The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Pak sabotaging return of misguided youth: Omar Says J-K in favour of continuous Indo-Pak dialogue Darshan Bharti Poonch, April 27 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today blamed Pakistan for sabotaging the rehabilitation policy of the state government even as he said that his government would adopt some other way to bring back misguided youth who had crossed over to Pakistan for militant training. Addressing a public meeting in the Mandi area of Poonch, Omar said: “We are committed to resolving the J&K issue politically once and for all. The misguided youth in Pakistan want to come back but Pakistan is not allowing them to do so in the right way. Now, we will adopt some other way to bring them back; our intention is clear and we are committed to rehabilitating them so that they can live with dignity.” “The Kashmir issue is a political one and can only be resolved politically. In this regard we are in favour of a continuous dialogue between India and Pakistan,” Omar said, adding that the internal dialogue between the state and the Centre was also of significant importance. The Chief Minister said the National Conference had always supported good Indo-Pak relations and wanted a political settlement of political issues in a peaceful and friendly atmosphere. “I have repeatedly stated that economic development cannot resolve and replace the political issues. Both have their significance and need to be addressed separately and in specific spectrums,” he said while assuring people that he would continue his endeavours towards prosperity and permanent peace in the state. He wanted a tranquil and conducive atmosphere where the gun would be totally irrelevant and absurd. Omar asked party workers to spread awareness about the path-breaking initiatives taken up by the government during the last three years to bring development and peace in the state. “Others are selling the initiatives and achievements your government has registered,” Omar told his party workers. He asked them to make people aware of the “historic public empowerment measures of the government such as the Public Service Guarantee Act, Right to Information Commission, Accountability Commission and Vigilance Commission”. Omar asked the workers to remain pro-active in getting public grievances noted and redressed by the administration. “Your rapport with people at the grass roots should be regular and constant. Help them with their genuine grievances and development,” he advised the workers and asked them to work jointly with the coalition partner to help fulfil the aspirations of the people. National Conference provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta, Vice-Chairman of the Pahari Advisory Board Mushtaq Ahmad Bukhri and MLA Aijaz Ahmad Jan were present on the occasion. MLC creates furore on being ‘ignored’ Congress leader and Member of the Legislative Council Jahangir Ahmed Mir created a furore and took the local administration to task when he realised his name was missing from the stone plaque installed to mark the inauguration of the power grid station at Chandak in Poonch. Alleging that his name had been deliberately deleted, he accused the National Conference of ignoring Congress leaders. He said official functions had been politicised and the administration had been implementing just the NC agenda. Commissioner Secretary, Power Development Department, Sudhanshu Pandey tried to pacify him but failed. It was only on the intervention of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that the Congress MLC was pacified.
	Darbar move: Secretariat closed in Jammu Arteev Sharma/TNS Jammu, April 27 After remaining functional for six months in the winter capital of the state, the Civil Secretariat today closed here, keeping in view the 140-year-old bi-annual practice of darbar move (shifting of capital to Srinagar in summer and back to Jammu in winter). The offices observing a five-day week in the Civil Secretariat closed at 5 pm today, while other ‘move’ offices observing a six-day week would close tomorrow. The darbar move offices will reopen in the summer capital of the state (Srinagar) on May 7. The Civil Secretariat remained busy packing official files and records throughout the day, while the complex witnessed thin attendance of visitors. Sources said loading of official documents has begun and the first convoy of State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) vehicles carrying official documents and Kashmir-based employees would leave for Srinagar tomorrow. Sources further said an advance party consisting of gazetted and non-gazetted officers had already reached Srinagar to receive the official records. “All the departments of the Civil Secretariat were asked to ensure that the boxes carrying records were properly locked and keys sent to the advance party well in time,” an official at the Civil Secretariat said.
	Proposal to ensure supply of ration to BPL families Volunteers to run fair price shops in remote areas Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, April 27 To ensure supply of ration to the BPL families living in the remotest hilly areas, the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department has made a proposal to constitute a team of volunteers who will run ration depots in the far-flung areas. These volunteers would be engaged under Rehbar-e-Khurak (ReK) scheme and their job would be to ensure supply of ration to the BPL families. It is alleged that poor and needy people are not getting the quota of ration allotted to them due to a nexus between some officials of the CAPD Department and some contractors engaged in taking ration to the remotest areas. Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Qamar Ali Akhoon told The Tribune that a proposal to engage volunteers under ReK has been made and would be placed before the Cabinet. He, however, refused to divulge details of the proposal. “Still there are many obstacles in the proposal. Let the Cabinet approve it then it will be made public,” he said. Earlier, a similar type of proposal was made and subsequently sent to the Cabinet for its approval but the same was returned to the department due to some lacunae in it. The Committee on Estimates of Legislative Assembly had also directed the CAPD Department in October 2011 to get the said schemes approved by the government in order to engage ReK volunteers within a period of three months. It also directed the CAPD Department to consider the applications of those volunteers for opening of fair price shops at least in the areas mainly comprising the BPL population and where the road connectivity was poor. The Committee had observed that the department had not opened depots in the far-flung and cut-off areas where the road connectivity was poor and the population mostly comprises BPL or Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries, who have to lift foodgrains from long distances. The Committee had directed the department to take effective measures to mitigate sufferings of those poor people. Statistics show that 2,32,100 families are registered under the BPL category by the CAPD Department followed by 1,00,200 families who are getting benefit of AAY. There are 6,37,257 families under the Above Poverty Line (APL) category.
	To check foodgrain deficit,state sells rotational farming Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, April 27 With the foodgrain deficit increasing every passing year, the Agriculture Department has taken a comprehensive step to popularise the paddy-wheat crop rotational programme, especially in the Kashmir valley, to cope with the shortage. During 2010-11, about 1,875 acres was successfully brought under the crop rotational pattern in the Kashmir valley. During the Rabi season in 2011-12, 4,125 acres has been covered under the same programme. Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir told The Tribune that it was a good beginning. “We are taking every possible step to popularise the wheat-paddy rotational programme to minimise foodgrain deficit in the state”, he said, adding that this programme had been started in plain areas of the Kashmir valley and would be further expanded to other areas depending upon the climatic conditions. Besides popularising this rotational pattern, the department has also started procurement of improved wheat seed mainly in the Jammu region in order to improve the seed replacement rate, which is essential for improving the production through use of high-yielding varieties. Official documents state that the local production of foodgrains in the state does not keep pace with the requirement as the agricultural sector faces challenges on various fronts. On the supply side, the yield of principal crops like rice, maize and wheat is not significantly improving over the years. “More or less stagnant trends in the yield rates of these crops have been observed. Moreover, the scope for increasing the net area sown is limited and the farm size is shrinking due to the continuous breakdown of joint families, growing urbanisation and population explosion year after year. “The deficit is, therefore, met by imports. The import of foodgrains, helps augment supplies, maintaining food security, and buffer stock and ensuring price stability,” the documents disclosed. The official figures revealed that the import of foodgrains in the state has continued to increase over the last so many years. In 2002-03, 503 thousand metric tonnes of foodgrains were imported and this figure reached 887.6 thousand metric tonnes in 2009-10, showing an increase of 384.6 thousand metric tonnes (about 76 per cent) during that period. “During 2010-11, the foodgrain allocation to the state by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has declined to 756.80 thousand metric tonnes, thereby registering a decrease of 14.74 per cent over 2009-10. We are taking every possible step to popularise the wheat-paddy rotational programme to minimise foodgrain deficit in the state. This programme has been started in plain areas of the Kashmir valley and will be further expanded to other areas depending upon the climatic conditions. — Ghulam Hassan Mir, Minister for Agriculture
	PDP playing Vajpayee card to strengthen base in Jammu region Dinesh Manhotra/TNS Jammu, April 27 Pictures of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee may have almost disappeared from the BJP’s public rallies and other functions, but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is dubbed Kashmir-centric, has been openly playing the “Vajpayee card” to strengthen its base in the Jammu region. Realising that people of the Jammu region have a great regard for Vajpayee, the PDP leadership, especially former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, never misses any opportunity to recall Vajpayee’s contribution in bringing peace to the region. In every public meeting, be it in Jammu city or in rural areas, Mufti always mentions Vajpayee as “the real statesman” who realised the importance of peace in the region. As Vajpayee has actively participated in movements launched by the erstwhile Jan Sangh in the Jammu region for total integration of the state with the Indian Union, people of the Jammu region have great affection for the former Prime Minister. The PDP, which has been desperately trying to make inroads into Jammu, is now openly playing the Vajpayee card. For the last two months, the PDP has been holding meetings in the Jammu region and Mufti has made it a point to address them. In every meeting, Mufti mentions the rally addressed by Vajpayee in Srinagar on April 18, 2003, when he (Vajpayee) was the Prime Minister and Mufti was the Chief Minister. They had extended the hand of friendship to Pakistan despite the fact that their was tension on the border. “Only a leader of the stature of Vajpayee can take such a bold decision” is the oft-repeated statement by Mufti in every public meeting in Jammu. Mufti also does not forget to mention that it was all due to Vajpayee’s efforts that free and fair assembly elections were held in the state in 2002. He even claims that it is for the first time after 1947 that free and fair elections were held in 2002. “The credit for this goes only to Vajpayee,” he declares at the meetings. Not only Mufti, other stalwarts of his party like Muzaffar Hussain Beig and Mehbooba Mufti also laud the efforts of Vajpayee in bringing peace to the state and improving relations with Pakistan. Interestingly, BJP leaders at a press conference in Jammu last week had described that the increasing activities of the PDP in the Jammu region were a “disturbing development”.
	Tulip Garden sees record 1.4 lakh visitors M Aamir Khan Tribune News Service Srinagar, April 27 A record number of 1.4 lakh people visited the Tulip Garden in less than a month this season. The garden was closed for public yesterday. “This year around 1.4 lakh visitors came here. Last year, the Tulip Garden had received around 80,000 tourists,” said Javed Ahmad Shah, in charge of the garden. Asia’s largest tulip garden, which is located in the foothills of the Zabarwan hill range here and spread over 35 hectares, was thrown open to the public on March 29. Shah said many tulips had been damaged due to the recent hailstorm and the authorities did not want to keep open the garden further as it was not possible for them to display all flower varieties. This season, more than 70 varieties of tulips had been put on display at the garden. Around 3.30 lakh tulips had been arranged in straight-line beds this year in order to make the garden more appealing. The Tulip Garden, which was first thrown open in 2008, has been a success story as thousands of tourists throng it every year even though the tulips can be seen in full bloom only for a few weeks every season. Besides the locals and tourists, the Tulip Garden this year caught the attention of industrialist Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani, who visited the spot earlier this month. Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan shot a song sequence for a movie, “Kaash Tum Hote”, at the Tulip Garden earlier this week. The garden was earlier known as Siraj Bagh and was named Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden in 2007 by the then Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad. The main aim of setting up the garden was to extend the duration of the tourist season that usually starts in the Kashmir valley by April-end. Given that the garden opens by March-end, it now attracts visitors from outside the state in advance.
	Modern forensic lab coming up at Bemina Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, April 27 A state-of-the-art forensic science laboratory (FSL) is coming up here which will end the police’s dependence on other states to a large extent while investigating the cases. The new FSL lab coming at a cost of Rs 10 crore, at Bemina, on the outskirts of the city, would house modern scientific laboratories where brain mapping and voice detection tests would also be done. “At present, we have an FSL laboratory in Dalgate Srinagar, but we don’t have facilities to handle cyber and other hi-tech crimes. We used to seek assistance from forensic laboratories in Chandigarh, Hyderabad and others in few cases, but now we hope once the new FSL complex at Bemina becomes functional, we will be able to handle all type of investigations,” said Inayat Ullah Khan, Director, FSL. “The state-of-the- art FSL will be equipped with latest technology as it provides scientific aids to the criminal justice system.” He said 70 per cent work on the building had been completed and so far Rs 5.7 crore had been spent on the project which will be completed within three months.
	Stone of new Katra tourist centre laid Our Correspondent Katra April 28 Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora laid the foundation stone of a new Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) here today. The complex will be constructed at a cost of Rs 4 crore and it is expected to be completed by 2014. The three-storied complex will have a provision for parking, a restaurant, a waiting hall, 10 rooms with attached toilets, two suites, one conference hall, two 12-bed dormitories and a multi-purpose hall etc. The TRC will provide necessary information to the visitors and help in promoting other potential tourism spots of the region. The minister disclosed that the project had been sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and would be completed in three years. He said the government had taken several steps to explore new tourism destinations besides developing heritage centres to diversify the scope of tourism in the state. He said the number of pilgrims to the Vaishno Devi shrine was increasing every year and the TRC would help in diverting the visitors to other potential spots of the region. Reasi MLA Baldev Raj Sharma, Commissioner-Secretary, Tourism, Atal Duloo, Additional CEO, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Dr MK Bhandari, District Development Commissioner, Reasi, Sheetal Nanda, Director, Tourism, Robin Singh Mehta, CEO, Katra Development Authority, Amarjeet Singh, Additional SP, Katra, SDPO, Katra, Director, Spiritual Growth Centre, engineers from the Tourism Department and local officers from the JKTDC and other departments were present on the occasion.
	Srinagar to have 135 bus bays Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, April 27 Over 100 bus bays are being set up to ensure better traffic management of public transport across this summer capital. The request for the bus bays has been sent to the Roads and Buildings Department by the traffic police recently. A few bus bays have already been set up as part of the process. These bays will be used to pick up and drop the passengers without blocking the road. To streamline the traffic, the department mulls to issue directions to vehicles to stop at only designated bus stops. “We have forwarded a proposal for 135 bus bays through the Divisional Commissioner’s office and five have already been set up,” said Deputy Inspector General (Traffic) Vijay Kumar. “These bays will ensure that the city buses board and disembark passengers at the designated places without blocking the roads. This will help in regulating the traffic smoothly.” The city has been witnessing frequent traffic jams and a major reason for this is believed that the city buses stop at their will to pick up or drop a passenger. When these buses stop, the roads get blocked leading to traffic jams. The bays have been a long-standing demand but were delayed for varied reasons. However, the residents opine that the bus bays will not help regulate traffic in the city. “Srinagar first needs widening of roads and more traffic men to regulate the traffic. The bus bays will not help in traffic regulation,” said Ishfaq Ahmed, a city resident.