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Antony reviews security in Valley
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Infighting among loyalists worries Union Minister Azad
Amarnath
Pilgrimage
Mahant Deependra Giri picks the Charri Mubarak after prayers in Srinagar
on Saturday. Photo: Amin War
Only four shrinks at govt hospitals in Jammu
Cylinder blast leaves 3 tourists dead, 5
hurt
Security personnel inspect a vehicle after an explosion left three tourists dead and five injured in Bijbehara town of Anantnag district on Saturday. Photo: Suhail Shah
Governor releases Gen JJ Singh’s book
Killing of youth
The Budshah Chowk market wears a deserted look following a bandh in Srinagar
on Saturday. Photo: Amin War
Bodies of missing BSF officer, driver
found
Ex-Army Chief visits Uri
CRPF’s 137th Battalion celebrates raising day
Ban on ferrying of bovines
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Antony reviews security in Valley
Srinagar, July 28 He was accompanied by Gen Bikram Singh, Chief of the Army Staff, Lt Gen KT Parnaik, Commander, Northern Command, and Lt Gen Om Prakash, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Antony also visited the Line of Control (LoC) and met jawans at forward posts in the Uri sector. He is scheduled to visit other places in the Valley before his return to New Delhi tomorrow. During his visit to forward posts, the Defence Minister was briefed on the current situation along the LoC, infiltration bids by militants and various counter-infiltration measures adopted. He expressed satisfaction at the operational preparedness of the formation, a Defence spokesman said. The Defence Minister attended the Unified Headquarters meeting in the city and interacted with all members of UHQ, including Corps Commanders of Northern Command and heads of various intelligence and security agencies. During his meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Antony discussed prevailing security scenario and law and order situation in the state. Matters related to improving synergy between various security agencies were also discussed at the meeting. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Bikram Singh and other senior officers from the Army, police and civil administration. Expressing satisfaction at the improved level of coordination among various security agencies in the state, leading to significant reduction in infiltration from across the border in recent times, the Defence Minister called upon the top brass of the Army, paramilitary forces, state police and intelligence agencies to bring more synergy in their efforts to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the state. Addressing a joint security review meeting, Antony said the coordination mechanism should be made perfect to thwart any attempt from enemies to disturb the peace in the state. “Enemies from across the border will continue their efforts; however, if the security and intelligence agencies understand each other better, the efforts of the enemies will not succeed,” he said. Two-day visit
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Infighting among loyalists worries Union Minister Azad
Azad, who has hinted at playing a greater role in the state politics in the coming days, is worried over the way his supporters have been trying to undermine each other politically in the state. Instead of taking on the rival faction headed by JKPCC chief Saifuddin Soz, Azad loyalists have been fighting with each other. While two Azad loyalists Taj Mohiuddin and Abdul Gani Vakil were mud-slinging each other recently, Jugal Kishore Sharma- another staunch supporter of the Union Minister- has taken Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand to task for not inviting him to the meeting of the Katra Development Authority (KDA), which was held at latter’s residence on July 24. Tara Chand and Sharma, Member of the Legislative Council, are staunch supporters of Azad. Annoyed over ignoring him in the KDA meeting, Jugal has written a letter to the Deputy Chief Minister to register his protest. “I have not received any reply from the Deputy Chief Minister yet,” Sharma told The Tribune and regretted that he was not invited to the meeting, which was held to discuss the development projects of the KDA. “Being a Member of the Upper House, I should have been invited to the meeting,” he said. The Deputy Chief Minister, however, said it was not a KDA meeting. “Local MLA Baldev Raj Sharma along with a deputation had come to meet me to discuss some development issues of Katra.” “In a democratic set up, it is important for the government to listen to grievances of the elected representatives so a meeting was convened to discuss all issues.” The Deputy Chief Minister said some officials, including the Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, was called to sort out some issues raised by the local MLA. “Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is the chairman of the KDA, so I am not authorised to convene a meeting,” he said and added that Sharma had misinterpreted the whole episode. Sources said a former minister and ex-MLA from Jammu city had brought the matter to Azad’s notice. “Azad has taken a serious note of the infighting among his supporters and asked his loyalist to sort out their differences,” a source said.
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Amarnath
Pilgrimage
Srinagar, July 28 Over 6.05 lakh pilgrims have had darshan of the Shivlingam since the beginning of the yatra on June 25, said Navin K Choudhary, Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) here today. Briefing Governor NN Vohra, who is also Chairman of the SASB, the CEO said 6,05,665 yatris had paid their obeisance at the shrine till last evening, as compared to 6,09,674 yatris during the corresponding period last year. The CEO said this year, 5,08,464 pilgrims had secured registration till July 27, as against 2,59,897 yatris during the entire 2011 yatra period, when 6.35 lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance at the shrine. This year’s registration included 99,536 pilgrims who had secured on-spot registration till last evening, against 99,315 pilgrims who had secured similar registration during the 2011 yatra. Of the 93 pilgrims who had lost their lives during the ongoing yatra due to accidents and medical reasons, 47 casualties had taken place on the Pahalgam-Chandanwari-Sheshnag route, 34 on the Baltal route and 12 at hospitals in Srinagar. Of them, 71 were men and 22 women of varying age groups. Of the total fatalities, 51 pilgrims belonged to Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Further, 86 of them had died due to medical reasons and seven due to accidents in the yatra area. GOVERNOR’S DIRECTIVE
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Only four shrinks at govt hospitals in Jammu
Jammu, July 28 The region has only four psychiatrists in the government hospitals, three in Government Psychiatric Diseases Hospital at Ambphalla here in the capital city. One more psychiatrist recently joined District Hospital, Kathua. “Only the government is to be blamed for the sorry state of affairs because it has failed to introduce postgraduate faculty in psychiatry at Government Psychiatric Diseases Hospital,” said a senior doctor, who insisted anonymity. Government Psychiatric Diseases Hospital at Ambphalla has three psychiatrists, Dr Jagdish Thappa, Dr Manu Arora and Dr Rakesh Banal while the Health Department recently appointed Dr Gagan Hans at Kathua District Hospital, he said. The state government in 1982 had introduced PG faculty in psychiatry in Srinagar. The hospital in Ambphalla for psychiatric patients was set up in 1962, but the administration never made an attempt to introduce PG faculty here, as a result of which there has been an acute shortage of psychiatrists in the region, said the doctor. While the scenario remains grim vis-à-vis mental health care across the Jammu region, the three psychiatrists at the hospital in Ambphalla examine 200 patients daily at the Out Patients Department (OPD), not to forget hospitalised patients in the 75 bed hospital. As against the international norms of an hour of diagnosis and counselling to every psychiatric patient, overburdened doctors at the Ambphalla hospital cannot afford more than a minute to a patient visiting the OPD. Under the 11th five year plan, the mental health programme had been accorded top priority by the Union Government and 12 institutes similar to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, had come up across the country. Considering the heavy influx of patients in the OPD and in the wards, the absence of PG faculty here is an injustice with mentally-ill patients, including security personnel from belt forces, said a source. A World Health Organisation (WHO) survey has sounded alarm bells. It says by 2020 psychiatric patients will outnumber others to occupy the second slot after heart patients across the world. |
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Cylinder blast leaves 3 tourists dead, 5
hurt
Srinagar/Bijbehara, July 28 “The preliminary investigations point towards a cylinder blast,” IG SM Sahai told The Tribune. A police officer in south Kashmir said they
were looking at other aspects as well. “We have taken samples for forensic examination. We will have to wait for the report,” said a police officer. “We are awaiting the postmortem report to check whether those killed
had died because of the impact of the blast or splinters,” he added. “The blast caused a hole in the floor of the vehicle. A window pane was shattered by a rescue team to get the passengers out of the vehicle,” he added. Those injured in the blast, however, denied that
they had a gas cylinder in the vehicle. “There was no gas cylinder in the vehicle and we have no idea as to what happened,” said Preetama, an injured who was admitted to SKIMS, Srinagar, after suffering injuries in her legs. The police said the vehicle, a Tempo Traveller (JK 02 AP 0676), ferrying tourists hailing from Maharashtra, was on its way from Srinagar to Pahalgam when the explosion took place around 2 pm. The driver escaped unhurt. “The injured, all of whom were women, were taken to the Sub-District Hospital, Bijbehara, where the doctors declared two of them
dead, while six others were referred to Srinagar for treatment,” said a police officer. Reports said one of the injured died on the way to Srinagar, taking the death toll to three. The police has identified the dead as Neesha Jeetwah, Nirmala Rathore and Indu Bhae, all residents of Mumbai. Bharti, Neeta Jeetwah, Preetama Jeetwah, Jayshri Desai and Jaswanti Thakur were injured in the blast. Militants have been attacking tourists in the Valley in the past. The worst series of attacks took place in 2006,
when tourist buses were attacked in Srinagar, leaving several dead. Kashmir has witnessed a booming tourist season this year, with over 5 lakh tourists having visited the Valley so far. Terror attacks on tourists
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Governor releases Gen JJ Singh’s book
Srinagar, July 28 He said, “Our Army and security forces have been performing an invaluable role in guarding the frontiers. We need to thank them.” The Governor said General Singh was doing an excellent job as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and congratulated him for writing about his service to the nation. He hoped that the book would do well and be read by many. He wished General Singh and his wife Anupama Singh good health and happiness in the coming years. General Singh gave a brief about his book and dwelt upon the aims and objectives of writing his autobiography. He said it took him almost five years to complete the book, adding that he has tried to make it a simple and attractive story. He observed that India was a great country, with a great democracy and great future. He thanked the Governor for releasing his book. The Governor and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were presented mementos on behalf of the Arunachal Pradesh Governor. Governor NN Vohra’s wife Usha Vohra; General Singh’s wife Anupama Singh, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Minister for Medical Education RS Chib, Minister of State for Home, Tourism and Culture Nasir Aslam Wani, Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council MY Taing and Chief Secretary Madhav Lal were present on the occasion.
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Govt websites on the blink despite tech-savvy CM
The official website of the Jammu and Kashmir Government - jammukashmir.nic.in - has been on the blink for over six
months. The website was launched seven years ago as part of the e-governance project to provide online data pertaining to various departments and different development schemes launched in the state. It was to act as the data bank for people seeking information about the functioning of the government. “Our tech-savvy Chief Minister has created waves on Twitter, but the website of his government has been shut for ages. There is no effort to revive it,” said a senior bureaucrat. A graphic page with message “under construction” appears on accessing the website. “Crores of rupees spent on e-governance over the last decade has gone down the drain as the money invested has not served its real purpose,” said Randeep Sharma, an RTI activist. Around 10 years ago, the government had taken a major initiative to implement e-governance in all departments, public sector undertakings and other organisations under a centrally sponsored scheme. Most of the support is provided by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which is a premier institution of the Government of India, established in 1976. The respective departments have to maintain the infrastructure, which includes the software content. A senior officer from the company said lakhs of rupees were invested in introducing Information Technology and e-governance to streamline the functioning of the government departments, but it had proved to be of no use. The delay in the functioning of the website is creating problems for students as well as people from all walks of life. “We used to take the help of the website to prepare project reports or get information about government departments. But we can no longer rely on the information provided on these websites,” said Syed Aftaf, a PhD scholar. |
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Killing of youth
Srinagar, July 28 Shops and business establishments remained closed in the city and
public transport remained off the road. Some private vehicles were seen on the roads. The strike did not affect the functioning of government offices, post offices and banks. The authorities had placed all top Hurriyat leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of moderate faction Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Ahmad Shah, and other leaders under house arrest to avoid trouble. Bandipora town in north Kashmir also remained closed for the fourth consecutive day, as minor clashes were reported between protesters and security forces. The shutdown also affected normal life in Badgam, Pulwama, Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Baramulla and Kupwara districts. The situation remained calm in the Valley and there were no reports of any clash, the police said. The shutdown was called to protest the killing of Hilal Ahmed Dar (26) of Aloosa village in firing by 27 Rashtriya Rifles. The Army had claimed that Dar was a militant and was killed in an encounter. Soon after the incident, which sparked protests in Bandipore, Defence
Minister AK Antony had ordered an inquiry into the incident.
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Bodies of missing BSF officer, driver
found
Rajouri, July 28 The village is located 2.5 km from the mishap site along the
LoC. The bodies were traced with the help of a sniffer dog squad of the
BSF. The bodies were taken to the Sub-District Hospital in Sunderbani for autopsy and would be dispatched to the victims’ families later, official sources said. The Deputy Commandant’s body was fished out today while his driver’s body was found yesterday from Jullah village. Deputy Commandant Gupta and his driver were washed away, along with their official vehicle, in flash floods at Seri village along the LoC on the morning of July 25. The victims’ Gypsy was swept away in the strong water current. The vehicle, stuck in the nullah 1 km from the mishap site, was retrieved with shoes and a T-shirt. The incident Deputy Commandant Tarun Gupta and his driver were washed away, along with their official vehicle, in flash floods at Seri village along the LoC on the morning of July 25. The vehicle, stuck in the nullah 1 km from the mishap site, was retrieved with shoes and a T-shirt
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Srinagar, July 28 He was received by senior Army and state government officers, a defence spokesman said. The last time General Singh visited Uri was after the earthquake in 2005. It was under his leadership as the then Army Chief that the Army took upon itself to provide relief to the disaster-hit people of Uri. It was on his directions that the Army adopted Churunda village near the Line of Control for rehabilitation and reconstruction. General Singh had come to Uri, especially to visit troops of Maratha Light Infantry, located in and around Uri. He is the lifelong Honorary Colonel of Maratha Light Infantry regiment. While addressing the troops of Maratha Light Infantry, which included Maratha Battalion, he appreciated the services rendered by the battalion and exhorted it to continue to serve the nation and Maratha Light Infantry. He exhorted the troops to conduct military operations in a professional manner. — TNS
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CRPF’s 137th Battalion celebrates raising day
Udhampur, July 28 The battalion, in collaboration with the District Information Centre of Udhampur, organised a cultural bonanza, which was well applauded. Punjabi folk songs, bhangra and ghazals were the main attraction of this programme. Later, a “bara khana” was organised for officers, jawans and their family members.
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Ban on ferrying of bovines
Katra July 28 The animals can, however, be transported out of the district after obtaining prior permission of the Additional District Magistrate, Reasi, which will be issued on production of a certificate issued by the Chief Animal Husbandry Officer. Government agencies carrying animals for departmental purposes will be exempt from the restriction.
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Srinagar, July 28
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Srinagar, July 28
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Jammu, July 28