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NC activist shot dead in Srinagar
First-ever Ladakh film festival takes off
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INTERVIEW
24x7 helpline for Amarnath pilgrims
100 militants waiting to enter Valley, says Army
Amarnath yatra
RSS to depute more parcharaks in state
BJP launches membership drive in Jammu
Concerted efforts by Bench, Bar must for dispensation of justice: CJ
Three injured in car accident
Pilgrim tourism must be promoted in Doda: MLA to Governor
Healthcare staff gets training in handling emergencies
Mughal road rally from June 29
Govt employees to observe general strike today
Mehdi Hassan remembered by his Kashmiri fans
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NC activist shot dead in Srinagar
Srinagar, June 15 NC activist Abdul Rahman Ganai, 65, was shot dead barely 2 km from the spot where a powerful improvised explosive device (IED), fitted in a car at Chhanapora, was detected on May 17. Rahman, a resident of Natipora (in Srinagar) and the block president of the NC, was fired upon from point blank range at 1.25 pm while he was on way to a local mosque for Friday prayers. “Ganai received two bullet injuries and was immediately shifted to Bone and Joints Hospital, Barzulla, where he was declared brought dead on arrival,” the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Shabir Ahmed, told The Tribune. “We have registered a case and started investigations,” he added. The eyewitness said five to seven bullets were fired on the NC worker who died on the spot. “Top NC leaders and ministers used to visit Ganai’s house, who had been with the party for a long time,” said a resident from Natipora. “The killing has shocked the locality as Ganai was also president of the local mosque,” the resident added. Immediately after Ganai was shot dead, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted on micro-blogging website Twitter condemning the killing. “I suppose because Abdul Rahman Ganai was an NC activist his killing today is not worthy of the outrage we often see here in Twitteristan,” Omar tweeted. NC President and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah termed the killing as a cold-blooded murder. “Ganai was a very pious man, a great social worker and an old party activist ready to help people,” Farooq Abdullah said in a statement. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party too condemned the killing. “Violence should have no place in any society, especially the one like ours which has suffered immense trouble and miseries for the last two decades on account of use of force,” PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said. The killing of the NC leader comes at a time when militant groups have issued death threats to panches and sarpanches in south Kashmir. These threats have forced over 250 panches and sarpanches to resign from their posts. The J&K Police on Thursday claimed to have arrested five militants of the LeT who were behind the foiled attempt to blow up a car with a powerful bomb in Chhanpora on the outskirts of Srinagar on May 17. On May 31, militants had attacked a CRPF patrol party in the old city leaving seven CRPF jawans injured. TERROR TRAIL
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First-ever Ladakh film festival takes off
Leh/Chandigarh, June 15 Hence, no red carpets were rolled out for this international film festival, only green carpets were there to premiere films. The three-day LIFF (June 15 to 17) opened with the screening of 'Raja
Harishchandra', the first full-length silent film made in 1913 by Dadasaheb
Phalke, as a tribute to the art of film-making. Chaired by veteran film director Shyam
Benegal, the festival boasts of some of the most respectable names from the industry, including Mike
Pandey; Shekhar Kapoor; Vishal Bhardwaj; Govind Nihalani; Madhur
Bhandarkar; Shaji N Karun; Mani Ratnam; Santosh Sivan; Ketan Mehta; Nitin Desai and Deepti Naval from India; Christian
Jeune, deputy director general, Festival De Cannes; Derek Malcolm, president of the British Federation of Film Societies and The International Film Critics Circle, and a distinguished film critic and historian; Jacob
Neiiedam, director, Copenhagen Film Festival. Melwyn Williams Chirayath is the festival director. The LIFF is screening films under different sections -- competitive, international, Indian and
Ladakh. Entries for the competitive sections were invited in April, which received an overwhelming response from countries like India, USA, UK, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Greece, Brazil, France, Denmark, Bangladesh and Nepal. The films were viewed by the pre-jury and subsequently by the International Jury before screening. For promotion of environment consciousness and tourism, the LIFF has tie up with the J&K Tourism, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council
(LAHDC-Leh), The Grand Dragon Ladakh, the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust and the Inheritance India. To promote film screenings and festival ideology, it has also partnered with the South Asian Film Festival
(SAFF), Canada. With such massive response from multiple agencies, the mascot of LIFF
‘Schan’- the Snow Leopard should hope to get a new lease of life. With the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust partnering the festival, the LIFF will raise awareness amongst people from all over the world on protecting the rare and endangered snow leopard. On the concluding day, Snow Leopard trophies, citations and certificates would be given. There would also be a special Snow Leopard award for the best film made on any endangered species in the world. At
Filmshoppe, a space reserved for buyers and sellers of films, organisers expect a lot of international business of films to take place.
Shyam Benegal said, “The effort of the LIFF is to create a festival that is different from other film festivals. Ladakh is an apt and unique venue. The aspiration is to make it one of the best and exclusive film festivals on the roof of the
world.” Rooftop view
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INTERVIEW
The Minister for Public Health Engineering (PHE), Irrigation and Flood Control, Taj Mohiuddin, who hails from Kathua district of the Jammu region, has been elected twice from Uri constituency of the Kashmir region. A senior Congress leader, he joined the party in 1987. Taj held the portfolio of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Animal Husbandry and Information Technology in the Congress-PDP government from 2002 to 2005.
In 2009, Taj took over his present portfolio in the NC-Congress coalition government. In an interview to The Tribune correspondent Varun Suthra in Jammu, the Minister discloses the government’s plans to strengthen Panchayati Raj in the state and highlights the achievements of his department. People of Jammu bear resentment against the PHE Department, as they have to suffer water shortage. This is unfortunate; I must say that my department has to face public wrath for the mistake of others. We are not actually short of water as 38 crore gallons of water is available. Nine mg/d (millions gallons per day) has been added to the daily supply. It is only due to unscheduled power cuts that water supply is halted and the government is not solely responsible for that. A joint initiative is required in this regard. I want to make it clear to the masses that any break in the water supply is not due to water scarcity and there is no lethargy from our side. I would also like to urge the masses to make judicious use of electricity as people have been using more than the allocated units. Your department has taken a key initiative to construct the Tawi barrage but some experts have expressed doubts about the project. It is feared that the Indus Water Treaty may be a hurdle for the project. I have asserted this many times and I again want to convey it loudly that the construction of the barrage across the Tawi river does not violate any provision of the Indus Water Treaty of 1964. The project would help us irrigate more land and promote water transport in the river. Your coalition government has held panchayat elections but there is dissatisfaction among the rural representatives as they allege that they have not been empowered. Our government is committed to empowering panchayats in the state and recently more powers have been given to the elected representatives in the amended Panchayati Raj Act. The government has devolved more powers to the panchayats and 14 departments concerned with rural population are directly working with panches and sarpanches. Of these 14 departments, my department was the first to issue an order for devolution of powers to the panchayats. My field staff is at the disposal of panchayats. Funds for repair works are being provided to panchayats. Kits to test the quality of water are being provided to sarpanches. Moreover, I am ready to give sarpanches the authority to take the attendance of our field staff. They are our elected representatives and we must consider their issues on priority. You challenged the accords signed between the state and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation for establishment of hydroelectric projects in the state. I am quite clear about my stance and my argument is supported by relevant documents. The NHPC did not adhere to the norms and conditions, our water has been used and we were not given the due share. At present, the operation, execution and maintenance of four projects, including the 790-MW Salal, 390-MW Dulhasti, 480-MW Uri-I and 120-MW Sewa-II, is being controlled by the NHPC. Besides, it is executing about seven projects in the state, including the 280-MW Uri-II, 300-MW Kishanganga, 44-MW Chutak, and the 45-MW Nimoo Bazgoo. It was clearly mentioned in the accord that the state holds the ownership rights and could buy back the projects at depreciated cost. What will be achieved by buying back the projects? Is the state capable of running such huge projects? Even if we buy back Salal project, the state would be efficient in power and there would be no power crisis at all. We have gained technical expertise over the years. No one should underestimate our capability of running such projects. |
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24x7 helpline for Amarnath pilgrims
Srinagar, June 15 The control room was inaugurated this morning by Governor N N Vohra, who is also the SASB chairman. A spokesman of the SASB said any person seeking information or help regarding the forthcoming yatra can call 0194-2501679 or email at sasbjk2001@gmail.com. He said the pilgrims can also gather yatra-related information through the SASB website by
logging on to www.shriamarnathjishrine.com and send queries online.
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100 militants waiting to enter Valley, says Army
Baramulla, June 15 In an interview to The Tribune, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 19 Infantry Division, Maj Gen Bipin Rawat, said the troops were on alert as over 100 militants were waiting to enter the Valley. “The training camps across the LoC are still active and 100-125 militants are waiting to enter the Valley through the Gulmarg, Uri and Nowgam sectors,” said the GOC, whose division guards the 107-km porous stretch of the LoC in north Kashmir. “With the melting of snow from mountains and passes, there is always apprehension of more infiltration. Apart from vigilant troops, we have sophisticated equipment like UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), thermal sensing cameras, high-power cameras and long-range observation system which is installed near the LoC to notice all movements,” he added. The GOC said the militants waiting to cross over to the Valley belonged to various groups. In fact, the 9 Infantry Division was responsible for foiling the first infiltration bid in the Uri sector of Baramulla district on May 10 by killing five unidentified militants near the LoC. The Army said the killed militants belonged to different groups. Major General Rawat said the Army had been able to repair 95 per cent of the fencing which was damaged due to heavy snow in winter on the LoC. The senior Army officer said that the situation on the ground had improved a lot and “peace” had to be consolidated on ground zero. “While we are out to ensure that peace prevails in the Valley, at the same time we have started many programmes for youth in north Kashmir which are aimed at winning their hearts and minds,” he said. “We have also trained our soldiers to be more humane while dealing with civilians,” he added. A top Army officer in Srinagar had recently said that over 300 militants were active in Kashmir and they would continue to show their presence. “But the security forces have complete control over the situation despite stray incidents of violence,” the Army officer had said. |
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Amarnath yatra
Jammu, June 15 “The CRPF is going to launch a special drive against the use of polythene during the Amarnath yatra,” said Sudhir Kumar, a CRPF officer from Kashmir. “The CRPF will put up hoardings at various places, besides distribute pamphlets, educating people about environmental degradation caused by the use of polythene,” said Kumar. The CRPF will rope in two NGOs for the purpose. “We are in touch with some NGOs and before June 25 we will put in place everything,” he said. Since thousands of pilgrims visit the Amarnath cave shrine, the CRPF would launch the drive against the use of polythene at Manigam and Baltal, the twin base camps, he said. Shopkeepers and the CRPF would distribute free of cost eco-friendly bags to the pilgrims, said the officer. “This is being done to maintain ecological balance and check environmental degradation in the Himalayas and its foothills,” he said. “At Manigam and Baltal visitors would be provided bags made of eco-friendly material, if they want to carry something,” said the CRPF officer. |
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RSS to depute more parcharaks in state
Jammu, June 15 The RSS has already deputed its senior most parcharak Ashok Koul
in the party, who has been given the post of general secretary. Sources said senior RSS parcharak Ravinder Raina was likely to be deputed in the BJP soon, as the organisation had given a green signal to him. Raina, a native of border Rajouri district, is known for his organisation skills. He had actively participated in the movement launched for the opening of the Central University of Jammu. “As the Sangh Parivar is fed up with the present BJP leadership, it has been decided to project younger and fresh leaders in the party to give it a new look,” the sources said. They said the decision to depute Raina in the party had been taken to prepare the state cadre for launching an agitation against the report of the three interlocutors. “Koul would look after all the affairs of the party. Raina is likely to be given the task of strengthening the party among various sections of society, especially among militancy-affected Gujjars,” the sources said. They said being the coordinator
of the Tehreek-e-Insaf movement, Raina had established links with families of militancy-affected Gujjars. The sources said the BJP high command was particular about strengthening the party in Jammu and Kashmir because the party wanted to again rake up the Kashmir issue, especially after the interlocutors’ report. “The present breed of leadership in the state unit is not in a position to launch an agitation so the party high command wants to groom new aggressive leaders,” the sources said. They said the party was looking for a fresh young face to be appointed as the new state president. The term of incumbent president Shamsher Singh Manhas will complete in December this year. “Instead of selecting the state president from the present leadership, there is a feeling among the high command that some one from outside Jammu city should be given a chance this time.” |
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BJP launches membership drive in Jammu
Jammu, June 15 The membership drive was started by the party leaders in different areas. The BJP has fixed the target of enrolling more than one lakh new members. Led by chief spokesperson Jitendra Singh, the drive was launched here from Sector 43 of Nanak Nagar in the Gandhi Nagar constituency. Singh visited some houses in the area and enrolled the residents into the party’s fold. Singh said, “The drive is part of the country-wide membership drive being launched by the BJP from today.” He said, “The present drive assumes significance as it is being carried out at a time when people across the country are fed up with the Congress-led UPA rule and want a change.” The BJP has decided to gear up for this responsibility by increasing its mass base through membership drives, Singh said. — TNS
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Concerted efforts by Bench, Bar must for dispensation of justice: CJ
Jammu, June 15 Vikram Sharma, General Secretary, Bar Association, Jammu, congratulated the Chief Justice on assuming the office and welcomed him to the Jammu Wing of the high court. He apprised the Chief Justice about the hopes that the Bar members had from him as head of the Judicial Institution in the state. The Chief Justice said he was overwhelmed by the welcome accorded to him by the Bar Association. He said better justice dispensation pre-requires concerted efforts by the Bench and the Bar. The ultimate aim of justice to one and all could be achieved with concerted efforts, he added. BS Slathia, president, Bar Association, apprised the Chief Justice of traditions of the Bar in extending its full cooperation in the administration of justice. Slathia lauded the role of judiciary saying that it had succeeded in eradicating corruption and expediting the delivery of justice with support of the lawyers and supervision of the high court. He expressed hope that the vacancies in the strength of Judges would be filled shortly. Prominent among others present on the occasion included Justice Virender Singh; Justice JP Singh; Ajay Sharma; Justice Yaqoob Mir; Bansi Lal Bhat, Presiding Officer, CBI Court, Jammu; and Jang Bahadur Singh Jamwal, Principal District and Sessions Judge, Jammu. |
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Three injured in car accident
Batote, June 15 The injured persons included KK Pandoh, general manager, Jai Prakash Industries Ltd; Raman Jamwal, accountant, MLP College of Elementary Teachers Training, Champa, Batote; and Pradeep of Balihote, Ramban. The injured have been admitted to Government Medical College Hospital
at Ramban. |
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Pilgrim tourism must be promoted in Doda: MLA to Governor
Srinagar, June 15 “Tarigami discussed with the Governor issues related to the establishment of Panchayati Raj institutions in the state, functioning of the administrative machinery and eradication of corruption,” an official said. Wani presented a memorandum to Vohra regarding various problems faced by the residents of Doda district in the Jammu region. “Wani raised the issue of development of tourism circuits in places like Sudhmahadev, Bhadarwah, Kapran, Dessa, Bharat, Keshwan and Kishtwar under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan,” the official said. The Doda MLA also called for allocation of resources under the State Plan and various Centre-sponsored schemes for achieving rapid socio-economic advancement of the entire area. He said there is tremendous potential
for the promotion of pilgrim tourism in Doda district which can be harnessed by creating the required infrastructure. The Governor assured Wani that the authorities concerned would address the issues raised by him. |
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Healthcare staff gets training in handling emergencies
Srinagar, June 15 Through the BLSS, the healthcare staff is being trained to handle different emergencies. So far, over 3,000 employees of the department have undergone this training. “The objective behind the training is to ensure that our entire healthcare staff is trained to handle different emergencies before the treatment begins in any healthcare institute,” said Saleem-ur-Rehman, Director of Health, Kashmir. “By September, our entire workforce will be trained to handle different emergencies and half of the workforce has already been trained.” The staff is being trained in handling different emergencies like how to evacuate a victim from a hospital in case of an accident. “We had seen in the past that most of the patients, who received bullet injuries, died due to blood loss. We are training our support staff, including ambulance drivers, in how to ferry such patients and what steps are needed to block the blood loss,” said Niyaz Jan, part of the training team. The health staff is also being trained in taking care of the patients who suffer heart attack. “There are different techniques of handling various medical emergencies and the BLSS will definitely help in saving many lives,” said Jan. The training of the healthcare staff had started last year when an international expert in basic life support Eric Bernes organised ‘Train the Trainers’ programme in Srinagar. Bernes, who is associated with the International Committee of Red Cross, trained 20 doctors of the J&K Health Department in the BLSS. These trained doctors, in turn, are training more doctors and paramedics in different hospitals of Kashmir. |
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Mughal road rally from June 29
Srinagar, June 15 President, Himalayan Motorsports, Shimla, Ajit Parmar said there would be two stages of the rally - the transport stage and the competitive stage. The transport stage would start in Srinagar and pass through Pampore-Pulwama-Shopian and Dobjan while the competitive stage would start at Dubjan and pass through Pir ki Gali and culminate at Bufliaz. The event comprises two rallies - the extreme, a fast-paced event with professional drivers and the enduro, a slower event — both aimed at promoting tourism through motoring. The extreme event will return from Bafliaz while enduro will proceed to Jammu after crossing Mughal road at Bafliaz. In Jammu, the rally would pass through the Reasi-Gool-Ramban-Batote-Doda-Pull-Kishtwar-Sinthan route.
— TNS
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Govt employees to observe general strike today
Srinagar, June 15 The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgam of various employees’ bodies, tried to take out a procession to gherao the civil secretariat on the third consecutive day after a group of employees gathered at the Lal Mandi area. However, the protesters, who were led by JCC leader Mohammad Gafoor Dar, were taken into preventive custody as soon as they tried to take out a procession. “Around 40 to 50 protesters were detained,” said JCC leader Farooq Trali. Barring the Agriculture Department offices, work at other government offices went on as usual in the Valley, Trali added. The Agriculture Department offices observed a strike to protest yesterday’s incident where Trali was allegedly manhandled by the police after the JCC leader Abdul Qayoom Wani had attempted to take out a procession from outside the Exhibition Ground here. The JCC has called for a general strike tomorrow while the protesting employees intend to take out a procession towards Raj Bhawan after gathering at the Sher-e-Kashmir Park. 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. |
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Mehdi Hassan remembered by his Kashmiri fans
Srinagar, June 15 The subtly interwoven connection between the verses and his voice lured heartbeats of ghazal lovers equally in Pakistan and India, transcending all borders even after the Partition. The man behind this magical voice has left a mark, as each of his ghazals has portrayed one or the other facet of life. His bidding adieu to the world has reminded us of one more legendary singer of the subcontinent---Mohammad Rafi. Both of them had some things in common. Both were born in undivided India --- Mehdi was born in Rajasthan and lived in Pakistan while Rafi was born in undivided Punjab and later moved to Mumbai. While one lived in the port city of Karachi, the other spent his life in the port city of Mumbai. Their popular songs are crooned by music lovers to pay tributes to them. “Muhabbat Karney Waley Kum Na Honge, Teri Mehfil Mein Lekin Hum Na Hongey”, was apt for paying tributes to ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan when the news of his death came in. Over the past couple of decades, when Mehdi Hassan produced lesser number of compositions, his fans in Kashmir continued to listen to his ghazals. “Mehdi has been an icon for me,” says Mushtaq Ahmad, who studied in the University of Kashmir in early 1980s and would snatch a chance to sing his ghazals. “I have always listened to his ghazals,” he says. |
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Two things happened at the hosting of the first-ever Ladakh International Film Festival
(LIFF) today. In the arid zone at 13,500 feet above the sea level, the festival created its own model-to offer platform to the world cinema at enviable altitudes. Being held in an ecologically fragile part of the world, it created finesse around the festival to keep it green.
Taj
Mohiuddin, Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control
Jammu, June 15
The employees’ attempt to march towards the civil secretariat was foiled yet again after the police detained several protesters here today.
The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgam of various employees’ bodies, tried to take out a procession to gherao the civil secretariat on the third consecutive day after a group of employees gathered at the Lal Mandi area.
