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Shinde promises fresh impetus to cross-LoC trade
HM travels by road to border area
Local Cong leaders turn to minister on panchayat issue
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Sarpanches question delay in security cover
4,000 village committees non-functional in state
Minor damage to Sufi shrine in mysterious fire
Home Minister meets Guv
Vehicles with Bhindranwale posters in
J-K under radar of security agencies
Guv condoles death of Altaf’s mother
Lt Gen Sachdev takes over as Northern Command Chief of Staff
Illegal mining case: Cong leader’s brother arrested
Spurious drug trade: 119 samples found substandard
Abdullah conferred with top Spanish honour
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Shinde promises fresh impetus to cross-LoC trade
Chakan-da-Bagh/ Suchetgarh, October 12 Shinde promised a delegation of LoC traders, headed by president of the Cross-LoC Traders Association Pawan Anand, that the required impetus would be given to the trade and the bottlenecks would be done away with. The Home Minister was reviewing the LoC trade at Chakan-da-Bagh trade centre. He also told the traders to place their demands before the Centre. Anand said his delegation handed over a memorandum to the Home Minister. “We demanded a communication network between two sides, one-time visa (travel permit) to traders from both sides to see the quality of merchandise before placing orders, spot deliveries and an increase in the number of trade items from 21 to 50,” said Anand. “We apprised the minister of the constantly declining trade via Chakan-da-Bagh and urged him to restore the confidence of traders by initiating measures suggested by the delegation,” he added Shinde, in turn, asked the trade centre authorities to check smuggling of contraband from across the LoC. The Tribune had recently highlighted in its columns the rampant smuggling of contraband from PoK via the two trade routes of Salamabad and Chakan-da-Bagh. Later, Shinde said the demands of traders would be seriously considered. Addressing the media at the octroi post in Suchetgarh in Jammu district, the minister said if terrorist movement had started increasing, it was time for states to do some introspection. He said he didn’t want to spoil Center-state relations and hence it became altogether important for states to do some soul-searching. “The country has already suffered financial losses and thousands of people have been killed. Now the country has peace and the growth rate is also increasing. So, it becomes imperative for states to see the issue in right earnest,” he added. On the spurt in intrusion bids and unprovoked firing by Pakistan along the JK borders, he said his ministry had reports of infiltration and he would discuss the matter at a security review meeting in Srinagar tomorrow. “I personally saw the fence erected along the border here. It is strong but at the same time it is correct that infiltration happens some time,” said Shinde. “I will discuss the matter at the meeting in Srinagar but I also express gratitude to our troops and officers for their conviction to guard the frontiers of the country,” he added. He said he had taken up the issue of firing and infiltration bids with Interior Minister of Pakistan Rehman Malik at the SAARC summit in Maldives recently. “They are also serious about resolving the issue,” he added. He also said that India had decided to take up the issue of trans-border tunnel detected on July 27 by the BSF in the Samba sector at the highest level in Pakistan. Ministerspeak
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HM travels by road to border area
Octroi Post (Suchetgarh), October 12 Though the BSF had spruced up a helipad close to the border in Suchetgarh and surrounded it with border guards, the IAF did not agree to the idea of ferrying the Home Minister in a helicopter. The distance between the Jammu Airport and the octroi post is nearly 30 km. Shinde, who reached Jammu today morning by air from Delhi, had left in a helicopter to Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch. He had adopted the same mode of transport while returning to Jammu, from where he had to go to the octroi post. However, from the Jammu Airport, Shinde had to travel by road. He reached here at 1.35 pm.
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Local Cong leaders turn to minister on panchayat issue
Jammu, October 12 The leaders also requested the Home Minister to fulfil promises made to all refugees here. During their meeting with Union Home Minister, the Congress delegation put forward the demand of extending the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the state for strengthening democracy at grass-roots level. “We told the Home Minister that in the 2008 Assembly elections, the Congress had promised to extend these Amendments to J&K. So, any dilution in the stand would give a wrong impression to the masses,” said veteran leader Dharam Pal Sharma, who led the Congress delegation. He said the delegation told Shinde that if the Amendments were being implemented in other states of the country, there was no reason to deprive panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir of such constitutional rights. While highlighting the plight of refugees, the Congress leaders reminded the Home Minister that a high-powered delegation of Congress leaders, led by the JKPCC chief, had visited New Delhi and briefed the Central leadership about problems of refugees. Meanwhile, a delegation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) called on Shinde and submitted a memorandum of their demands. Besides highlighting their demands, some CCI members also drew the attention of the Home Minister to a case registered against three youths of the Jammu region who had “raised the issue of unemployment” in the Assembly. The members wanted the case against them withdrawn. A delegation of the Bar Association Jammu (BAJ) which met the Home Minister highlighted the simmering discontent in Jammu against the discrimination vis-à-vis Kashmir at the hands of successive state governments. Before meeting various delegations, Shinde visited the Raghunath temple here.
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Sarpanches question delay in security cover
Srinagar, October 12 “The panchayat members are frightened, especially in the wake of recent threats and attacks. The government is making tall claims and is delaying providing security to panches and
sarpanches,” said J&K Panchayat Conference chairman Shafiq Mir, who had led a nine-member delegation to New Delhi to meet Rahul Gandhi. “After the new posters appeared in south Kashmir, I have been getting calls from panchayat members about their security. I think that the government is not taking their security seriously,” Mir added. “When we were in Delhi to meet
Rahul, we were provided security by the police. Ironically, we are without any security here, where the actual threat exists,” he said. Mir said if the threat persisted, it would be difficult for panches and sarpanches to contest polls for the Block Development Council
(BDC) elections to be held on November 7. “The government has announced dates for the
BDC, but how will the panches and sarpanches contest without provision for their security,” Mir said. However, the state government claims that the security of panchayat members is their prime concern. “Various measures have been taken to instill confidence and sense of security among the panchayat members. All the vulnerable areas in the state will be guarded and a close coordination among different security agencies is being ensured to provide security to panchayat members,” Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani had said in the state Assembly. Two sarpanches and a panch were killed in the Valley this year during various militant attacks. The government claims that these killings reflect the desperation of anti-national elements to derail the prevailing peace and tranquillity in the state. The government says it is impossible for them to provide security to over 33,000 panches and
sarpanches, who are frightened in the wake of recent killings of panchayat members. "We will provide security on a case-to-case basis," said a senior police officer. |
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4,000 village committees non-functional in state
Jammu, October 12 Sources said though these committees were established after a warning by the Central government to improve the ration delivery system in the state, most of them have failed to serve their purpose. Under the plan, sarpanches and panches were to sign in the sale register kept in each block before submitting it to the department concerned in each zone. This way the government had wanted to ensure that the ration would reach the right hands after a number of cases were detected of dealers siphoning off ration meant for the poor. Apart from the
sarpanch, a senior teacher from a government school in the area, anganwari workers and village-level workers were nominated as members of a
VVC. Nearly 60 lakh people are dependent on the public distribution system
(PDS) for supplying ration through 7,000 sales depots across the state. The decision was taken following several complaints regarding irregularities in the PDS and pilferage of
ration. Shafiq Mir, a sarpanch from border village of Rajouri, said there was still no mechanism to effectively monitor the distribution of ration. “We have been hearing about VVCs and other mechanisms, but on ground there is nothing. Panchayat members are themselves running from pillar to post for their rights, how will they fight pilferage and black marketing”. Mir had recently led a delegation to New Delhi and met Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, seeking the empowerment of
panchayats. However, Director, Consumer Affairs (Jammu), Pervez Malik said they have been receiving several monthly reports from several areas. |
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Minor damage to Sufi shrine in mysterious fire
Srinagar/Anantnag, October 12 The state police has launched an investigation in the case and suspects it to be sabotage. “We have registered a case under Section 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) and 295 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Ranbir Penal Code at the Sadder police station in Anantnag,” a police spokesman in Srinagar said. Locals said some unidentified miscreants tried to set ablaze the shrine of Hazrat Hyder Baba Rishi before the morning prayers. “The major tragedy was averted by timely intervention of the locals. However, a couple of copies of the Holy Koran were partially damaged in the fire and the matting of the shrine was burnt to some extent,” said local resident Mohammad Amin. Locals said the partially damaged copies of the Holy Book were then buried and the burnt down matting of the shrine was removed from the premises. The police said a manhunt has been launched in the area to nab the miscreants. “We have registered a case and are probing the incident,” said a police officer in south Kashmir. Earlier this month, the J&K Police had claimed to have busted a module of the pan-Islamic militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba by arresting six militants, who were found to be involved in the burning of two religious places in central Kashmir's Budgam district. The police had claimed that the group was involved in the burning of Sufi shrine of Baba Haneefuddin at Ratsuna in Beeru on the intervening night of July 14 and 15 and a mosque in Narbal Magam in May. |
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Home Minister meets Guv
Srinagar, October 12 Shinde called on Governor NN Vohra and had wide-ranging consultations on several important matters at a meeting held at the Raj Bhavan. During the hour-long meeting, Vohra and Shinde discussed issues related to the ongoing pace of socio-economic development of the state, strengthening the functioning of panchayats, elections to panchayat samitis and urban local bodies and matters relating to internal and external security management. |
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Vehicles with Bhindranwale posters in
J-K under radar of security agencies
Jammu, October 12 Such vehicles carrying Bhindrawale’s posters are under the radar of security and intelligence agencies in the state, said an Intelligence agency source. On Wednesday, Lt Gen (retd) KS Brar told a television news channel that there had been attempts within the country and abroad to revive terrorism in Punjab. “We are keeping a track of vehicles like cars and trucks carrying posters of Bhindranwale with words like ‘Never forget 1984’,” said the source. A senior officer of the CID, Jammu and Kashmir Police, said the “disturbing” trend is in the knowledge of the CID as well. “The CID has submitted classified reports at the quarters concerned. A year ago, a detailed report
was also prepared,” the officer said. The officer admitted that such practice can create law and order problem in a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir. “An intelligence agency, as a precautionary measure, has noted details of vehicles with Bhindranwale’s posters in the state,” sources said. The Khalistan Zindabad Force, a banned terrorist outfit, is headed by Jammu native Ranjit Singh Neeta, one of the top 20 wanted criminals by India. “At present, Neeta is hiding in Pakistan, where the ISI has been pressurising him to revive terrorism in the Jammu region,” said a police source. The source pointed out to Union Home Minister’s recent statement at Amritsar wherein he admitted that there were reports of some kind of linkage in efforts being made in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir to restart militant activities. “Neeta, a resident of the Simbal Camp area, is the only Khalistan terrorist to be still active out of the five terrorists India had demanded from Pakistan,” said the source. “There have been reports of some pro-Khalistani groups trying to revive their activities in the Jammu region. Therefore, we cannot afford to remain off-guard vis-à-vis posters of Bhindranwale which have started appearing on the vehicles,” added
the source. |
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Guv condoles death of Altaf’s mother
Srinagar, October 12 Ruling National Conference (NC) president and Union Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah, several state Cabinet ministers and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed also expressed their condolences. Ghulam Mariam is survived by her husband, former minister Mian Bashir Ahmad, and her son Mian Altaf, who represents the Kangan constituency of Ganderbal district. Vohra in his condolence message expressed sympathy with the minister and other members of the bereaved family and prayed for “eternal peace” to the deceased. “Dr Farooq expressed solidarity with the bereaved family. He also conveyed his sympathy and prayed for peace to the departed soul,” the NC spokesman said. The spokesman said state Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, Law Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, Education Minister Abdul Gani Malik, Industries Minister SS Salathia, Political Adviser to the Chief Minister Devender Singh Rana, Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani and senior party leaders attended the funeral prayers for the deceased in Ganderbal district. NC general secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmed, additional general secretary Mustafa Kamal and spokesman Tanvir Sadiq also condoled the demise of Mian Altaf’s mother and expressed solidarity with the family. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party patron and former Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, also visited Baba Nagri to offer condolences. The Akhil Bhartiya Gujjar Maha Sabha also condoled the demise saying the deceased was “very popular among the Gujjar community for her kindness”. |
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Lt Gen Sachdev takes over as Northern Command Chief of Staff
Jammu, October 12 The General brings with him experience having commanded a Rashtriya Rifles Sector in the Valley and an Infantry Division in the Central Command. Lt Gen Sachdev had also been a Brigade Major in a high- altitude area, GSO-1, in the vital Perspective Planning Directorate at Army Headquarters, Brigadier General Staff at the Army Training Command and Additional Director General of the Military Operations Directorate at the Army Headquarters. An alumnus of the Military School in Ajmer, Lt Gen Sachdev was commissioned in 1976 in the Fourth Battalion, 1st Gorkha Rifles and later commanded 3/1 GR. The General Officer completed his graduation from the Defence Services Staff College and postgraduation from College of Defence Management. He also attended the National Defence College. Lt Gen Sachdev was awarded the Sena Medal for distinguished and meritorious service in the Army Training Command. |
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Illegal mining case: Cong leader’s brother arrested
Jammu, October 12 The police arrested Sohan Singh, brother of a Congress leader, for violating the restrictions (Section 144 of the CrPC) imposed by the Kathua District Magistrate on the mining of river beds within a 1-km radius of national highways and railway bridges. A case FIR No. 410/2012 under Section 188 of the CrPC has been registered at the Kathua police station against the accused.
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Spurious drug trade: 119 samples found substandard
Srinagar, October 12 This was stated in a report tabled by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education Department in the state Legislative Assembly during its recently concluded Autumn Session. The government has sealed 219 unlicensed/ unregistered shops selling spurious medicines and cancelled 639 licenses of various pharmaceutical retailers and dealers during 2010-2012, according to the report. In over 80 per cent of the cases of substandard/ misbranded drug cases, the administrative and legal actions initiated against the accused have not been completed. In some cases, where the department set up screening committees to investigate into the cases, the final recommendations of the committees are still awaited. Even though the government says that there is a “full-fledged drug policy” to promote medicine accessibility and ensure safety and quality of drugs, the policy is awaiting implementation for the past nine months. The government has announced cash rewards up to Rs 25 lakh for whistle-blowers providing vital clues about identity of people involved in spurious drugs trade. The government is also seeking assistance of the police and the Excise Department for strict monitoring of the movement of spurious drugs, the Health and Medical Education Department report says. |
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Abdullah conferred with top Spanish honour
Srinagar, October 12 “This is the highest honour accorded by the Spanish Government to somebody who is not a Head of the State. Abdullah has been honoured for his efforts to promote sustainable economic development through the promotion of renewable energy,” an official spokesperson from New Delhi said. The honour was received by Abdullah from Ambassador of Spain Gustavo de Aristegui at a function in the Spanish Embassy, the spokesperson said. Abdullah thanked the Spanish Government for conferring the honour on him. “Abdullah accepted it on behalf of the people of India and hoped that one day, he would be able to realise his vision of every Indian household becoming electrified,” the spokesperson said. The Spanish Ambassador thanked Abdullah for accepting the honour and recalled the major achievements in the renewable energy sector under his stewardship. — TNS |
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Chakan-da-Bagh/ Suchetgarh, October 12
Lt Gen Harminderjit Singh Sachdev assumed the appointment of the Chief of Staff Headquarters, Northern Command, in a solemn ceremony at the Dhruva War Memorial in Udhampur where he laid a wreath to honour the martyrs.
