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PC reviews J-K security, Omar proposes revocation of AFSPA
Cong takes up refugees’ cause
Render selfless service to people: Omar to NC
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NC neglecting Srinagar, claims Mufti
Students block road over shortage of teachers
PSA slapped on four for human trafficking
Three teachers suspended in Katra
Katra ponnywalas call off strike
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PC reviews J-K security, Omar proposes revocation of AFSPA
Jammu, April 10 Official sources told The Tribune that Omar cited drastic improvement and near-normalcy in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Srinagar and Budgam districts of the state, from where the Act can be rolled back and where the Army has no operations. The meeting which was attended by civil, police, paramilitary and intelligence officials also discussed threadbare other measures to consolidate peace in the state. Sources said comparative graphs showing a decline in militancy-related violence since 2010 were also presented at the meeting. “Apart from discussing the AFSPA, the meeting also looked into aspects of removing bunkers of paramilitary forces from Srinagar and thinning paramilitary forces from urban areas to give a semblance of peace and normalcy,” said sources. They further said a report on Kashmiri separatist Ghulam Nabi Fai vis-à-vis his alleged network of funding terror outfits was also sought by the Union Home Minister. Fai had been recently sentenced to two years of imprisonment by a US court. The sources divulged that issues concerning rehabilitation of surrendered militants and measures to ensure an incident-free Amarnath Yatra also figured during the meeting. They further said that the Chief Minister also felt the need of making public
the interlocutors’ report on the state. The three-member panel of interlocutors comprised journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, academician Radha Kumar and former Information Commissioner MM Ansari. The panel had submitted its report to the Prime Minister in 2011. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand; Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani; State Chief Secretary Madhav Lal; state DGP Kuldeep Khoda; Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister BB Vyas; Principal Home Secretary BR Sharma; Union Joint Secretary (Kashmir) in the Ministry of Home Affairs K Skandan; Additional Director, IB, Rajeev Kapur; Special Director General, CRPF, J&K, Anirudh Uppal; Additional Director General, Law and Order, K Rajindra; Jammu Divisional Commissioner, Pawan Kotwal; IGP, Kashmir, SM Sahai; and IGP, Jammu, Dilbag Singh; IG, CRPF, Kashmir, BN
Ramesh.
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Cong takes up refugees’ cause
Jammu, April 10 Minister of Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla, after attending a meeting of senior Congress leaders with Chidambaram, told reporters that issues of all displaced persons were thoroughly discussed with the Union Home Minister and a comprehensive package in this regard was sought. Bhalla claimed that the Home Minister had given the assurance that problems of displaced persons would be solved. He said problems of West Pakistan refugees, who had been struggling to get citizenship rights since 1947, were also discussed with the Home Minister. The Revenue Minister in his memorandum to the Home Minister reminded him that earlier a memorandum had been submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to the state in 2011 for grant of a one-time settlement of the displaced persons of 1947, 1965 and 1971. In the memorandum, the minister has demanded a total package of Rs 1,775 crore for a one-time settlement of all sections of refugees. While displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Chhamb have been demanding rehabilitation and compensation, West Pakistan refugees have been demanding citizenship rights. These refugees have been living in the Jammu region since 1947 but have been denied citizenship rights. The Congress leadership has repeatedly promised to solve their problems but nothing has been done so far. Recently, West Pakistan refugees staged a dharna at New Delhi to draw attention of the countrymen towards their plight.
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Render selfless service to people: Omar to NC
Jammu, April 10 He described the NC as a fortress of public aspiration, communal amity, solidarity and equitable development of all the regions of the state. Addressing the Provincial Working Committee meeting of the NC in Jammu province, Omar
Abdullah said the NC had always stood for the cause of people of the state and history was testimony to the struggle spearheaded by party for the empowerment of the common man. “Our endeavour in this direction would continue,” he said, adding that the NC and Congress share the ideology of secular democracy and equitable development. Omar said both the parties stood for solidarity and holistic development of the state, irrespective of creed, caste, region, religion or colour. “The coalition between the NC and Congress is a natural one for sharing the high principles of communal harmony, brotherhood, peace and equitable development of all the sections of society,” he said and stressed the need for strengthening the coalition to achieve higher goals in the process of development and restoration of permanent peace. He advised the party workers to disseminate the people-friendly initiatives taken by the government during the last three years at the grass-roots level. He asked them to highlight the public requirements on development fronts at all foras and at the government level so that these were properly focused and addressed. Earlier, leaders of the NC congratulated Omar for his appointment as the working president of the party. Minister for Industries Surjeet Singh Slathia, Political Adviser to the Chief Minister Devender Singh Rana, MLCs Ajay Sadhotra, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy, Javed Rana, Master Noor Hussain, Aijaz Jan, Bimla Luthra, MLAs Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo, Mohammad Aslam Goni, Vijay Lakshmi Dutta, Harbans Singh, Haji Mohammad Hussain, Brij Mohan Sharma, Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, Qazi Jalal Din, Ram Paul, Mushtaq Bukhari, Mirza Abdul Rashid, Mohammad Aslam Khan, Ghulam Haider Malik, Surinder Singh Bunty and Jugal Mahajan and other provincial committee office-bearers attended the meeting. |
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NC neglecting Srinagar, claims Mufti
Srinagar, April 10 “Srinagar is still battling basic problems like that of roads, drainage, electricity and drinking water. The state government has failed to implement massive development schemes approved previously under Asian Development Bank grants or the Centrally-sponsored schemes,” Mufti said while addressing a group of civil society members here. “This capital city has been exploited as a vote bank for decades but never given its due share of development. The major initiatives taken by our (previous PDP-led) government have been abandoned by the National Conference. The beautification of the Jhelum, development of Eidgah and the proposed construction of seven flyovers that were initiated by the PDP have been stopped as if out of political revenge,” he added. Alleging that youth of the state had “fallen victim to a variety of problems arising out of political uncertainty and economic deprivation,” Mufti urged the youth “to assert their power” that would bring a “systemic change” in the state.
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Army comes to rescue of accident victim
Udhampur, April 10 Parvez, a resident of Mahore, was driving his Tata mobile pickup vehicle when he lost control over it and rolled down a hill. The accident took place when Parvez was speaking over the phone while driving. Officiating PRO, Defence, Jammu, SN Acharya said the axle of the vehicle broke, as it rolled down the hill and Parvez sustained a head injury. After hearing about the accident, troops of the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion located at Sarh immediately rushed to the spot along with medical aid and rescue equipment. The driver was evacuated and given immediate first aid and then admitted to a hospital at Jammu. Later, the damaged vehicle was pulled out with the help of a recovery vehicle of the Army. Acharya added that the Army camps located at Mahore and Sarh had played a pivotal role in rescuing the local population during natural calamities and road accidents. |
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Employees stage protest, threaten to intensify stir
Srinagar, April 10 The members of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgam of various employees’ bodies, gathered at the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) Department office where they raised slogans against the government. Talking to reporters, JCC leader and Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) president Khurshid Alam said: “Today we are protesting against the government’s non-seriousness towards our long-pending demands. The government has failed to honour the agreement made with us.” Last year, the government had signed an agreement with JCC leaders according to which a decision regarding the employees’ demands was to be announced by March 31 this year. “We waited patiently for seven months after the signing of the agreement with the government and suspended our protest programmes. But we were forced to take to the streets once more,” Alam added. The JCC also called for a strike on April l7 while stating that the future course of “severe” protest programmes would be announced on the same date. Later, the protesters tried to take out a procession towards the civil secretariat but the police used water cannons to disperse them. At least a dozen protesters were also taken into preventive custody. The JCC demands include release of arrears recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, enhancement of retirement age and regularisation of services of daily wagers and casual workers working in various departments. Meanwhile, a group of anganwari workers staged a protest at the Press Enclave area demanding regularisation of their services. The protesters were dispersed peacefully by the police after they tried to take a march towards the Lal
Chowk. |
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Surankote residents protest against rise in theft cases
Poonch, April 10 Hundreds of local residents and shopkeepers today assembled in Surankote town and held a protest. Shopkeepers closed their business establishments and blocked the Poonch-Jammu road from 6 am to 12 pm. Protesters also burnt tyres and erected blockades at various places in the town. “The theft and burglary cases in Surankote have become a regular phenomenon. Last night thieves broke locks of six shops and took away goods worth lakhs. It shows the failure of the police to deal with the situation,” said Mohammad sharif, a local resident. This is not the first time that thieves have decamped with huge booty from Surankote town. During the last three months, a number of such incidents have been reported from the town. “In broad daylight burglars are looting the town, which compelled us to come out on the roads. If the police fails to arrest all thieves, we will have no other option but to demand the transfer of the present police officers,” said another resident. The protest continued for six hours. The protesters also disrupted traffic. Additional SP, Poonch, Yougal Manhas rushed to the spot and assured the protesters that additional security arrangements would be made in the town to nab thieves. On his assurance, shopkeepers opened their shops and movement of traffic resumed. ASP Yougal Manhas confirmed the rise in theft cases in Surankote and said the police had arrested seven local youths in this connection. We are looking into the matter seriously, he said. |
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Students block road over shortage of teachers
Poonch, April 10 Protesting students and their parents raised slogans against the government and local education department officials, alleging that they had made tall claims, but no action had been taken to provide the required staff to the school. They said the school had no science teacher due to which only three of the 276 students of Class X had passed the annual examinations. “There are 1,050 students in the school, out of which Class IX and X has more than 400 students. The school has more than 12 teachers, but only five to six teachers remain present, which badly affects the teaching-learning process,” said Riaz Ahmed, a student of the school. “The school has limited infrastructure and faculty, which is the main reason for the poor performance of students,” said a parent. Chief Education Officer (CEO), Poonch, Ashraf Chouhan rushed to the spot and assured the protesting students and their parents that their demands would be fulfilled shortly. After assurance by the CEO, the protesters dispersed peacefully. Chouhan said, “The school didn’t have a science teacher, we have provided them one today. As far as the question of low presence of teachers is concerned, stern action will be taken against those who are playing with the lives of students.” |
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PSA slapped on four for human trafficking
Srinagar, April 10 The accused have been identified as Ali Mohammad Bhat, Mohammad Subhan Dar, Mohammad Altaf Khan and Mohammad Maqbool. They were found guilty of exploiting women from outside the state and had been active in and around Pattan town of Baramulla. “They were exploiting poor and helpless women hailing from outside the state like West Bengal by luring them on the pretext of providing employment in the Kashmir valley. However, the women were exploited sexually and then sold to people for the same purpose for Rs 20,000 to 30,000,” a police spokesman said. “The activities of the gang had posed a potential threat to the moral values of society in general and to people of the Pattan area in particular,” he added. All the four arrested persons were sent to Central Jail, Kotbalwal, Jammu, today. Earlier in January, the group had been arrested along with a minor girl from West Bengal, whose medical examination according to the police had confirmed sexual exploitation. |
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Three teachers suspended in Katra
Katra, April 10 During his visit, he ordered the suspension of three staff members of Higher Secondary School, Katra, who were found absent from duty. While inspecting the laboratories of the school, it was seen that physics, chemistry, bio-science and computer laboratories were never used for the last couple of years. He further directed the principal of the school not to release the salary of in charge lecturers and lab assistants, who were responsible for the act. — OC
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Katra ponnywalas call off strike
Katra, April 10 They had yesterday threatened to go on a strike today, alleging that Municipal Committee employees deployed at pre-paid booths en route to the Bhawan did not return their pending dues on time and also harassed them. On the assurance of the officers of the administration and the police in a meeting chaired by senior officials of the Municipal Committee, Katra, the pithoowalas and ponnywalas called off their strike, official sources said here. The sources added that it was decided in the meeting that the Municipal Committee would open bank accounts of all the registered and regular pithoo, palki and ponnywalas in two months and the pre-paid commission would be deposited in their accounts.
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