-cause notice in terms of the Section 16 of the Act.”
	‘I Love My Post Office’ campaign launched Tribune News Service Jammu, March 9 Governor NN Vohra launched a month-long “I Love My Post Office” campaign at a function organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Postal Circle at Raj Bhawan here this evening. The campaign has been launched with a view to bring post office close to customers, make them aware about all products and services provided by it, besides spread awareness about the postal business. The Governor launched “I Love My Post Office” campaign by opening his Post Office Saving Bank Account on the occasion. Governor’s wife Usha Vohra was also present on the occasion. The Governor emphasised the need for restoring the past glory of the post office by bringing progressive improvements in the delivery of postal services, particularly in remote and far-flung areas of the state for the benefit of the rural population. He said with the coming of faster modes of communication, the post office had lost some sheen, adding that this calls for introducing an element of automation to ensure that letters reach their destinations within the shortest possible time. Referring to various initiatives being taken by the Postal Department, the Governor lauded the scheme introduced for sending apples and other fruit parcels from the state to anywhere within and outside the country. He said such a facility was extremely useful for a state like Jammu and Kashmir from where people liked to send fruit parcels to their relatives and friends. He emphasised the need for spreading awareness among the people about writing pin code numbers on letters and suggested the department to bring out a directory, listing the pin code numbers for the benefit of customers. He also suggested bringing further improvements in the stamping system so that the place of origin of the letter and its date was clearly visible on it. The Governor lauded John Samuel, Chief Post Master General, Jammu and Kashmir Circle, for taking several initiatives in the last year to bring continuing improvements in the postal services in the state. He congratulated Samuel and all other functionaries for launching “I Love My Post Office” campaign in the state and wished the department high success. The Governor and his wife were presented mementos on the occasion. John Samuel said, “The campaign ‘I Love My Post Office’ is being launched for the first time in the country from Jammu today, which would subsequently start in other states.”
	BSP condemns cut in yatra duration Devinder Thakur Katra, March 9 Criticising the decision of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to curtail the period of the annual Amarnath Yatra to 39 days this year, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) today threatened to launch an agitation, if the yatra duration was not increased. “We demand that the SASB should review the decision in the interest of the pilgrims, who come from all over India to pay obeisance to the Lord Shiva,” Rakesh Wazir, state general secretary of the BSP, told reporters at Nagrota. The BSP also threatened to launch an agitation against the decision of the Shrine Board. The duration of the yatra last year was 46 days. The decision was taken after a meeting of senior BSP leaders held today at Sakaiter in Nagrota under the chairmanship of Rakesh Wazir. In the meeting, BSP leaders condemned the latest move of the state government and the Shrine Board to reduce the duration of the Amarnath Yatra. While addressing the gathering, Wazir said the Amarnath Yatra provided livelihood to lakhs of people in the state, besides was a matter of religious sentiments and at no cost should be interfered with. He added that the period of the yatra was already too less and any move to reduce it further will be strongly opposed. Wazir has asked the state government and Governor NN Vohra in particular to intervene into the matter and increase the yatra duration to more than two months. Members of the party, including Ajay Singh, Gardhari Lal, Sita Ram, Madan Lal, Kewal Singh Jasrotia, Nanak Chand, Ashok Kumar, Chander Mohan Singh, Imtiaz Ahmed, Shekher Dass, Santokh Ram, Ganga Ram, Fazal Singh and Bishan Dass were also present in the meeting.