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Top Hizb militant killed in encounter
Cross-LoC traders meet for first time
NC-Congress verbal duel intensifies
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Glad GenNext looking beyond govt jobs: Omar
Props in place for return of Bollywood to Kashmir
J&K youth benefit from Hunar-se-Rozgar scheme
Will resolve economic concerns across LoC: Mirwaiz
Governor for promotion of cultural heritage
Radio taxi service flagged off
KU’s education dept gets first woman dean
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Top Hizb militant killed in encounter
The local militant, who was identified as Ghulam Nabi War of Hayan Palpora, near Kangan, was the district commander of the banned outfit and had been active in the area for nearly a decade. An AK 47 rifle, 118 rounds of AK ammunition, one UBGL (under barrel grenade launcher), 10 UBGL grenades, and a Chinese grenade have been recovered from the site of the encounter, the police said. Acting on the basis of a specific information about the presence of a militant in Kralkhai village, 8 km from Kangan, a joint operation was launched by 24 Rashtriya Rifles (Bihar) and the Jammu and Kashmir Police at 8 am today. “A contact was established with the terrorist who was holed up in a house in the village and in the ensuing encounter, the terrorist, identified as Ghulam Nabi War, alias Nabba, was killed,” said the defence spokesman, Lt Col J S Brar. The militant was active since 2003 and was the district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. He used to operate with Mushtaq Killer, who was gunned down last year, the defence spokesman added. Hayan Palpora village is located several kilometres away from Kangan, through which the Srinagar-Leh highway passes. Meanwhile, the police recovered four grenades during the search operations in the Sogam area of Lolab in Kupwara district of north Kashmir last evening. The police said that on a tip-off, four Pakistan-made rusted grenades and a detonator were recovered from Sogam. The grenades were destroyed on the spot by the Bomb Disposal Squad, the police said. Militants target CRPF picket Srinagar: Militants on Tuesday attacked a security picket with a grenade in the Sopore town of north Kashmir's Baramulla district, sparking panic. But there was no damage. Official sources said militants hurled a grenade at CRPF personnel manning a picket in Sopore town, 55 km from Srinagar, this evening. They said the grenade missed the target and exploded on the roadside, without causing any damage. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack. — PTI
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Cross-LoC traders meet for first time
Srinagar, July 10 “The trade was started with a lot of enthusiasm in 2008 and a lot of promises were made to us. We were assured that the trade will be made duty-free and will be monetised… but the promises remain unfulfilled as trade continues to run through the barter system… the area (across LoC) should be declared free trade zone,” head of the Chamber of Commerce in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) Zulfikar Abbasi told reporters on the inaugural day of the three-day long conference titled “Cross LoC Trade, Regional Development: Opportunities and Challenges” that has been organised by the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation (CDR), New Delhi. President of the All J&K Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industries Mubeen Shah too made the demand for a free trade zone while urging New Delhi and Islamabad to allow cross-LoC traders to decide their fate. “There should be no limit on tradable items… the number of tradable items has fallen to 15 and the same should be raised to 200 to 300,”
he added. Asserting that only two per cent potential of the LoC had been exploited so far, Abbasi said the India and Pakistan governments should pump in investments in “Kashmir” just like other parts. “By doing so, the damages caused to the region for the last 62 years will be somewhat rectified. The area has been held hostage for the last 62 years…. We (traders) have a vision and we should be allowed to trade freely,” he added. Abbasi said the cross-LoC traders, after the convention, would compile a list of joint recommendations that would be submitted to the India-Pakistan Joint Working Group (JWG) on cross-LoC confidence building measures, which is scheduled to meet on July 19. On allegations of hawala money being transferred through the trade that was being done through the barter system, he said the same were “untrue”. Abbasi said the allegations were made only to harass the traders. He said they had been demanding banking facilities for long and an end to the barter system. When asked if any headway was achieved regarding the end of barter system and banking facilities, Minister for Industries and Commerce S S Slathia said: “We (state) can only recommend and we have done that…. The decision will be taken by the Government of India.” He said the matter would be taken up when the leaders of India and Pakistan meet.
TRADE TALK
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NC-Congress verbal duel intensifies
Jammu, July 10 Instead of mending their ties, leaders of both parties have been blaming each other for not following the “coalition dharma”. The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) spokesman and general secretary Ravinder Sharma had reminded NC leaders on Monday that they were enjoying powers in the state and at Delhi all due to the support of the Congress. Today, Kamal asserted that the NC was not at the mercy of anyone. Kamal made it clear that coalition was a compulsion in today’s politics. “Like the Congress is heading a coalition at the Centre, the NC too is heading a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir,” Kamal said while interacting with mediapersons during a function at NC headquarters here this afternoon. Kamal, who is Union Minister Farooq Abdullah’s brother, regretted that Congress ministers were discriminating against National Conference workers. He said such an attitude of the Congress ministers was not helping the smooth functioning of the coalition in the state. Kamal had earlier stated that the real cause of the Kashmir problem was non-fulfillment of the commitment made to the people of Kashmir. The Congress had taken exception to the “irresponsible” utterances of Kamal. |
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Amarnath yatra death toll reaches 60
Srinagar, July 10 Official sources confirmed at least seven pilgrims died due to cardiac arrests since yesterday. Four of these died along the Pahalagam-Sheshnag-Pajtarni holy cave axis while three others died on Baltal holy
cave axis. In view of the increasing number of deaths due to cardiac arrests, Governor N N Vohra, who is also Chairman of the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) had yesterday convened a meeting of the Health Department and other senior officers of the Board here to discuss measures for taking preventive and precautionary measures. The officials have been directed to take adequate measures to check the increasing number
of deaths. The SASB officials have been asked to publicise the do’s and don’ts for the yatris intending to undertake the yatra in the upper reaches of Pahalgam. The traditional trekking route of 32 km from Chandanwari passes through difficult terrains of Sheshnag, Mahagunas Top and Panjtarni before reaching the holy cave at a height of 13,500 ft. Various instructions were issued for the pilgrims in view of the high altitude and lower temperatures which usually lead to the complications resulting in cardiac arrests. The number of yatris
who have had darshan at the holy cave shrine has gone up to 3,45,426 so far, officials said. THE DEATH TRAIL
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Glad GenNext looking beyond govt jobs: Omar
“It is very encouraging that the next generation is looking beyond the government as a means of employment. The government should only be the last resort,” Omar wrote on micro-blogging networking site, Twitter, after addressing a daylong seminar at SKICC conference hall in Srinagar yesterday. Ironically, the number of unemployed youth has crossed a staggering six-lakh mark in Jammu and Kashmir. In another tweet, Omar said, “Just asked a hall full of young Kashmiri boys and girls as how many thought a government job was their first choice and almost no hands went up. Great.” Official sources said over 52,000 government jobs of various cadres were still lying vacant in the state. There were 5,242 posts in gazetted cadre, a whopping 35,594 in non-gazetted cadre and 11,240 in Class-IV category lying vacant in various departments. The number of registered job seekers had increased from 1,11,564 in 2007 to 6,01,847 till November 2011 thus registering an increase of 439 per cent. There over 4.5 lakh government employees in Jammu and Kashmir who are paid Rs 16,000 crore yearly on account of salary and pension bills. The salary bill of the state government was just Rs 282 crore in 1988-89. “To reduce non-plan expenditure, particularly revenue expenditure on account of salaries, the government has recently decided to go for fresh recruitment against non-gazetted posts on a stipendiary mode for the first five years of service,” sources said. The government has also planned to create some five lakh job opportunities in the state in the next coming years under newly formed Sher-e-Kashmir Welfare Programme for the Youth
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Props in place for return of Bollywood to Kashmir
Jammu, July 10 Headed by the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, the nine-member committee has also been entrusted with the task of coordinating and settling all inter-departmental issues relating to tourism. “The state government felt the need to bring back and facilitate Bollywood for shooting films in Kashmir, which was once a favourite destination of film directors and producers. The eruption of militancy changed the whole scenario in the state and nobody ventured into Kashmir for shooting films for years together,” a senior administrative official said requesting anonymity. The official said the previous government under the leadership of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had also promised all possible help to Bollywood to
shoot films in the state but it couldn’t yield the desired results. “Mufti had even visited Mumbai and had invited film producers to restart film shooting in the Valley and other parts of the state but sporadic incidents of violence and militancy kept filmmakers away from Kashmir,” he said. “The prevailing peace and calm in Kashmir has given the chance to the government for taking up such ventures which will not only boost tourism but also ensure economic development of the state,” the official added. He said the film industry had witnessed a tough phase as filmmakers preferred shooting songs and scenes of their films in European and other foreign countries after rise in militancy in the Kashmir valley after 1989. The other members of the panel include the administrative secretary, tourism and culture department; administrative secretary, forest department; chief wildlife warden; director, information department; both directors of tourism department, Kashmir and Jammu regions; director, floriculture, Kashmir; and director, archives and museums. The internationally acclaimed theatre director, Balwant Thakur, who belongs to the state, welcomed the decision saying that it would encourage the return of Bollywood in
the state. “The government move to constitute such a high-level panel will change the outlook of filmmakers towards Kashmir. We hope that they will rush to Jammu and Kashmir to shoot their films. Besides, it will also boost tourism and give exposure to local talent,” he said. |
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J&K youth benefit from Hunar-se-Rozgar scheme
Jammu, July 10 Official data reveals that 3,164 persons were trained under the Tourist Facilitators and the Hunar-se-Rozgar
(HSR) scheme and they are earning handsome money in tourism sector. In the current financial year, the state government has set a target to train as many as 2,000 youth under HSR scheme. During the current financial year, the government has set a target of imparting training to more than 2,000 youth. As law and situation improved in the state during the last couple of years, the number of tourists and pilgrims the Valley has been increasing with each passing day. In 2009-10, the Union Ministry of Tourism had launched the Hunar-Se-Rozgar
(HSR) scheme to create employable skills among the youth who were in the age group of 18-25 years with minimum 8th pass. As tourism is the backbone of the state economy, the scheme received encouraging response from unemployed youth. The scheme has witnessed a tremendous response in emerging tourist destinations such as Bhaderwah and others. These trained youth now want to utilise their skills by providing various hospitality-related products such as paying guests. Keeping in view the demand of training in hospitality, the Union Ministry of Tourism India has also sanctioned hospitality courses for six ITI colleges in Jammu,
Srinagar, Baramulla, Anantnag, Kishtwar and Udhampur. IMPARTING SKILLS TO EMPOWER
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Will resolve economic concerns across LoC: Mirwaiz
“While seeking a resolution to the Kashmir issue, we cannot remain indifferent to the day-to-day problems. In the next two weeks, we will form an Economic Advisory Council comprising working groups and committees to boost people-to-people contact. We will seek suggestions from the civil society and people from other walks of life as the water and other natural resources are being exploited by the ‘puppet’ state government which is working hand-in-glove with New Delhi,” Mirwaiz said while addressing a press conference here. He said they had already been invited to Pakistan in September and would involve people from across the LoC so that people have a ‘say’ in the affairs of the region. Asserting the agreements between India and Pakistan on the state’s natural resources needed to be ‘re-looked’, Mirwaiz also batted for further boosting of cross-LoC trade and CBMs between the two nations. He, however, said the CBMs were not a solution and would only provide an atmosphere conducive to the resolution of political problems. Mirwaiz said he supported the talks between India and Pakistan but the involvement of the people of J&K was necessary to take the process to its logical conclusion. “Foreign secretary level talks are fine but the Indo-Pak leadership too has to come forward,” he added. Earlier, Mirwaiz chaired a meeting of its executive and general council. Even as he admitted there were differences within “just like any other democratic set-up”, he ruled out any restructuring. “We will follow the two-tier system and a collective decision has been taken by all the members,” he added.
— TNS |
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Governor for promotion of cultural heritage
The Governor observed that organisations like the JKFMAC could play a crucial role for promoting art and culture. The delegation informed the Governor that the Jammu Kashmir Film Makers And Artists Cooperative planned to organise a 10-day state-level theatre festival at the summer capital in the last week of August. |
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Radio taxi service flagged off
Srinagar, July 10 Speaking on the occasion, Samoon said the radio taxi was a new concept for providing better transport facility to the tourists and the local people. He said the Radio Taxi was only a phone call away from a user. The radio taxis are comfortable, air conditioned cars manned by responsive and professional drivers who are linked by radio to a control room so that their whereabouts are tracked at the call centre office. The Divisional Commissioner said it was a 24x7 service and was accessible on a single telephone number. On receiving a call, the reservation centre uses its GPRS screen to direct the nearest available taxi to the customer informing him of the time the taxi is expected to reach
him. Samoon said the rates would be calculated on kilometre basis from pick up to drop off location. Radio taxi assures safety of passenger as they will be constantly monitored. He said the radio taxis are cabs of international standard that would become increasingly visible on the streets and change the dynamics of travel. The Divisional Commissioner also inspected the building at the TRC where a network of radio taxis is available. He assured all possible support to the radio taxi operators. 30 taxis would be available at first in the Srinagar city, he informed.
— TNS |
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KU’s education dept gets first woman dean
Srinagar, July 10 A university spokesman said that prior to her appointment as associate professor and then as professor in the Department of Education, Basu was working as director, State Resource Centre of the university. Professor Basu has conducted a number of extension programmes on education for J&K at national level and has co-ordinated programmes on literacy scenario. Basu has completed three UGC-sponsored projects and has penned a book ‘Adult Education: Trends and Strategies’. She has several research papers to her credit. |
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Srinagar, July 10