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Pakistan violates ceasefire again
Centre plans to make Srinagar-Leh highway all-weather road
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Next hearing in Andrabi murder case on June 21
Tragedy averted, Indigo flight grounded at Jammu airport
Army Chief to visit J-K
Amarnath Yatra CRPF personnel arrive at a base camp in Jammu on Wednesday ahead of the Amarnath yatra. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
Governor reviews track clearance work along Baltal route
DGP stresses maintaining peace in border areas
NC to back UPA in presidential poll
Employees’ bid to gherao civil secretariat foiled
Lashkar man held with Pakistani wife, three children
Protest outside GB Pant Hospital
INTERVIEW: Ali Mohammad
Sagar, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
Imam arrested for killing mason
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Pakistan violates ceasefire again
Jammu, June 13 The incident happened exactly in the same area where a BSF jawan, PK Mishra of 94 Battalion of the BSF, was hit by enemy fire on June 11. “Around 2 pm today, Pakistani troops opened fire from their posts targeting Indian forward posts — Nangi Tekri and Kirpan in KG sector,” said an official source. With scant regard to the truce deal, Pakistani troops used small arms fire and, consequently, a soldier was hit in the neck, they said. “When we started the evacuation process to retrieve the injured soldier from the forward area, Pakistani troops again opened fire, this time from another side in which two more soldiers were injured,” the official source said. “Somehow, we evacuated the two injured soldiers to the Command Hospital in Udhampur. But the first soldier, who was hit in the neck, is still lying in the forward area under enemy observation,” the official source added. The two soldiers, who were sent to retrieve their injured colleague, were hit in the second round of fire. However, they were brought back to the nearest post where they were administered first-aid before being airlifted by an Army aviation chopper around 6.40 pm. The sources said the authorities had rushed two Army aviation choppers to the Krishna Gati sector to evacuate the injured soldiers. “In the second round of the ceasefire violation, the Pakistani troops used mortars, compelling us to give them a calibrated response. The gun battle is still on,” said an Army spokesperson. The sources disclosed that a message on hotline was also conveyed to Pakistani counterparts on the other side of the LoC to stop the fighting, but it had no impact on the ground. “Now we are waiting for dusk and guns to fall silent to retrieve the injured soldier, who is under enemy observation,” said the official source. The Jammu-based defence PRO, Col RK Palta, said that the condition of the injured soldier, who could not be evacuated, was not known till reports last poured in. This is the 12th ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops this year. |
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Centre plans to make Srinagar-Leh highway all-weather road
Zojila (Ganderbal), June 13 The pass serves as the gateway to the Ladakh region, one of the arid and coldest deserts in the world. The 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh road, which was opened last month, is in a bad condition and makes movement of vehicles difficult. Since the opening of the highway, a convoy of hundreds of trucks loaded with essential supplies and other items, has been crawling along the highway to reach Zojila. With China on the other side of the border, Zojila is emerging as a strategically-important road. It is also the only connecting link between Ladakh and Kashmir and remains closed for six months due to accumulation of heavy snow. “Zojila, which is located at an altitude of about 12,000 ft, is the fourth highest pass in the country,” said Chief Engineer of Beacon, Brig TPS Rawat. “It is the toughest pass in the country due to its harsh weather conditions, treacherous and accident-prone mountain range,” the Chief Engineer said. With Chinese incursions becoming a routine in Ladakh, the Centre is planning to make the Srinagar-Leh highway an all-weather road. The importance of the road was reinforced during the Kargil war in 1999. After the war, it was decided to increase the strength of the Army in the region and subsequently the Army’s full Corps was deployed in Ladakh. The highway is important primarily for maintaining a continuous supply line to defence personnel deployed in the area, including troops manning posts at the Siachen glacier. Zojila topography “Out of 30-km-stretch of the road from the tourist resort of Sonamarg to Gumri near Zojila, a 10-km stretch has steep ravines and vertical mountains, which are prone to avalanches,” said a Beacon engineer at Gumri. “During snow clearance we use GPS technology. But our drivers who run the snow-cutter machines do a great task while clearing the road. It is they who remember the actual road alignment, which is not visible after heavy snowfall,” he said. He said the labourers and Beacon employees, work in freezing temperatures and brave high-speed winds. Unsung heroes “I have been carrying essentials to Ladakh for the past 15 years. Negotiating the curves of Zojila are the toughest part of my journey. There is always a possibility of avalanches and shooting stones. The weather can change any time,” he said. Locals in Ladakh owe their sustenance to these truck drivers and rely on them for essential commodities. “We remain landlocked for six months and if the drivers do not show courage, people of Ladakh and Kargil will be left without food,” said Mohammad Yousuf, a resident of Kargil. Tunnels of hope The Z Morh tunnel would be 6.5-km-long and will connect Gagangir with Shetkari. The other tunnel would be 13-km-long
and would connect Baltal with Minamarg. |
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Next hearing in Andrabi murder case on June 21
Srinagar, June 13 The ex-Army officer was the main accused in the murder of human rights activist Jaleel Andrabi in 1996 in Srinagar. Hearing the case for the first time after Major Singh shot himself dead after killing his two children and wife on June 9, CJM Rajiv Gupta was informed by the prosecution about the death of the main accused in the case. “It is reported by the Prosecution Officer that accused Major Avtar Singh is dead, as this news has come in electronic and print media. The prosecution is directed to produce the authenticated record pertaining to the death of the accused before the court by the next date of hearing on June 21,” the CJM ordered. |
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Tragedy averted, Indigo flight grounded at Jammu airport
Jammu, June 13 Eyewitnesses told The Tribune that Indigo 6E-554, a Delhi-Jammu-Srinagar flight, landed at the Jammu airport at its scheduled time 9.15 am today. About 48 passengers deboarded at Jammu and 57 passengers boarded the plane. As the aircraft was about to take-off at 9.45 am with 180 passengers and crew members, the pilots suddenly detected smoke in one of the engines. The plane was evacuated in emergency. SP, Airport Security, ML Mehra said, “Reports said there was some technical snag in the engine of the airplane. The crew managed to evacuate the plane in time as the pilots made a timely alert.” An airport official, who wished anonymity, said, “I am not sure what sort of technical snag it was, but there was some trouble with landing equipment. It was learnt later that had there been a slight delay in detecting the trouble, some mishap would have taken place. The passengers and the crew escaped unhurt as the pilots succeeded in tacking the situation.” Sources said technical experts were called to detect the fault and replace the defective equipment. “It took them almost seven hours to get the aircraft ready for take-off. It finally left for Srinagar around 5 pm. There was some major fault in the aircraft, as the engineers took significant time in fixing the snag,” said an official. The aircraft was scheduled to land at the Srinagar airport at 10:30 am, but it took-off from the Jammu airport at 5 pm. |
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Army Chief to visit J-K
New Delhi, June 13 During the two-day trip, he will review the security situation in the state. He will meet the Chief of the Northern Command, Gen KT Parnaik, in Udhampur and also visit the 15 Corps at Srinagar. About five years ago, the General was Commander of the 15 Corps.
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Amarnath Yatra
Jammu, June 13 The CRPF troops equipped with sophisticated weapons and surveillance devices will be posted in and around the Yatri Niwas, including Bhagwati Nagar, Tawi island, cremation ground, Canal Head and Puran Singh Chowk. The officer said the number of lodging centres in the capital city had been increased to 14 from six last year. A total of 8,430 pilgrims could be accommodated in the 14 lodging centres, said the officer. Every centre in the city would be guarded by at least 12 CRPF personnel while additional check posts will be set up in the city. The pilgrims are escorted in a convoy from the Yatri Niwas here in the capital city up to Banihal from where the counterparts of the CRPF take over the responsibility of the pilgrims. “During the pilgrimage, the convoy of pilgrims leaving the Yatri Niwas base camp will be escorted by the CRPF jawans and one gazetted officer each from the CRPF and JKP,” said the officer. The convoys from Jammu will be allowed every morning only after getting a signal from CRPF road opening parties en route the Jammu-Srinagar highway, he said. Lakhanpur would be guarded by the state police and eight of its vehicles would patrol the highway from Lakhanpur to Samba, said the officer. The police will also set up pickets all along the Lakhanpur-Jammu highway, he added. The CRPF in tandem with the state administration has already worked out the details of setting up health clinics, cranes and recovery vans all along the Jammu-Srinagar highway to meet any eventuality. “We have also identified appropriate places at Udhampur and Ramban to house pilgrims in case of any disruption in the pilgrimage,” he said. The CRPF will deploy its 75 companies for the pilgrimage this year, 13 in the Jammu region and 62 in the Kashmir region. The state police will deploy 25 companies for the yatra. |
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Governor reviews track clearance work along Baltal route
Srinagar, June 13
Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), expressed serious concern over the delay being caused towards track clearance by intermittent rain and fresh snowfall on the yatra routes. When the Governor was inspecting the various ongoing works, it was raining heavily in the Baltal-Domel area while the upper reaches were experiencing fresh snowfall, an official said. The Governor asked the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, CEO of the Shrine Board and all district and divisional heads of various departments and agencies concerned to speed up “every item of work” to make up for the delays and hindrances caused by the weather conditions and ensure that all required arrangements were positioned within the earlier envisaged time frames. The Governor directed the authorities that the work on improvement of the Ranga Morh-Baltal road and an alternative road from Nilgrath to Baltal be further expedited for securing better traffic management. He also asked PWD engineers to further improve the riding surface of the Ranga Morh-Baltal road by using heavy rollers several times a day. The CEO of the Shrine Board, Navin K Choudhary, while talking to the media at the Baltal base camp asserted that notwithstanding the serious delay caused by bad weather conditions, all necessary and urgent steps were being taken to overcome difficulties. He reiterated that the yatra would commence from both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes from June 25.
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DGP stresses maintaining peace in border areas
Jammu, June 13 Rajendra was on his day-long visit to border posts in Kathua, Samba and Jammu districts. During his visit, he interacted with people and members of village defence committees. He said the sacrifices of the members of the committees and cooperation of the people had proved instrumental in combating insurgency. “The people of the state, especially from border areas, have suffered a lot during the last two decades. There is a sense of security now, which needs to be maintained. The village defence committee members and special police officers have worked in tough situations and showed their courage and valour in curbing activities of anti-national elements,” the DGP said. The DGP exhorted upon policemen and the village defence committees to strengthen their relations with the people and ensure lasting peace and an atmosphere of security. “The cooperation of people is mandatory for result-oriented policing,” said the DGP. “Our priority is the safety of the people and integrity of the nation, which will be maintained at any cost,” he said. Referring to contributions of village defence committees in fighting insurgency, the DGP said efforts needed to be continued in fighting cross-border crimes like fake currency, smuggling and drug trafficking. He said criminals were posing a great challenge to law enforcing agencies, who were also indulging in anti-national activities. IGP, Jammu Zone, Dilbagh Singh, who accompanied the DGP on the tour, briefed him about the working of village defence committees. He also apprised him about steps taken for bringing improvement in border police posts. During his visit to border posts of Chakrohi, Badyal Brahamana, Agrachak, Baspur, Sai Kalan, Triwa, Nandpura, Dugg, Abtal, Dewangarh, Kamar, Kolpur, Mawa, Baba Nallah, Rajpur, Kullian and Narhi, the DGP was accompanied by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jammu-Kathua Range, JP Singh; SSP, Samba, Israr Ahmed Khan; SSP, Jammu, Prabhat Singh; SSP, Kathua, AK Goel; ASP, Kathua, Zahid Manhas; Sub-divisional Magistrate, RS Pura, Suraj Rukwal; ASP, Samba, Dr Koushal Kumar; SP, Traffic, Rural Jammu, Surjeet Kumar and SP, Headquarters Jammu, Shalinder Singh. He interacted with the people to know about their problems and assured them that their issues would be taken up with the authorities concerned. He also assured the village defence committee members and the special police officers that their problems would be looked into and solved in a phased manner.
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NC to back UPA in presidential poll
Srinagar, June 13 “The National Conference is part of the UPA government and it will vote for presidential and vice-presidential candidates to be fielded by the UPA,” the Chief Minister told reporters in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The NC has five Member of Parliaments — three in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha besides 28 MLAs in the state Assembly. Omar said better Indo-Pak relations was the “cherished desire” of the people and the state government would facilitate and contribute positively towards all measures aimed at bettering the ties between the two countries so that the mutual issues were resolved amicably. Earlier, he inaugurated five bridges on the Anantnag-Simthen-Kishtwar road constructed under the BEACON project. Highlighting the importance of this road, Omar said like the Mughal Road, the Anantnag-Simthen-Kishtwar road “is yet another highway with significant importance”. — TNS
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Employees’ bid to gherao civil secretariat foiled
Srinagar, June 13 A group of protesting employees led by JCC leader and Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC-K) president Khurshid Alam attempted to take out a procession from the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) office towards the secretariat. However, the police sprayed dyed water from a water cannon after the procession reached the old secretariat building and managed to disrupt the protesters. Several employees, including Alam, were taken into preventive custody. “Around 100 protesters were detained but no one got injured in police action,” JCC leader Farooq Trali told The Tribune. The employees had earlier called for secretariat gherao programmes from June 13 to 15 that would be followed by a strike and ‘Raj Bhawan chalo’ on June 16. Trali said the next course of action would be decided during a JCC meeting scheduled on June 19. Another JCC leader and EJAC-Q president Abdul Qayoom Wani, who is scheduled to lead a group of employees towards the secretariat tomorrow, has already threatened that the employees might go on an indefinite strike if the government failed to address their demands. The JCC demands include release of arrears recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years and regularisation of daily wagers and casual workers working in various departments. The government had signed an agreement with the JCC leaders last year in September which had stated that a decision regarding the employees’ demands was to be announced by March 31, 2012. The JCC resumed the protests as the government had “failed to honour the agreement made with it it.” |
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Lashkar man held with Pakistani wife, three children
Jammu, June 13 The arrested militant has been identified as Mukhtar Ahmed, 25, a resident of Hari Mehrote village in Surankote tehsil of Poonch district. “This morning when our patrol party visited Dehri village, which lies ahead of the LoC fence, during a routine check, it noticed some movement in a house. The village remains uninhabited during the night. The troops noticed four persons in a house,” said Army sources. “After being put through sustained questioning, the man, who identified himself as Mukhtar Ahmed of Hari Mehrote village, revealed that he had crossed the LoC in 2003 to undergo arms training in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir,” they said. His Pakistani wife has been identified as Sakia Begum, who bore him three children. The children have been identified as Mohammed Rashid, Mobia and Hasrat Fatima.
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Protest outside GB Pant Hospital
Srinagar, June 13 “GB Pant Hospital administration is responsible for the large number of infant deaths. We are left with no option, but to stage a protest,” said a protester. Medical Superintendent of GB Pant Hospital Dr Muneer Masoodi alleged that the protest was instigated by drug mafia. “An infant from Bijbehara, Anantnag, was admitted in the hospital on June 11, who had a congenital heart disease and was also suffering from birth trauma. Despite our efforts, the baby died today,” said Dr Masoodi. — TNS
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INTERVIEW: Ali Mohammad
Sagar, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ali Mohammad Sagar has been in the eye of the storm after reports of sarpanches and panches tendering resignations, following suspected militant threats, started pouring in. Amid serious questions raised over the government’s claims about panchayat empowerment, Sagar in an interview to The Tribune Correspondent Successful 2011 panchayat elections --- there are no two opinions. Even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described it as the biggest achievement of the government. It saw a huge participation of people, the electoral process was credible and fair, there were no complaints and the real representatives of people were elected after 34 years. Elections were held in 2000 too but the process was not complete. The second biggest achievement is the increase in wage budget for MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme. It has risen from Rs 60 to 768 crore and our target for this financial year is Rs 1,500 crore. But serious questions are now being raised over the government’s alleged failure to empower the
panchayats. Those who are saying this are wrong and their statements are frivolous. The panchayats are fully empowered. Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, too, had recently stated that the panchayats had not been empowered fully in the state. He is an expert no doubt but I feel he has not been fully informed. For the first time in history, we presented documented evidence during a recent press conference as to how we passed even judicial and financial powers to the panchayats. There is not an iota of doubt over the transfer of powers to them, but complete empowerment is bound to take time. What is your take on posters warning panchayat members to quit? I think these (appearing of posters) are politically motivated. If the militants had to do it, it would have happened before. Even (Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed) Salahuddin has stated that they have got nothing to do with the panchayats. We are probing the matter but Allah knows the best! Demand for the extension of 73rd Amendment to the state is growing. We are not bound to implement it unless ordered by the President. An amendment Bill (to strengthen the panchayats) has already been tabled in the state Assembly. We have constituted a committee in this regard and we are open to amendments to look into further scope of improvement. Complaints of proper implementation of MGNREGA schemes are also being received. Complaints are everywhere… what matters is the end result. The scheme has performed miracles in places like Doda, Ramban, Kupwara and Udhampur. What are your main targets from now on till the completion of the government’s six-year scheduled term?aWe want to consolidate our gains towards panchayat empowerment and MGNREGA implementation. We have also set in motion a Rs 2,300-crore water harvesting programme for the benefit of the drought and flood-prone areas and it will show results in due course. |
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Imam arrested for killing mason
Srinagar, June 13 The Imam, identified as Muneer Ahmed War, a resident of Hatmula, Kupwara, was staying in Batamaloo in Srinagar. War allegedly murdered Mohammad Hajam, 26, and dumped his body, which was recovered almost a month after the murder. “It is a crime of passion,” said SSP, Srinagar, Ashiq Bukhari. “Hajam would frequently visit the house of a girl, who also lived in Batamaloo. The accused was in a relation with the same girl and wanted to get rid of Hajam. The accused then planned to kill Hajam,” the SSP said. The police has also arrested Izhar-ul-Islam of Hassanpora, Bijbehara in Anantnag, who was also staying at Batamaloo and helped Muneer War to dispose of Hajam’s body. Bukhari said a missing report of Wali Mohammad Hajam, a resident of Wagat, Handwara, who was putting up at Batamaloo, was filed by his cousin on May 15. Hajam was a mason by profession. “During the course of investigation, 25 people, who were in some way associated with the dead, were questioned. After some technical help and inputs, the investigation team zeroed in on Muneer War and Izhar-ul-Islam,” Bukhari said. “During the investigation, the duo revealed that Hajam was murdered and his body was dumped at Firdosabad, Batamaloo,” the SSP said. The SSP said the main accused was harbouring a grudge and was jealous of Hajam for his close proximity with the girl. The SSP said the accused and the victim were well-known to each other, as they lived in the same locality. “On the day of the murder, the victim had visited the house of the accused. They had a fight over their relation with the girl,” the SSP said. “The accused was waiting for an opportunity to kill Hajam. He hit Hajam on the head with a sharp-edged knife, which caused his instantaneous death,” Bukhari said. The police has recovered the weapon used in the murder. —
TNS
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The state government in tandem with security forces has chalked out modalities for deploying troops right from Lakhanpur - the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir.
“At least 600 CRPF personnel will guard the base camp at Jammu-Yatri Niwas, which has a housing capacity of 1,700 pilgrims,” said a senior CRPF officer.
What would you call the main achievements of your ministries during the last three years?