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Minister, housing corpn officials put on notice
Governor discusses security for Amarnath yatra
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Sustained peace must for growth, says Vohra
4 yrs on, Samba encounter victims yet to get relief
Cross-LoC trade: Two set of norms for Kashmir, Jammu regions
Govt in no hurry to decide on retirement age of employees
Mirwaiz calls for shutdown on May 21
Campaign on forest conservation
Shot in the arm for Soz as Sonia okays new JKPCC list
Protesters block traffic
Woman gives birth to quintuplets
DATELINE KASHMIR
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Allegations of Embezzlement
Srinagar, May 11 “Prima facie it appears that gross irregularities have been committed by officers of the Corporation and Minister for Cooperatives has failed to exercise an effective control over the functioning of the Corporation…. Let a notice go to the respondents for their appearance… and reply within three weeks,” SAC chairperson Justice YP Nargotra and member Justice H. Imtiyaz Hussain said in an order issued today. The order was issued following a complaint filed to the anti-graft panel SAC against Manohar Lal Sharma; Commissioner Secretary, Cooperative Department, Abdul Hamid Wani; and Registrar, Cooperatives, Mohammad Abbas. It was alleged in the complaint that Sharma had taken no action against JKCHC officers despite coming to know through an inquiry that embezzlement worth Rs 5,000 crore had been committed “due to the fact that the Minister himself had got a bribe and a plot from the Managing Director of the Corporation”. The complaint had also alleged that there was misappropriation of Rs 259 crore in Jammu Central Cooperative Bank, which was “looted” by Sharma, Abdul Hamid Wani and Mohammad Abbas. It was further alleged that the MoS and officers along with Minister for Industries and Commerce S S Slathia had “earned money” for backdoor appointments in the bank. Allegations of embezzlement and backdoor appointments were also made against them with reference to State Cooperative Bank, Srinagar, and Central Cooperative Bank, Baramulla. After the receipt of complaints, the SAC had sent notices to Sharma, Slathia, Wani, Abbas, Ex-Managing Director, JKCHC, Brij Bhushan Sharma, Managing Director, JKCHC, Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Department, Mohammad Shafi Dar, and the chairmen of cooperative banks. The respondents in their replies had termed the charges “false and frivolous” while denying the embezzlement allegations and allotting of land to any minister. After studying the allegations and replies from the respondents, the SAC observed that the JKCHC had maintained no record of its transactions. “The management has conducted transactions for crores of rupees every year but no account has been maintained…. This has created misrepresentation of accounts. It has further been found that losses incurred during the period from 2006-07 to 2008-09 have gone up to 5023.86 lakh and the net accumulated losses of the Corporation reached 9230.48 lakh by the end of financial year 2008-09. This would show their lack of proper control and inaction on the part of the minister concerned,” the SAC order said. While a case has already been registered with the Vigilance Organisation regarding some of the above mentioned allegations, the SAC has also asked the Vigilance Organisation, Kashmir, to inform the commission about the present status of the case. The Complaint n
The notices were issued following a complaint filed to the State Accountability Commission against Minister of State for Cooperatives Manohar Lal Sharma; Commissioner Secretary, Cooperative Department, Abdul Hamid Wani; and Registrar, Cooperatives, Mohammad
Abbas. n It has been alleged in the complaint that Sharma took no action against J&K Cooperative Housing Corporation officers despite coming to know through an inquiry that embezzlement worth Rs 5,000 crore had been committed “due to the fact that the Minister himself had got a bribe and a plot from the Managing Director of the Corporation”. |
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Governor discusses security for Amarnath yatra
Srinagar, May 11 He also pointed out the need for effective day-to-day coordination among the functionaries of all Civil and Police Departments concerned, Army, Central Police Organisations, the Shrine Board and all other agencies concerned. The Governor, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), was chairing a high-level meeting at Raj Bhawan here this evening to discuss all security and related arrangements for the ensuing the Amarnath yatra. The pilgrimage this year is scheduled to commence on June 25, simultaneously from the Baltal and Chandanwari routes. Lt Gen SA Hasnain, GOC, 15 Corps; Kuldeep Khoda, Director General of Police; BR Sharma, Principal Secretary, Home; Anirudh Uppal, Special Director General CRPF, J&K; Maj Gen RR Nimbhorkar, GOC, Victor Force; Air Commodore D Choudhury, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Srinagar; Asgar Hassan Samoon, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Navin K Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor and Chief Executive Officer, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board; SM Sahai, IGP, Kashmir Zone; B Srinivas, IGP, CID, J&K; Col PBS Lamba, Col GS, Victor Force; and Preet Pal Maj Gen Nimbhorkar, GOC, Victor Force, made a detailed presentation about the arrangements being made for the security grid being put in place, in close coordination with all other security forces. In his presentation, he screened the latest photographs of the holy cave area, Sheshnag, Panjtarni and other camps, all of which showed huge accumulation of snow in these camps. The meeting discussed details in regard to all envisaged arrangements, including the enforcement of an effective Access Control System at Baltal and Nunwan Base Camps, erection and regulation of gates at Domel and Chandanwari for effective security and regulating the onward movement of registered yatris towards the holy cave. The need for effective traffic regulation from the Lakhanpur checkpost onwards for ensuring smooth onward movement of registered yatris to the respective base camps were also discussed. Other arrangements, which came up for discussion were: the deployment of Mountain Rescue Teams (MRTs) of the state police at identified locations on both yatra routes; setting up of the Joint Control Rooms and the Disaster Management Centres and their effective coordination with the Meteorological Department; deployment of well-equipped Fire Fighting Force units at identified locations; provision of adequate number of X-Ray Baggage Scanning units at appropriate locations on both yatra routes; installation of CCTV cameras at important locations in the yatra area; the ATC arrangements for the heli-services for the Pahalgam and Baltal routes; location of various services at pre-identified sites etc. |
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Sustained peace must for growth, says Vohra
Srinagar, May 11 He stated this while inaugurating a three-day international seminar on “Impact of Peace, Conflict and Disturbances on Economic Development Processes” organised by the Postgraduate Department of Economics, University of Kashmir, in collaboration with the Indian Economic Association here today. Referring to the unfortunate situation of the state in the past years, the Governor said besides huge human and economic losses, the disturbances had caused grave irreparable damage to the entire education system, which had a serious adverse impact on the career of our youth. He said fortunately, the situation had been improving and the state was moving towards sustained peace and normalcy. He added that stability and sustained normalcy would go a very long way in speeding up the pace of economic development in Jammu and Kashmir enabling it to emerge as a front-line state in the whole country in the coming years. Referring to the seminar, the Governor observed that it would be useful for participants to discuss the importance of sound education system, good governance, inclusive growth and geo-political environment on the economic development processes as these were vital factors, which would impact growth on all fronts. The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the university, appreciated the Indian Economic Association for organising this seminar on a very important topic at the Kashmir University, which provided a valuable opportunity, particularly to students, to interact with and learn from the distinguished economists of the country participating in this seminar. The Governor also released a souvenir and a book titled “Some Aspects of J&K Economy” on this occasion. The book has been authored by Prof GM Bhat, Head, Postgraduate Department of Economics, University of Kashmir. |
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4 yrs on, Samba encounter victims yet to get relief
Jammu, May 11 A senior photojournalist, Ashok Sodhi, a woman and two Army jawans had also lost their lives in the encounter. As many as 15 persons, including six policemen, seven Armymen and two civilians, were injured during the gunbattle. “My parents were brutally killed in front of my eyes. The militants then targeted me and a bullet pierced through one of my thighs. And the government gave me just Rs 5,000 as compensation,” a victim Bindu Sambyal, 35, told The Tribune over phone from Amritsar. Bindu is daughter of Hoshiyar Singh, president of the International Democratic Party, who along with his wife, Shashi Bala, a government employee, was killed by the armed militants on May 11, 2008. Bindu along with her mother-in-law (who had also received bullet injury in the attack) had come to her parents’ house for appearing in a screening test, which was to be conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) for the post of a lecturer on May 11, 2008. “We had to undergo three surgeries for the bullet injuries and it even rendered my mother-in-law bed-ridden but the government didn’t bother to bear our medical expenditure and all expenses, approximately Rs 5 lakh, were borne by my brother and my husband,” she recalled. She alleged that though she was a victim and had lost her parents in front of her eyes, yet the government didn’t consider her for government job on compassionate grounds. “My mother was a government employee and the administration turned down my cases,” she regretted. Bindu said the Government of India had made some amendments vis-a-vis nature of compensation to the victims of militancy in 2008. “We came to know that the victims, who had lost their loved ones in any militant attack, would be given Rs 5 lakh in lieu of government employment. The militants brutally killed my parents, but my brother Lok Sevak and his wife, who were the survivors of the attack, were given only Rs 2 lakh,” she pointed out. Recalling his parents’ killing scene, Lok Sevak with moistened eyes narrated how her mother and father were gunned down by the armed militants. He said: “The memories of gruesome killing of my parents are still fresh in my mind and continue to haunt my family also. I was unemployed at that time and I joined the Education Department in June 27, 2008. I had got a job after qualifying the PSC examination and not on compassionate basis,” Lok Sevak added. The 12-Hour encounter In election year and just ahead of the annual Amarnath yatra, the heavily armed Pakistani militants killed six persons including a politician, his wife, two soldiers, a woman and a senior photojournalist, in Samba district on May 11, 2008.The encounter, which lasted for over 12 hours, the security forces eventually killed two militants using heavy mortar after rescuing five persons, who were held hostage by the militants in a house.The militants’ attack had come barely within 55 hours when the BSF had claimed to have successfully foiled an intrusion bid by the Pakistani militants in the Bainglad area close to the international border in Samba sector.After day-long gunbattle that started at around 6 am, six Garhwal Rifles, 20 JAK Rifles, the BSF and the police launched the final assault at 5.30 pm liquidating the militants before the sunset.. |
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Cross-LoC trade: Two set of norms for Kashmir, Jammu regions
Jammu, May 11 It’s official, the state government has two different norms for the two regions — Jammu and Kashmir. On trading days, the government allows 50 trucks per day from Salamabad in Uri district of Kashmir to ferry merchandise to Chakoti in Pak-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) but the number comes down to 25 trucks when it comes to Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch district of the Jammu region. This is done despite the fact that the distance between Salamabad and Chakoti is 25 km and between Chakan-da-Bagh and Tetrinote in PoK is just 1.5 km. Further, the trade-related infrastructure at Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch district is far better than what exists in Salamabad. Trade from both routes — Salamabad and Chakan-da-Bagh — takes place four days in a week from Tuesday to Friday. “We allow 50 trucks per day on trading days from Salamabad to Chakoti in PoK,” said Nazir Ahmed Baba, custodian of Cross LoC Trade Facilitation Centre at Salamabad. Baba disclosed that unlike the Chakan-da-Bagh route where exports have been confined to just dry chilli, cross-LoC traders in Kashmir continue to export red chilli, chilli seeds, medicinal herbs and embroidery products to PoK traders. Sources, however, told The Tribune that apart from the above items, green cardamom, big cardamom and fresh fruits were also being exported from Salamabad to Chakoti. In 2008, New Delhi under the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) had given its consent to Indian traders to export 21 different items to PoK. Three years later, the trade via Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch has come down to just chilli. Sometimes the authorities concerned in Salamabad even allow 60 to 70 trucks to Chakoti, said Rajinder Vaid, a cross-LoC trader. “If Jammu and Kashmir is one state and the cross-LoC trade is the biggest CBM between India and Pakistan then why are the cross-LoC traders at Poonch being give a raw deal? Why has this government adopted different norms for two regions of the state?” Vaid asked. Initially, when the trade had started from Chakan-da-Bagh, the authorities used to allow 50 to 55 trucks but for the past two years they have not only confined the trade to chilli but have also reduced the number of trucks to 25, he said. Another trader, who wished anonymity, said cross-LoC traders of Jammu had taken up the issue with Industries and Commerce Minister SS Salathia and Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma, but they, too, did nothing. Salathia, however, attributed the difference to “requirements” of the trade. “This has been done as per the requirements of the trade but we have already taken up the issue with the Union government,” he said. When reminded that two years ago the government had been allowing 50 to 55 trucks per day on trading days from Chakan-da-Bagh, the Minister assured that the issue would be sorted out shortly. Drawing parallels n
On trading days, the state government allows 50 trucks per day from Salamabad in Uri district of Kashmir to ferry merchandise to Chakoti in
PoK. n Just 25 trucks are allowed from Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch district of Jammu region to Tetrinote in
PoK. n The distance between Salamabad and Chakoti is 25 km, while that between Chakan-da-Bagh and Tetrinote is just 1.5 km. n
Trade-related infrastructure at Chakan-da-Bagh is better than that in
Salamabad. |
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Govt in no hurry to decide on retirement age of employees
Jammu, May 11 Sources said though the employees went on a two-day pen-down strike on May 8 and 9 and a high-level committee headed by Chief Secretary Madhav Lal had also submitted its report to the Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather yet the government had decided to adopt a wait-and-watch policy for the time being. A senior officer from the General Administration Department said though the Cabinet Sub-Committee might discuss the issue in the next two weeks yet the government was not going to take any decision as the coalition government feared that such a move could be met with opposition from youth in all three regions of the state. The number of unemployed youth has crossed the six-lakh mark in J-K. Further, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could also get an issue to harp on. The party has already been accusing the government of ignoring the youth of the state. “The government has so far accepted most of the demands of the employees, but on this issue they are slow to react,” said a senior bureaucrat. Enhancement of the retirement age is one of the key demands of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgam of nearly 50 organisations of government employees, which has negotiated with the Sub-Committee on a number of issues, including release of arrears on account of implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission report, removal of pay anomalies, conversion of the cost of living allowance (COLA) into dearness allowance (DA) and regularisation of daily wagers. A high-level committee was constituted in January this year asking the Finance Department to submit details regarding the total number of employees who would benefit from the decision and the financial implications. Minister for PHE Taj Mohiuddin, who is also a member of the Sub-Committee said: “Employees should wait for the government decision. Taking the path of agitation is no solution. We have assured the employees that their demands will get due consideration.” |
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Mirwaiz calls for shutdown on May 21
Srinagar, May 11 Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq was killed by some gunmen at his Nigeen residence in 1990. Lone was also killed by some gunmen on the same day in 2002 during the visit of separatist leaders to the Eidgah graveyard to pay tributes to Mirwaiz on his death anniversary. The moderate Hurriyat faction said the shutdown would be held in the memory of all martyrs and a rally would be held on the same day at Eidgah here. Mirwaiz said his party would be observing a “Martyrdom Week” from May 16 to 22 while announcing a series of programmes in this regard.
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Campaign on forest conservation
Reasi, May 11 The programme was funded by the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) and supported by the WWF- J&K state. The programme was attended by students and staff of the school. Students delivered their thoughts in the symposium. Maximum students spoke on the benefits of plantation, conservation of forests for our future generation, ways to overcome the threats of climate change and to promote healthy environment. SP Sharma, Forest Range Officer, Reasi, was the resource person who sensitised the students on the issues of eco-friendly development and eco-system maintenance. He acquainted the students with the importance of the old trees, medicinal value of plants and scared trees situated in the area. He said the forests were backbone of our eco-system and need to be preserved for our future generation at every cost. Our ancestors had devised a system of protecting the environment by worshiping the useful trees to secure our future in sustainable manner. Head of the institution and project in charge interacted with the students and explained the importance of forests and stressed upon the student to love trees and save the environment. A tree plantation drive was also held on the school premises. |
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Shot in the arm for Soz as Sonia okays new JKPCC list
Jammu, May 11 The new team of office-bearers is likely to be announced soon. Although AICC chief had approved the list a couple of days, it was handed over to Soz on Wednesday evening. As Soz loyalists do not want to have any confrontation with dissidents before Soz’s formal re-election, they have not informed workers about the much-awaited list. “Instead of making the list public, we will inform the members whose names have figured in the list individually so as to ensure smooth sailing for Soz during his re-election as JKPCC chief,” a loyalist of Soz told The Tribune on condition of anonymity. He said a conference of the members would be called within a week’s time to formally re-elect Soz as JKPCC chief. Sources said Soz, with the consultation of his supporters, had prepared the list in the second week of April but the high command has also consulted Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad before approving the list. Choices of Azad were also given adequate representation in the approved list, the sources said and added that the high command had tried to strike a balance between two warring factions of the JKPCC -- one led by Soz and the other by Azad loyalists. The sources said some Congress leaders who had contested last Assembly elections as rebel candidates had also managed to get their names included in the list as they had affiliated themselves with warring groups. The approved list of JKPCC members comprised more than 160 members plus about 70 co-opt and ex officio members. The JKPCC election was due in 2010. Soz was appointed JKPCC chief on February 13, 2008, after Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed resigned in January 2008. Since 2010, there has been suspense over the new chief. |
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Protesters block traffic
Srinagar, May 11 The incident took place two days after a minor arson inside a mosque on Wednesday morning, though the situation had remained peaceful following the meetings of higher officials and the respectable personalities of the area. It is learnt that some people threw stones and blocked the
Srinagar-Gulmarg road resulting in stranding of scores of tourist vehicles and local commuters at Narabal. Later, the police reached the spot and pacified the protesters. One policeman was injured in the incident but the situation was brought under control. The police has registered a case in this connection |
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Woman gives birth to quintuplets
Srinagar, May 11 “This is a rare case in the city’s lone maternity hospital,” said Dr Mushtaq Ahmad, superintendent of the hospital. All five babies were healthy and were being taken care of by the medical staff, he added. A team of doctors led by Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Mattoo conducted the surgery, after a regular treatment of the woman. — TNS
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DATELINE KASHMIR
Tech-savvy Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is well known for regularly updating his personal and official engagements on micro-blogging website Twitter. Even though Omar’s tweeting in the past has drawn criticism on the grounds that he should remain in touch directly with the grass roots rather than being online, now the ruling National Conference (NC) too has opened a Twitter account. The NC spokesman has said Omar was very particular about the party being accessible to the media as well as the general public and had therefore directed them to be available to “everyone”. The NC spokesman also said their Twitter account would be “interactive, receptive and quick to respond”. While only time will tell whether or not the NC’s Twitter account will resolve day-to-day issues, it is hoped that the ruling party takes more steps to reach out to the grass roots.
When the state government launched the much-awaited water taxi service on the Jhelum river on a trial basis, Srinagar residents saw this as a positive step to reduce traffic congestion on the city roads. The government claims that in the days ahead, the water taxis would be an alternative transport in the city. In the first phase, the tourism department arranged two motor boats for the water transport service and the government is looking for private players who would later operate the service at a larger level. The fare for the water taxi has been fixed at Rs 60, which is considered to be “very high” by city residents. The fare needs to be brought down to make the service attractive to both locals as well as tourists. — Contributed by M Aamir Khan and Majid Jahangir |
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Jammu, May 11
